Romance - Up Close and Personal

By Jaimi Taylor

There is something great about A-list living and Romance, the sixteenth book of a twenty-one book series (The Insiders' Lifestyle Guides), is the prelude to powerful personal relationships. Stop a man in his tracks with a single look. Stop a woman in her tracks with a single stare. Dance and entertain - the rest is shadows and secrets. Create a secret world of beauty - become a moving work of art. Elegant wardrobe - properly dressed. Don't be in a hurry to do things. And much more.

Look Inside: Sex, Marriage, Life Partners; Young, Smart, and Attractive; Behaviors and Habits; Art of Flirting; Hollywood Kiss; Date Night; Attraction, Charm, Seduction; Dinner Parties for Two; Bonding - Mixing Things Up; and Behind Closed Doors.

Romance - Up Close and Personal by Jaimi Taylor is a fun and entertaining short read. Since jet setting is part of such a grand lifestyle, the Insiders' Lifestyle Guide series theme includes a cultural or travel experience with every book.

Information is Timeless: Everyone holds a secret desire to be part of the A-list seeking a confident, fashionable, and extraordinary life. These series guides make transformation routine to which all men and women will relate - The Complete Makeover Series.

Actionable Strategies: The Insiders' Lifestyle Guide series contains specific strategies in each book and edition that can transform lives. It details social skills of boosting confidence, replacing bad habits, and reinventing one's self. This book will appeal to professionals, parents, and generations of young adults.

Appeal of the Authors: The Insiders' Lifestyle Guides are written by a team of contributing authors, all with a witty, quirky, slapstick appeal.

Series Overview: The Insiders' Lifestyle Guides is a first, of a twenty-one book series, that will be revised and re-launched periodically with all new material. Each book features famous themed cities represented of the book covers and includes an introduction comprising a short story about its featured city.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aauvi House Publishing Group
• Release date: May 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301211586

Jaimi Taylor

Jaimi Taylor is one of the contributing writers for the several Insiders' Lifestyle Guides book series (A Complete Makeover Series). See the several press releases below to learn more about each book. She is also the author of Derailed - Memoirs of a Botched Hysterectomy - A Story About Endometriosis: A Narrative Non-fiction memoir. A native of Northern California, she lives with her husband in California. Together they have a precious Shih Tzu named Precious. Smashwords Titles by Jaimi Taylor: Derailed - Memoirs of a Botched Hysterectomy - Hysterectomy to Remove Fibroids and Cyst - Really was Endometriosis! Routines and Rituals - Simple Pleasures of Life Romance - Up Close and Personal That Je Ne Sais Quoi Factor - What It Is and How To Get It Press Releases at AauviHouse.com Press & Media: San Jose, CA (August 23, 2012) - Aauvi House Publishing Group, Rags to Riches Entertainment Division, Announces New Book Release - That Je Ne Sais Quoi Factor - What It Is and How To Get It by Jaimi Taylor San Jose, CA (August 1, 2012) - Aauvi House Publishing Group Announces Book Release Re-Launch, Derailed - Memoirs of a Botched Hysterectomy, a true story about undiagnosed endometriosis by Jaimi Taylor San Jose, CA (July 12, 2012) - Aauvi House Publishing Group, Rags to Riches Entertainment Division, Announces New Book Release - Romance - Up Close and Personal by Jaimi Taylor San Jose, CA (May 7, 2012) - Aauvi House Publishing Group, Rags to Riches Entertainment Division, Announces New Book Release - Routines and Rituals - Simple Pleasures of Life by Jaimi Taylor You can also join Jaimi in the fight against endometriosis my following her on Twitter @EndoObserver or visit her blog at EndoObserver.blogspot.com

Book preview

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Romance

Up Close and Personal

JAIMI TAYLOR

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Rags to Riches Entertainment Group

An imprint of Aauvi House Publishing Group

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Published by Aauvi House Publishing Group at Smashwords

Copyright 2013 Jaimi Taylor

All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

E-ISBN: Smashwords Edition

Aauvi House Publishing Group, the portrayal of double-A’s formed in a broken circle, and the Aauvi name are registered trademarks of Aauvi Group, Inc.

Aauvi House books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online editions are also available. For more information, contact us at [e-mail].

