UPDATE: The winner is Colleen C.!

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Hi, everyone! Mia Hopkins here. I write contemporary romance and erotic fiction. I’m also a food-obsessed home cook and baker. Today I’m happy to be back on Delilah’s blog sharing a sweet recipe.

In my book Cowboy Valentine, hero Caleb MacKinnon is a rancher’s son whose family also owns an almond orchard. Before his girl Cora leaves for college, Caleb spends long, sweet afternoons under the almond trees making out with her (and um, doing other stuff).

Cowboy Valentine is the first installment of my Cowboy Cocktail series. It’s also my first published book, so Cora and Caleb will always have a special place in my heart.

Caleb’s almond orchard was on my mind last week as I was making a fresh batch of marzipan. If you’ve never had marzipan, it’s sweetened almond paste that’s often shaped into little fruits or pigs. Like almost everything in the world, it tastes even better with chocolate.

The following recipe is ridiculously easy. You can get almond flour and almond extract on Amazon; I got mine at the local Whole Foods. Blitz everything up in a food processor and in a couple minutes you’re ready to roll (literally).

Today only, Cowboy Valentine is on sale for 99 cents. To sweeten the deal, I’d also like to offer a $5 Amazon gift card to one commenter below who answers this question: Inquiring minds want to know. Where did your sweetest, most romantic kiss take place?

Please include your email address. Contest ends at midnight PST on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016. I’ll contact the winner the next day.

Good luck! Thanks, everyone.

Wishing you good reads (and good eats),

Mia
XOXO

MARZIPAN KISSES

adapted from Korena in the Kitchen
makes about one pound

For marzipan:

1 ¼ cup almond flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill blanched finely ground almond flour)
2 cups powdered sugar plus more for rolling
¼ cup corn syrup
½ tsp. almond extract
1 tbsp. water
red food coloring

For decoration:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
sprinkles, nonpareils
small paper baking cups

In a food processor, pulse the almond flour and powdered sugar to break up any lumps. Add corn syrup and almond extract. Pulse to combine. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in 1 tbsp. of water. Stop as soon as the mixture begins to form clumps.

Line your work surface with plastic wrap. Dump the marzipan onto your work surface. Carefully add a tiny drop of red food coloring and knead the marzipan until the color is evenly distributed. (You might want to wear disposable gloves.) Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Roll marzipan into balls; use a little powdered sugar to help with any stickiness. Decorate some balls with nonpareils in a daisy design. Use a small spatula to top the other marzipan balls with chocolate. Leave as is or add sprinkles.  Let chocolate cool and place in paper cups. Store in the refrigerator.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT COWBOY VALENTINE

“Cowboy Valentine delivers a fast-paced, well-written smoking read.”
—Reader Girls Blog

“This is a yummy erotic romance…You can expect some really erotic scenes and a fast moving plot in this steaming novella.”
—V’s Reads

“From the beginning, the chemistry between Cora and Caleb is hot and stays hot.”
—Travels n Reads

“Cowboy Valentine was a scrumptious little treat filled with sizzling chemistry, hot sex, and just enough sweetness to leave me wanting more.”
—Crystal Blogs Books

BUY THE BOOK

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mia Hopkins writes lush romances starring fun, sexy characters who love to get down and dirty. She’s a sucker for working class heroes, brainy heroines and wisecracking best friends. When she’s not lost in a story, Mia spends her time cooking, gardening, traveling, volunteering and looking for her keys. In a past life, she was a classroom teacher and still has a pretty good “teacher voice” and “teacher stare.” She lives in the heart of Los Angeles with her roguish husband and two waggish dogs.

Connect with Mia!
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Google+ | Instagram

So it’s Valentine’s Day, allegedly the most romantic day of the year. More money is spent on flowers, candy—especially chocolate—and gifts for that special someone than at any other time of the year. I guess that’s because Valentine’s day allows us to focus on a single person. The special someone who makes our heart beat just a little faster, brings the roses to our cheeks, and causes …   never mind. TMI.

The best part of writing Romance Novels is the opportunity to remember the ways in which my special Valentine makes all the things in my life better. And because my Darling Husband is my own personal hero, I can remember with vivid detail the first kiss.

Kissing is an art form, and few people get it right. In the movies, on the silver screen, we often see the most handsome men lunging in for the first kiss by practically attacking the heroine. Make no mistake, if you are an avid reader of romance, you know better. Even in the heat of passion, the hero is serious about his kissing, and will make sure he gets it right and the heroine will never forget him—or that first kiss.

