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from Just Romance Me and a bunch of your favorite authors.

 Baby, It's Cold Outside Blog Hop

January 3-5

Monday Mistletoe

"The mistletoe is hung up near a doorway or in the kitchen and young men have the privilege of kissing girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases."

The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is one of my favorites and I believe a lot of kissing under the mistletoe has been going on for ages.  In today's tradition the part about plucking the berries (which, incidentally, are poisonous), and then all kissing under the mistletoe ends when the berries run out!

As a little girl, my mother told me how a young lady standing under a ball of mistletoe, brightly trimmed with evergreens, ribbons, and ornaments, cannot refuse to be kissed. Such a kiss could mean deep romance or lasting friendship and goodwill. If the girl remained unkissed, she cannot expect not to marry the following year.

I found references of "kissing under the mistletoe" in Celtic rituals and Norse mythology. In Gaul, the land of the Celts, for instance, the Druids considered it a sacred plant. It was believed to have medicinal qualities and mysterious supernatural powers.  (Hmm... I wonder what kind of "power" I would have if I wear a piece of mistletoe on my coat.  After all... I am Scandinavian.)

The Norse myth of Baldur. Baldur's death and resurrection is one of the most fascinating Norse myths and stands at the beginning of the history of mistletoe as a "kissing" plant.

Baldur's mother was the Norse goddess, Frigga. When Baldur was born, Frigga made each and every plant, animal and inanimate object promise not to harm Baldur. But Frigga overlooked the mistletoe plant -- and the mischievous god of the Norse myths, Loki, took advantage of this oversight.

Ever the prankster, Loki tricked one of the other gods into killing Baldur with a spear fashioned from mistletoe. The demise of Baldur, a vegetation deity in the Norse myths, brought winter into the world, although the gods did eventually restore Baldur to life.

After which Frigga pronounced the mistletoe sacred,
 ordering that from now on it should bring love rather than death into the world.

Happily complying with Frigga's wishes, any two people passing under the plant from now on would celebrate Baldur's resurrection by kissing under the mistletoe.

I have my mistletoe hanging. 

Do you?

 

 

 

it a sacred plant. It was believed to have medicinal qualities and mysterious supernatural powers.  (Hmm... I wonder what kind of "power" I would have if I wear a piece of mistletoe on my coat.  After all... I am Scandinavian.)

The Norse myth of Baldur. Baldur's death and resurrection is one of the most fascinating Norse myths and stands at the beginning of the history of mistletoe as a "kissing" plant.

Baldur's mother was the Norse goddess, Frigga. When Baldur was born, Frigga made each and every plant, animal and inanimate object promise not to harm Baldur. But Frigga overlooked the mistletoe plant -- and the mischievous god of the Norse myths, Loki, took advantage of this oversight.

Ever the prankster, Loki tricked one of the other gods into killing Baldur with a spear fashioned from mistletoe. The demise of Baldur, a vegetation deity in the Norse myths, brought winter into the world, although the gods did eventually restore Baldur to life. After which Frigga pronounced the mistletoe sacred, ordering that from now on it should bring love rather than death into the world.

Happily complying with Frigga's wishes, any two people passing under the plant from now on would celebrate Baldur's resurrection by kissing under the mistletoe.

I have my mistletoe hanging. 

Do you?

 

 

 

Free Fantasy Download

Last FREE day!

 

Regular price is $ 7.99 USD

Epic Fantasy Romance

 

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE DOWNLOAD 

 

 

If you enjoyed Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, you will LOVE this book. There is no swearing or sex in this series. Due to adult theme, it is Not intended for young YA readers. Genre is NEW ADULT/FANTASY/ROMANCE FANTASY

Author M.E. Lorde creates a gripping story set in the earth’s future, where the youth of the world have the privilege and burden of saving humanity from extinction.

 

******************************

Years before an apocalyptic event, a new means of travel is discovered. The modern technology comes just in the nick of time. Though none can return to a past-time in order to fix what men have destroyed, some candidates can now move forward to begin anew.

Highly intelligent, Tolomay Ramey was trained since birth to do one thing… to lead others into the future of the ‘clean earth’ where both nature and mankind are given a fresh start. Leaving the pod community behind, she arrives as the only living ‘Original’ from the first team of candidates. The clean world, abundant with plant and animal life, is covered in green for the first time in hundreds of years.

Unfortunately for this young girl and despite the beauty of the replenished earth, nothing she experiences from the moment she arrives is as expected. Alone for three years, until others finally join her, she learns to survive off the land, but that will not be what she finds most challenging. What will happen when a strong-headed young man arrives with the mindset that he should have been the first in this paradise? Can independent Tolomay and fiercely confident Kenter meet in the middle? Can the clean world become what it was intended to be for the new community, or will all thoughts of peace be left a thousand years in the past?

 

Thursday 13 - Holiday Hoties

 

This post doesn't need explaining.

 But you might need a napkin to wipe away the drool.

 

1.

 

2.

 

3.

 

4.

 

5.

 

6.

This is for my favorite fan, Gerry, who reminds me to be fair.