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

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Titles by Jaimi Taylor

DERAILED – Memoirs of a Botched Hysterectomy (Endometriosis Awareness)

Routines and Rituals – Simple Pleasures of Life

Romance – Up Close and Personal

That Je Ne Sais Quoi Factor – What It Is and How To Get It

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Contents

Book Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

1 – Sex, Marriage, Life Partners

2 – Young, Smart, and Attractive

3 – Behaviors and Habits

4 – Art of Flirting

5 – Hollywood Kiss

6 – Date Night

7 – Attraction, Charm, and Seduction

8 – Dinner Parties for Two

9 – Bonding - Mix Things Up

10 – Behind Closed Doors

Closing Remarks

End of Book

About the Author

About the Publisher

Books by Aauvi House

Excerpts by Aauvi House

Credits

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Introduction

In its brief history, Aauvi House Publishing Group has become the new it marketers of information-based lifestyle solutions in the self-help and how-to markets for all age groups. Reinforcing a belief that living a planned extraordinarily fulfilled lifestyle is of paramount importance to its readers.

The Insiders' Lifestyle Guides series is a first, of a twenty-one book series, that will be revised and re-launched periodically with all new material. These books feature famous themed cities represented by the book covers and include an introduction comprising a short story about its featured city. Annually, the series guides will be rolled up as chapter inserts into a single book and sold during the holiday season.

Anyone who desires the secrets to A-list living, values their appearance, is concerned about lifestyle or just needs more information can benefit from reading and continually referring back to the Insiders' Lifestyle Guides series. Each book – practical in its approach – is full of facts that teach you how to make the most of your life, how to achieve peak performance, and how to maintain general health. In short, the Aauvi House Publishing Group, Rags to Riches Entertainment imprint's ability to offer its readers a more complete and concise migration path to an extraordinary red carpet lifestyle, just got better.

Information Is Timeless

Everyone holds a secret desire to be part of the A-list seeking a confident, fashionable, and extraordinary life. These series guides make transformation routine to which all men and women will relate.

Actionable Strategies

The Insiders' Lifestyle Guides series contains specific strategies in each book and edition that can transform lives. It details social skills of boosting confidence, replacing bad habits, and re-inventing one's self. These books will appeal to professionals, parents, and generations of young adults.

About the Authors

The Insiders' Lifestyle Guides series are written by a team of contributing authors, all of whom have a witty, quirky, slapstick appeal.

About Our Cover Story - Rome Italy

Since jet setting is part of such a grand lifestyle, the Insiders' Lifestyle Guides series theme includes a cultural or travel experience with every book. That is, between promotional junkets, film festivals and red carpet appearances, celebrities can rack up as many frequent-flyer miles as they do trips to rehab. And so can you, once you have an insider bird’s eye view of the possibilities.

Whether traveling by plane or virtually by way of these pages, our cover story, Rome Italy is exquisite. The Colosseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, is in the center of the city of Rome – the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. Originally capable of seating around 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. Although it is now in a ruined condition, the Colosseum has long been seen as an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome.

Rome is the capital of Italy and the capital of Lazio. With 2.8 million residents in 496.3 square miles, it is also the country's largest and most populated commune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. Between 3.2 and 3.8 million people live in the Rome urban and metropolitan area. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy. Rome is referred to as The Eternal City, a notion expressed by ancient Roman poets and writers.

Rome's history spans two and a half thousand years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was the dominant power in Western Europe and the lands bordering the Mediterranean for over seven hundred years from the 1st century BC until the 7th century AD and the city is regarded as one of the birthplaces of western civilization. Since the 1st century AD Rome has been the seat of the Papacy and, after the end of Byzantine domination, in the 8th century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. In 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic.

About Romance

There is something great about A-list living and Romance, the sixteenth book of a twenty-one book series, is the prelude to powerful personal relationships. Stop a man in his tracks with a single look. Stop a woman with a single stare. Dance and entertain – the rest is shadows and secrets. Create a secret world of beauty and become a moving work of art. Elegant wardrobe – properly dressed. Don't be in a hurry to do things.

