Before Syb fires me for being the worst Contest Duckie ever (I admit it, I’m WordPress challenged, or as Syb said, I have bevnical difficulties), I wanted to send some luv out.


I hope all of you had as much fun during Valenduckie Week as we did. Our Guest Cupids and all you “honorary duckies” created sooo much fun and mayhem! HUGE THANKS to all of you for joining us– YOU made it a party for US, too. (I have to admit that enticing Phil Gigante to come play with us made me as giddy as my 5th grade self was with The Monkees.)

And kudos to our duckie wrangler, Sybil. All those techie hiccups with the new template were worth it because Valenduckie Week showed us that Syb’s vision of a magazine style site was spot-on. The mayhem and craziness were safely contained within the Events box while Reviews and Ponderings each had their own spotlights without getting lost in the Valenduckie mayhem.

If you haven’t done so yet, check our Guest Cupid posts to see if you’ve won a prize. Look to your right… see the sidebar? Click on the names to read the Valenduckie stories from our Guest Cupids. Many of them also held contests, so click on the word “Winner” next to their name to see who scored some Valenbooty.

Want to browse through all the posts? When you go back to the front page, look at the title of this section– “BUZZ, GUESTS, and EVENTS – click for index” -OR- the “Category”/ “Guest & Events” drop-down box at the bottom of the right sidebar. Click on them to scroll through everything in that category. Or look down at the bottom of this post. See the blue “tag” that says “Valenduckie”? Click that to browse only the Valenduckie posts. (BTW, those methods also work to browse our Reviews and Ponderings, too.)


You remember all those prize packs o’ books that our Valenduckie Surprise winners won? Well, I want to shower some duckie love and thanks on the people that made those prizes possible.

Our two Purple Prose Challenge winners, Sharmi and Little Lamb Lost, have picked a couple of good ones from Samhain, who gave them each a choice of any ebook download…

Berkley will be sending the winner of our Valenduckie Surprise #1, Katiebabs, the following:

Also from Berkley, the winner of Valenduckie Surprise #3, JSL, will receive…

Valenduckie Surprise #2 winner, Azteclady, will receive her books courtesy of Harper Collins (Avon, Avon Red):

Our Mission imPossible winner, Becky, will receive:
From Dorchester (mailed separately)

Courtesy of Jo Goodman, SIGNED by Jo Goodman

Courtesy of Avon Red

Courtesy of Kresley Cole, SIGNED by Kresley Cole

Courtesy of Bantam Dell

[Oh, btw, if Syb is crazy enough to keep me on as the Contest Duckie, be prepared for spontaneous outbursts of "SYB! I wanna give something away!"]

Our OMG-We-LUVS-her Story Cupid, Sabrina Jeffries has picked the winners from our soon to be best seller Valenduckie Round Robin story and title contests.

Actually, she picked the winners DAYS ago, but never let it be said that the duckies are party poopers. Nope, we believe in dragging out keeping the party going for as looooong as possible.

Pocket will be sending each of you a copy of Sabrina Jeffries latest release, Let Sleeping Rogues Lie. WOO-HOO!

Please email your contact info to Sybil, who will forward it to Sabrina. PLEASEPLEASE put “Sabrina Jeffries Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

Find out who won Nalini Singh’s, White Day contest…

Congrats! You’ve won a SIGNED copy of Caressed by Ice (Psy-Changelings, Book 3). But, Nalini wants you to know that the book is swappable if you already have it!

Please email your selection and contact info to Sybil, who will forward it to Nalini. PLEASEPLEASE put “Nalini Singh Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

I propose it’s about time we announce the winner of a copy of HelenKay’s latest Brava release Right Here, Right Now

Please email your contact info to Sybil, who will forward it to HelenKay. PLEASEPLEASE put “HelenKay Dimon Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

Shirl and her husband, Jim, keep the Valentine magic alive year round. So we’re sharing the love.

