Since my name is Kissa I thought it only appropriate that I do a how-to article to help everyone out for that ultimate romantic night that we refer to as Valentine’s Day. Sure, it’s a made-up, Hallmark holiday but who doesn’t love chocolate and kisses with a little romance heaved in? Take a few minutes to read through these easy directions and you’ll be sweeping your honey off of his/her feet.

First you should be familiar with the different types of kisses…
Cherry Kiss- chew a huge piece of cherry-flavored bubble-gum right before kissing. Your partner will taste the cherry and imagine your mouth as a tiny bit of virgin.

“Maria Night was here!”

Something I read triggered a memory of carved names on desks, cold school floors, mass white noise as hundreds of students pass each other in the halls, and teachers standing in groups talking while preparing for the next class. All are fond memories of growing up in the shelter of childhood.

These types of thoughts always continue on to the abrupt halt my world came to in my youth: a death in my family that changed my life forever.

My father passed away just after my fourteenth birthday. With a set of older half-sisters, the unraveling of my world ensued. First, the court battle over the contested will by the adult half-sisters, of course. Then, all the property, which was my only home, was sold for “their share”. Finally my mother, now widowed, moving me to a new area so she could find work.

So many times in my adult life I have returned to that plot of land that will always be home to me. With different owners, it isn’t the same, but I see the place different than what’s actually there. I see the tree my dad planted in the front yard. On the left by the road, I see the place that was fenced off for my pony. To the right there’s a road my dad made with a bulldozer. The whole place was shaped by him. He built the front of our house, the porch, and even the water spigot in the front yard just off the walkway, right by the tree he planted. Almost everything I can think of, he built or installed himself. His imprint on the world, although less than two acres, was shaped and formed by him for my mother and me.

Don’t misunderstand me. He was no saint- not even close, but all he did, all the things he formed with his hands are now gone. The school I mentioned earlier will also soon be just a memory. After this year, it will be closed and torn down. The desks will be gone, along with the bright lights, the square tiled floors, the walls, decorations, chalkboards, and all the markings of the people I remember best in our bratty stages of life. As we all scratched, cut, carved or otherwise defiled public property with “I was here!” This will all be gone, just like the things I cherished from what my dad made. These things that made the statement, “Dad was here!”

I have always written down my thoughts and feelings. Words that pop into my head seem to have a more direct line to my hands, even more so than my mouth.

I wonder what makes us all so intent on leaving our mark. The need to show those after us, “We were here!”

Even as I write this and dream of penning “The Great Novel”, I know what I really want to do is leave a carved, dark and permanent mark saying, “I WAS HERE!” Don’t let a chance to leave your mark on this world pass you by. Let everyone know you were here too.

About MARIA NIGHT

For more on Maria, visit her http://www.marianight.com

Some Divas have new releases this week – if you’re looking for something to read, check them out!

“I will always love you.” Not just a figure of speech when you’re undead.

In the Heat of the Night, Book Two

Six months ago, Andre St. James committed the ultimate one-night-stand party foul by turning Cynthiana into the spawn of Satan…also known as a vampire. He insisted he knew they were meant to be together forever and ever, so why wait for her to be on the same page with him to suck the life out of her?

What. Ever. The only thing the two of them share is chemistry that blasts off the charts. So she dropkicked him out of her life and told him to never come back. He listened. Until now.

Andre knows Cyn has trouble dealing with his take-no-prisoners approach to life, and that turning her against her will was a mistake. But he’s got patience born of centuries of immortality, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get back into her good graces and stay there forever. Including wait until she has no choice but to turn to him.

After all, no one understands forever like a vampire. He’s loved her from the moment he saw her…and he always will.

Find out more here

CAROLINA WOLF
By Sela Carsen
Samhain Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-60504-374-6

All it takes is a spark of Grrrrrl power to set the swamp on fire!

Librarian Debra Henry is boring. And she’s okay with that. Really. It’s not as if the teensy amount of witchcraft that flows in her veins is worth getting excited about. Yet someone—or something—thinks it’s worth crawling out of the swamps to attack her. Those “somethings” are werewolves.

When one of them is hurt saving her, the least she can do is take him home and patch him up. Healing him stirs more than her senses. Maddox Moreau awakens the magic that sleeps in her blood. And suddenly, life’s not quite so boring.

