Guest Post: Top Ten Valentine's Gifts Your Partner Will Love by @jamiemayres

I love Valentine’s Day . . . I don’t care if some people think it’s just a cash cow created by retailers. Needless to say, I'll be celebrating! I'm so thankful to have a Valentine that’s been married to me for 15 ½ years!

I’m not sure what I’m getting for hubs yet, but I’ve been brainstorming, and I think I’ve created the perfect Top 10 List of Valentine’s Gifts Your Partner Will Love:

10) If you’re into geek love like me, then you might enjoy ordering a pair of matching T-shirts (not the exact same shirt, but the same theme—I’m that dorky but hubs would never go for it, lol). Some of our favorite sites are: teefury, 6 dollar shirts, shirt punch, and five finger tees.

9) What says love on Valentine’s Day better than personalized candy hearts? It is a bit spendy, but still a cute idea if you can afford it!

8) Flowers always work. Look at the ones I got this week!

7) Of course, jewelry always works, too! I love Origami Owl for personalized creations, and who doesn’t love Pandora charms for their bracelet? Hubs isn’t big on jewelry, so I’m sort of at a loss in suggesting jewelry for men, but I did find this cool Thor themed money clip!

6) How can you go wrong with chocolate? I mean, who are we kidding? All of us have already blown our New Year’s Resolution diets anyway. Maybe you can get your sweetie to upgrade to a box of world-renowned Norman Love Confections! I’m lucky enough to live near their headquarters, but they ship all over the world! 

5) Who doesn't love to get a poem or homemade card with heartfelt words of love? The good news is, even if you’re not crafty, there are plenty of easy ideas on Pinterest!

4) How about heating up the kitchen by making your Valentine a five-course dinner? Beverages—preferably something red, like a Strawberry Daiquiri. The second course is appetizers—cocktail shrimp and stuffed portabella mushrooms are my favorite picks. The third course is salad—I love this recipe for Greek Salad. The fourth course is the main dinner—I love steak with cast-iron herbed potatoes anna; pork chops with shallot-cranberry sauce; coffee-crusted beef wellingtons with carrots (sprinkled with thyme, brown sugar, and bacon); or baked chicken breasts covered with mushrooms, onion, and bacon. Feel free to email me on my website for any of the recipes! Finally, the fifth course is dessert  . . . hmm, I think you can figure out something ;-)

3) Pop some extra buttery popcorn and enjoy a romantic movie night at home! If I was only speaking to the guys in this post, I’d suggest The Notebook, Titanic, A Walk To Remember, or Pride and Prejudice. But if you want to pick something you’d both enjoy, then you probably want to do a romantic comedy instead. Here are some of mine and hubs favorite picks: When Harry Met Sally, While You Were Sleeping, Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, The Princess Bride, Benny & Joon, Ever After, 17 Again, Fever Pitch, and Hitch. There are always some great new releases coming out in the theatres as well if you want a night out on the town!

2) Instead of a five-course meal, how about a five-step sensual massage? Step one: touching above the neck only is allowed—try a temple massage. Step two: touching below the knees only is allowed—try a calf and foot massage. Step three: caressing allowed only above the waist—nice time for a back massage. Step four—anything but intercourse goes. Step five—I’m sure you don’t need the details on this! Don’t forget to light some candles and put on some romantic music for this fun surprise!

1)Top of the list? A romance novel, of course! What better way to get you in the mood for romance than reading about love? And yes, my new book, 18 Truths, is a coming of age inspirational love story! Here are the dets:

Lying is unbearable, betrayal is inevitable, and choosing which path to take is impossible.

Olga Gay Worontzoff ended her senior year as an eighteen-year-old girl totally in love with Nate, enjoying their new romance and about to attend the university of her dreams. Now she’s spending her summer in the weird subculture of the Underworld, with charmingly witty and powerful angels, and problematic demons, trying to rescue Connor, the best friend and secret crush she was unable to save during a freak accident.

