Welcome to Gifts of Love, the Addictive Reads Valentine Blog Hop.
For this hop the challenge is to list the best five gifts received--or given--for Valentine's day. I will admit to being a bit of a grinch on this day, so I've thought long and hard. And I'm still...ambivalent. So, since I write romance, and my characters are much better with romantic gestures, I thought I'd share a few of those gifts of love--even though none of these moments happen on Valentine's day.
A traditional gift--Chocolate. In the second book of the Double Keltic Triad, Fires of a Keltic Moon, Lara travels through time to ancient Scotland. Like time travelers aren't supposed to do, she takes a part of the modern world back with her--a bag of chocolates. Of course, Iain discovers the treat, and his own sweet tooth. Sharing something you love is an excellent gift.
A song. Picking the perfect song to represent your relationship, the joy of your wedding, the enduring affection through difficult times--I won't argue with that. Even though some of my relationship songs are a bit off beat. (The Pina Colada song for our honeymoon? Really?) Better than that, in one of my works in progress, Toccata and Fugue, Jeffrey is a cellist torn between his love of both classical music and cello rock. One thing he doesn't question is how he feels about Sapphire. So, he composes, and plays, special music just for her. Ah, now that's dreamy.
Creating a special moment. Those memorable moments don't have to include rose petals in a scented bath or the flicker of candlelight or the lazy drift of gauze curtains in a soft breeze. Sometimes you don't even need to step that far out of the ordinary. In By Keltic Design, Jaye prepares a meal for Allyn, and creates an amazing tablescape. In Birds Do It!, Garr and Birdie visit an antique fair and find a glass macaw to commemorate the day. Now, in Blue Keltic Moon, Gowthaman does create a romantic moment at a desert oasis, complete with those drifty curtains and tiny fairy musicians playing in the trees. But it's not the moment...it's the person you're with that's important.
I love dancing. In my work in progress, Ryder's Heart, Vianna doesn't know how to dance, well, how to slow dance to a country tune. Ryder, of course, teaches her. And not in public at the bar, but at home, to music only they can hear. Aw, I'm getting all...aw. For a totally different dance moment, in Keltic Flight, Korin dances only for Nanceen. In the bar this time. On amateur strip night. This dance makes me grin.
Flowers should be given at any and all times. So there. This best gift of love doesn't come from one of my books, but rather from my day job. For the past couple of years there's been a fund raiser that fills the halls (and sometimes my walk-in refrigerator) with rose bouquets. Last year, one of the pre-kindergarten classes gave me a rose. I still have that rose, dried and hanging next to the calendar over my desk. Simply thinking about how proud those precious young ones were to hand me a flower makes me smile.
And isn't that good feeling what gifts of love are all about?
Find out about the Addictive Reads prizes for this blog hop by visiting our event site here. Follow the links below to visit all the blogs to increase your chances of winning.
And if you leave me a comment and mention the best flowers you've ever received, I'll enter you in a drawing for a flowery stretchy bracelet.
May all your Valentine wishes come true!
