Valentine’s Day has come and gone. By now, the red roses are in full bloom in the vase. The box of chocolates is half-eaten...okay, mostly eaten. And that little Teddy bear has assumed its rightful place in your home. But really, does Valentine’s Day have to be just for one day? Why not celebrate love a little longer before going to back to the usual routine of work, school or chores?
Luckily, February is Creative Romance Month. The entire month is devoted to those special, unique, and creative ways we can show our love. Ways that go beyond the candlelight dinner, red hearts and cupids. So I asked some popular romance authors, “How do you keep romance creative?”
“My husband and I take long drives together in his convertible,” says Kathy Carmichael, author of the best-selling novel, Hot Flash. “He also tends to the rose garden behind our home and brings me fresh-cut roses throughout the year. In a marriage, it’s the small things that keep you romantic.”
Tara Spicer, author of The Lady in the Attic, goes hi-tech when it comes to romance. “My husband and I send each other romantic texts just to say, ‘I love you.’”
Karen Rose, best-selling author of You Belong to Me, and her husband are significant in their gestures. Twenty-five years after she lost a precious sterling heart necklace he’d given her, which left her heartbroken, he presented her with an exact replica.
In my latest novel, Almost a Bride, Kip Lockehart and Ivy Hammond are given creative romantic assignments—that also happen to be sexy and fun! So, how can you celebrate Creative Romance Month? Here are just a few assignments.
Plan one small “I love you” gesture for every day. A love note. A sweet email. One picked flower. A piece of chocolate on a pillow.
Make a romantic video, using your camera or cell phone. Tell the person you love how much he or she means to you. Or go around to the favorite places where you dated and talk about those significant moments in your relationship. “And this is our favorite coffee shop where I first told you, “I love you.” Share your video on YouTube.
Instead of going out to dinner, simply go out for dessert. Head to that fancy restaurant known for its deliciously decadent treats and make a meal of it, savoring every morsel.
Become literary lovers; read to each other in bed. Anything from a small book of poems to a red hot novel would be a fun treat. Books make a perfect gift in February. After all, we’re here at Cocktails and Books!
Fittingly, February is also National Wedding Month. (Yes, I’m in my glory!) Attend a large, citywide group wedding, civil union, or vow renewal ceremony. You can simply watch this amazing spectacle, take the plunge yourself, or renew your existing vows. Any choice is quite creative, and hopefully, you will keep the romance going for as long as you both shall live.
About the Book
Kip Lockehart owes his foster brother his life. He repays the debt by agreeing to participate in a new sex appeal study. From the first sizzling assignment, Kip is immediately intrigued by the lovely Ivy, who’s innocently curious about what makes a woman sensual. Kip is more than happy to show her. But as each passionate assignment brings them closer, he fears they may break the study’s number one rule―don’t fall in love. But when he can’t stop picturing Ivy as his bride, he sets out to convince her some rules were made to be broken.
Excerpt
Chapter One
I’m sorry, Ivy. To be blunt, you’re too much Madonna and not enough whore. You always will be.
The callous words still echoed in Ivy Hammond’s head as she paced her apartment balcony. Exactly one month ago to the day, her fiancé—ex-fiancé, that is—had used those very words to explain why he was breaking off their engagement. Four weeks before the actual wedding date. A New England, springtime wedding that should have taken place today.
Instead of exchanging wedding vows on this sunny May day, Ivy had spent the better part of the afternoon hiding out on her apartment balcony, mulling over the key phrases that still haunted her. Too much Madonna, not enough whore. Her ex-fiancé had wanted more. More adventure. More risk. She’d told him she could do that, from rock climbing to cliff diving. But he’d explained he’d wanted more adventure in the bedroom and he couldn’t have that with her.
Even after a month, and an entire afternoon of pacing, Ivy still couldn’t shake those words from her head.
Nor could she forget her initial reaction when Travis broke the engagement. She’d merely stood there in stunned silence while he recanted his offer of marriage, his expression deadpan. When he held out an open palm to take back the ring, she’d been too dumbfounded by his tactless statement to do anything but comply.
When the initial shock wore off, she was left confused by what Travis meant. She was too much Madonna? After a little online research, Ivy learned about the Madonna/Whore Complex, a concept that wielded a dual-edged sword. Travis may have wanted to marry a sweet, virginal, upstanding young woman, the kind of woman you take home to Mother, but between the sheets, he wanted a wildcat. A hellion. A woman to be reckoned with sexually.
She could be all those things, couldn’t she? She’d later tried to tell him she was more than happy to learn and explore such uncharted territories with him. He just had to be patient. But he’d turned her down, bluntly saying he shouldn’t have to take the time. Her cheeks still cooked in humiliation over his flat-out rejection.
Ivy halted her pacing and gripped the balcony railing for support. While she stared out at the other buildings’ rooftops that spanned the horizon of Leeview, Massachusetts, she struggled with the incessant sting that came with being accused of possessing the lukewarm sexuality of a “nice girl.”
She turned to her best friend who sat at the glass-top patio table. As Karina read her nursing newsletter with one hand, she gripped an icy glass of lemonade with the other. All the while, she chomped heartily on her nicotine gum. The woman knew too many ways to keep her mouth occupied while trying to lick her smoking habit. A monumental task for a person who’d puffed her way through nursing school, right up to taking a new job at the pulmonary unit of the local hospital.
“Karina, you don’t have to stay with me. Really, I don’t need a babysitter. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll be desolate and mateless forever.”
“Desolate and mateless? What’s with the marital fatalism? You’re only twenty-five. We’re talking your first broken engagement here.”
“I’m in no mood to argue the point. I’ve already got enough love-life problems on the brain.” Ivy resumed her back-and-forth stride, feeling like a caged-in panther, instinctively anxious and desperate to lunge free.
“See? I knew you’d be upset today. That’s why I came,” Karina remarked. “Who wouldn’t be freaked out? What you’re going through is perfectly natural. It makes sense to be so upset.”
“Me? Upset? Why would I be upset? Today was supposed to be my wedding day. But it’s not. I was supposed to have a beautiful seaside wedding. But I’m not. And why? Because Travis wants a woman who’s a gold medal Olympian in the bedroom, a nasty girl.” Ivy let out a growl.
“Trust me, Ivy, you better come to terms with Travis’ sex hang-up now. Every man suffers, to some degree, from the Madonna/Whore Complex.”
“Maybe so, but I don’t have to stand for it!” Ivy threw her hands into the air out of exasperation.
Buy the Book At: Amazon
About the Author
I love this post, Kimberly! And your newest book Almost a Bride sounds great. I'll have to check it out. :)
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