Knightdale — “Kiss me Honey, kiss me with those luscious lips, he said tenderly."

This excerpt from the romance novel “Seasons Greetings, Season Love,” is not exactly what you expect for Christmas reading.

But Tim Jones of Knightdale likes to do the unexpected when it comes to buying Christmas gifts. One of his most unusual gifts was in 2006 when he gave his sister-in-law Louise Jones the personalized novel with her and husband Murray as the protagonists.

The books come in “mild” or the little more risque -- “wild” version. Louise Jones got a wild one

“It was fun to see her face on that Christmas morning,” said Jones. “Of course, she didn’t want to show it to her children or to her mother.”

“She was blushing, then she just howled,” said Tim’s wife, Denise. “It was entertainment for the duration of the holidays. ...I think they got a kick out of it.”

The book is from yournovel.com, the brainchild of Raleigh couple Kathy and J.S. Fletcher, travel writers who support themselves with the company. The couple and other writers wrote 24 romance novels which customers can choose from.

Those interested can check out an excerpt of the books on-line.

Because the novels are adventure romances, the main characters may chase bad guys on wave runnners off the U.S. coast, foil a stalker on a luxury cruise ship, tangle with a cougar in the wild, fight off bad guys near Rome’s Coliseum or confront black pearl thieves in Tahiti.

After they order, they are sent a questionnaire, asking 25 basic questions such as hair and eye color, favorite music, hometowns, places of work, best friends, favorite perfume or cologne, type of car… “Anything that you have filled in gets incorporated into the storyline,” said Jones. “That’s what makes it so enjoyable and humorous to read. This is like your story. It’s been written for you instead of someone else.”

The paperback books range from 150 to 190 pages and cost $49.95. Hardbacks are from 200 to 300 pages and cost $94.95

Jones said his sister-in-law is hard to buy for. He got the idea to give her the gift because Denise had liked their version of another Fletcher novel that he got her for Valentine’s Day, and again on their anniversary.

“I thought it was an excellent gift,” Jones said of his sister-in-law’s present.

Jones said he ordered the gift, after considerable sleuthing to answer the questionnaire for his sister-in-law and brother because he thought they would have fun with it.

“It showed the person that you gave the gift to that you didn’t run to Wal-Mart on Christmas and pick up something. It also included a little bit of investigative reporting if you would. I could handle the information on Denise, but it does require a little work on your part.”

Jones said the novel that he bought for Denise for Valentine’s Day was perfect for them because it was set at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, which was one of the first trips they made together.

“The first was her favorite,” he said, “because it was unique and new and she had never seen it before.”

Jones said that gift to Louise was just one of several he felt particularly good about giving that Christmas. He found a photograph of his dad who is now deceased that was over 50 years old. He enlarged and framed it and gave it to his brother. He gave his mother a picture of the Jones brothers Tim and Murray when they were small, he said.

“Last year, I think we did pretty good job on gifts,” he said. “It (the novel) worked out great for Christmas and you could adapt it for birthdays, Valentine’s, anniversaries. People can certainly use this throughout the year.”