Kissing and journal making

 Happy Thursday from sooooo cold Michigan! Besides being really cold outside, we have been very blessed compared to so many others.

The sun was out but it was only in the single digits... 
You know it's cold when Milo and Charlie don't get wet :-)

But I'm not here to chat about the cold, the ice, or the snow, let's talk about.... 

Love is a slow build in my mind. I know that many people believe in love at first sight and it makes for great movies and books but for me it needs to be built. One of the keys ways to build love is through kisspense.

I strive for kisspense often in my writing... keeping the reader and characters on the edge. Will they kiss??? Won't they kiss??? This a video of the history of Draco and Hermione from Harry Potter building kisspense... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD30RRRvADM

What is your favorite will they or won't they couple?

Kissing just isn't an expression of love it's a way to 'refilling the love' well. As writer, not only do I like to create kisspense but I have a lot - and I mean a lot - kissing scenes in my books. I use different kiss scenes to create different moods in my characters not just desire. My characters kiss...

for reassurance...

to comfort....

to say sorry...

when they don't know what to say...

And because of all these reasons, characters in all types of genre not just romance kiss. I have found that just like the couples I write about need recharging aka kissing, I need to refill my creative writing well as do most writers. Just like every kiss is different but has the same the end result (intense good feelings - I'm keeping my kissing positive feelings for this blog).

Refilling my creative well almost always includes a nonwriting creative activity. While I enjoy reading, and do it daily, it's more of a relaxation thing for me.

Over the last couple of years, the thing I have found that 'refills' my creative well is making journals. I mostly do this alone but Charlie does make journals too :-)

some of the journals Charlie and I have made

I know... you guys thought it would have something to do with doughnuts didn't you???

Doughnuts are like reading, they bring me peace and joy but don't do a lot for feeding my muse. The same with walking and taking pictures - it brings me joy and peace but doesn't do anything for my creative well. 

So just as a kiss isn't always a prelude to romance not all things that you enjoy will have the same benefit. 

And of course, I couldn't have a post about kissing without saying something about famous kissing scenes... 

I can already hear the gasp but I'm not a fan of Jack and Rose of Titanic fame and I'm even less of a fan of the Twilight kissing. I know I know but thankfully we don't live in a one kiss fits all world :-) 

What is your favorite kiss scene? My favorite kiss and kisspense scenes are from the movie Benny and Joon. I love everything about this movie. 

Thanks for stopping by! And until next month.

Mistletoe Magic and Kissing

Donna Hatch

The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is as ancient as it is fun. No one seems to know the true origin of kissing under the mistletoe, but most sources seem to trace it back to old Scandinavia. It probably stems from pagan rituals, as do most Christmas traditions, even Christmas itself.

Druids believed mistletoe possessed magical powers of healing—even against poison—and helped improve fertility. Other herbology claims mistletoe is both an aphrodisiac and an abortive plant, which might be why some of the earliest customs involved more than an innocent kiss.

In the Celitc language, mistletoe means literally, “all-healer.” Modern medicine cannot prove this, so it probably comes from superstition based on the phenomenon that even in the dead of winter, mistletoe stays green and healthy because it is feeding off the trees serving as its host. Druids performed a sacred sacrificial ritual underneath the mistletoe for the benefit of sick or infertile land and animals.

But getting back to the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. Its earliest uses are linked to its symbolism of peace. Supposedly warring parties would lay down their weapons and declare a truce while in the presence of mistletoe. Quarreling couples would kiss and make up underneath a sprig of mistletoe. This probably led later to the tradition to simply kissing anyone “caught” standing underneath the mistletoe, which later led to interesting--and not always innocent--situations. Until recently, the young man would traditionally pluck off one of the white berries after kissing a girl. When all the berries were plucked, the kissing, at least while under the mistletoe, also ceased. Reportedly, maids in a boarding house would wait under the mistletoe, get kissed, and then the men were expected to pay a shilling.

At one point, the "kissing bunch" became a Christmas decoration in England and in early American homes. The kissing bunch was constructed of two hoops tied into a round frame, then decorated with ribbons, holly, apples, oranges and other bright fruits. In the center of the frame rested figures of the infant Christ, Mary, and Joseph. A sprig of mistletoe hung below this.

In my Regency Novella, “A Winter’s Knight,” part of A Timeless Romance Anthology, Winter Collection, there is a life-changing kiss under the mistletoe, but it may not be enough to break the curse.

So the next time you need a good kissing, stand under a bunch of mistletoe in the vicinity of a person you’d like to kiss, (bring your own mistletoe if necessary) and expect a kiss. Throat-clearing may help. But remember, no berry plucking or shilling paying is necessary!

 

www.DonnaHatch.com