Dorchester is surprising some lucky duckies with copies of Shirl and Jim’s latest Leisure release, The River Nymph!

Please email your contact info to Sybil, who will forward it to Dorchester. PLEASEPLEASE put “Shirl Henke Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

Who’s the lucky duck who is getting INSTANT gratification?

Larissa dedicates her book, Snowbound, to her husband for a very special reason. One lucky person will find out because you’ve just won a copy!

Please email your selection and contact info to Sybil, who will forward it to Larissa. PLEASEPLEASE put “Larissa Ione Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

Can you “bear” it? Which one will you choose?

Congrats! You’ve won your choice of a print copy of either Taming Eliza Jane or Devlin Group: Adrenaline.

Please email your selection and contact info to Sybil, who will forward it to Shannon. PLEASEPLEASE put “Shannon Stacey Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

The ever sweet and enlightening Jaci Burton who gave such wonderful tips about the unexpected acts that speak of romance, has graced us with a great contest. And we have a Valenduckie winner . . .

Congratulations to Janet H! You get your choice of a prize from any of Jaci Burton’s books in print. Click here to go to Jaci Burton’s site to see the variety of PRINT books you get to choose from.

And when you’re done, please email your selection and contact info to Sybil, who will forward it to Jaci. PLEASEPLEASE put “Jaci’s Burton’s Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

The red hot Bonnie Edwards, who got us a-dishin’ about undies and her latest release, Thigh High, has a Valenduckie winner…

…who will receive a copy of any one of her releases! WOOT!! And the winner is…

Congrats! Now head on over to Bonnie’s site and start shopping!

And when you’re done, please email your selection and contact info to Sybil, who will forward it to Bonnie. PLEASEPLEASE put “Bonnie Edwards Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

Sorry we had bevnical difficulties…

Often reviewed at TGTBTU, Lynne Connolly, besides reminding me how BADLY our old posts need to be fixed and reformatted, gave us a two-fer.

And the best kind- two awesome books for one two lucky winners! An ebook download of both Sunfire and the first Triple Countess book, Last Chance, My Love (or if the winner already has it, the next one in the series).

The lucky duckies are:

Please email your mailing address ASAP to Lynne Connolly and PLEASE PLEASE put “Lynne Connolly’s Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

Maya Banks offered up two amazing prize packs of awesomeness! And the winners are…

JANE: Prize #1 – A print bundle of a little of everything in Maya’s backlist. Some Samhain stuff, some Sharon Long stuff and some Berkley stuff:

• Her Majesty, My Love (Sharon Long) historical
• Seducing Simon (Maya Banks) Contemporary Romance
• Colters’ Woman (Maya Banks) Contemporary Erotic Romance
• For Her Pleasure (Maya Banks) Berkley HEAT

KATIE: Prize #2 – An ebook bundle (winner’s choice of format). It’s a hodge podge, as well:

• Beyond the Night (Sharon Long) Historical
• Long Road Home (Sharon Long) romantic suspense
• Brazen (Maya Banks) contemporary erotic romance
• Into the Mist (Maya Banks) paranormal erotic romance

Please email MAYA ASAP with your contact info! And PLEASEPLEASE put “TGTBTU Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line!

ENJOY, you lucky duckies!!!

Two more prize winners [in case you missed it in the comments]!

Deb Marlowe’s Harlequin Historical February Debut:
Scandalous Lord, Rebellious Miss

Kimmy LaneKatie

Please email your mailing address ASAP to Deb Marlowe and PLEASEPLEASE put “Deb Marlowe’s Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

It was tough to pick a winner for the contest for Valenduckie: Deborah Cooke Sets a Passionate Scene. But lucky for you guys we duckies don’t give up! The winner has been chosen to receive what gwen has decided is a very lickable cover, Kiss of Fire (Dragonfire, Book 1).

Sadly we could only award one book but I still have a few nifty postcards that will go out in the prizes I send. Uh, you will have to ask gwen about their lickability.

