Once Upon a Twilight!: Blog Tour: Harlequin's Very Valentine's Reads | Hometown Valentine by Lissa Manley | Guest Post

Welcome to our stop on Harlequin's Very Valentine's Reads: Hometown Valentine for Lissa Manley. This tour is hosted by Rockstar Book Tour.

The Walled City
Author: Lissa Manley
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: January 20th 2015
Publisher: Love Inspired

Two stories in one!

Finding Her Family: Lily Rogers is ready to follow her dreams. Now all she needs is funds. Taking a job as baby Peyton's temporary nanny seems like an easy way to earn cash for her plane ticket to LA. But there's nothing easy about how Lily feels for Peyton's uncle, coffee shop owner Blake Stonely. As Valentine's Day approaches, Lily's head fills with romantic notions of the handsome new daddy. She's falling for a family that isn't hers, and dreaming of a life with the blue-eyed barista and his adorable niece. Will Lily leave Blake and Peyton behind…or make a new future—and family—with them by her side?

Moonlight Cove, a beachside town where love and faith blossom: Lily Rogers is ready to follow her dreams. Now all she needs is funds. Taking a job as baby Peyton's temporary nanny seems like an easy way to earn cash for her plane ticket to LA. But there's nothing easy about how Lily feels for Peyton's uncle, coffee shop owner Blake Stonely. As Valentine's Day approaches, Lily's head fills with romantic notions of the handsome new daddy. She's falling for a family that isn't hers, and dreaming of a life with the blue-eyed barista and his adorable niece. Will Lily leave Blake and Peyton behind…or make a new future—and family—with them by her side?

My Top 3 Most Romantic Ways to Propose

These days, proposing is an art form, full of grand gestures, big surprises and secret doings, often involving elaborate organization and planning worthy of the CIA. Anything that results in two people in love committing themselves to a lifetime together is all good, of course. But sometimes I think the end result—deciding to join your life and heart with someone, forever—gets lost in the complicated process of proposing in a knock-your-socks-off kind of way. So, with that notion in mind, here are some proposal ideas that are romantic, touching and unforgettable but that don’t overshadow the goal before the road to happily-ever-after is even set-upon.

1. This one is old-fashioned, but tried and true. Find a spot that has special significance to you and your love, maybe at sunset. Set out a picnic, talk and laugh and kiss, and then pop out that ring and lay your heart on the line, maybe just as the sun dips below the horizon. Spend the rest of the evening talking about your future life together, cuddles up under a cozy blanket.

2. Gather family and friends and either: a) play a card game and have WILL YOU MARRY ME? written on one of the cards (or many of them?) Wait for the cards to be dealt and prepare for a shocked but happy reaction. Or, b) sing karaoke, and eventually, when it’s your turn, change the words to MARRY ME, (insert your love’s name). Get down on one knee as you sing, hopefully on key. But if not, don’t worry; no one, least of all your love, will really care if an engagement is the end result.

3. Put together a simple scavenger hunt involving places you two like to go, perhaps written in poem form. At the last destination, have champagne, roses and the ring waiting. Oh, and chocolate, too. Propose, kiss, toast, feed each other chocolate. Repeat as necessary! After all, nothing is more precious than spending the rest of your life with the person who completes your heart.

Lissa Manley decided she wanted to be a published author at age twelve. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, a grown daughter and college-aged son. When she's not reading, she enjoys reading, travel planning, crafting, bargain hunting, cooking and decorating.