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Sex, Marriage, Life Partners

Romanic passion can transform a person's appearance – a process that's part pseudo-science, part biology. Now researchers are beginning to understand the science behind the many beauty benefits of love and sex. The pupils dilate, which makes you appear more attractive, says Leslie Baumann, a dermatologist in Miami and host of Skin Type Solutions with Dr. Leslie Baumann on PBS, who has seen patients undergo an apparent rejuvenation – without cosmetic intervention – when newly infatuated.

The skin seems to have better blood flow, which makes it pinker, she says. It turns out that beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder: Being beheld with admiration – and reciprocating the emotion – can have such a powerful effect on our looks that it makes us more attractive to everyone around us.

Exactly how this process works is something that scientists have yet to figure out definitively, according to Baumann. The skin has a glow that is not yet explained, she says. I believe it is due to endorphins – hormones produced by the body that make you feel good. Research has shown that skin cells have endorphin receptors, so the endorphins must act directly on the skin cells, but we do not know what this does or why it gives the skin a glow.

Helen Fisher, a research professor in the department of anthropology at Rutgers University who is an authority on the mating habits of humans, says that the glow Baumann speaks of may be attributable to dopamine: When you are madly in love, your dopamine system is really cranking up in the brain; dopamine is associated with energy, vitality, and optimism. We naturally find people who are more energetic and optimistic more attractive. Energy signals good health, and good health is what we search for in a mate.

Love-generated dopamine has other side effects, says Fisher. For one thing, it can probably help you lose weight – which in many, if not all, instances is a route to greater attractiveness. I have seen people who are getting married get thin and svelte, she says. (That may be partly attributable not just to dopamine, of course, but to stress and a concerted calorie-counting effort to fit into a smaller gown.) A body in love also produces norepinephrine, which is partly the cause of the sweaty palms and dry mouth that can afflict the love-struck – not necessarily the most attractive attributes.

Of course, being in love is not always the same thing as being happily in love: There's plenty of evidence that unrequited love is very bad for beauty. It's a disaster, says Fisher. People hang their head; they cast their eyes away; they don't keep their hair combed. People who have been rejected in romance resemble those who suffer from profound addiction. They are still attached to the beloved person, and experience an intense craving for them that remains unsatisfied. These people are very troubled, she says. They don't get enough sleep. They don't get enough exercise. They don't eat properly.

A requited love, undoubtedly, has the opposite effect, and behaviors typically associated with being newly in love have an impact on the way we appear to others – in particular, being sexually active. Sex is great for skin! asserts Eva Ritvo, a psychiatrist at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami and coauthor of The Beauty Prescription (McGraw-Hill). The act of making love speeds up circulation, which pumps oxygen to the skin, which in turn makes it better able to eliminate toxins, leading to a brighter appearance. Sex also releases estrogen and helps increase collagen production, says Ritvo. In addition, the body produces oxytocin, the so-called feel-good hormone which, Ritvo points out, acts as an anti-inflammatory, thereby improving the appearance of one's skin. The more frequent the sex, the more significant the effect is, she says.

More-mysterious chemical processes may be at work as well: A few years ago, researchers in the department of psychology at the State University of New York in Albany wrote a paper soberly titled Does Semen Have Antidepressant Properties? that reported that female students who had been having sex without using condoms – and were thus exposed to seminal fluid – were less depressed than those who did use that method of protection.

Social factors also intervene and reinforce the message that people in love seem entirely more desirable. We tend to find attractive people whom others have already found attractive, and not solely because they have glossy hair or perfect teeth. A researcher at Indiana University, Skyler Place, studied the behaviors of a group of men and women who watched videos of people speed-dating, and discovered that people's interest in a particular individual increased when they were aware that other men or women were interested in the same potential partner: It makes sense that we have evolved mechanisms that let us take advantage of the additional social information in our environment, Place says. In other words, nature invented the like button a long time ago.

Do I love you because you're beautiful, or are you beautiful because I love you? the prince asks Cinderella in Rogers & Hammerstein's musical version of the tale. It's a question that poets and songwriters have been posing forever; science is now discovering that perhaps there's less difference between the two than we might have imagined.

Are You Ready To Get Married?

Getting antsy for him to put a ring on it? Not so fast. The Roman Catholic Church's Pre-Cana classes are designed to ensure couples resolve tricky marital issues before going to the chapel, says Edward Mechmann, an assistant director with the Archdiocese of New York. So are you and your groom to be really on the same page?