Please email your mailing address ASAP to redwyne (at) gmail (dot) com and PLEASEPLEASE put “Deborah Cooke’s Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

Jenna Kernan , has chosen THREE people to receive her February Harlequin Historical, Outlaw Bride, released 1 Feb 08. Read an excerpt.

So congrats to the following winners who left comments in Jenna’s post “Jenna Kernan on romance vs. love… and slaying dragons“:

Please email your mailing address ASAP to redwyne (at) gmail (dot) com and PLEASEPLEASE put “Jenna Kernan Valenduckie Contest” in the subject line.

DINGDINGDING! We have ANOTHER WINNER!

This time we decided to show some duckie luv to someone who took the time out of their weekend to visit us. The winner was drawn from comments posted anywhere on TGTBTU Saturday, February 16th through Sunday, February 17th.

Valenduckie Surprise #3 is another surprise pack o’ books from the OMG-we-LUVS-them folks at Berkley

And the winner is: JSL

Please email your mailing address ASAP to redwyne (at) gmail (dot) com and PLEASEPLEASE put “Valenduckie Surprise #3″ in the subject line.

You didn’t think we could pick just ONE of your odes to euphamisms, did you?!



Nope, we just couldn’t decide, so we drew TWO names and you’re EACH receiving one ebook download of your choice courtesy of Samhain Publishing!!

Why? Because Samhain (and Angie) so freakin’ rock, that’s why!

Winner #1 is SHARMI



Winner #2 is LITTLE LAMB LOST

Please email your mailing address ASAP to redwyne (at) gmail (dot) com. And PLEASEPLEASE put “Purple Prose Contest” in the subject line.

If a prize isn’t claimed by Thursday, Feb. 21st, an alternate winner will be selected from all eligible entries.

Mission Accomplished! But our mission to select the best and weirdest news was truly impossible, so we randomly drew the name of one super sleuth.

And the winner is BECKY



Congrats! You’ve won an impossibly quacktastic surprise pack o’ books.



Please email your mailing address ASAP to redwyne (at) gmail (dot) com. And PLEASEPLEASE put “Mission imPossible Contest” in the subject line.

If a prize isn’t claimed by Thursday, Feb. 21st, an alternate winner will be selected from all eligible entries.

Anna Campbell, author of some amazing books (Untouched and Claiming the Courtesan) and fellow Valenduckie, shares with us her top 10 most romantic ”Places I’ve been” and “Places I Gotta Go Before I Die.”

—

OK, this Valentine’s Day my mind is roving far afield. Come back, Mind, I need you! I have a book to write!

Um, right. OK, I thought I’d list the ten most romantic places I’ve been and then the ten most romantic places I want to get to before I turn up my toes.

So here is my official romantic places I’ve actually seen list:

1. Hever Castle, Kent
2. Leeds Castle, Kent
3. Chateau de Chenonceaux, Loire Valley
4. Coeffin Castle, Isle of Lismore.  Actually pronounced “Coffin” (snort) but it has this wonderful legend about a Viking maiden falling in love with a warrior who was killed while he was out a-Viking and she just faded away and still haunts the place, sigh. Would have been nicer if he came back, though!
5. Calgary Beach, Isle of Mull
6. Venice, Italy
7. Rome, Italy
8. Tintagel, Cornwall
9. Cordoba, Spain
10. The Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Here is the official romantic places I want to go list (anyone listening with a credit card?):

1. The Taj Mahal
2. Darjeeling to see the Himalayas in the distance [Ed.: that's those white things in the background.]
3. Topkapi Palace in Istanbul
4. St. Petersburg in the Midnight Sun [Ed.: this photo was taken at 00:05, or 12:05am.]
5. Halong Bay, Vietnam
6. Macchu Picchu, Peru
7. Petra, Jordan
8. Montreal, Canada
9. Big Sur, California
10. The Blue Grotto, Capri

If you could go anywhere for Valentine’s Day, where would you pick? And why? Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

  I am thinking that Sabrina Jeffries has prolly been kicking herself since she agreed last year to lead our Valenduckie Round Robin. Yes, this has been in planning stages for a while… which is a really good thing. As is the fact I am lucky enough to have such amazing quacks around TGTBTU.

