Hi Tesco Books Blog,

Do kisses fade like polaroids, if you don’t pay attention to them? 

That’s what Molly Carter asks herself when she’s trying to conjure up every kiss she ever had with her first love, Ryan Cooper.

Can you treat every kiss as if it may be the last?

And that’s the question I asked myself as I set out to write my second book The First Last Kiss. The idea had come to me one night, when, as an anxious new mum I had lay in bed waiting for my husband to come home from a night out. He was later than expected and my over-active imagination had sped quickly from nought to nightmare until I was imagining him lying in a gutter somewhere. It was then that it struck me that I couldn’t remember if I’d even kissed him goodbye that morning. It’s so easy to do, isn’t it? To become blasé and throw away those special moments with a hurried, harried kiss. I began to think about our insanely busy mornings, how my husband dashes off to work while I blearily deal with our two young kids. Often there’s barely the time to offer a cheek, let alone give him a proper kiss. And yet, once upon a time we used to spend hours kissing.

As I lay in bed, worrying about the whereabouts of my husband I asked myself how could I have let the love of my love walk out of the house and not savoured the moment our lips met? What if it had been the last time? How could I ever forgive myself? Thankfully, he came home shortly after and I greeted him with a tearful kiss. But as I lay in bed, feeling his warmth beside me, more thankful of it than I had been for a long time, I realised that I would never know if one could be our first last kiss. At that moment I vowed to try as hard as I could never take him – or our kisses for granted again.

As I began to map out the story of Molly and Ryan, a couple who have been together for years and loved each other for what feels like forever, I began to question this theory more. Is it ever possible to be the perfect partner? Does it take knowing that you’re losing someone for us to truly appreciate what we have? Just as Molly explores this in the book, I found myself trying to do the same in my life. And I quickly discovered that it isn’t possible to always radiate love and affection all the time. (No matter how much I love my husband when he gets messy, I get mad. End of.) But it did make me realise that love in any capacity – whether with a partner, parent, child or friend – is about constantly reminding yourself how easily special moments can slip through our fingers, if we let them.

Now if I’ve been distracted by something else – cooking dinner, putting the kids to bed, answering emails – I often go back for a real kiss. Not a perfunctory peck or a casual, careless kiss but the type that leaves an indelible imprint on my memory and in my heart: a kiss that counts.

To celebrate the publication of The First Last Kiss we’re giving you the chance to win £250 worth of clothes from Young British Designers. To enter simply answer the following question in the comments section below:

Tell us about your most memorable kiss?

Buy The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris in store now for £3.85 or as part of the 2 for £7 paperback chart!

Terms and Conditions

Below are the principal terms and conditions that apply to all Young British Designers competitions and prize draws. Please see individual competition terms and conditions for any specific terms that may apply.

1. Competitions are open to anyone aged 18 years or over, except employees of Young British Designers , their families, agents or anyone else professionally associated with the draw unless otherwise stated in the specific terms and conditions applicable to that competition.

2. Details of how to enter form part of the terms and conditions. It is a condition of entry that all rules are accepted as final and that the competitor agrees to abide by these rules. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into, the competition closes at 11.59pm on 13 February 2013.

3. No responsibility can be accepted for lost entries and proof of despatch will not be accepted as proof of receipt.

4. Where a prize is described as a cash value equivalent the prize value is taken at full RRP of £250. Any offers or discounts available at the time of claiming will not apply.

5. Prizes can only be claimed from the current range for sale at youngbritishdesigners.com (subject to stock availability)

6. All prizes must be claimed within 3 calendar months of the competition closing date. Claims outside this time frame will be considered entirely at the discretion of Young British Designers even where the competition is run in conjunction with or principally by a third party.

7. All prizes are non transferable and there are no cash alternatives.

8. The winner may be requested to participate in publicity.

9. Events may occur that render the prize draw itself or the awarding of the prize impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the Promoter and accordingly the Promoter may at its absolute discretion vary or amend the promotion and the entrant agrees that no liability shall attach to the Promoter as a result thereof.