I-love-you-I-love-you-too*kiss*

I think one of the best “first” kisses is a kiss that isn’t the first, isn’t the last, but is the first time you realize, in the long line of kisses with a steady significant other that the kiss is automatic. Those “have-a-good-day-I-love-you-I-love-you-too” quick kiss and I’m out the door kisses. I often hear about these kind of kisses in a negative light, but I don’t think so. I mean how great is it to have someone you get to kiss “automatically”? Who’s there to kiss you back without thinking about it. There are still stomach-fluttering moments, giddy, heart-pounding times. But those can come with a stranger too. Or an aquaintance, a “new” love. But that natural, automatic kiss that seems like a throw-away, unthinking action is precious for that very reason. It’s a gift of time, and too often we take it for granted. But that’s part of it too. Having something so precious, so common. I keep hearing that line “It’s later than you think.” It might be, so time to smile with all the everyday things in life that make it good.

Where are the flowers when you need them?

February is kicking my butt. I could do with Valentine’s Day NOW. Today. Yesterday. What? It’s still two days away? It’s been crazy. Work, kids, colds, weather, a dog that’s turned into a little psychotic chewing tornado and to top it all off, I got a phone call asking if I wanted to coach soccer. (If you knew me, you’d be joining me rolling on the floor laughing…) Anyway, back to the kisses. I thought that for today, I’d post the last kiss I’ve written (I’m still looking for the first kiss I wrote - having to do some hunting on that).

For those who are keeping up with the Ilyrian series, here’s a quick excerpt (unofficial and unfinalized version) of that kiss from Connyn’s story. Hope you enjoy!

By the time he stopped, she had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. Propping her hands on her hips, she returned his glare and held her ground. If he wanted a fight, she sure as hell could accommodate him. All she had to do was funnel all this sexual tension he kept stirring up in her and focus it into an angry confrontation. Something she was well able to do. She’d had lots of practice on focusing thanks to the unique abilities passed down through her mother’s bloodline.

Connyn was so close, she could feel the heat from his body. The temptation to lean into it was strong and her thoughts took a quick little side trip imagining running her hands over his broad chest and pressing her breasts against that wall of solid muscle.

For a moment, she thought he was just going to try and stare her down. Braced for some form of assault, she was totally unprepared when he reached up and brushed his fingertips down her cheek. Shocked by his action, she flinched back away from his touch. He frowned and slid his hand around the back of her neck, holding her gently but firmly. The staring contest ended when his gaze roamed over her face and his thumb gently stroked the side of her face.

“Aurora.”

The way he said her name, a deep rumbling like a whispered roar that made her feel both protected and vulnerable at the same time. A very unnerving sensation.

All thought flew out of her mind as Connyn’s mouth settled over hers in a kiss that sent electric heat zinging through her body, riding currents of lust that converged between her legs with a desire so strong she wondered if he hadn’t drugged her at some point. His mouth moved over hers and her knees threatened to give out. In a reflexive attempt to keep upright, her fingers dug into his leather coat. Until now, she hadn’t even realized she’d been hanging on to him.

His hand moved up her back, holding and supporting her as his tongue slowly but lightly traced the line between her closed lips. It was a gentle, sensual caress that sent a full-body shiver through her.

Surprise me!

It’s funny when I started thinking of kisses how a certain one kept coming to the front of my mind today. This kiss was a surprise. The first surprise kiss I’d had in a long time. I was at a party with my boyfriend some time ago and I was coming back down the hall from the back of the house. I turned the corner and he stepped out in front of me, startling me and stopping me short. He had this very intense look on his face, but before I could ask him if something was wrong, he grabbed me and kissed me senseless. By the time he let go of me, I was dazed and completely ready to leave the party. With him. Right then. <sigh> But we didn’t. He grinned down at me and led me back to the main part of the house. Damn it. But ever since then, that’s been one of my top ten favorite kisses.

First kiss

The first kiss I remember was a very, very long time ago. All the way back to kindergarten. His name was Mike, and he had black hair and dark eyes. We were under the monkey bars at recess after lunch. He asked me to marry him and I kissed him on the cheek. And that was that. It was very sweet and innocent and makes me smile any time my thoughts wander back there. Today I don’t remember a lot of things about my early years of school (aside from never getting to be the wake-up fairy of nap time because I never managed to lie silently through the entire quiet time - but that’s another story), I don’t remember teachers’ names, lessons learned, snacks or much else. But I do remember my first marriage proposal.

Countdown to Valentine’s Day!

Here’s to being halfway through one hell of a week! Yay! Yee-haw! and Woo Hoo! Been offline for several days mostly because I’ve been under the weather. Not helping with this week.

But on the other hand, next week is Valentine’s Day. :) I love Valentine’s Day! The hearts, chocolate, flowers, kisses…. oh yes! My favorite part. I just read a great article at AskMen.com giving men 10 tips on making that first kiss a winner. And the tips are great. Though I personally loved the “Don’t Slobber” (of course! Ick!) and “Be Alone” - very few things kill a first kiss for me like having it planted on me with an audience watching. I mean, I may not be sure that I’m ready or want that first kiss yet, but I’m damn sure I don’t want it in the middle of a crowd! I wish all the men I kissed the first time had read this article.

So, starting tomorrow, we’re a week away from Valentine’s. And now I’m thinking about kisses. I’ve had a lot of first kisses in my short life.   The first real “boy” kiss, the first “married” woman kiss, the first “my baby” kiss, the first “divorced” woman kiss, the first “in love again” kiss…and so many more. Who knew there could be so many first kisses? All so different, each special in its own way. I think over the next week I’ll share some of those. I might even dig through my old stories and find the first kiss I ever wrote. :)   

Nearly out for the count - Almost

Yesterday was one of those workdays. I got home thinking, “ok, so I didn’t get fired and no one died.” So it wasn’t all bad. I’ll be back tomorrow.