You guys once again put together one quacktacular tale and it was a hella good time, which couldn’t have happened without you all. And where our tale is at its end… well it isn’t finished. ::Le GASP::

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet“. – (Romeo and Juliet: Act II, Scene II).

Good Luck!

Most of the Valenduckie Guest Author prize winners will be posted Saturday and Sunday.  Read on to find out when the other contest winners will be announced. 

Sabrina Jeffries plays Story Cupid aka our Round Robin will hopefully come to a close today *g*. And we will be giving out four copies of Let Sleeping Rogues Lie (releasing 19 Feb 08).

Valenduckie: *Contest* Mission imPossible: Valentine’s Day Weirdness ends Saturday, 16 Feb, at Midnight and will be announced Sunday.

Purple Prose Contest might stay open till Sunday night… need to see how it goes today.

OH! and there just might be a few more random prizes given for random things cuz duckies do so lurve randomness

If you missed any of our wonderful Valenduckie Guests, check out the sidebar… they are almost all linked now. And there are still one or two to come. WOOT!

And if you missed it in all this excitement do check out this and this.

Cupid and multi-genre author Shannon Stacey shares how her lover bought her another lover.  Read on to find out how this threesome worked out.

Catch her last release, Taming Eliza Jane (Samhain, 27 Nov 07) in ebook or paperback.

Nothing calls for over-the-top romantic gestures like Valentine’s Day! Big bouquets of roses, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, extravagant restaurant dinners and diamond rings submerged in flutes of the finest bubbly.

Yeah, I don’t get any of that. No flowers. I buy my own chocolate after it’s clearanced down on the 15th. But I’m okay with that. After all, I could have said no when I opened that jeweler’s box almost fifteen years ago and he said, “Well, do you want it?” I knew what I was signing up for, and it wasn’t over-the-top romantic gestures.

But a few years ago, out of the blue, my husband bought me a Valentine’s Day gift. It’s a Don Juan bear from the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, and I was speechless. (He heard about the bears on our local morning radio show.) Don Juan is fully poseable, with a red-lined black satin cape, a mysterious little mask and a black hat that sits jauntily over one ear. Whether it’s because it’s the cutest teddy bear ever or because it was such a surprise coming from my husband, it’s my very favorite gift from him.

So if you could customize a teddy bear, which romance novel hero would you choose? While I’m quite happy with Don Juan, I’d love a Jamie Frasier bear. He could wear a little kilt. Or maybe a Black Dagger Brotherhood bear, in black leather and little teddy-sized shitkickers.

Who would your bear be? (And, sure, that might be cheesy, but remember…I only get my cheesy Valentine romance vicariously through other people. *g*)

A randomly drawn commenter will win a print copy of either Taming Eliza Jane or Devlin Group: Adrenaline, winner’s choice.

Shannon Stacey

Our next Valenduckie cupid is Deborah Cooke and she is a one-woman writing machine. Deb writes historical and future-set romance as Claire Delacroix, contemporary romance as Claire Cross, and fantasy romance as Deborah Cooke.

Her current series features dragon shapeshifter heroes and is very fun to read. And wanna talk about the cover fairies being GOOD to an author – they’ve been downright magnaminous to Deb on the cover for Kiss of Fire (Dragonfire, Book 1), released 5 Feb 08 by Signet. I just wanna lick that cover.

Read on to discover what Deb thinks is the most romantic scene in her new book, Kiss of Fury, coming August 2008…

In my Dragonfire world, the firestorm marks the meeting of the Pyr (dragon shape shifting dude) and his destined human mate. Sparks literally fly between the two of them – the firestorm not only gives a sensation of heat, but feeds their desire for each other. The Pyr only conceive with their destined mate, so the firestorm is an alert. The Pyr’s awareness of the woman and her awareness of him is doubled and doubled again – because the firestorm is a sign that the Pyr can conceive a son, it keeps getting stronger until — well, you can guess when.