Kissing is more than a prelude to intimacy. It is, in fact, an act of healing. Kissing releases endorphins. You know what they are: those funny little things that melt the tension, restore our enthusiasm and restore energy. Kissing cultivates the closeness in a relationship which promotes feelings of romantic fulfillment.

Sadly, most of us get it wrong. In today’s fast-paced society, we all, at one time or another, deliver quick pecks that send the message “this is all I can afford right now” or our minds wander to other things even during longer kisses. This is self-defeating behavior, if you are kissing and wondering whether or not the kiss will lead to more intimate behavior, such as lovemaking.

Most of the time, we just have poor role models for kissing. In TV and the movies, kissing is usually an aggressive advance with lips roughly mashing together. Overt puckering, the quick smooch, or mashing of the lips suggests that kissers have a set notion of how a kiss is going to be, rather than letting it evolve, an exchange if you will, between two consenting adults.

So, here are some guidelines for Kissing!

1. Take your time. Surprise someone special with a slow, sensual kiss. Put your hands on the sides of their face and turn them gently toward you. Look into their eyes—be sure to take your time—and take some slow deep breaths. Pretend your are never going to see them again as you are at this moment. Keep the eye contact as you draw closer. Make sure you value the connection, not just of lips to lips, but a whole body event.
2. Spend this time experiencing the kiss. Be aware of all the sensations the kissing stirs in both body and soul.
3. Make sure you say it when your lover gets it right. “When you kissed me first thing this morning, I carried it with me all day long. It soothed the ache of a stressful day and energized me to come home to you”.
4. Don’t ignore the urge to sigh with pleasure or murmur approval. If it gives you pleasure, moan. Just be sure to express your feelings.
5. Mirror the breathing of your partner. This small act creates a profound connection between lovers.
6. While you’re in his arms, exercise some spontaneity. Dance with joy, let your partner take the lead in every other kiss, and just see where kissing leads you.
7. Don’t forget to use your tongue. Remember, the swirl of a tongue across the seam of the lips is an invitation for your partner to play. Teeth can also add to the moment by delivering nips, and nibbling makes an even greater connection.

Don’t forget the other ways to make your Valentine feel special. My DH is a lover of all things chocolate, and I like to make him special treats for every special occasion. The following recipe is quick and easy. I’ll bet you have everything you need in the pantry.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Treats.

½ cup crunchy peanut butter
¼ cup crushed salted pretzels
½ cup chocolate chips

Mix the peanut butter with the crushed pretzels in a small bowl. Chill in the freezer at least 15 minutes. Roll a teaspoon of the mixture into a ball, place on wax paper lined sheet and return to the freezer for about 1 hour. Make sure the balls are firm. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, (this takes about one minute) and coat the frozen balls with the melted chocolate.  Return the balls to the wax papered tray and refrigerate for one hour. I place them in mini muffin liners to serve.

Enjoy!

Ane Ryan Walker
HerStoryCalled.com

UPDATE: The winners are…Pat Freely, Debra G, and Amy T!

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I’ve another new shorty for you to enjoy! Well, new if you’ve never read Lesbian Lust, and twice as long as it was in Licks… I like to make sure the shorties I publish individually are at lease 5,000 words long, and if they are not, I promise to add a little something extra. Since The Weekend came in at just over 4,700 words, I added a story I’ve never published before—Soldier Girls. So enjoy! And don’t you just love the cover?!

That’s what this weekend was all about. A last chance to renew our connection. Or maybe this was goodbye…

Includes a bonus story, Soldier Girls, at the end!

Note: This original short story may be short in length, but it’s not short in passion!

Purchase here!

I just thought I might mention two other recent shorty releases that are doing rather well… Plus that brand new shorty collection that’s out…

The Hired Hand is still #1 on the LGBT short reads list! And I love the notes readers are sending me regarding my latest Stepbrothers Stepping Out story! And do you know what a great value Strokes, Vol. 3 is? Especially now? That $0.99 price will not last long!

Thanks for your support, everyone! And click on the covers, if you’d like to check them out!

Excerpt from Soldier Girls…

Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 1992

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” didn’t last past drinks at dinner.

Sergeant Kim Prescott eased off her dark green Army jacket and hung it on the seat behind her. The movement stretched the lighter green blouse across her breasts. She must have caught me glancing, because her brown eyes narrowed. “Too bad you have to head back to Gordon this weekend.”

“Gordon” was Fort Gordon, Georgia. I’d been lucky to snag a slot in a two-week course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where I’d shared a classroom table with SGT Prescott. We’d bonded over stories of both our stints in Desert Storm and our inability to quit cigarettes now we were stateside.