Genie and a polar bear

Just a quick note on inspiration. I think for writers it comes from just about everywhere. I don’t need much personally for my brain to take off on a tangent for a story. It’s actually harder for me to stay focused on one single story at a time to see it through ASAP because there are always a solid dozen or more constantly going through my head. And any little thing might set another story off.

For instance, just this morning I was driving to work, scanning radio stations when I heard these lyrics from a Christina Aguilera song:

I’m a genie in a bottle, baby
Gotta rub me the right way, honey
I’m a genie in a bottle, baby
Come, come, come and let me out

And bam! Another story was kick-started through my imagination. I just saw it. It joined the one from yesterday morning that got started from a dream I had about being chased by a huge polar bear through a Louisiana swamp over rickety old catwalks until I came to a dead end at a trailer where I burst into it and scared a woman speechless who was rocking her baby to sleep. Seeing her there surprised me and I stopped just long enough for the polar bear to catch me and he batted at me because he’d been wanting to play. Here I’d been running for my life and so frightened in my dream and he’d just wanted to play. Sheesh. Even in my dream, I was rolling my eyes.

Sometimes, I wish I had a little less inspiration. :)  …I know - be careful what you wish for…

Something my sister taught me

My sister is one of the best moms I know and she taught me the most important thing about raising children - though I don’t know if I can actually put it into words. It’s more of a lesson absorbed from example and understood in a way to change my life. Basically, she makes time for her kids. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yes, she has a very busy life, works full-time, and stays healthy with regular work-outs and no, she doesn’t have a nanny, a driver, a chauffeur or a personal shopper or assistant. But it’s not the “planned” or “quality vs quantity” time type of lesson. This lesson was all about choice. She chooses to do things with her kids when she really has other things on her plate that “must” get done. But she’s learned to separate the urgent from the important. The urgent will always be there, or immediately be replaced by another urgent. The important will grow up when we’re not looking, so quickly we’d swear the world was on fast forward and move away, leaving us with only memories to hold and not little hands.

See, that’s what she’s good at. Making memories. Her kids won’t remember the December she got all her Christmas shopping done early and the presents wrapped beautifully. They will remember the day they stayed home from school after it had snowed all night, and although she had planned on crossing a dozen more item of her holiday to do list, she took them sledding because, “Please mom? It’s perfect for it!” Made hot chocolate. Made a fire. Played a game. The only snow day that year. The only time it snowed enough to go sledding.

This was SO not me. I was an “urgent” person all the way. When the choice is there, urgent or important, sometimes it’s hard to see the important because the urgent screams and jumps up and down and just makes a god-awful fuss and often comes with a busybody ready to make you feel guilty if you haven’t done what you oh-my-god-just-have-to-do. Check email! Clean the car! Mop the kitchen!  And I might still be rushing around trying to put out those urgent fires 24/7 if it were not for my sister’s example.

I still slip into that sometimes. But now I work at balancing my life better. When my kids look back on their childhood, I want their memories to be more than, “Oh yeah, that was the time mom got all her papers filed and got the laundry washed, dried, folded and put away all in the same day.” Ha! Like they’d even remember that. Like I’D ever remember that.

I think one of the best blessings of life is having the opportunity to fill it will memories. This “child” lesson really did change my life. Not just with time and my children, but with every area. When there’s a choice of making a memory or crossing another thing off the list, I’m going to jump at the memory. Because my list is always there and always long. But an opportunity for a memory? It melts away as fast as a snowflake caught on your tongue. 

Those darn HEA’s

For those of you unfamiliar with acronyms related to the World of Romance Writers, that Happily Ever After. You know, like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty - …and they lived happily ever after. Ok, today was one of those Mondays that leave the body tired and the brain drained, so tonight I’m going to cheat a little and paste a response to another blog I was surfing about why I love to read romances.

I love romances for a list of reasons. But at the heart of my list is “and they lived happily ever after.” The ending everyone wants. The golden, glowing, I-know-I-can-touch-it-this-time-if-I-stand-on-my-tippy-tip-toes-and-stretch-a-little-further hope. The ideal my heart reaches for always regardless of the other lessons learned in real life. In a romance, no matter what happens, true love is not only possible, but WILL happen, WILL fight, WILL triumph. And most important, will last. I live in a very real world – don’t we all? I need that break, that glimpse into hope that keeps me grounded and encouraged. Because though I don’t see my ideals realized often – any ideals, not just “true love” – I still believe in them. But some days those beliefs get a terrific beating and a good romance – erotic, sweet, historical, paranormal, etc. is just the patching up I need for all those scrapes and bruises.

Finger cramps

Been writing today! Yay! Progress! Working on Connyn’s story - the next book in the Ilyrian Destiny series. He was introduced in Brooke’s Sanctuary, and if you haven’t met him, let’s just say he isn’t the most laid back and well-liked of the cousins. Not that he cares what they think. He has “issues” with the gods, the Elders and Prophets, his cousins-hell, with just about everybody.

Heir to the Third House, Connyn had never fully accepted the fact that Rordyc had been matched to a Mystic before him. With five Houses needing sons with Mystic blood to fulfill the prophecy, and only four full-blooded Mystic daughters known, the friction that had always underscored Connyn’s relationships with his “matched” cousins was increasing. Especially now that the women were finally being located.

Connyn held a special antagonism toward Rordyc, since he believed that, being older, he should have been given preference in the Matching Ritual. Rordyc had never completely trusted his cousin, even before he had discovered him researching how to negate a Guardian spell.

Oh yeah. Connyn doesn’t mind stirring things up to get what he wants. Question is, will he want what he gets?