In Kiss of Fury (August 2008) Alex [heroine] and Donovan [hero] are very interested in doing the horizontal tango, but neither wants to have a child. They think they can cheat the firestorm by using contraceptives – of course, they’re wrong but they have fun trying!

I love the scene when they make love for the first time. The room is totally dark and they leave the lights off, making love only by the light of the firestorm. It sparks between them with every caress, becoming brighter and hotter as they excite each other. The firestorm increases to a radiant glow as they learn each other’s rhythms. I love that they are both more committed than they’d like to believe – and that the firestorm knows it. For me, it’s a very sexy scene and a romantic one – it makes me shiver every time I read it.

Deborah Cooke

Hey readers, comment here and you could win an autographed copy of Deborah’s last release, Kiss of Fire.  Tell us what you do to “set the mood” with your significant other – lower the lights, soft music, special candles, toys… What do you do to set the scene?

Personally, I think WELL WRITTEN purple prose adds to the atmosphere of a good historical romance. But that’s just me and Sybil makes fun of me on a regular basis because of it.

So whose side are you on… can you appreciate purple prose sometimes? Or does it seem hopelessly out of date to you? And what makes a non-clinical description cross over into purple prose territory anyhow?

Here’s what I want from you. Show me what can be beautiful about purple prose, or show me why it irritates the hell out of you, or even better, show me the difference between non-clinical and purple prose.

Using your ORIGINAL purple prose, I’d like you to describe how one body part (yours or someone else’s) looks or feels. BUT WAIT… you didn’t think it was going to be THAT easy, did you? Nope, to make you think harder (and so that Sybil won’t hyperventilate), there are RULES, people! The body part can’t be anything that could be covered by a bikini or a Speedo. So no odes to throbbing manhoods, no dewy flower petals, no swollen pearls, no puckered rosebuds. Got it? It can be over-the-top, beautiful, or whatever. Just remember the Bikini/Speedo rule, and it must be your original work— no quoting from a book.

So make me sigh, make me laugh, or make me cringe and you might be selected to receive a super special book prize! I’m going to let this contest run through the weekend– Sunday, February 17th at 11:59 PM CST

Contemporary and paranormal romance author Larissa Ione shares with the Valenduckie what it’s like to be married to a bunch of hard bodies.  Larissa is half of the writing team that is Sydney Croft (Stephanie Tyler is the other half) and has Book 2 of the ACRO series, Unleashing the Storm, coming out at the end of this month from Bantam Dell.

Married to the Military

I didn’t know much when I was a kid, but from the time I was very small, there were three things about which I was very sure:

1. I would write – whether or not I would get published was the question.
2. I would always think my brother was an idiot.
3. I would marry a military man.

Well, I’m a writer, I still think my brother is an idiot, and I married not one, but TWO military men (not at the same time.)

My first marriage was a disaster, ending after a year. But my second marriage…well, we’ll celebrate our thirteenth anniversary this year. And being the deeply romantic couple we are, we got married on a holiday. A very, very romantic holiday.

Wanna guess which one?

Yes, that’s right. Halloween.

But that doesn’t mean that my husband, Mr. Military-I’m-A-Crack-Shot-Wanna-See-My-Pistol-Baby, isn’t romantic and doesn’t know how to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple especially sticks out in my mind, because in all honesty, Bryan is much more romantic than I am. Yes, the big, tough, alpha military guy is more romantic than the romance author. Go figure.

Bryan knows how much my animals mean to me, so on Valentine’s Day, he came home from work with a dozen roses, plus two single long-stemmed roses. First thing he said? “Roses for all my girls.”

