As you pucker up at the stroke of midnight to welcome in 2008, consider some kissing facts.

1. Kissing is one way to weed out people who are genetically incompatible with us.
“The evidence suggests that kissing evolved as a mate-assessment technique,” says researcher Gordon Gallup at the State University of New York at Albany.”

Gallup’s study involved about 1,000 college students and suggests that men and women kiss for different reasons. Men tend to kiss to gain sexual favors or to reconcile, whereas women kiss to check the status of their relationships.

In another survey by Softlips, a lip conditioning product, we learn:

48 percent of women in the survey considered tender kisses to be the best, while 46 percent of men said lustful, passionate kisses were best.

Women prefer spontaneous kisses slightly more than men.

49 percent of respondents said the women can make the move for the first kiss, with men agreeing more than women.

58 percent said it was OK to kiss on the first date; 65 percent of men felt this way compared with 51 percent of women.

24 percent check their breath before they kiss someone.

Women were twice as likely as men to kiss their pets.

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Enjoy your midnight kiss if you are still up with your loved one! My husband usually goes to bed before midnight even on New Year’s Eve!

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I’ll be drawing a name for blog contest winner soon! You still have today until midnight to leave comments to be entered!

Author Denyse Bridger passed this Happy New Year toast on to me from George! Enjoy!

Scott Michaels is a younger version of Clooney in my Catherine Steel chick-lit mystery, A Fiery Secret. Here’s a snippet from it:

Okay, now it was my turn. I glanced around and saw a drop dead gorgeous man. I drew in a long breath. He was so hot that I wondered if he was out of my league. He had black hair and reminded me of George Clooney except he was probably in his early thirties. What should I say to him? I had to think of a fresh line for him.

I couldn’t initiate contact with him. With his looks, he probably has women chasing him all the time. Something different needed to be done to get him to notice me. He could be my Mr. Right. With a thumping heart, I decided to walk by him and go to the rest room. After all, I wore my belt skirt with my sparkling shirt. He might stop me and ask me to dance.

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If you hurry, you can buy the ebook format of A Fiery Secret at a fantastic discount for only $4.68! During this festive week, all ebooks at My Bookstore & More will be on sale for 15% off!!!

I started reading a Love Inspired novel released in Feb. 2007 (same month my first two novels released in print) from my sister’s first box of gently used books. Although I enjoyed reading His Winter Rose by Lois Richer, it got buried under Christmas stuff. I was busy so didn’t take time to look for it. I decided to look for Richer’s paperback once Christmas was over.

Then I started wondering if the new book I plan to start writing in January should be an inspirational romance. I did enjoy writing my inspirational, No Greater Loss and have received good reviews. I read again about Avon Inspire. This new line of inspirational romances released last summer from Avon Books. These stories and their characters are primarily Christian, and promote traditional values and beliefs. I got Wedding Bell Blues by Linda Windsor out of the library. I started reading it in the midst of getting ready for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations so didn’t get very far.

Of course, I had to look thru all the books my sister Jean just sent to me this week. (My husband peeked at the books and said, “Your sister really does read a lot.”) After I skimmed a few pages of She’s The One by Patricia Kay, I sat down and started reading it. I’m going to finish it first. It’s a Silhouette Special Edition released in 2006.

All three authors have written great books. I plan to finish reading them, but I’ll admit I seem to like the way Kay’s book flows the best. Maybe it’s because the characters seem more real to me since they aren’t rich and just ordinary people with some very realistic struggles. I’m having trouble putting it down to do the necessary mundane household work.

If you’re a beginning writer, I saw where Patricia Kay is starting a writing class in February for $175.

Okay, what are you reading? And if you have read any of my books, which one did you like the best?

Tobey Maguire

Or month, I guess I should have for my title. I know it’s been several weeks since I’ve mentioned a guy for my choice of “Hot Dork” but I did have Tobey in mind and didn’t get it posted. Tobey Maguire has starred in the Spider-Man movies and before that he was the jockey in the movie, “Seabiscuit.” If you saw Spider-Man 3, then you probably remember how dorky Peter Parker/Spider-Man acted when his powers went to his head and how he tried to act cool.