But Nate has other things on his mind, mainly Grace. She’s their first assignment as joint spirit guides, and Olga’s feeling hurt and jealous. His mysterious behavior has Olga questioning everything she believed about him and now she must decide whether to stick to their plan, or follow her heart.

Unfortunately, a series of mistakes threatens everyone around her and plants Olga in the center of cosmic events much larger than she ever imagined.

Only one thing is certain: the chilling truths uncovered during her journey will leave no one untouched.


18 Truths is now available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon. And don't forget to add it on Goodreads!

*Do you like how I tied that in? Hahaha . . . What are you doing to celebrate Valentine’s Day (even if it’s just with your family and friends)? I hope you have a good one!

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 Jamie Ayres writes young adult paranormal love stories by night and teaches young adults as a Language Arts middle school teacher by day. When not at home on her laptop or at school, she can often be found at a local book store grabbing random children and reading to them. So far, she has not been arrested for this. Although she spent her youthful summers around Lake Michigan, she now lives in Florida with her prince charming, two children (sometimes three based on how Mr. Ayres is acting), and a basset hound. She really does have grandmothers named Olga and Gay but unlike her heroine, she's thankfully not named after either one of them. She loves lazy pajama days, the first page of a good book, stupid funny movies, and sharing stories with fantastic people like you. Her books include the first two installments of her trilogy, 18 Things and 18 Truths. Visit her online via Twitter, Facebook, or at www.jamieayres.com.

Blog Takeover: Change Angel Aloshua has a Special Request.

Hi loves,


Today, I've turned over my blog to my eight year old nephew, Aloshua, who has a very special request for us.

***

My name is Aloshua and I am eight years old.

When I was born, I was very sick, so my doctor sent me to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
For the last eight years, ACH has been my second home. I’ve had 23 surgeries there, and spent almost my whole first three years there! But I’m not scared when I go to ACH because I know my doctors and nurses are going to take great care of me. They know me by name and they always give me my favorite stickers. My mommy calls me a miracle, but I think ACH is a miracle, too. They helped me get better when so many kids like me don’t!

Mommy always tells me how important it is to help take care of others kids who are sick like me, so every year, I help collect change for the hospital. They use it to make sure that all kids get the care they need, even if their family doesn’t have all the money to pay for it. Being sick is scary. It makes me happy to know that I helped make it a little less scary for kids like me and their families.

You can help make it less scary, too! When you support me with a donation to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, you’ll be making a life-saving difference for kids just like me.

Your spare change helps the hospital do great things for all the little kids who need their help.
Every dollar you give is meaningful!


Consider giving:
$27 the cost of 10 aluminum finger splints
$50 the cost of an infant blood pressure cuff
$78 the cost of 6 pairs of child crutches
$150 the cost of an IV pole
$250 the cost of one day’s worth of diapers
You can make a difference just like me. Just enter your donation amount to the left and help me change lives!


Thank you,
Aloshua


*To make a donation please visit Aloshua’s fundraising page on the Change Angels website. Thank you to all of those who have supported him thus far!


Ayden's Note:


How sweet is he?! If you'd like to help but don't want to donate online, you can tape a penny to a postcard and mail it to Aloshua at: Team Losh, PO Box 982, Bald Knob, AR, 72010. All pennies received by March 7th will be donated during the Change Angels radio-thon at Arkansas Children's Hospital on March 7, 2014.



FALL– The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is now available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and KOBO. FADE - The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is available at: Amazon US | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Books-a-Million

New Year, New You? No Thanks.

I don't do resolutions for the New Year. I think most people who make resolutions tend to make them fully intending to follow through with them... but also with a little voice in the back of their minds whispering that it's okay if they fail because, come March or April, everyone they know will probably have failed too. Maybe I'm making a broad generalization there, I don't know.

But I do know that, year after year, I watch my family and friends make resolutions. And year after year, I watch my family and friends commit to those resolutions for weeks or months at a time. And then, year after year, one by one, my family and friends fall off the wagon and just don't bother getting back on again.