“All my girls,” were me, my cat, Geordie, and my dog, Sela. Yes, Bryan is a total dork. A sweet, lovable dork. He gave me the dozen roses, and then gave Geordie and Sela each a rose. They, of course, ate them. Geordie has always enjoyed eating flowers, and Sela just liked to tear them apart.

So the pets got to spend time destroying their Valentine’s presents, and I got a dozen gorgeous roses that I had to put on top of the fridge to keep the cat from getting them later. But the real gift I got that day was the knowledge that my husband loved me — and my pets — enough to think about them, too. Because for me, not liking animals is a deal-breaker in a mate. So for all his faults, his biggest plus is that he not only loves animals (especially cats,) but he respects my love for them too.

So there it is, my best Valentine’s Day ever. Technically, it was just roses and dinner, but I got so much more.

What about you? Is there a Valentine’s Day in your past that sticks out in your mind? Is there a favorite gift in your past? Is there anything you prefer to give or receive on Valentine’s Day – chocolate, flowers, jewelry, gift certificates?

Comment, and you could win a copy of Snowbound, a book I dedicated to my husband for a very special reason…

Larissa Ione

Shirl Henke is one of our Friday cupids and shares a fond memory with us of how she and her husband (and writing partner) keep the homefires burning.  Catch their latest release, The River Nymph (Leisure, 29 Jan 08).

My most romantic moment was actually the evening of my 30th wedding anniversary. Jim, who can be a crude lout at times, does have his redeeming qualities. He suggested that we go to dinner at a restaurant we both enjoyed for seafood to celebrate. Sounded good to me. Our anniversary is in August, so it was hot in St. Louis. Casually, he suggested I wear something “cool.” Sounded good to me, again.

We set out down Lindburgh, a major arterial in the metro area, headed for the Bristol. Often when we used that street, we would pass the small motel where we had spent our honeymoon as impoverished grad students getting married on a dime. Miraculously, it had survived the wrecking ball for well over three decades, and we would always comment on its still being there. Jim would say something unflattering about it being part of his downfall and permanent servitude…you get the picture.

Well, this warm summer evening, we drew near that little “courtel” and I was about to mention it when he surprised me by turning into the parking lot. Puzzled, I looked over at him and asked what was going on. He just smiled and got out of the car in front of the little cabin/room where we’d spent our first night as husband and wife. He walked around the car, opened the door and helped me out. I was too flabbergasted by this time to speak. He swept me into his arms (I swear I am not making this up!) and walked to the door of “our” room. That was when I noticed that he had a key in one hand. Setting me down, he unlocked room #14 and picked me up again. When he carried me over the threshold and closed the door, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Dim summer light streamed in through the drawn draperies, reflecting on the knotty pine paneled walls (I told you it was an old motel, didn’t I?). But that wasn’t what held my attention. Rather, it was the bed, strewn with dozens of long-stemmed red roses, candles arranged all around the room and a bucket filled with ice and a bottle of champagne chilling inside it. There were 30 roses, one for each year we’d been married. He opened the champagne and poured it into two glasses while explaining how he’d slipped out that morning to bring everything to the motel, then paid the manager to put ice and the champagne in the bucket and strew the thornless roses across the bed just an hour before we arrived. He lit the candles and we sipped the wine as we carefully picked the roses off the bed and placed them in a tall vase full of water, also provided by Jim’s plan-ahead ingenuity.

By that time I knew why he’d suggested I wear “cool clothes.” They’re also easier to remove than stuff with lots of buttons. As to the rest of the evening…I’ll leave some things shared only between the two of us. Even romance writers have to draw the line somewhere, but readers have excellent imaginations. Suffice it to say, we would have been late for our eight o’clock dinner reservation if Jim hadn’t called and changed it.

Although the Stanley Courtel finally did succumb to the wrecking ball a few years ago, I still have three of those thirty roses dried and placed carefully in a crystal bowl in our dining room breakfront…and a memory to last a lifetime.

Happy Valentines Day, romance lovers, everywhere!

