Showing posts with label Ghosts and Gardenias. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ghosts and Gardenias. Show all posts

Sunday, 21 June 2026

Guest Post: Pucker Up! International Kissing Day is Almost Here by Paranormal Romance Author C.D. Hersh...


If you haven’t kissed your significant other, your children, your parents, or other family members today, get offline and do so. After you read our blog, of course, because July 6th, is International Kissing Day.

Kissing Day was first celebrated in the UK and now is an international celebration in all the countries where kissing is part of the culture. Kissing was not a custom of many indigenous peoples and is believed to have been introduced to indigenous peoples through European settlement. Hooray for Europe!

According to recent research, kissing is also good for you too. It burns calories (about 2-3 calories a minute), it’s good for your heart (it creates an adrenalin that causes your heart to pump more blood), it helps prevent tooth decay, is a stress reliever, and it boosts your immunity. And if boosting your health isn’t enough reason to have a few smooches, consider this … it just feels good.

There are many ways to kiss. Here are a few:

• Passionate kisses the goodnight kiss that lasts forever when you’re young and head over heels in love the French kiss 
the hickey kiss 
the upside-down Spiderman kiss 
the bittersweet kiss, often shared between star crossed lovers as they leave each other 

• Affectionate kisses 
kissing the boo boos away 
the top of the head kiss 
the forehead kiss, a motherly sort of kiss, 
the awkward first kiss 

• Greeting kisses 
the European double cheek kiss of greeting 
the kiss on the cheek, often the hello and goodbye kisses we give friends and family 

• Insincere kisses 
the betrayal kiss of Judas 
the air kiss often practiced as a sham action 
the kiss of death 

• Kisses that don’t involve touching lips 
the Eskimo kiss, rubbing noses instead of touching lips 
the butterfly kiss, done by fluttering the eyelashes against the cheek hand kissing, a lost art except in historical romances which can be romantic or a greeting to a lady 
the kiss you smack into your hand and throw to someone 
body kisses (‘Nuff said’)

Writers of romance often concern themselves with the more passionate kisses, but there’s something to be said for using sweeter kisses in our stories too. Not every kiss shared by a couple is going to set off fireworks. Sometimes you need the love without the rollercoaster ride to add some levels to the romance. Consider incorporating some sweeter, more affectionate kisses in your love scenes. You might be surprised at what happens between your characters when they hold back a little on the ardor.

Have you kissed someone today?

Perhaps a book we’ve written may help set the mood.


Susan Trowbridge is the victim of mistaken identity, trapped in the past by a ghost and a haunted wedding gown. To return home she must discover the identity of the ghost’s murderer. Can Susan stop the murder, or will history repeat itself, with her as the victim this time? And if she does stop the murder, must she return home and leave the man she has come to love? 

Duncan Hawthorn is a man battling his own demons. But when Susan falls into his life, Duncan finds himself inexplicably attracted to a woman he thought he hated. Should he believe she is in danger? Should he believe her irrational claims that she is from the future? Either way, he realizes he will lose the woman who has become his salvation and his true love.

 

Second Editions Coming Soon:

 

Ghosts and Gardenias

 

The Promised One The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 1

Blood Brothers The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 2

Son of the Moonless Night The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 3

The Mercenary and the Shifters The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 4 

 

C.D. Hersh–Two hearts creating everlasting love stories.

Putting words and stories on paper is second nature to award-winning co-authors C.D. Hersh. 

They’ve written separately since they were teenagers and discovered their unique, collaborative abilities in the mid-90s. As high school sweethearts and husband and wife, Catherine and Donald believe in true love and happily ever after. 

Sunday, 22 June 2025

Guest Post: We Hate When That Happens by Paranormal Romance Author Duo C.D. Hersh...


Writing is full of challenges, from the perfecting the actual craft to getting the book published to mastering marketing. Along the way, if you’re like us, you’ve probably had your share of writing mishaps-things you hate to see happen. Here are ten of our We-hate-when-that-happens moments. 

1. When we miss the wrong word in a sentence that spell check didn’t catch and send the piece to the editor for publication. Sliver and silver—both are spelled correctly but can’t be used interchangeably. 

2. When we see the transposed letters of a word in our blog comments AFTER the comment has been posted and you can’t get to it for a do over. 

3. When our hero’s eye color changes mid-book because somebody forgot to check the character sheet. (No we won’t identify the “somebody”) 

4. When the find and replace option in Microsoft Word replaces ALL the spaces between the words, instead of the one extra space after every sentence targeted, turning the manuscript into one loooooong run-on sentence. Yes,ithappenedtous. That’s why we don’t recommend using the replace all function. 

5. When everyone in the critique group hates our favorite part of a scene. That usually means there’s going to be a lot of rewriting. 

6. When your finger finds the delete key instead of the save key. Thank goodness for the UNDO function! 

7. When you realize the whole chapter you just finished doesn’t go anywhere, doesn’t move the plot forward, and that chapter has to be slashed from the book. 

8. When the critique partners love the secondary characters more than the hero or heroine. Ugh! 

9. When we love a secondary character more than a hero or heroine. (One solution is that means a second book.) 

10. When you close down the computer and it crashes the next time it‘s opened. This is why Catherine prints out a hard copy every time she creates new pages and stores them in a three ring binder. Paper is her friend. (She has the file drawers full to prove it. 20 at last count. Do you have an I-hate-when-that-happens moment? We would love to hear it. Please share in a comment below so we don’t fell so inept.


Putting words and stories on paper is second nature to co-authors C.D. Hersh. They've written separately since they were teenagers and discovered their unique, collaborative abilities in the mid-90s. As high school sweethearts and husband and wife, Catherine and Donald believe in true love and happily ever after, and that’s why they write romance. 

The second editions of the first four books of their paranormal romance series entitled The Turning Stone Chronicles will available in e-book format on Amazon soon.

Ghosts and Gardenias, the second edition of the first book in their time slip romance series Ghosts of Garnoa Road, will be coming soon. 

In addition to writing Catherine and Donald love antiquing, traveling, singing, and going to the theatre. Catherine is also an avid gardener and has drawn Donald into her garden as a day laborer. They figure the couple who plays together and works together, stays together—and that's just what they aim to do.

Learn more about C.D. Hersh on their Website, Amazon Author Page. Stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads. Be sure to follow their Blog.