Congratulations to Tobey Maguire for being Diane’s “Hot Dork of the Week” for his portrayal of Peter Parker in Spider-Man 3!

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My sister, Jean, sent me a box of books so I will have new ones to add for next blog contest. Here is the list for the present blog contest. The winner will get to choose 2 books from this list:

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (a large paperback)

An Independent Woman by Candace Camp

Highland Bride by Hannah Howell

Hero, Come Back by Stephanie Laurens, Christina Dodd, Elizabeth Boyle

A Regency Invitation to the House Party of the Season by Nicola Cornick, Joanna Maitland, Elizabeth Rolls

On Bended Knee by Alice Holden, Kate Huntington, Laura Paquet

It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas

Wait Until Midnight by Amanda Quick

The Moon And The Stars by Constance O’Banyon

Luke’s Proposal by Lois Faye Dyer (Silhouette Special Edition)

Forbidden Merger by Emilie Rose (Silhouette Desire)

My Scandalous Bride by Christina Dodd, Stephanie Laurens, Celeste Bradley, Leslie LaFoy

The Widow’s Kiss by Jane Feather

The Bliss by Jacqueline Navin

Lady Of Sin by Madeline Hunter

Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Manhunt by Janet Evanovich (reissued in 2005)

Just Perfect by Julie Ortolon

Proper Conduct by Shannon Donnelly

Exclusive! by Fiona Hood-Stewart, Sharon Kendrick, Jackie Braun

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by Joan Johnston

Spending time with our family on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was wonderful! All six children attended Christmas Eve Mass with us so that was one of the best presents. Amanda was one of the servers. I tried to get a picture of her during the procession, but I didn’t click it at the right time and got a picture instead of Father Jerry. Christina spent the night instead of making a late drive home to her condo. We had fun chatting and watching a movie. Bart proposed to his girlfriend Lea and gave her a beautiful ring. We’re happy to have her part of our family. April and Lea chatted about weddings. April and Michael are planning on getting married in 2008 so that’s exciting, too!

Emily, her boyfriend, and Amanda made Christmas cookies before we went to church. They were so delicious that I ate too many. I’m not getting on the scales for a few days! I followed our family tradition of having lasagna after 5:00 Mass. We opened a few gifts and saved the rest for Christmas Day. Emily had to work on Christmas Day so we missed her. I saved her some food from our ham dinner. We enjoyed playing Outburst.

I have to share how happy I was to receive kind messages from three special people who were a huge part of my youth. The first was from our neighbor Rachel. She was like a second mother to me while I was growing up outside of Findlay, Ohio and was also my 4-H advisor for years. She helped me with my sewing projects. She wrote about my mother: “I miss Laoma very much. If you were discouraged, she would brighten your day!” She did always brighten our days. All of us miss her and my dad. Two characters in my Christmas book are based on my mother and Rachel. My mother passed away in January 2003.

In another Christmas card, my cousin Debby from Michigan, wrote that she bought all three of my Samhain books. She said how she plans to read them over her break from school. That made my day to know she purchased my novels. Debby and I shared some good times when our families visited each other and also at reunions. I still remember how Debby and I went to see a Gidget movie starring the very handsome James Darren and Deborah Walley as Gidget. Darren’s nickname was Moon Doggie. Sandra Dee was in one of the Gidget movies. Those were the days!

I also enjoyed being reminded of how I used to eat ice cream sundaes after volunteering at the hospital in Findlay. I heard from a dear school friend, Mertie. Wanda, Mertie, and I used to be candy stripers together. After we were done filling water pitchers for the patients and delivering flowers, we would go sit at the counter in the hospital’s little shop and eat sundaes. Now how in the world did I forget about eating ice cream? Thanks, Mertie, for reminding me. I still love ice cream.

Tom got me a printer dock so I can print my own pictures. Cool, huh and I received thoughtful gifts from my children. But, of course, the best gift was celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Hope everyone is enjoying the last few days of 2007! I hope you can find time to read. I just started an inspirational novel which I will write about when I finish it.