Shirl Henke

What an amazing memory and what inspiration for the rest of us!  C’mon readers – what do you do to celebrate the anniversaries?

An amazing western romance writer and one of our favorite people, Beth Williamson, tells us just how sexy delayed gratification and anticipation can be.  Read on and be prepared to fan yourself.

And don’t forget to pick up Beth’s latest print release, The Tribute (Malloy Family, Book 6) (Samhain, 25 Dec 07), and her next ebook, Devils on Horseback: Jake (Samhain, 25 Mar 08).

It’s All about the Preparation, Don’t Ya Know

For me, romance is all about the attention to details and the anticipation, I’m talking about preparation y’all. Now spur of the moment romantic episodes are good, but the truly great moments take preparation. It heightens the senses, making the experience more than memorable. Here’s a real life for example:

Last year, my DH and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary (I was 12 when I got married, I swear ). Let me tell ya, it can be hard (no pun intended) to keep the romance alive without new ideas. So DH gets the prize for details and anticipation…

One Saturday night, I heard him fussing around in the laundry room. I had no idea what he was doing, but he had to be stealthy and smart, after all we’ve got two boys (12 and 16).

I head out to the laundry room to get to the garage and there on the dryer (not so romantic but hey it worked) was a dozen purple roses in a vase, a pair of fabulous purple satin thong panties that matched the roses and a note that said, “I’d be honored if you wore these tonight.”

*wipes brow at the memory*

Now that was not only romantic, but it was sexy as hell. I wore those damn (damp) panties all day until that evening… the anticipation was definitely worth every second of it.

Oh yeah, let me tell y’all, pay attention to the details (rose color and panty color) and heighten anticipation and it’ll all be amazing. I promise.

Beth Williamson

So, readers, tell us YOUR stories about delayed gratification, anticipation, and desire and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a download of the book of your choice from Beth’s backlist.

Kate Bridges is another Friday cupid and shares with us some of her most favorite and romantic places on our small blue orb.  She also has a Harlequin Historical release coming – Klondike Fever, 1 Apr 08.

Do you believe in love at first sight? I do. In my case, it’s with a city.

What could be more romantic than witnessing the most famous train in the world, the Orient Express, pulling up on the platform in the most romantic city in the world, Venice? Many moons ago, when my husband was just my boyfriend and we were backpacking across Europe, I was struck by the adventure of the moment when we disembarked from our own grimy train, to be standing next to those posh and elegant coaches. At the time, we were poor students. We stopped to stare at the first-class passengers with their Louis Vuitton luggage, European suits, and perfumed hairstyles. Many of them were headed to Asia, but we had our own quiet agenda of discovering this intimate Italian city. As the Orient Express rumbled out of the station, we stepped out to the Grand Canal of Venice. And wow! Love at first sight.

My second most romantic choice sits on the opposite side of the world, close to the Arctic circle and far from the rest of civilization. Yukon Territory in Canada. A year ago, my husband and I—and we now have a daughter who joined us—explored the route the Klondike stampeders took over the treacherous mountains. What I’ll remember most about the Yukon is the wonderful smell. I’ve never inhaled such pure fresh air. Every step I took brought a different scent—pine trees, wild mountain flowers, moss, rivers that churned up ancient glacial silt. And how about that view?

The photos of Venice and the Yukon River are my own. My trip to the Yukon and Alaska inspired my current series set in the Klondike. For more photos, please visit my site.

Do you have a favorite romantic place?

For a chance to win a free advance copy of my upcoming April Harlequin Historical, KLONDIKE FEVER, please leave a comment on this post and I’ll put your name into a draw. Two winners to be chosen today!

Kate

Maya Banks’ idea of romance is “action speaks louder than words” and every day is the adventure.  Don’t miss Maya’s 4 Mar 08 Berkley release – Sweet Surrender.  And don’t miss the AMAZING prizes at the end.