There are always excuses when it happens.

Life got busy.

I didn't have the energy.

I don't have time.

I'm never going to make it.

Who really keeps a NY resolution, anyway?

The list of excuses and rationalizations goes on and on.

Resolutions are a good idea in theory, but in practice, they're full of unintentional, unacknowledged self-sabotage. We resolve (or intend) to do something, but from the moment we make that resolution we know that, if we don't quite make it, it's okay because no one else made it either. We know that there's always next year, and the year after that, and the one after that. We set ourselves up for failure before we ever begin, and most of the time, we don't even realize we've done it.

That seems a little silly to me, especially when the New Year is supposed to be a time to reflect on the past and plan for the future, so I simply refuse to play along.

Instead, beginning in October (the time of the Celtic New Year), I assess the year quickly drawing to a close, and I set goals for the approaching year.

Goals and resolutions aren't the same thing, at least not to me.

Goals are more tangible than a resolution. Goals come with steps and plans and little measures of success along the way. And goals can be amended. They don't have to be a win or lose thing. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing endeavor. If I set a goal too high, I know I can adjust that goal without feeling like I cheated. I also know that I'm more likely to stick with those goals simply because goals don't come complete with that little internal voice telling me it's okay if I fail, or that I'll never make it, or that no one else will either. There are built in triumphs along the way, the ones that empower us to keep going, even when the going gets tough. We don't have to wait for a New Year to try again if we fall off the wagon. We can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and hop back on the proverbial horse at any time.

And we will pick ourselves up and hop back in the saddle, because we have a goal to meet, and we have no excuses for failing to meet it. We're accountable for that goal, not a New Year, not the failure or success of friends or family, but us. We challenge ourselves to meet those goals, and we don't have a built in scapegoat if we don't rise to the challenge.

Even better, we don't have to start from scratch with our goals. We can piggyback off of the success of the year before, or of a previously met or established goal. There is no "New Year, New You" mantras involved. We're not reinventing ourselves. We're bettering ourselves or our lives, one tangible goal at a time while fully recognizing and celebrating that fact that the "old us" is pretty cool, too. There's nothing wrong with the person I was in 2013 or with the challenges I faced. I don't feel a pressing need to change me. What I do feel is a desire to continue learning and growing in 2014, just like I did in 2013.

Goals help us accomplish all of that so much more realistically than do resolutions. At least, that's my opinion of the whole thing. And I'm looking forward to meeting the goals I've set for 2014.

Aside from getting the husband well again, I have a lot of goals for the next year. There are action plans and measurable successes and celebrations along the way. Some are huge, and some are small things.

I won't bore you with all of the details, but here are a few of the goals (big and small) I'll be working on in 2014. 

1) Bringing home baby Morgen - This year, my husband and I will start working on bringing home a baby Morgen. We'll talk with my neurosurgeon, and fertility specialists, and adoption agencies. We'll decide whether IVF or adoption is the best route, and we'll pursue that option eagerly. We'll panic along the way, and worry and doubt and, hell, probably even fall apart, but we're ready to try again for a baby Morgen, and we're looking forward to the nerve-wracking, nail-biting, crazy, beautiful journey.

2) Writing more often - This year, I'll finish FLAME, Ravished, and Stricken. I'll begin working on FEAR and Rapture. I'll work on eliminating passive phrasing from my writing, and on showing more than telling. I'll get rid of words like really and just. I'll write as often as possible, participate in NaNo, and stop wasting so much writing time browsing the web. By year's end, I will have at least four novels in print.

3) Redecorating - This year, I'll finish decorating the house. I'll stop stalling on buying new furniture, and will move the old furniture into the den. I'll also pain the den, finish the guest bedroom, and turn the pet room into a pet friendly sunroom.

4) Becoming healthier - This year, I'll work toward getting the migraines under control again by reducing my stress, becoming healthier, and admitting when enough is enough. I'll learn to admit when I need a break, to say no, and will work to stop pushing myself to the brink of exhaustion at the expense of my health. I'll stop surviving on sugar and caffeine.