Of course, all the chit-chat was riddled with subtext. I couldn’t control my need to ogle her amazing figure. She couldn’t seem to stop teasing me. Like now. A shoulder eased back, pushing out her full breasts, ensuring I’d stare a moment longer. Then she bent toward me again, the table between us. Her fingers stroked the back of the hand gripping my beer bottle. It was a quick touch, really, but I jerked.

“Easy,” she said. “It’s not like I’m hitting on you.” Then she looked at me again, giving me a stare that challenged while her expression shuttered up.

I knew the look. If I laughed it off, that would end the pass. We’d both edge away from where we currently sat, hunched over the table toward each other, ostensibly to hear better in the loud bar. We’d find an excuse to cut the evening short and go to our separate billets. One had to be careful in this environment, because one misstep could end a reputation and a career. And as effed up as the DoD policy was, I liked my job and took pride in the fact I was a good soldier. I wasn’t going to risk everything because I like the curve of Kim Prescott’s breasts.

However, her stare continued. Temptation proved too great to resist.

Beneath the table, I slipped off a shoe and ran my toes up the inside of her calf. “What do you say we ditch this place and head back to my room? I’m getting hoarse from shouting.”

Pass accepted.

We retrieved our jackets, settled the check, and walked back to her car.

*~*~*

Contest

For a chance to win  your choice from among the stories on this web page—My Shorties—answer me this…

What are your Saturday plans?

Mine include making tie-die shirts with the kids to wear on Valentines Day! Sounds messy, right? And it was all my idea…

My parents divorced before I can claim any memories and both remarried quickly thereafter.  In both remarriages, I remained an only child, hated it every single day, and wished for siblings my entire childhood.  And even for some of my adulthood!

I used to day dream what having older brothers who would protect me from school bullies, and older sisters who would share the secrets of the sisterhood with me, would be like. My imagination ran rampant with how we would play, and learn from one another. How we would take care of each other, no matter what. How we would never allow anyone to hurt us, and would always be protective of one another, no matter what, or who, tried to come between us. I envisioned us all as adults, still emotionally and geographically close to one another, and with our own spouses and children as close as close could be.

As a child I wrote stories about families where the siblings were supportive, loving and protective – just what I wanted. When I grew to a writing adult, I wrote families exactly the same way, but began to add layers to the dynamics of the family structure. Now, as a writer of romantic fiction, the families I construct are part of the framework I feel make for the best storylines: loud, loyal, and hilarious. Their individual personalities feed off of, and nourish, one another.

The San Valentino family in my new release 3 WISHES ( A Candy Hearts Romance) has all of those characteristics, plus several more. This is a large, raucous, fighting and loving Italian family whom, my main character Chloe, describes this way: “Drama sticks to my family like fleas to feral cats.”

Truth.

Three generations live under the same roof, from 93-year-old matriarch Nonna Constanza, to her daughter Francesa and husband Joey, and their youngest child, who is one of 6. Weekly family dinners with all six children, their spouses and their own children are the norm in the San Valentino household. The dinner conversation is boisterous and opinionated, the food home cooked and delicious. Even though they all argue with one another, each member of this family would gladly and willingly lay down their life for another member. And they all know it.

If I could have wished a family for myself growing up, it would be this one. The San Valentino’s fight hard, work even harder, and love unconditionally. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a family such as this?

3 Wishes

Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.

Buy links: Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

Excerpt from 3 Wishes…

At about five minutes of ten I was almost ready to turn the Closed sign on the door when it opened. I heard Janie’s breath hitch and turned from where I was sweeping up. Staying open late is always a risk, with the thought thieves will invade at the end of the day.

If the guy standing at the door glancing around the shop was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be robbed.

About six foot, his hair was the color of a deer’s pelt, with autumnal golds and browns shot together in a glorious patchwork that grazed the collar of his jacket and curled a little at the ends. He wore a faded brown bomber jacket over a shirt I couldn’t see, but he had shoulders almost as wide as my doorway. A pair of well-worn jeans covered his mile long legs, and the fabric on the stress points at his knees was practically white.

“We’re about to close,” I heard myself say. “Can I help you?”

It was at that moment he looked over at me.

His face could have been sculpted by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. A broad, smooth, forehead housed naturally arched eyebrows I knew some of my gay guy friends would have paid a fortune to have on their own faces. His cheeks were carved from marble, high, smooth and deep. And his mouth, mother-of-God, his mouth. Full, thick beautiful lips sat perfectly over a chin with a dent you could shove a button into and have it stay put.

“Sorry,” he said, those fabulous lips pulling up a little shyly at the corners. “I got stuck at work and couldn’t get here until now. I’ll be quick. Promise.”

