What Makes a Reader's Heart Smile?

Think about some of your favorite books. What's the one thing that's the same in all of them, no matter the genre? Go ahead. I'll give you a minute.

The answer is relationships. It's the human condition. The best kinds of reads are about strained relationships that end up happily ever after. And before you think you can stump me with something like Black Beauty, unh-unh. While the main character in Black Beauty is a horse, the story is about Beauty's relationships to people.

Why is that? Is it the ol' misery loves company kind of thing? Is it some sick and twisted need to peek through a window into someone else's life and compare notes on how crappy relationships can be?

I don't think so. Well, for most people, anyway. I think when readers see how characters go through trials and tribulations with those they love--even if they're fictional--it gives us hope for our own broken relationships.

Unless you live in a bubble, drama is part of life, and life is messy. When stories take those elements and shape them into something good, a reader's heart smiles.