7.

 

8.

 

9, 10, 11, and 12 

 

13.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Humpday Hottie

Look who fell asleep in the barn.

Poor fella works so hard.

Tuesday Teaser - Take Me Home

The mascot of my high school was the Lumberjacks. Later alumni purchased a statue of a hunky lumberjack posing with axe in his large hands, muscles bulging, to stand in the front courtyard. He inspired many wayward thoughts in our teenage minds back then.

 After all... who doesn't love a hot lumberjack?

I live in the woods and dream one up on occasion.

Now, let's take that sexy fella and throw him into our mature, womanly minds. 

 

Here's one in a sexy cover we can take home. 

Blurb:

Logging manager Matt Shaw is wary when Kayla Edwards, the owner of Mountain Specialty Spices, hires his firm to harvest timber on her Appalachian property. It's a place he knows better than the back of his calloused hand—it's his family's old homestead, lost years ago in a painful foreclosure. He's hauled himself up from dirt-floor poor since then, and resolves to stay professional…but Kayla's vivacious beauty makes it hard to focus on his job.

Home. That's how army-brat-turned-foodie Kayla feels about her new mountain hideaway. What's more, the hottest lumberjack ever to swing an axe has agreed to manage her timber crop and get the old maple syrup operations back on tap. Matt's ruggedly sexy ways and passion for the land have her falling hard.

The heat between them grows wild…until Kayla discovers that Matt hasn't been up front with her. She feels devastated and, worst of all, used. How can Matt prove it's her he wants and not her land?

Do I have your attention?

Here's your teaser for today:

Kayla waved a hand at the tree. “Tell me what you’re doing.”

“Measuring the DBH.”

“DBH?”

“Diameter, breast high. To make a mathematical estimate on how much board footage is in each tree.”

Sharp white teeth nibbled at her lip. “Uh, you’re like what, six foot something?”

“Six-one.”

“Right. And I’m five-eight. We have different breast height. How does that work?”

His eyes dropped to her bustline and that smear. Her breast height would fit snugly into his chest and would work just fine. He cleared his throat.

“There is a leeway of about twelve to eighteen inches.” He motioned to the hickory. “Just use the center of your chest. A measurement from anywhere in that range normally works.”

A purring sound poured from her throat as she stepped closer. The tips of her breasts grazed his shirtfront. She tilted her head and looked up at him with a playful slant along her lips. “Look at that. You’re right. This range works pretty well.”

She smelled of sharp spices, fresh pine and sun-warmed woman. His stomach clenched with a hunger that had little to do with food. Every masculine instinct he had screamed to drop his head and kiss her, to push her back against that hickory and show her a hardwood of a different variety.

“Lumberjacks are sexy as hell, know that?”

Heat brewed between them. Heat he couldn’t return out of self-preservation.

“I’m not a lumberjack, I’m a forester.”

Her fingers lifted, tracing along his upper arm, and he fought the urge to tighten his biceps. “What’s the difference?”

Matt gritted his teeth. “About a hundred years.”

Kayla moved in. Full breasts pressed into his chest, and her hands dropped to his waist. She circled her hips and his erection leaped. Her tongue touched her lip again. “Hmm, how much does wood grow in a hundred years?”

Lust tightened, drew hard inside him until the only thing he could feel was his dick throbbing in his pants. He wanted her naked and under him, now. His feet moved without thought, forcing her back until her spine hit the hickory, his free hand curling around her hip.

A soft gasp escaped her but her hands flew to his shoulders. Dark pupils wide and shining, Kayla stared, tilting her chin up to offer him her mouth. Her kiss was his for the taking. He lowered his head, his lips a mere fraction of an inch from hers.

“Kayla.” He swallowed his groan. “I can’t.”

 

The Best Journeys are the Ones That Bring You Home... Country Roads

TAKE ME HOME -Inez Kelley
Book 1 in the Country Roads Series
November 25, 2013 - Carina Press

 

 

Buy links:

Amz, B&N, ARe, Carina, iTunes

 

*****************************************************************************

INEZ KELLEY was born and bred in the mountains of West Virginia. Although you can never take the hillbilly out of the girl, her knight in shining armor transplanted her to the Midwest along with their teenage drama queen, Spawnetta, and the Demolition Duo – Damien and his twin, the Omen.

Signup for Inez’s newsletter to get sneak peeks and contest entries. You can visit her at her website http://inezkelley.com/  Follow Inez on twitter at @Inez_Kelley or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/inez.Kelley

 

 

 

 

Thursday 13 - SEX AND STATISTICS

 

1. The typical person spends about 600 hours having sex between the ages of 20 and 70.

2. Americans spend twice as much money on pornography than they do on cookies. (Unless you eat Oreos.)

3. A survey in Cosmopolitan magazine said that foreplay usually last 14 to 17 minutes for the average married couple, and that the man typically reaches orgasm after six minutes of copulation. (Imagine the lab testing room for this study.)

4. According to the Earthsave Foundation, the sperm count of the average American male is down 30 percent from 30 years ago.

