Come On In Outta That Heat, Don't Dawdle, The Air's On.

Great googly-moogly! Today is the first day of summer. I hope you're all enjoying the hop and are prepared to win stuff from some of your favorite authors. If you're lost or out of the hop loop, you can access it from here: http://justromance.me

Not that kind of peeper.

Summer is my favorite time of year. Tan lines, flip flops, shorts, sunshine, and sweet ice tea. Okay, sure, it's practically sub-tropical here in the Midwest, but I love the long days (shh, don't tell me they'll start getting shorter from now on, I don't want to hear that), quiet evenings spent on the porch around the citronella candle, and the sounds of the peepers and cicadas.

You're getting a two-fer today. Let's start with a tie-in with the Friday Five, since the hop is running all weekend, I'm going to spout off five facts about the solstice. So settle in, pour you a lemonade, prepare to learn and read, and maybe even win something.

 The Druids celebrated the Summer Solstice as the "wedding of Heaven and Earth", thus resulting in the belief that June is a lucky wedding month.

The solstice coincided with the flooding of the Nile in ancient Egypt. They believed it was the goddess Isis mourning for her deceased husband Osiris.

 Pagans built bonfires and jumped over them, believing their crops would grow as high as they could jump. (Is that where the saying "that really burns my ass" is from?)

 In ancient Greece summer solstice was the one month countdown to the Olympic games.

 Scholars believe Wyoming's Bighorn medicine wheel, built by Plains Indians, aligns at sunrise and sunset and was a sight for the sun dance, which began on the solstice.


And for your reading pleasure, a steamy first kiss from the steampunk romance novel I very recently decided not to release this summer, The Sky Pirate's Wife.

He brushed his fingers along her jaw, toward the back of her head where her neck and skull met. A series of hairpins held her curls up. With one or two quick movements, he slipped them out, letting them fall to the floor. The bottom of her hair tumbled down around her shoulders, creating a veil over the creamy skin of her neck.

"Ah, Sophie. You are a vision." He wanted to bury his nose in her hair. He wanted to sweep her up and carrying her into his room, watch the dress slide into a puddle at her feet and bare her skin.

She didn't seem to notice he'd ruined her hair. Her face tipped up to his. She wanted to kiss him. Her tongue ran over her lower lip, moistening the skin there. Hemmel help him, he was going to do everything he'd just considered if she didn't step away now.

“Sophie,” he said again.

Her hands curled into this jacket. It wasn't enough force to pull him down to her level, but he went at the tug of cloth anyway.

“Kiss me, Alwin. Right now. If that will get you out of here, if you won't be satisfied until you kiss me, then do it.”

Hardly the words he wanted to hear. He liked flattery as much as the next man, but he smiled at the challenge. “You are something else, meisje. I haven't figured out what. Aye, I want to kiss you, and when I do, you will forget everything except that kiss, do you understand?”

Her eyes widened and she leaned in closer. Tempting him. She'd realize his attraction now for certain. But if she did, she didn't raise the point.

“Do you believe that you can resist kissing me?” Sophie's voice was soft, a mere whisper against his face.

“Of course I can.”

For a few long seconds, they looked into each other's eyes, each silently daring the other to make a move. They relented at the same time, a meeting of desire and hot flesh. Van Buren's tongue parted her lips. One hand crept into her hair, stroking the soft tresses. Firm breasts pressed against his chest. His other hand slid down the silk dress to cup her bottom.

Sophie didn't struggle. She was almost boneless, pliable against him. Her hands gripped his coat as though she couldn't turn loose. The hot, dampness of her mouth urged him to kiss her with hunger he hadn't realized he'd possessed.

Eventually you'll have the opportunity to read the rest. But for now you'll have to be satisfied with something else. To kick off summer here at Have Novel, Will Edit, I'm giving away a pair of earrings. Sorry dudes, unless you're into dangley angels. Your prerogative entirely. You could always give them to your S.O. or sister. They're super cute, handmade, little angels with white glass bead skirts. I have a pair of green ones that I wear. Very awesome. Honestly, I bought the set specifically for the white ones, but I got the green ones as a bonus gift and I loved them right off the bat. I swear I've never worn the white ones. I was just waiting for a blog hop to give them away. If you want, I bet I can nip the ends off a toothpick and super glue horns on one of them. That would be a conversation starter, huh?

For a chance to win, leave me a comment and preferably your e-mail address. Happy Summer, y'all.