So here’s the thing: the guy was gorgeous. But even if he’d looked like a frog with raw antipasto smothering his face, I would have dropped to my knees when he opened his mouth. Warm honey, a shot of raw whiskey, and a little hot puff of smoke wafted from his mouth like a fine and rare brandy being decanted.

About the Author

Peggy Jaeger is a contemporary romance author who writes about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can’t live without them.

Her current titles, available now, include SKATER’S WALTZ, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, FIRST IMPRESSIONS, and THE VOICES OF ANGELS books 1 through 4 in her 6-book The MacQuire Women Series, published by The Wild Rose Press.

Peggy holds a master’s degree in Nursing Administration and first found publication with several articles she authored on Alzheimer’s Disease during her time running an Alzheimer’s in-patient care unit during the 1990s.

A lifelong and avid romance reader and writer, she is a member of RWA and her local New Hampshire RWA Chapter.

Website/Blog: http://peggyjaeger.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggy_jaeger
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peggy-Jaeger-Author/825914814095072?ref=bookmarks
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/peggyjaeger/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13478796.Peggy_Jaeger
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mmj122687/

“By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.”
~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

I have an affinity for snails. Not because I love escargot, although that dish is delicious! (I know that’s an automatic ew for some of you!) My family thinks it’s because the only joke I can remember involves a snail. They think that’s hysterically funny—not the joke, because it really is kind of lame—but the fact it really is the only joke I’ve ever told. They give me snail gifts because they make me smile. Here are a few…

Spurgeon’s quote really does sum up why I love the snail. He’s kind of gross with his slick, wet body and as slow as molasses pouring. But he gets there. Ever keep an aquarium and watch snails slide along the glass? They are constantly moving.

Sometimes, I’m the snail. I plod along, but manage to get tons done, because I’m constantly in motion. Last week, I wrapped up a short story and published it. Finished a novella and shipped it to my editor. This week, I expanded another short story (you should see it tomorrow!), and now, I’m working my way through revisions of a story I wrote a long time ago, so I can publish it next week (Love space pirates?!). To mangle a “W” quote, I get ‘er done.

Some writers are flashy and quick. I admire their speed. Envy it. Sometimes, I wish I could tack a turbo drive to my butt to get it into gear. But I am what I am—a snail…

So, are you flashy or a snail?

And here’s my lame snail joke…

What does the snail say as it rides the turtle’s back?

Whee!

I’m what the French tactfully call a woman of a certain age. I like to think of it as old enough to know better, but devil-may-care enough to do it anyway, while wearing a little black dress too sophisticated for twenty-somethings. (Realistically my life is more “wearing pajamas and petting a cat as I write about women who have adventures that involve little black dresses and sexy lapses of common sense.” Occupational hazard of being a writer. But you get the idea.)

In my real life, the same one in which I rock those fur-covered fleece PJs, I’m married to a wonderful man a few years my senior. We’re happy, romantic, and still passionate after all these years. I wouldn’t trade my silver fox for the world.

But I read a lot of books with heroes young enough to be my son, and I’m not ashamed of it. Younger men are pretty.

This is what the hero of Drive looks like. See what I mean?

Our favorite romance heroes have broad shoulders, abs of steel and a full head of hair, unless a particular hero’s head is shaved in a sexy tough-guy way because he’s a mercenary or an MMA fighter. We want a hero who’s young enough to have all the passion and erotic energy of youth, but mature enough to know what to do with it. A hero who can still get away with being wild. One who can sweep us off our feet, not just metaphorically but literally. (Full disclosure: my husband can still do this. I am a lucky, lucky romance writer.)

The only problem with these hunky young heroes, in my opinion, is they’re almost always paired up with women their age or even younger. Is this fair for some of us who’d enjoy a good cougar fantasy? Obviously not!

You could argue this is a touch of realism. It’s easier to find common ground with someone close to your age. You share experiences, pop culture references, in-jokes that someone much younger or older might not catch. It’s more likely you’ll agree on whether special occasions should be spent out dancing until dawn or having a lovely gourmet dinner, whether Friday drinks means savoring a high-end cocktail or splitting a couple of sixes of inexpensive beer, whether your winter vacation is back-country skiing or a resort on St. Thomas.

That’s all true, but the common romance trope of the slightly or even much older hero owes more to the societal rule that says it’s all right for men to date much younger women, but a little suspect for middle-aged women to go for younger guys. Older guys have power. Older women just have wrinkles. Right? (Insert disgusted snort here.) Luckily, women are slowly grasping more power and more control over their own destinies—and expanding their dating options as a result. If this meme is to be believed (I didn’t fact-check it), some well-known female stars are cougars, involved with significantly younger men.

