Lashell Collins's Blog, page 21
April 15, 2013
N is for the Night Sky!
Why? Odd choice for the letter N, you say? Well, I chose it because to me, there are few things more beautiful than the night sky. I don’t know how to explain it exactly, but there is just something about a clear, star-filled night that gets to me. I have been fascinated with it for as long as I remember.
One of my favorite things to do as a young adult was to go outside late at night and stand on the back porch and simply look up. The stars glistened like little diamonds nestled on a black velvet cloth, and the moon would just take my breath away – so big and beautiful and bright. Mysterious and yet, so familiar. I would imagine all types of romantic scenarios beneath it’s warm, sheltering glow. My only regret is that I never had a telescope back then. To this day, the night sky still gets to me, filling me with a sense of wonder. It is still one of the most romantic settings I can imagine.
Book Tour Begins!
So, the virtual book blog tour has begun and I am sitting on the edge of my seat with excitement! Or maybe it’s nerves. Either way, I want to thank the ladies of Lunar Haven Reviews and Designs for kicking off the tour and hosting me today on their beautiful site. They reviewed Pierced By Danger and declared it “thrilling and romantic.” And yes, I will be living on those words all day long!
Please take a moment to hop on over to Lunar Haven and check it out. And don’t forget to follow each day of the tour. Tomorrow you can read an interview with me over at Cloey’s Book Reviews and Other Stuff. Can’t wait!
Here’s the entire tour schedule in case you missed it:
April 15 Guest blog and review
Lunar Haven
April 16 Interview
Cloey’s Book Reviews and Other Stuff
April 17 Spotlight
Sapphyria’s Steamy Book Reviews
April 18 Interview
Pembroke Sinclair.
www.pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com
April 19 Spotlight
Romance Addict Book Blog
April 20 Interview
Roxanne’s Realm
www.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com
April 21 Guest blog
Erotica For All,
April 21 Spotlight and review
Erzabet’s Enchantments
http://erzabetsenchantments.blogspot.com/
April 22 Spotlight and review
Faerie Tale Books
April 14, 2013
M is for Music!
Mood Music to be exact. I don’t know about the rest of you … but for me, music has the ability to change my mood instantly. If I’ve had a particularly trying day, or I’m in a bad mood and need a quick attitude adjustment, it’s music to the rescue! Music has the power to take us places, to elevate and free our consciousness. To transport us from one frame of mind into another. And there’s a reason why no romantic setting is complete without the perfect music playing softly in the background. It’s because music is magic!
Music can transform an ordinary dinner for two into a romantic encounter with very little effort. An innocent afternoon drive can become a sexy, titillating adventure with the right music on the radio. Music can help us fall in love or help us to lament a broken heart. And it can help us express every emotion in between.
Below is a link to a song that I love. It just makes me happy whenever I hear it. I can’t stop myself from smiling or humming or singing along; it’s just not physically possible. It is one of those songs that can instantly brighten my day. But I’ve included it here for another reason too. Because to me, this song perfectly illustrates the excitement and wonder of falling in love. Enjoy!
April 12, 2013
L is for Love!
I know, I know … it’s the obvious choice for today, right? But come on, I am a romance writer. Musing about love is what I do. Although, I suppose I could have chosen something a little more unexpected and sassy. Something like lingerie or lust or even lipstick. But there’s a whole lot to be said about love – in all of its many forms. So much, in fact, that I’ll admit I’m a little daunted about where to even begin. So, I thought maybe I’d just say nothing at all, and let the original romance novel say it for me instead:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. ~1 Corinthians 13:4–8a
I couldn’t have said it any better!
K is for Kissing!
Well, the A to Z Challenge is beginning to get a little challenging. I’m not at all ashamed to say that I’m amazed I’ve made it this far! It’s hard trying to stick to a secondary theme of romance. I should have given that a little more thought before getting underway. But I refuse to give up! Eleven days in and on to the letter K. For Kissing, of course!
So, there are many different types of kisses. Many of them the innocent, friendly, platonic, non-romantic kind. But you all know that’s not the kind of kissing I’m talking about here. I don’t even need to beat around the bush; let’s just get right to it … the romantic, french kiss!
Is there an act more intimate than the french kiss? I mean let’s face it. We all know that there can be (and frequently is) sex without intimacy. But the same can’t really be said about the kiss. It is, by nature, a very intimate act. Kissing forces us to get up close and personal; it draws us to one another and compels us into each other’s space, allowing us to get close enough for our hands and fingers to gently explore while our lips and tongues meet and converge.