Answer Mechmann's questions, and ask your partner to do the same.

1. How important to you is spending time with family?

2. Money is best used for _____.

3. What's our financial goal for the next three years? Five?

4. Who should handle the finances?

5. Do we have a budget that will help us achieve our financial plans?

6. Do we know how much we owe and to whom?

7. I am comfortable discussing our financial affairs with my partner: agree or disagree.

8. I can live within my income: agree or disagree.

9. We have discussed whether we will have separate bank accounts: agree or disagree.

10. I am feeling some pressure to get married: agree or disagree.

11. We have discussed our feelings about having children, and about how to plan our family: agree or disagree.

12. Sex is extremely important to me: agree or disagree.

13. Sex is necessary for happiness: agree or disagree.

14. Sex is a good sign of a couple's love: agree or disagree.

15. I am afraid of being sexually unsatisfying to my future spouse: agree or disagree.

16. I am satisfied with the amount of romance in our relationship: agree or disagree.

17. I will feel comfortable letting my spouse know that I am in the mood for lovemaking: agree or disagree.

18. I have the right to say no to having sex: agree or disagree.

19. I will feel comfortable initiating lovemaking: agree or disagree.

20. Our sex life will cool off as we grow older: agree or disagree.

Once you've answered the above, talk it all over. A lot of times couples haven't discussed these serious issues, says Mechmann. If you find you two think alike, you're off to a great start. If not, now is the time to air out your issues. Finding common ground before you cut into swirling tiers of dark chocolate fondant is essential to a long happy life together.

Is Staying In Love a Choice?

We all know it's easy to fall in love, and keeping the romance should be too. It should be a joy almost every day to be married, to feel relief and gratitude. The secret to a happy marriage is finding the right person and remaining faithful.

Beyond that, the ideal is to fall in love, then – surprise – to fall further in love each passing year; from the first phase of romantic love (which can last up to three years, say psychologists) to the attachment phase of love, the long, forever period when you either remain attached or become detached.

Imagine that your spouse might disappear from the face of the earth tomorrow. For so many people – think of people in combat, war correspondents, police officers, emergency responders – that's a terrifying, potentially sudden reality. If that thought doesn't cause enough panic and heartbreak and sorrow to overwhelm you, you're probably in the wrong place with the wrong person.

Relationship Advice

Beginning a relationship is generally the easy part; it's maintaining the connection that gets a little tricky. That's why a growing number of twosomes (whether or not they've tied the knot or are the same sex) are going into couples therapy as a preemptive strike against the tough times that will inevitably hit … and to learn how to keep the good times flowing. To give you a leg up in your love life, top relationship experts share the most crucial things they've uncovered over the years – from big-picture philosophies to little gestures that go a long way. These practices will help keep your union in a happy, healthy place.

Act out of character. Couples develop a particular dynamic: the way they relate to each other that repeats itself over and over. If you break that pattern and act against type – in a positive way – you inject new life into the relationship. For example, if you always get angry with your guy when he doesn't follow through on some chore, try addressing him in a nicer, more friendly tone, then thank him when he does a good job. It works every time.

Get in touch a lot. No doubt you hug and kiss each other hello and maybe snuggle a little after having sex. But simple acts like stroking his or her arm while you're watching TV, taking his or her hand when you're walking down the street, or fondling his or her thigh during dinner are also ways to bond. Touching your partner throughout the day triggers your feel-good hormones, which reinforces your affection and makes you feel closer on an instinctive level.

Don't be BFFs. Being pals with your significant other is great in theory. But that kind of connection actually can kill your sex life. You could wind up having a roommate-like bond with each other rather than a hot one if you let yourself lose track of the masculine-feminine tension that excited you at the beginning of your relationship. Save the gab sessions for when you hang out with your friends and your sexy energy for connecting with your significant other.

Enjoy a steady diet of sex. If you want to maintain closeness with your significant other, get out of your head and into bed. Guys feel more comfortable connecting with women on a physical level, not engaging in deep discussions. To strengthen your bond, approach your lust life as you would your gym regimen or your diet – make it part of your routine. Set a goal to have sex at least a couple times a week.

Take turns talking. To make sure you both get a chance to state what's on your mind during a disagreement – and get your points across – alternate playing reflective therapist, where one listens while the other talks.

Find the intersection.