Valentine's Day!

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Ahh, Valentine's Day - the romance writer's most favourite day of the year...and for those who love reading romance, this is your day too!

What better way to celebrate it than indulging in a romantic gesture or two for the one you love (or secretly admire).

So, imagine this - you're organising a special Valentine's Day with your Dearest Heart (real or fantasy), complete with venue, meals, activities and things to do - what sorts of plans would you arrange?

For the purposes of this post I'm sure Deborah-Lee won't mind lending me Hugh Jackman as my Valentine's Day DH. :-)

One Valentine fantasy coming up!

OK, let's begin with a destination...hmm, while beaches and coastal views are nice, I tend to favour country settings a little more and Hugh looks like he could handle a mountain bushwalk or two, so maybe somewhere woodsy, perhaps at a place like this...

A little log cabin in the woods...just for the two of you...

Late night canoodling...

And nothing beats a lovely, warm, fireplace.

We could sit in front of it, on a nice soft lounge, or better yet, a nice thick rug on the floor and snuggle, perhaps with our beverages of choice, soft music playing in the background...

And a relaxing soak in a tub for two would also be divine!

Claw-foots and romance...Goldilocks factor - just right!

Your private Eden...

I think though, that we could be craving a little scenery with our water.

Perhaps not too far from the cabin would be this beautiful spot - privacy guaranteed, just in case we chose to get right back to nature and do some skinny-dipping!

Candlelight...

And if you're a foodie like me, I'd go all out and arrange a special meal.

Three courses, complete with scented candles. Definitely something chocolate for dessert.

Or maybe an after dinner activity involving chocolate...

Finding a lost love...

And, as this would be a romantic LONG weekend with Hugh, I'd definitely arrange a surprise or two.

I like the idea of getting lost in a garden hedge maze - it'd make finding each other lots of fun and those are privacy hedges, so we could take advantage of each other...umm, I mean of them!

After fun in the maze, and building up our appetites, what could beat a gourmet picnic out in the countryside. A quiet field in the sunshine, near a tree, a good meal, perhaps a snooze after lunch...

Share a picnic...

And to round off the Valentine's celebration a special little something for Hugh. What?

A special gift for a special love...

Well, that's my secret... ;-)

Final gratuitous shot of Hugh Jackman...sigh...

So, what sort of Valentine's Day would you enjoy indulging in?

If you could, would you go all out and paint the town red, would you choose something intimate and quiet, or maybe something beautifully simple?

A kiss?

Who has your heart? Valentine winners!

There was certainly some heart throbs mentioned in this post over the weekend.

Thanks to everyone who dropped by to drool...umm, I mean share your fantasy dates for Valentine's day.

I popped all your names into my dragon coffee cup (dry & clean, of course), and the winners of the Valentine's Day special give-away books are:

1. Alison
2. Julieann Thomas
   
3. Cate Harris
4. Bec Skrabl

If you could send me an email with your address to - kyliegriffin (at) clearmail (dot) com (dot) au - I'll post your prize to you!

Who has your heart?

February 14th - Valentine's Day - an auspicious day in any romance writer's calendar.

A day to celebrate the enduring love between partners, lovers, wedded couples, boyfriend & girlfriend and possibly to renew a commitment to a relationship in some special way.

I thought I'd take a different slant to Valentine's Day. One a little more...scintillating...and it involves you getting tenderly romantic, waxing a little poetic, maybe even hot & heavy. Interested?

Who is the hero (or heroine, depending on your preferences) from any book/movie/TV series that you'd love to have a Valentine's date with?

I'll start the ball rolling with a book character from one of my "keepers". I'd go on a date with Julian, Sherrilyn Kenyon's love-slave from FANTASY LOVER. I mean what more could a girl ask for - he's considerate, gentle, compassionate (look how he treats Grace in the book - sigh), a Spartan warrior, skilled in the art of romance and loving (having spent over two thousand years as a love-slave), and he's seriously ripped (because he's a warrior, but I already mentioned that, didn't I?).

Sam Worthington as a warrior makes your heart beat, doesn't he?

So, tell me, which special hero/heroine who sets your heart a-flutter, makes your pulse race, your mouth salivate, your skin tingle with excitement? - and yes, you can use your imagination here and have as an adventurous a date as you like!

I've four special book prizes to give away to keep in the theme of Valentine's Day. Leave a comment by midnight (Aussie DST) February 14th and you'll go into the draw. (open to local & overseas entrants)

Valentine's Day

Have you ever wondered how this special day came about? To me it means sending a special something to someone to tell them you care or love them - a flower, a small gift, a card, a message or love letter with the accompanying sentiment coming from deep in your heart. But was it always like this?

No. The most popular version of the origins of Valentine’s Day comes from ancient Roman times. The church wanted their people to convert from paganism to Christianity. They needed a suitable patron to replace the pagan god and his love festival, and they discovered the story of Valentine.

Around 270 BC, Emperor Claudius needed soldiers for his army but discovered men in love and married men weren’t keen to join up and fight so he cancelled all marriages and engagements. As you would expect, this didn’t go down well with his soldiers.

Valentine, a Roman soldier and priest, disagreed with the decree and married couples in secret. When Claudius found out he threw Valentine in prison. The prison guard’s blind daughter used to keep him company as he awaited his death sentence. Of course, they fell in love (his love eventually cured her blindness) and on the day of Valentine’s death – February 14th – he left her a message and signed it, “From Your Valentine”.

The church decided to use this as a commemorative holiday to replace the pagan love festival and now people all over the world use it as a day to show affection to the one they love.

Traditions abound on Valentine’s Day. Have a look at some of the things people did or believed about this day in the past.

• In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
• In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"
• Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.
• Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry. As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.
• Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.

If you’re looking for a special way to celebrate Valentine’s Day why not watch a classic movie like Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Roman Holiday, From Here to Eternity, An Affair to Remember or Romeo and Juliette.

Or how about something with a little history, adventure and romance – Doctor Zhivargo, Out of Africa, The English Patient, Shakespeare in Love, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Australia.

Maybe, if you’re like me, you’re into the quirky, offbeat romances like The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Casanova, Kate & Leopold or Paperback Hero (coincidently, both these movies star Hugh Jackman!!!).

To finish I’d like to share a beautiful quote from Helen Keller - The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.

However you celebrate it, may your Valentine’s Day be a good one!