Christina Hollis— Happy Valentine's Day!

A Valentine, just for you.

Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s not only we humans who are in the mood for love at this time of year. Wildlife is warming up, too. 

Tradition says St Valentine's Day is when birds choose their mates. In actual fact, they start scouting round for partners and possible nest sites as soon as the hours of daylight increase, and the days get noticeably longer. 

We’ve had small birds chasing and displaying around our garden for weeks now.  Last week, I found the outer shell of a wren’s nest in the ivy behind one of our outhouses. That’s not to say we’ll be seeing babies in it any time soon. Mr Wren builds several homes, then invites a likely female to inspect all his available real estate. The birds only really get down to the business of raising a family when the female has chosen her favourite site.

During one very mild winter a few years ago, our local news reported a blackbird sitting on a nest she’d built behind a store’s Christmas display of plastic reindeer. The decorations had to stay in place until the beginning of February, to give the chicks time to safely fly the nest.

My surprise anniversary present

My husband is wonderfully romantic. We met on a blind date. He swept me straight off my feet, and they’ve hardly touched the ground since that first meeting. He chooses a Valentine card according to the words inside, rather than the picture on the outside (although that has to be good, too). He also manages to think up lovely surprises. I don’t know how he’s going to top the reconstruction of my wedding bouquet he commissioned from our local florist for our most recent wedding anniversary, though!

What’s the most romantic thing that’s ever happened to you? I’ll pick a comment at random after 19th February, and the winner will receive a copy of my latest release, Heart Of A Hostage.

When she isn't cooking, gardening or beekeeping, Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women.  Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and she’s sold over two million books worldwide. You can catch up with her at her blog, on Twitter, and Facebook and see a full list of her published books here.

 Her current release, Heart of A Hostage, is part of her Princes Of Kharova series published by The Wild Rose Press. It's available from http://bit.ly/1iNf2Gw in the US, and from myBook.to/HeartOfAHostage around the world. To find out more about Christina, you can sign up for her newsletter here.

Christina Hollis: Three Ways To Give Your New Year A Great Start

Here's how to raise your spirits from their post-holiday slump...

Feed The Birds...A plague of grey squirrels meant we had to temporarily stop using our bird tables. Watching birds is a big part of our everyday lives, and suddenly the wintry garden was still and quiet. 

At least finding stocking fillers was easy this Christmas. We all bought each other squirrel-proof bird feeders! It’s lovely to welcome back the local winged hoards. 

Our new feeders hang from smooth, squirrel-proof metal poles, but in this battle of wits I’m sure those pesky egg-thieves won’t be put off for long. Most of these feeding stations are close to the house, but a good distance from bushes where our cat might hide. He spends a lot of his time indoors and has always preferred catching furry critters to birds, but you never know...

Give A Bit Back...another way to raise your spirits is by helping out your local food bank  They will be grateful for donations of dry goods like pasta, rice and dried potatoes, tinned food and long-life goods such as UHT milk. Toiletries, deodorant, toothbrushes and toothpaste aren’t glamorous, but they’re needed and always welcome. And rather than throw away unwanted presents in the post-holiday clear-out, see if a charity shop would like them. Hand on decent copies of magazines to the waiting room in your local clinic or hospital. They'll make hanging around a bit less stressful. 

Find out more at http://bit.ly/1iNf2Gw

Be Good To Yourself... get some fresh air. During the shortest, darkest days of the year, things always look better in daylight. Even if the weather’s foul, get outside the four walls of home for an hour or two. The sun’s still up there somewhere, and exposure to natural light will raise your seratonin levels to increase your feel-good factor.  If you feel the need for company, there are bound to be other people out and about, trying to work off all that good holiday food. Once you've had some exercise, you'll have earned some time alone with a good book!

What’s your favourite way of lightening the post-holiday gloom? Comment below for the chance to win a copy of my latest release, Heart Of A Hostage. I'll draw the name of the winner at random on 21st January.

When she isn't cooking, gardening or beekeeping, Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women.  Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and she’s sold nearly three million books worldwide. Her latest book, Heart Of A Hostage, has just been released. You can catch up with Christina at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com, and see a full list of her published books on her website.