A wildlife manager at Congaree National Park by day, Maddox likes being the BWIS—Big Wolf In the Swamp. By night, he lets his wild side out to play lone wolf. At least until he meets the one woman who can share his soul. Perhaps it’s best, though, if he holds off on sharing his preference for raw meat.

Rescuing her seals his fate—but only if he can protect her from a rogue of his kind. A werewolf with a nasty stalker streak…

The Jealousy Plot – By Jolie Cain

For as long as she can remember, Callie has been in love with her next-door neighbor Trey, a firefighter on the Oceanside Fire Department, but he has never seen her as anything more than a good friend, a pal. Then for her birthday, Trey gives her something wonderful … not the usual tire jack and mace spray. No, he gives her a beautiful antique locket, and Callie begins to dream that maybe he has changed the way he sees her. After all, when a guy gives a girl jewelry, it means something special–right? Only her friend Marianne Riley isn’t so sure. She thinks Trey needs to be nudged just a bit in the right direction. So she enlists the aid of her brother, one of Trey’s fellow firefighters, in a plot to make Trey jealous. But Ben Riley seems interested in more than simply helping Callie out. And he arouses feelings in Callie that Trey never has. While Trey has always made her feel safe and secure, Ben makes her feel wild and out of control. He pushes her and fulfills her darkest desires. Eventually Callie must decide … which firefighter is the one that sets her heart on fire?

Captive Flame – Rhiannon Leith
As a djinn, a being formed of fire, Adara has spent centuries enslaved to the human Magi, passed from one to another, made to do their bidding. She yearns for freedom. She yearns for love.

When firefighter Peter O’Connor pulls her out of an inferno, he snatches her from her current Magus. This new master has no idea of what or how powerful she is, and the opportunity to break free finally becomes a real possibility. If only her body didn’t react to him with such abandon. If only his touch didn’t make her lose the will to do anything but be with him.

With the Magus closing in on them, and Peter’s life in danger, Adara must choose between her desire and her dreams.

And with supernatural arson attacks sweeping the city, Peter must decide if a firefighter can ever really trust a fire?

BUY IT HERE

“Oh Goddess ” by Gwen Hayes
Read An Excerpt Online
Genre: Paranormal Romance

ISBN: 978-1-60504-367-8
Length: Short Story
Price: 2.50
Publication Date: January 27, 2009
Cover art by Tuesday Dube

Born to protect women’s hearts, her own beats longingly for a mortal. Oops…

Ondina, one thousand years a goddess, doesn’t think much of mortal men. Probably because her sole purpose in life is to protect the hearts of women who don’t want to fall in love. And now one of those blasted men—Jack—has shattered her sacred chalice, trapping her in a mortal body.

Jackson Nichols, on the partner track at his law firm, is the first to admit he always follows his head. Never his heart. Dina is infuriating, messy, condescending, sexy, beautiful and…well, just about everything that doesn’t fit into his meticulously planned life.

Neither expects to find many redeeming qualities in the other. But when push comes to love, which will Dina choose? Her newly human heart…or one thousand years of duty?

*All author and editor proceeds from the sale of Oh Goddess will be donated to the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis. You can find out more about the foundation at www.coalitionforpf.org.

Warning: Recent studies show that consuming beverages while reading this story can cause damage to computer monitors, clothing, and sometimes nearby walls. Reader agrees to hold both Samhain Publishing Ltd. and Gwen Hayes harmless in case of accidental spewing caused by laughter.
Read An Excerpt Online

Buy from MBaM!

Gypsy Afterglow is out now!!

GYPSY AFTERGLOW by Jennah Sharpe

Genre: Torrid Romance Contemporary

EBook formats ISBN: 978-1-60313-490-3

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-60313-491-0

Rating: Sensual Romance - Sensual

Brynn Parker was warned to stay away from the gypsies from her first summer in Spain. Ever since then, her curiosity has piqued her interest in a certain young Gitano. As she grows into a woman, her illicit involvement with Marco Kaldera becomes more intimate until she must return to her home country. Years later, through a mutual friend, a funeral and Marco’s fame, Brynn works to earn his forgiveness and convince him to love her once again. But…he belongs with the gypsies. Can the sacrifices they must endure to be together bond them forever?

Visit Jennah’s website today!