Kissing is intense and sexual, even when we’re not having sex. It sets our blood pumping and our hearts racing; it gets the juices flowing, if you know what I mean. A kiss says, “I love you,” and “I want you.” It’s passionate. And we all deserve passionate kisses. Just ask Mary Chapin Carpenter…
April 10, 2013
J is for Jewelry!
I am always so confused by women who say they don’t care for jewelry. Huh? I just don’t’ get it and I actually find myself looking at her as if she’s speaking a foreign language or something. The only other statement that confounds me more is when someone says they don’t like music. How is that even possible?!
I don’t even know where to begin on this one. Jewelry just makes me happy. And I know that it may be politically incorrect for me to say this but, I love it when my husband gives me jewelry! I don’t care whether he’s giving it to say “I love you” or “I’m sorry.” It doesn’t matter to me. If it’s sparkly and it’s not too gaudy and it’s a stone or a piece that I’ve really been wanting, I’ll forgive him for almost anything (almost!). If that makes me a cliche, then so be it. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, after all. And I am nothing if not a loyal friend!
I is for Imagination!
The imagination can be a powerful, wonderous (and dangerous) thing. In our minds, we can dream up the perfect lover. We can wonder what it would be like to kiss that actor we admire so much, and our imaginations will help us create that fantasy. We can pretend that singer with the amazing voice is singing only to us, and our imaginations will carry that daydream along. We can see in our mind’s eye an image of that cute neighbor or coworker smiling and saying hello, his gaze lingering just a little bit longer than it should. And our imaginations will fuel that fanciful notion all the way home.
The pictures created by our imaginations can be so real and so perfect that they can cause us to want what we know we shouldn’t have.
If we’re not careful, we can let the imagination get us into some big trouble. “I” also stands for another, not so romantic word.
April 8, 2013
H is for Happily Ever After
Everybody wants one. But do they actually exist outside of romance novels?
As a writer of romantic fiction (and as a self-described hopeless romantic) I would certainly like to think so. And I’ve seen actual examples of what looks like Happily Ever After in the real world. At least, to me anyway. For instance, my husband’s parents were married for over 60 years when my father-in-law passed away. That’s a long time to spend with someone you’re not happy with. And they definitely appeared to be content with one another’s company – they knew each other inside and out.
If they had been the only happy couple that I ever witnessed with my own eyes, just the fact that it had happened for them gives me hope for the rest of us. In an age where people get divorced as often as they change their socks, it’s heartening to see examples of true love here and there, even if they’re only small ones. Each and every glimpse, no matter how fleeting, gives me hope and bolsters my belief in the concept of Happily Ever After. I believe that they do exist. They are not some mystical, mythological creature that only exist between the pages of fantasies. They are real. They are out there. And we can all have one. We just have to have a little faith.
G is for Girlfriends!
Now, you’re probably thinking about the traditional boyfriend/girlfriend picture here, but that’s not the relationship I’m talking about. I’m referring to your girls, your sisters, your partners in crime, your support system. The friends you run to when you’ve just gotten your heart trampled by that Bad Boy you couldn’t stay away from. Because it seems to me that those girlfriends are an essential part of any romantic equation.
They are who you look to for moral support before you even go out on that first date. They help get you dressed in just the right outfit to dazzle that man. They support you and offer much needed advice when you simply cannot figure him out and it’s driving you crazy. And they are there with tissues, a pint of ice cream and two spoons when loves gone bad and you’re hurting so much you think your heart might actually break apart into tiny little pieces.
Love wouldn’t be the same without our girlfriends to giggle with and dream with. Or cry with. Tell your closest girlfriends how much they mean to you today. And listen to Pebbles as she gives her girlfriend some really good advice!
April 5, 2013
F is for Fruit!
I know, I know. I could have gone with the more obvious choice of Flirting. But that would have been too easy! This will turn out ok, I promise. Just go with me for a minute….
So, I was thinking about fruit (partly because I’m hungry and I haven’t eaten yet) and it suddenly occurred to me that some fruits are just sexier than others. I mean, everyone knows that bananas are sexy – for the obvious reason, of course. But there are other, equally sexy pieces of fruit too. Like strawberries. Strawberries are sexy because, when they’re ripe, they’re out of this world delicious. Plus, you can dip them into toppings like cream, or chocolate, or Cool Whip. You know, toppings that can also be smeared on other places and licked off. Slowly….
Grapes are sort of sexy because you can feed them to one another. And when you bite into them, you get that exciting burst of juice filling your mouth. Cherries are sexy because the word is also used as a euphemism for something else. But I think strawberries are the sexiest fruit of all because you can dip them into toppings like cream or chocolate. Mmm. Wait a minute … what was I talking about?
I’m hungry….
