The Power of Love Valentine’s Day Blog Hop! (BOOK GIVEAWAY!)

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MY BEST VALENTINE'S DAY EVER...was about kindness and friendship. 

When I was in high school, they would come around with the Candygrams (those caramel apple suckers that were like shards of glass on your tongue?) and notes and hand-deliver them to anyone lucky enough to have a friend or an SO or a stalker who shelled out the dollar and wrote the message. Every class period, the populars would receive three more Candygrams, throwing them into the pile—hoarding those coveted suckers. And every class period, I would sit up a little straighter, and my gut would clench, and I would hope and pray and pray and hope, that *someone* thought to send me one.

Spoiler alert: I never got my Candygram.

I changed schools at the beginning of my junior year. By the time February rolled around, I'd had a few months to make friends in this new, tiny, private school—but I wasn't expecting much. The handsome, green-eyed cowboy I was crushing on hard, didn't see me ‘like that’ and, even if he had, this new school didn't do Candygrams.

Spoiler alert: It turned out alright.

A friend walked up to me February 14th, 2000 with a Gundam Wing! V-Day card she'd made, full of kind thoughts about me and our friendship, chocolates, and a single rose. She smiled, patted me on the back and said, “I know you were worried about today. I wanted to make it special.” With that one thoughtful gesture, she wiped out every low feeling I'd had about Candygrams and popularity and my belongingness in the world of V-Day. I doubt she even remembers, but I'll never forget. Best. Valentine's Day. Ever.

PS. I married my green-eyed cowboy—and though he's tried, he still hasn't been able to top that single, thoughtfully given rose—that I still have in a glass bottle in my writing cove.

What was your best Valentine's Day? Leave a comment between February 14th and February 16th (11:59 p.m. CST) about your own best Valentine's Day EVER and you will be entered to win a FREE copy of my V-Day short, Under the Table and Into His Heart from Dreamspinner Press. The winner will be drawn randomly and notified on February 17th.

At the Under the Table host club, Valentine’s Day means one thing: cash. Neglected housewives, newly ex-girlfriends, and lovelorn thirtysomethings pay for the attention of handsome men. Shy bartender Jem has always wanted to be a host, and when the club’s owner, Miss Rye, accepts a contract from a MensLove Convention, Jem volunteers to flirt and make out with another host for the ladies’ entertainment. Bailey, an older man who’s had his eye on Jem, convinces Miss Rye to let him be Jem’s partner, and everyone gets more than they expected—especially Jem and Bailey.