Celebrating romantic love - Kandy Shepherd

I baked this cake for my husband’s birthday a few weeks ago and people are suggesting I make it for him again for Valentine’s Day. But I most likely won’t—because we don’t tend to make much of a fuss about Valentine’s Day.

My husband believes Valentine’s Day is only for unmarried people—and as we’re coming up for twenty-seven years together that kinda counts us out! There’s also the fact that February 14 falls between his birthday in late January and mine in February and Valentine’s Day seems to fall through the cracks.

It’s not that my husband isn’t romantic, he’s known for his thoughtful gifts. One memorable one was the heart-shaped amethyst ring he bought me for our tenth wedding anniversary. (Okay, so I had pointed it out in the jeweler’s window accompanied by a big hint, so he had help!)

Amethyst is also my birthstone (February) and purple my favorite color so I have lots of reasons for loving this ring. Interestingly enough, the Christian Roman martyr St Valentine, remembered for supposedly conducting clandestine weddings for soldiers forbidden to marry, is said to have worn an amethyst ring. So my heart shaped amethyst ring seems truly symbolic of romantic love and a Valentine’s reminder all year round. That said, I certainly appreciate flowers and heart-shaped chocolates!

What about you? Is Valentine’s Day important to you? Romantic? Over-commercialised? Exclusionary or exciting for single people? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I can’t gift you with cake or jewelry for Valentine’s Day, but I can share a copy of my latest Harlequin Romance A Diamond in Her Stocking.

Make a comment to be in the draw for a signed copy of A Diamond in Her Stocking. Please include your email address in your comment if you want to be included in the draw.

Kandy Shepherd is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Watch out for Kandy’s next release for Harlequin Romance From Paradise to…Pregnant! in June.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook and Twitter

Life Outside of the Office by Fiona Lowe

I made a pretty big mistake last year...I misunderstood my editor and confused the 'production' date of Runaway Groom, the third book in my Wedding Fever Trilogy, with the hand in date of the first draft of the book. What did this mean? I lost SEVEN weeks of writing time. Holey Moley! So as you can imagine, I haven't done much lately except work. However, the book got handed in and I've had a week off before returning to the desk today and tackling my edits. So what did I do?

I visited a friend who has recently moved to the coast.

I went to the movies and saw this art house French film, A Woman in Paris.




I baked my father a flour-less chocolate cake which was amazing! The recipe is here

And yesterday I caught up with some writers including fellow Tote Bags n Blogs contributors, Anna Campbell and Annie West.

It's been a fabulous week out of the cave and I'm ready to return tomorrow.

How do you celebrate the end of a work project?

Saved By The Bride is the first novel in the Wedding Fever trilogy. To follow the story of Annika and Finn, Bridey and Hank and the quirky folk of Whitetail, head to Amazon, Kobo, Nook, Carina Press and all other places eBooks are sold. Picture Perfect Wedding is available for pre-order and is out August 2013

Fiona Lowe is a RITA^® and R*BY award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Christina Hollis: Families and Food...

 

Although The wedding happened over a week ago now, thinking about it still brings a smile to my face. Wasn't it wonderful? And not only was it a lovely spectacle, it gave millions of people the chance to spend some time together with their families, if only in front of the TV!  Did you hear that one of the two royal wedding cakes was a chocolate refrigerator cake of the type William had loved since he was a little boy? Just about every family has their own favourite recipe for this-crushed sweet biscuits set in a melted mixture of butter, sugar, golden syrup and cocoa, then given a chocolate topping. Princess Diana always tried to give her boys as normal a childhood as she could in the circumstances, so I wonder if refrigerator cake conjures up happy memories for him of time spent in the kitchen together? I can remember standing on a chair when I was tiny, 'helping' to make this for every family get-together and I'm sure lots of you do, too. a family, we don't spend enough time together, but luckily we managed to have lunch together at The Organic Farm Shop in Cirencester, while DD was at home over Easter. Eating meals around the same table is one of our favourite ways of spending time together, but family life has changed so much over the past few years, for many people it's now a rare treat.  Once upon a time just about everyone in England sat down to a roast dinner at Sunday lunchtime. It would be beef & Yorkshire pudding, or chicken with all the trimmings. Nowadays families are more fragmented, and much less confined by tradition. We're all more likely to grab a sandwich at midday and then maybe enjoy a barbecue later - but only while the sun is shining!

What's your favourite recipe for a happy family get-together?

Christina Hollis writes Modern Romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon, which appear as Harlequin Presents/Extra in the US. You can follow her on Facebook and Tumblr as Christina Hollis, while on Twitter she's @christinabooks. Visit her website at http://www.christinahollis.com between now and the end of May to enter her latest competition to win signed books and other goodies!