TREATS FOR VALENTINES

Happy Valentine’s Day! What are your plans for today? I hope you find chocolate, flowers, jewelry, a good book, a dinner invitation--and/or whatever suits you--from your significant other. Emphasis on the good book, of course! You can understand why I'm partial to books given as gifts. Wouldn't any writer be?

Do you remember the first Valentine you received? The first Valentine's gift? I have a couple of Valentines Hero received in grade school that his mom had saved. I don't remember my first Valentine, but I do remember the first box of candy. What a surprise when I discovered a boy had slipped a heart-shaped box of candy into my school locker in seventh or eighth grade! I hadn't even realized he thought I was special, but I think I still have the box saved somewhere. Yes, I'm a pack rat. LOL Now that I think about it, I think the box contains some old Valentines I'd received.

Do you have Valentines you made your parents or that your children made for you? Yes to both for me. I have several my mom had saved that I discovered after she died and we were going through her mementos. My efforts showed a devotion to way too much glue, but my mom lovingly saved the result. Thank heavens my children are more talented than I am.

Vintage Valentine

We treasure those things given with love, don't we? No matter how poorly the gift looked, the love behind it stays with us. 

That's what romance is about. Not the cost of a gift, or how elaborate it is. We value the fact that a person we love returns the love and gives a tangible symbol of that love in return. 

My Hero has a special gift I'm not supposed to know about hidden in his office, plus he’s already announced he's taking me to dinner. When we became engaged, he warned me that he usually forgot special days and that I shouldn’t be upset if he forgot my birthday, our anniversaries, and other special occasions. Hey, he’s a true Hero, and he has never disappointed me by forgetting anything important. 
 

Since I’m a writer, you understand why I have to emphasize that there is no better gift than a book instead of candy or flowers. After all, books are not fattening and they won’t wilt. And what better book to give for Valentine’s Day than a romance? Romance offers hope that each of us can overcome obstacles to achieve our happily ever after just like the characters in our favorite novels. Art imitates life; sometimes life imitates art. 

Bold hint: If you wish to purchase my new books, the historical THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE, contemporary time travel OUT OF THE BLUE, and my novella in the Civil War anthology NORTHERN ROSES AND SOUTHERN BELLES, you can do so at The Wild Rose Press at www.thewildrosepress.com/caroline-clemmons-m-638.html.

My backlist books of contemporary SNOWFIRES, contemporary BE MY GUEST, and the linked historicals THE MOST UNSUITABLE WIFE and THE MOST UNSUITABLE HUSBAND are available at Smashwords at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/CarolineClemmons. My Kindle books are at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D154606011&field-keywords=Caroline+Clemmons. Why not give a tree-friendly gift to someone you love?

How do you plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day?


To see my post on the history of St. Valentine's Day, check Anna Kathryn Lanier's blog today at http://annakathrynlanier.blogspot.com/
Please come back on Wednesday, February 16th when A. J. Nuest will be my guest as the third part of the Roses Valentine Blog Tour with more prizes to offer. Be sure to comment so you will be entered in the drawing for our prizes!

 Have a great Valentine's Day!