It’s easier to be unconventional when you’re rich, famous, powerful in your field and not worried if the PTA, your boss or the ex-husband with whom you share custody is going to freak out. But if Madonna can do it, the rest of us can at least enjoy the fantasy of a hot younger hero to rock our worlds and shake us out of our middle-aged ruts.

That’s why I wrote Drive, the start of the Cougars, Cars and Kink series: to acknowledge that while we may savor powerful billionaires and worldly dukes as book boyfriends, we also enjoy delicious boy-toys who turn out to be something more. In my rich fantasy world, younger men are eager to learn what turns you on and what fun you can have together. They’re not so set in their ways they can’t adjust to yours with grace. Even a Dominant younger man may admit you know more than he does … outside the bedroom, where it’s a kick to let his gorgeous young body and dirty mind take charge. And if you fancy the submissive sort in the bedroom, think what fun you’ll have showing him the benefit of your greater experience and wisdom!

If you’re forty-five and just reentering the dating world, like my heroine Suzanne, you might want someone adventurous, someone who’ll help you make up for lost time, someone who doesn’t have quite as many emotional scars as a single guy your own age is likely to sport. And if you’re just starting to explore your own long-stifled kinky fantasies, you might want someone who came of age in a time when information and BDSM groups were just a few clicks away on the Internet, someone who knows what they’re doing and looks good in the leather pants. Neil, Suzanne’s hero, is thirty to her forty-five. He’s a Boston cop, not a naïve man-boy, but someone who knows just how rough the world can be. Still he has a young man’s energy, idealism and willingness to go for what he wants.

And what he wants is a woman who’s not sure she should be quite this interested in a younger man.

He’s a kinky dream come true—and her only protection from danger.

Eight months after her (cheating, almost-ex) husband’s death, Suzanne Mayhew has a plan to move on with her life. First step: sell off Frank’s classic cars, starting with the red vintage Mustang convertible he never let her drive. Second step: get her unexplored kink on with a delicious younger man.

Preferably the one an old friend sends around, ostensibly to check out the Mustang. Neil Callahan—Boston cop, Dom, fifteen years her junior.

Neil feels the mutual sizzle, but if the blush staining her cheeks is any indication, her flirting skills are a little rusty. Though his instinct tells him to take things slow with the recent widow, he can’t resist inviting her along for a test drive—for the whole weekend.

Throwing caution to the wind, Suzanne takes him up on it. But they’re barely out of the driveway when Neil’s cop instincts kick in. They’ve got a tail…and it looks dangerously like her ex’s secrets looming large—and deadly—in their rear-view mirror.

Warning: Spies, lies and vile bad guys. A meddling BFF. Inappropriate use of kitchen tools. Completely appropriate use of rope and floggers. Your mileage may vary, depending on battery life.

Samhain / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble /Kobo / iTunes/iBooks /Google Play /All Romance Ebooks

Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE: The winner is Kymberly Holland!

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That phrase, “filling the well”, sounds almost erotic, doesn’t it? Given when I write, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that my mind goes right there. But to a writer, it means refilling your creative well, that part of you that has to live in la-la-land and needs to daydream.

I’ve been writing since January 2000. Not as long as some, but the longest commitment I’ve ever made to a single job. And I do it because I truly love to write—and it’s a natural fit because I’ve been a dreamer all my life.

I finished another story for Samhain on Sunday, the next in the Firehouse 69 series, entitled, Rapid Entry. (Yeah, I had to go there, again.) But the title’s not the point. My carefully detailed work plan called for me to sit down yesterday and whip out a quick short story, but I couldn’t make myself do it. So instead, I wandered into my very messy art room and made this for my daughter.

I’ve discovered in recent years, that not all my talents are confined to words. And when I’m struggling with a story, I need to refresh my well. Since I don’t want to dread the creative process I go through to dream up my stories, I take mini-breaks to stop and make a necklace or paint something like this…

It’s not perfect, but it explodes with color and took concentration to create, which allowed me to drift—something I have to do replenish my imagination. And sometimes, I make things that are whimsical and just make me smile, like my domino pendants.

Luckily, I can indulge that whimsy because I sell enough of them to keep purchasing paints and brushes and all the crazy art things that are currently littering my workroom. (Does anyone really need a Vintaj metal embosser, or a pasta maker and toaster oven for their polymer clay?)

So, that’s what I do when I need to escape from my computer. What is your escape?

Answer for a chance to win an Amazon gift card!