My idea of romance

I’m of the opinion that actions speak a lot louder than words. So it’s not a surprise that my husband and I aren’t big talkers when it comes to love and romance. We don’t celebrate Valentines Day much to the horror of his secretary. It’s not that I frown on V-day. I just feel a little silly buying overwrought greeting cards and even sillier planning a “romantic” evening on a specific day of the year. What if I wake up in a bad mood on the 14th?

But this year I was thinking about romance and as a result, I drifted back over what I perceive to be the most romantic moments (or things) my husband has done or said over the years. And since I love lists, I made one. So here you have my list of top things romantic according to Maya Banks.

1. The day we got married, we went hunting afterward and enjoyed a spectacular sunset sitting together in a tree stand. It was a great day, and I think about it often.

2. He brushes my hair because he knows I love it.

3. I have a girlfriend in Washington D.C. that I only get to see once a year, often times less frequently than that, and he knew I was really missing her, so on the sly, he contacted her, set up a long weekend for me to visit and then surprised me with a plane ticket and cash to enjoy a girls get away.

4. He pledged himself to be my personal bitch for a weekend when I was running behind on promo stuff. He organized the kids into an assembly line and helped me put together 900 booklets.

5. I keep odd hours and am often up until the wee hours of the morning, but no matter when I go to bed or how sound asleep he is, he always rolls over, puts an arm over me and pulls me into his chest.

6. He’s blunt, non passive aggressive and doesn’t suffer a martyr complex (God I love that in a man).

7. He does the little stuff that he knows I’m more than capable of doing, but he knows how much they annoy me, and so he does it for me.

8. He splits kitchen duty, kid duty, house duty, laundry duty, etc., 50/50 with me. (God I love that in a man) And he doesn’t whine about it. (See number 6)

9. He reads my writing and doesn’t hesitate to tell me when it’s a piece of shit. (see 6.1)

10. When our daughter and last child was born (that was an ordeal), he put one hand on my knee and took my hand with the other and told me “Thank you” I’ll never forget the look on his face or the emotion in his eyes.

I won’t ask you to list ten, or even two, but search your memory and tell me what one romantic thing your husband, boyfriend, significant other has done that encompasses “romance” to you, even if it’s not the more traditional heart, roses and profuse “I love yous.” I mean, heck, I think the thing my husband said that brought the biggest smile to my face was the time he told me that he couldn’t imagine having anyone else to argue with

Comment here and win a chance at one of the following two prizes:

Prize #1 – A print bundle of a little of everything in Maya’s backlist. Some Samhain stuff, some Sharon Long stuff and some Berkley stuff:

• Her Majesty, My Love (Sharon Long) historical
• Seducing Simon (Maya Banks) Contemporary Romance
• Colters’ Woman (Maya Banks) Contemporary Erotic Romance
• For Her Pleasure (Maya Banks) Berkley HEAT

Prize #2 - An ebook bundle (winner’s choice of format).  It’s a hodge podge, as well:

• Beyond the Night (Sharon Long) Historical
• Long Road Home (Sharon Long) romantic suspense
• Brazen (Maya Banks) contemporary erotic romance
• Into the Mist (Maya Banks) paranormal erotic romance

WE HAVE A WINNER!  Who is it you ask?  Read on and find out…

Winners were drawn from the names of anyone who commented anywhere on TGTBTU Monday, 11 Feb through Tuesday, 12 Feb. The more you commented, the more chances you had to win.

Valenduckie Surprise #2 is a prize pack of books courtesy of Avon, a beloved Godmother of the Romance book industry!

And the winner is: AZTECLADY

Please email your mailing address ASAP to redwyne (at) gmail (dot) com and PLEASEPLEASE put “Valenduckie Surprise #2″ in the subject line.

Only one Valenduckie Week prize per person/household. If a prize isn’t claimed by Thursday, Feb. 21st, an alternate winner will be selected from all eligible entries (like THAT would ever happen).
CLARIFICATION: Since many of our Guest Authors manage their own contests, the above rules only apply to duckie-run contests.