Those of you who have read my "Heaven" books (HEAVEN COMES HOME, HEAVEN KNOWS BEST, and HEAVEN LOVES A HERO) may find that a strange reaction; but truthfully, when I created Mr. G, the crusty old curmudgeon who rules Purgatory's Second Chance Room in the "Heaven" books, I wasn't thinking of writing an angel romance. I was simply listening to the characters who'd come to life inside my story mind.

But in response to June's invitation, I've been thinking that the appeal of angel romances has a lot in common with the way in which Mr. G and the characters, who must meet a specially-designed challenge to reclaim their lives, were born. In telling that story, I think I can best explore the appeal of angel romances.

You see, it would be simple to say we yearn to believe in a power stronger than ourselves and that angel romances show us a way that, despite the messes we make of our lives, external intervention can swoop down and rescue us. But on further reflection, the best of these stories create situations in which we as women and men are inspired to reach deep within ourselves and rise to our own rescue.

By way of illustration, I'll share the story of the creation of HEAVEN COMES HOME, a romantic comedy. When I set out to write this book (way back in 1990), I wanted to tell a frighteningly serious tale of the conditions faced by workers in the poultry processing plants in Northwest Arkansas.

"Eh?" I can hear your question now: So how did I get from an industry exposé to a romantic comedy featuring a producer and director trying to win a second chance at life?

First, I realized no one wanted to read a grim story inspired by my father's last years enduring the miserable conditions in the local poultry plant, and therefore, no publisher would want to buy it.

Second, I realized that often the best way to get a point across is in a comedic medium. And one day, staring at my computer, Mr. G (a sly old guy with a droll sense of humor like my dad's) waltzed into my mind. He ruled Purgatory's Second Chance Room, which only very creative people were lucky enough to find themselves transported to after accidental death. And he assigned my producer and director couple (who didn't yet realize they were in love with one another) a target: a spoiled, sexy, self-destructive actress whose life they had a limited amount of time to turn around.

Result: through creative maneuvering the two come up with a plan in which the actress must go to work in a poultry plant and not get herself fired for thirty days. In essence, she must learn about life as most of us know it in the hopes that such a lesson will turn her around.

Imagine Demi Moore or Sharon Stone having to sling slimy chicken carcasses onto hooks at the rate of one chicken every forty-five seconds for eight hours at a stretch. Imagine their outrage when they realize the line of dead birds won't stop when they break a fingernail. Imagine their political sensitivities when they realize the workers have no power, no voice, no union.

Imagine my smile when I realized I'd found a way to tell the story I wanted to tell without getting in the way of the entertainment and the romance!

And what does this tale have to do with angel romances? Meditating over my dad (who no doubt was and still is busy in heaven proclaiming the virtues of vegetarianism) never would have gotten the book written. No matter what the inspiration, no matter the guiding power, the answer to one's dilemma lies inside oneself. And after the answer must come action.

Barbara Freethy illustrated this beautifully in DANIEL'S GIFT. Her teenage character had to choose between life and death; he had to learn about living life as it could fully be lived. Jacob, his guardian angel, showed him many things about life, but the power to choose to return to the living was not left with Jacob; it resided in the teenage boy.

Angel romances may comfort us with the idea that there is someone stronger or wiser than ourselves, but ultimately, their appeal and their power lies in inspiring us to make the choices we need to make in order to create the life we wish to live.