Valentine's Day Winners

The two randomly chosen winners of a package of books from 

PJ's Valentine's Day post are:

Deb

and

Natalie's Mama

Congratulations, ladies! Please send your full name and mailing address to:

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Happy Valentine's Day

Roses are red

Violets are blue

I have a package of books

For two of you!

Will you be celebrating Valentine's Day tomorrow?

What's your Valentine's gift of choice? Flowers? Candy? Books? Something else?

Tell me about the best/worst Valentine's gift you've received.

Two people who leave a comment before midnight, Feb. 14th

will receive a package of books. (U.S. only)

For the Love of Romance

Love it or hate it, it's that time of year again.  Valentine's Day.  The day when lovers flood the stores...or internet sites...to buy flowers, fragrances, chocolates, underwear you'd never be caught wearing (I work in retail. I know this to be true.) or, if you're really lucky, romance novels.  Or even better, a gift card so you can go buy your own romance novels! What can I say, I'm easy to please.

I've been reflecting a bit on the Valentine's Day holiday and how it has transitioned for me over the course of my life.  As a child, I looked forward to making Valentine's "Mail Boxes" in school; gaudily decorated shoe boxes into which classmates would deposit Valentine cards.  Those were the days when I happily popped stale candy hearts with cute sayings stamped on them while waiting for my daddy to come home from work with my very own little-girl sized Russell Stover chocolate assortment, prettily packaged in a bold red heart.

High school  and college brought the peer pressure part of Valentine's Day to the fore.  Who has a date?  Who got flowers?  Whose boyfriend forgot that it's a holiday and he was supposed to do something romantic?  For the record, I received Valentine's flowers once during those years. They were sent by a former boyfriend (who lived in another state and I had not seen for two years) the same year that my current-at-the-time boyfriend forgot it was Valentine's Day (not an unusual occurrence).  Made for a very "interesting" holiday.

While my late husband wasn't big on flowers (though he did send me yellow roses on occasion), he never forgot Valentine's Day and always found creative, and romantic, ways to celebrate.  I cherish the letters and poems he wrote for me over the years and am happy to say he exhibited a fondness for jewelry along with great taste in the same. ::grin::

Not having a man in my life these past several years has once again taken Valentine's Day in a new direction.   It's not a romantic holiday for me anymore but has become a day when I celebrate people who are important to me for a variety of reasons and those who are in need of a little Valentine's pampering.  Earlier this week, Valentine cards went out in the mail to the munchkins in my life. Yesterday was spent making cupcakes and chocolates.  Deliveries this Valentine's Day will go to fellow volunteers at the hospital, co-workers at my part-time job, a friend whose husband is nearing the end of his life and others who have no Valentine to pamper them this year.  Bringing a little sweetness and light into their lives will make the holiday that much richer for me.








Do you celebrate Valentine's Day?  Has it changed for you over the years as it has for me?  How will you be celebrating this year?  Do you have a memorable Valentine's Day story (good or bad) to share with us?  What would be your ideal Valentine's Day celebration?  If you don't celebrate, how do you spend Valentine's Day?  Do you do anything special or just ignore it? What's your favorite flavor cupcake?  (My Valentines will get their choice of strawberry or white cake with vanilla or buttercream frosting and milk chocolate hearts on top!)

Because I love giving to others on Valentine's Day and because we all love romance, three of you who leave comments on today's blog will be receiving a package of books from us!  (U.S. only)  

Happy Valentine's Day!

~PJ

Valentine's Day Winners

Thank you to everyone who shared your Valentine's Day with me yesterday.  Your posts brought me many smiles throughout the day!  The three randomly selected winners from my Valentine's blog are:

SAVANNAH

STACIE D

MAUREEN

Congratulations, ladies!  Please send your full name and mailing address to me at theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com.  Also, please put "Valentine Winner" in the subject line and indicate your preference of sub-genre (historical, contemporary, paranormal, romantic suspense).

~PJ

Love Sweet Love

Happy Valentine's Day!  

Yes, it's here again; the holiday that millions of people love to celebrate...or try their level best to ignore.  My feelings about Valentine's Day have always been a bit ambivalent.  Millions of roses are delivered every year on February 14th yet, in my entire life, I've only received flowers for Valentine's Day once.  Once!  To make matters worse, they were from an ex-boyfriend and, while very sweet and certainly appreciated by me, let's just say they didn't go unnoticed by the current-at-the-time boyfriend. ;-)

When I finally married, I chose a man who didn't believe in "commercial holidays."  Lest you think I suffered through 25 years of being unappreciated, let me assure you that nothing could be further from the truth.  My late husband showered me with affection and lovely surprise gifts throughout our marriage.  They just didn't arrive on the prescribed holidays.

Over the years, Valentine's Day has evolved into a different sort of holiday for me.  Instead of one where I celebrate romantic love, it's become a day when I celebrate all of the people (and other critters) who bring meaning to my life.  It's a day when I phone my best girlfriend just to say, "I'm so happy you're in my life"; when I send cute cards to the children who make me smile and melt my heart.  (Is there anything sweeter than a child spontaneously throwing their arms around your neck and saying "I love you?")  It's a day when my two dogs get special treats, an extra long walk and sigh-inducing tummy rubs.  How could I do any less for them when, every day, they treat me like I'm the most important person in their world?  It's also a day when I give total strangers homemade chocolate hearts and a smile because, who knows, maybe they don't have anyone in their lives to tell them how special they are and we - every single one of us - deserves to be loved.

All of this doesn't mean that I don't celebrate the concept of romantic love.  Twenty-five happy years of marriage and hundreds of romance novels tucked throughout my house attest to the fact that I do.  I've just chosen to expand my circle.

Let's celebrate Valentine's Day here at The Romance Dish by sharing our stories of love.  Tell me about the special people in your lives who make you smile, make you laugh and melt your hearts.  Maybe it's your husband, or a boyfriend, a pet, a best friend or a child in your life.  Maybe it's an author who's written a book that gave you hope or made your heart sing.  Let's dish about love in all its many forms and faces!

My goodie room (yes, it's moved from a closet to a room) is overflowing with books and swag so I'm giving away goodies to three randomly chosen people who leave comments on today's blog.  It's my Valentine's Day gift to you! 

~PJ

Valentine Winner

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to celebrate Valentine's Day with me!  You all made the day so special that I decided to give away two prize packages instead of one.  The randomly selected winners are:

DANIELLE GORMAN

and

CHRIS S

Congratulations!  Please send your full name and mailing address with "Valentine Winner" in the subject line to theromancedish (AT) gmail (DOT) com.

Happy Valentines Day

 Will you be my Valentine?

I don't have a special someone in my life to celebrate Valentine's Day with so, this year, I'm giving a Valentine to someone here at The Romance Dish.  At the end of the day I'll randomly choose one commenter to receive a prize package from my book (and other goodies) stash.  So tell me...

Do you celebrate Valentine's Day?  What's the best Valentine's gift you've ever received or given?  The worst?  Describe your ideal (real or fantasy) Valentine's Day.  Or, if you're feeling really creative, write a poem about why you should be my prize-winning Valentine!   

~PJ