Keep it short and tweet

Rosanna Rotheryrrothery@c-dm.co.uk

DO you see Valentine's Day as a contrivance of chocolate-coatedtweeness designed to solicit large amounts of cash from lovers andwould-be lovers? Or is it special day, the chance to express yourfeelings to your partner or an ideal opportunity to let someone knowthey've put a spring in your step?

North Devon's Queen of Romance, author Veronica Henry thinksValentine's Day is really what you make it.

"Like most things these days, Valentine's Day has becomesomething of a commercial trap and an excuse for shopkeepers todouble the price of red roses," said the author who has written awhole series of novels about love, relationships and marriage. "Butyou don't necessarily have to fall into that trap. With a bit ofplanning you can use the day to express your feelings to your lovedone in a personal and meaningful way. And there isn't a girl in thecountry who doesn't have a flicker of hope on February 14 - so doit, guys! Get imaginative. Obviously it works the other way round,too."

Even a huge glittering diamond can be meaningless if it's notheartfelt, according to Veronica.

"A carefully chosen token, though, together with a genuineexpression of love, can mean the world. I think we've become self-conscious about writing down our feelings and don't express what wemean to each other often enough these days. It's so much easier toclick a button on the internet and buy a designer gift for ourpartner than to bare our souls."

Veronica, from Woolacombe, has written a special book forValentine's Day called Tweetie Pie, which gives you 140 ways to say "I love you" in a tweet.

Traditionally, of course, love letters were the ultimate romanticexpression. Does she think you really achieve the same degree ofpassion with modern technology?

"It's pretty much a necessity these days," she said. "People nolonger spend time longing for the postman to arrive with romanticmissives - now they wait anxiously for texts or Tweets or Facebookmessages. And the shops are stuffed to the gills with cardscontaining declarations of love that have been composed by someoneelse. It's what we are used to."

She does concede though: "I think a hand-written letter or cardwith a genuine and original expression of love would be the ultimatein romance."

Veronica has always been a huge fan of Twitter which is why sheagreed to write the book.

"I've made some great friends on there, it's a brilliantnetworking and marketing tool and an amazing source of information. And I love its immediacy. One night I was upstairs and my husbandwas downstairs and he tweeted me to tell me he'd opened a bottle ofbubbly - it was incredibly romantic! At around the same time, mypublishers were interested in doing a book of romantic Tweets andasked me if I would like to be involved. Tweetie Pie was theresult."

Veronica feels the book is obviously ideal for fans and users ofTwitter, but it will also appeal to anyone with an interest in the romantic as the sentiments are universal.

"It's just that for the purposes of this book, each message isrestricted to 140 characters, as on Twitter - short and sweet! Someare witty, some are sexy, some are slushy, so there's something foreveryone. It's also beautifully packaged, so it makes a lovelykeepsake - perfect wrapped up with a box of chocolates or some silklingerie."

Tweetie Pie: 140 Ways To Say I Love You is published by Orion andcosts Pounds 6.99.