5. According to Runner's World magazine, two out of three runners say that they fantasize about sex while running. On the other hand, one out of 11 fantasizes about running while having sex.

6. On average, it takes two tablespoons of blood to get a man's penis erect. (Who measures?)

7. According to one theory, people who chew a lot of ice have a high sex drive.

8. According to Archives of General Medicine, coffee drinkers have sex more frequently and enjoy it more than non-coffee drinkers.

9. Master's and Johnson's stages of the sexual response cycle are excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. (Real romantic terms we got here.)

10. The average time that a man lasts after penetration is two minutes. (The men in our romance novels are above average.)

11. According to the Hite Report, candles are the artificial device used more frequently by women when masturbating. (Ok... that is just weird.)

12. According to Kinsey Report (1953), 15 percent of the female population was capable of multiple orgasms. (There is help for that.)

13. According to Susan Lark, MD, director of the PMS Self-Help Center in Los Altos, Calif., having sex with orgasm relieves menstrual cramps because the vigorous muscle action moves blood and other fluids away from congested organs. (I can vouch for this one. It really works!!!)


 

 

Humpday Hottie

I've missed so much of the series, I've added the boxed season set to my Christmas list.

Who else enjoys this hottie...I mean this show?

 

Tuesday's Tasty Teaser - Love Unlocked

SQUEEEE!  Today's Tasty Teaser is from Libby Waterford's new release, Love Unlocked.

It's a contemporary romantic suspense from Decadent Publishing.
Many of you know I was an artist before I became a writer so this book is special to me. 

It's soooo steamy, I can't wait to read my copy!
Congrats Libby!!!!! 

Retired art thief Eve Caplin has come all the way from Paris to start over in a small Central California town. When she locks herself out of her new house she gets much more than she bargained for in Hudson Cleary, part-time locksmith and world famous artist. Eve tries to resist Hudson’s seductive pull, but can’t refuse his help when a man from her past blackmails her into stealing a ten million dollar painting from under the owner’s nose. Hudson not only has the key to stealing the painting, Eve fears he may hold the key to her damaged heart as well.

Hudson hasn’t picked up a paintbrush in two years when he unlocks Eve Caplin’s door and the mysterious beauty arouses much more than just his creative impulses. He needs Eve in his studio and wants her in his bed. When he discovers that danger follows the woman he’s quickly falling for, he must decide how far over the line he’s willing to go to protect her. Will he lose his heart, his muse, and his freedom all in one unforgettable night?

 

Ready to be teased some more?

Sit back and enjoy the following excerpt for Love Unlocked:

 

“So what’s the plan?”

“What do you mean?”

“The plan, you know, how are you going to steal the painting?” He spoke more calmly than he felt.

“I hardly think you need to know about that.”

“John mentioned involving me. Let me help.” He needed her to let him help her. He couldn’t stand by and let her face the threat of prison, bodily harm, or death all alone. Somewhere between her locked front door and the Rembrandt, Eve had become his to protect, and he wouldn’t let her down.

She pushed back from the bar, hands on her hips. “John was out of his mind to suggest such a thing, and you have no business being anywhere near this situation.”

God, she could be stubborn. “Then why did you tell me about it?”

She goggled at him for a moment, then ignored his question. “John and I can handle it. We have to get access to a museum fundraiser where the painting is going to be displayed and take it from there. It’s simple really. You’re not needed.”         

Hudson saw his window and he went for it. “A fundraiser? Not for the Santa Barbara Art Museum?”

She was slow to respond. “Yes, actually.”

His chest surged with relief that he could offer her something that might help her stay out of harm’s way. “I donated a print to their charity auction. It’s a joint fundraiser for the museum and for art education scholarships for low income high schoolers.”

“Of course it is,” she grumbled.

“Which means I have an invitation,” he said. “Want to be my plus one?”

She bit her lip and crossed her arms. She wouldn’t be able to turn down his perfect way in, and he’d be at her side, keeping the wolves at bay.

“It’s dangerous, you’d get us all caught.”

He smiled. He knew rationalizations when he heard them. She was going to cave any minute.

“You need my help,” he said, moving closer. “I don’t like the thought of you out there up to no good on your own.” They were so close they were practically breathing the same air.

“I won’t be alone,” she said halfheartedly. “I’ll have John.”

He wasn’t above playing dirty. He slid a hand around the back of her neck, stroking the soft hair that covered it like a waterfall. It took physical effort to keep from shuddering at the intense pleasure the sensation brought him. “I really don’t like the thought of you out with John at some swanky party. You’ll probably be dressed to the nines. High heels and everything,” he murmured.

“Jealous?” she breathed.

“Very.” And he kissed her.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | All Romance eBooks | Decadent

 What Readers are saying:

“The compelling hero and heroine have great chemistry and the thrilling plot keeps you guessing!” – Philippa on Amazon.com

 About the Author:

Libby Waterford writes California-set steamy contemporary romances. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and works off her weekly pilgrimage to In-N-Out by swimming and climbing the city’s hidden staircases.

Contact Details:
Website

 

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