Top Ten Tuesday: Say it with a Dell

Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme currently being run by the blog That Artsy Reader Girl. Put simply each Tuesday has a theme assigned to it and participating blogs have to come up with a top ten list around it. The theme this week, given that it is Valentine’s Day on Sunday, is a love freebie, meaning you get to pick what you talk about as long as it is do with romance.

In 2017 when the Tuesday Night Bloggers looked at Love and Murder, I covered quite a few bases:

• All in the Name of Love (A post which looks at classic crime titles, from authors such as Agatha Christie, and discusses what is done by suspects and guilty parties, in these books, in the name of love)
• Romance on the Big Screen (A post in which I share some of my favourite mystery films with a love angle)
• Sayers and Love (As the title suggests this post looks at love in the works of Dorothy L. Sayers)
• Favourite Sleuthing Couples

So in order to avoid repeating myself, I thought it might be fun instead to give 10(ish) pieces of romantic “advice” based on some of the covers from the Dell imprint, to ensure you all have an enjoyable Valentine’s Day.

Meeting the Guy

There are many ways to meet someone. One way is the romantic film approach of falling in love with the man or woman next door, though if their hands are as green as this man’s, I’d think twice…

Or if you are feeling more adventurous, you can of course go on a blind date, but do bear in mind the weather when picking your outfit…

The Date

Whilst it is nice to give your date a flower…

…. Remember your limits when it comes to drinking alcohol. No one wants their date to have to carry them home unconscious. Those with parents at home, may also find them unimpressed with this spectacle.

If things go well, don’t forget to ask for the other person’s number, as identifying your date by any footwear they leave behind, is a bit of a risky option.

Now it probably won’t come as a surprise to you, that not all dates are great. Some leave you feeling cold, be it due to a poor conversationalist, a fashion fiasco, or some unpleasant food. I feel all of these reasons could be possibilities for the covers below.

Also, if possible, read your date well, to assess whether you’re on the same page, romantically speaking. Throwing yourself at someone who is not that keen can be awkward after all…

However, some dates are more dire than others. In this case I think a good night kiss has not gone awry… (Too much garlic maybe?)

Nevertheless, in case your date turns nasty…

… Always have an exit strategy planned.

But don’t let such dates get you down for long and try your best to avoid catastrophising and making sweeping assertions…

Marriage

Finally, having safely navigated the rocky seas of dating, you may have gone on to get married. For some the closeness to another person is more enjoyable than for others.

Perhaps things started out great…

But then turned sour…

Maybe there were too many arguments…

Or the relationship felt too claustrophobic…

Or perhaps you discovered something shocking about them!

If that’s the case, and you’re looking for a way out, then it just so happens that classic crime fiction has a few ideas for you…

For such books, a discontented marriage, is only the beginning of the story…