5) Vacationing/Lazy Days - This year, my husband and I will take an actual vacation. I'll actually watch the movies I put on my Netflix queue, and will read at least 50 of the books I put on my TBR list. I'll spend more time doing less, and learning to enjoy it. I'll turn the music up loud and dance like a crazy person more. I'll also make the husband dance with me.

6) Education - This year, I'll finally make a decision about whether I'm going to law school instead of putting it off for another year.

What are you hoping to accomplish in 2014?

Happy New Year, loves. No matter what the year brings you, I hope you meet your goals and learn more about yourselves along the way.

xoxo,

Ayden

 

FALL– The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is now available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and KOBO. FADE - The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is available at: Amazon US | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Books-a-Million

You Ruined Christmas!

SS and I recently made the mistake of telling our family that we would not be putting up a Christmas tree this year. Before you gasp in horror, let me just say that we're not opposed to Christmas trees or anything. When the Keeper and kiddos lived with us, we had trees all over the place. And we enjoyed putting them up. But this year, we made the decision not to do so because we now spend the holidays elsewhere. We have a cat and very curious dogs, so we don't put gifts under the tree anyway. And neither SS nor I feel particularly motivated to spend hours decorating a tree that we won't use, don't have time to fuss with, and will then have to spend the next month guarding from the dogs and cat.

But when we made the statement that we were opting out of a Christmas tree this year, you would have thought we announced the end of the world. Everyone had something to say, and most of the comments sent our way were less than supportive.

We were labeled Grinches.

We were ruining the spirit of the holiday.

We needed a tree to celebrate.

And so on and so forth until I wanted to flip everyone the bird.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is our house, right?

I mean, unless I've just been living in a fantasy world, I'm pretty sure the house is full of our things. I'm also pretty sure we moved those things into said house on our own. We pay the bills. We do the cleaning, maintenance, repairs and all that fun stuff. And I'm also pretty sure we live here alone.
 

So, I don't feel bad for not putting up a tree. I do, however, feel more than a little irritated that so many thought it necessary to try to guilt us into doing so. I mean, people who have never stepped foot inside our house suddenly decided they had a say as to how we decorated or celebrated the holidays!

What the heck?

Has the world lost its dang mind?

Has a Christmas tree really become such an important factor that the holiday season will be ruined if we don't have a tree that, more than likely, these people would never see anyway? Is a tree really that big of a deal?

It is?

Oh, well then. Forgive me for thinking the holiday season was about something far more important than the presence of a fake tree. All these years, I've thought it was about family and love. I thought the season was about faith, whatever your faith might be, and celebrating the amazing gifts we've been given. I thought it was about creating new memories and cherishing those we've already made. I thought it was a time for hope and happiness and a celebration of the generous spirit of giving. A time of rebirth, rejuvenation, and compassion.

Gosh, how wrong I've been all these years! 

To think I wasted all these years spreading love and cheer and good will to friends, family, and those less fortunate during the holiday season. Had I known that all I needed to do was put up a tree, my life would have been so much fuller.

Oh, wait. No! I really don't think it would have been.

I actually think my life, and that of my husband, has been pretty dang great even though we don't usually spend hours putting up lights or a ton of decorations this time of year. I think we've made some fantastic memories by instead spending that time doing things for others… like shopping for a less fortunate child, adopting an elderly person, sending cards to soldiers, cooking for the homeless, volunteering to work so others could enjoy a day with their families, snuggling up to watch silly movies together, spending time with friends and family, or searching out the perfect gifts to put a smile on the faces of the special kids in our lives.

And I think this year will be just as fabulous, even if we don't put up that tree. Because a tree just isn't that damn important in the grand scheme of things. Really, it isn't.

The world will continue to spin.

The Universe isn't going to implode if it happens to peek into our home and see a treeless living room.

