Happy Birthday to Rissa!

Happy Birthday to the best half of Marissa Alwin!

"We are born wet, naked, and screaming. If we live right, we will find ourselves that way often!!"











Love you!!
Mari

The Language of the Victorian Fan

Reading up on a few Victorian Customs led to a small blurb about fans I found really neat. A Century ago, this demur handheld accessory was used for more than to produce a breeze. It was also used to convey messages.

A few of them were:

Carrying it in the left hand: desirous of an acquaintance

Carrying it in the right hand: you are too willing

Carrying it in the right hand in front of the face: follow me

Closing it: I wish to speak to you

Drawing it across the cheek: I love you

Drawing it across the eyes: I am sorry

Drawing it across the forehead: we are being watched

Drawing it through the hand: I hate you

Dropping it: we will be friends

Fan with the left hand in front of the face: leave me

Fanning fast: I am engaged

Fanning slow: I am married

Letting it rest on the left cheek: no

Letting it rest on the right cheek: yes

Open and shut: you are cruel

Open wide: wait for me

Placing it on the right ear: you have changed

Shut: I have changed

Twirling it on the left hand: I love another

With handle to the lips: kiss me


Can You imagine if you weren't paying attention to how you were moving your fan or weren't aware of the fan language? oh the mixed messages you could be sending!

Sapphire Sizzles~

What do sapphires-gems of loyalty and honesty--have in common with
romance that sizzles? Indulge as a demon, a playboy, a boy toy, a
prizefighter and a warrior-discover passion with one thought in mind.
His woman. Find her. Satisfy her. Love her.

Five very different stories--weaving passion, lust and love
together--Sapphire Sizzle delivers the heat you crave.

Our 1847 Americana Novella Winning Bess was released in a Print Anthology Titled Sapphire Sizzle. Within the covers you'll also find: Micah Blue by Amarinda Jones;Sapphire Tease by Marilu Mann;Lia’s Warrior by Natasha Moore;and Plaything by Rena Marks For more info and to check out the blurbs and excerpts click here

On Patriot's Day- We Remember

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope."--Robert F Kennedy

To all who have lost their lives and the family and friends that have suffered their loss--We Remember.

Catching Memories

Browsing through a magazine just before heading off to our annual family crabbing trip I read an article that said engaging in new activities together can make you fall deeper in love. This was on my mind as we left the docks and the soft breezes of the chilly early morning slowly warmed with the approach of mid-day.

See how the rest of our crabbing trip turned out and my musing over Tradition vs. New Activities went on The Romance Studio Blog.

The Mating Game- a team sport.

Since I’ve not been on the dating scene for 20 years (or more if you count the five years my hubby and I dated), I am always on the look out for info on the singles scene to help when writing those scenes in stories. It seems there's a lot of wingman action taking place out there. I think there is even a TV show on a cable network called The Wingman. It seems the Wingman is someone who helps during the courtship pursuit. A recent study out of MIT and Arizona State University has concluded the mating game is a team sport!

It concluded men need help accessing females and women need help avoiding undesirables. When a woman was flirting with a desirable man her friends tended to give her space. But when an undesirable approached, the play called THE BLOCK went into effect. She flashed the "save me" look to her friends and they swooped in surrounding her or pulling her to safety. The opposite was true of men…friends scattered if the woman was a dud and huddled providing support and positive info to conversation when she was a keeper.

Most of the observations also concluded the use of friends as a decoy. Two decoy plays, which were typically used...

THE PICK: when a man wanted a little alone time with new interest, his friend would detain her friend with conversation.

THE ICEBREAKER: to avoid scaring an intended woman off the man would sent a female friend in to soften the situation before approaching.

When asked about cooperating in their friend's pursuit of a mate, even in such a competitive game. People said it gave them self-satisfaction, guaranteed help with their own future pursuits, and helped with friendship maintenance. So even in the dog eat dog world, the highly competitive game of finding a mate is more successful when humans pursue and defend in packs.