God, whichever God one might believe in, isn't going to decide we're crappy humans because we didn't bow to a tradition of some else's choosing.

Santa isn't going to turn his sleigh around and race off to the North Pole in tears because there wasn't a tree.

In short… nothing bad will happen if we don't have a tree! So stop being jerks, folks. Your holiday won't be ruined by our lack of a tree. And neither will ours. I promise.

xoxo,

Ayden

 *And before anyone flames me for saying holidays more often than Christmas in this post, I'd just like to remind everyone that this season does, indeed, contain multiple holidays from many different cultures, all of which I hope you and your family enjoy equally. :)

FALL– The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is now available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and KOBO. FADE - The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is available at: Amazon US | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Books-a-Million

Teaser Tuesday 4: Ravished - The Teplo Files

Happy, #GivingTuesday!

I hope you are all recovering from a fabulous Cyber Monday. I know I am! You guys are completely awesome and sent FADE and FALL soaring through the ranks on Amazon yesterday. It did my little heart good. Thank you!

I would give you a teaser from FLAME to celebrate, but, well, I haven't made much headway with it yet. I've been wrapped up in getting Ravished revised to my liking so I can send it off into the world. Soon, hopefully. :)

I hope you'll accept another teaser from this story instead.

"God, I am so stupid."

"Lillian, you aren't stupid." Tristan pushed away from the door, his arms crossed over his chest to keep himself from reaching out for her. "If you don't want to do this, you can still say no. I meant what I said in Jason's office. I'll make sure you won't be in danger if you stay here."

"That's not the point, Tristan." She shot him another frustrated look.

"Then what is the point?" he asked, his own discontent with the situation growing by leaps and bounds when faced with her anger. "Why did you agree to this? Christ, you're just a ballerina, beautiful. This isn't your life."

"And that bothers you, doesn't it? That I'm just a ballerina," she snapped, rolling her eyes.

"It doesn't bother me nearly enough," he retorted. "Christ, I'm trying to keep you safe. You don't know what you're getting into here, and you just fucking agreed to it anyway. And I'm not nearly stron-" He snapped his mouth closed, growling soundlessly.

"What is your problem?" she demanded. "Why are you such an ass? What did I ever do to you, Tristan?" She opened her mouth again, but he cut her off this time, incapable of stopping himself. He didn't really want to anyway. He was tired of dancing around the truth.

"I don't want you hurt. Jesus, Lillian, is that so goddamned difficult to grasp?" He raked a hand through his hair, tugging the strands. "I. Don't. Want. You. Hurt. And not because I can't keep my damn hands to myself when I'm around you either."

Lillian's eyes widened, whatever she was going to say lost as she looked at him. Really looked at him. Her shocked gaze rolled over him like a wave, sending heat and desire crashing down all over again. He curled his hands into fists against the creases of his arms in a last ditch effort to keep himself from snatching her up and kissing her.

"It's not your choice to make," she said.

"No?" He arched a brow at her. "None of this would be an issue if it weren't for me."

"Well, at least you admit that much." She huffed, and then sighed. "I barely know you, and I'm already sick of arguing with you."

"Then don't," he suggested, liking the sound of that plan a whole hell of a lot. "Just… don't."

She stared at him for a long, silent minute. A parade of emotion crossed her face, flickering too quickly for him to separate one from the next. "Tell me you don't want me to do this, Tristan," she finally said, holding his gaze. "Tell me you want me to tell Jason I changed my mind, and I will."

"Would you?" He swallowed hard. "You'd walk away right now if I asked?"

"Yeah, I would."

"Why?"

Why did what he wanted matter so much to her?

See you soon, lvelies!

 

xoxo,

Ayden

 

PS: If you haven't entered the Goodreads Giveaway for FALL yet, it ends tomorrow! You can enter via the widget on the sidebar!

FALL– The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is now available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and KOBO. FADE - The Ragnarök Prophesies: Book Two is available at: Amazon US | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Books-a-Million