In Time For Valentine’s Day, Book Has Ins, Outs Of Kissing

There might be 50 ways to leave your lover, but author Tomima Edmark knows 365 ways to get to first base, swap spit and tonsil dive.

And, lucky us, she’s willing to share.

Edmark, 37, has spent 10 years studying the ins and outs of kissing. Her first book, “Kissing - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know” (Simon and Schuster; $6.95), detailed everything from etiquette and technique to recipes for Soul Kiss cocktails.

Her latest book, “365 Ways to Kiss Your Love: A Daily Guide to Creative Kissing,” (Summit Group; $9.95) offers a way to add pizazz to your pucker.

And with Valentine’s Day around the corner, there’s good reason to consider her suggestions.

Edmark, who also invented the TopsyTail hairstyling device, gathered her daily kissing methods from interviews with good kissers and from personal experience.

But not all 365 of the mouthmashing methods will work for everyone.

“The range is very broad. Nobody is going to love all of the ideas,” she said in a telephone interview.

“The book wasn’t meant to be an instructional guide. It’s just a way to put some creativity into above-theshoulder fun.”

She leaves the execution and technique to the reader.

The good news is that everyone, including a lipless wonder, can plant dreamy smooches.

Lip size and shape don’t matter.

“It’s how you use your lips that’s important,” she said. “As long as it’s moist, soft and warm, you’ve met the requirements for a good kiss.”

Edmark said the best position for puckering is to purse your lips the way you do to drink from a drinking fountain. Your lips should be slightly turned out.

So if you’re truly desperate to find a newfangled way to neck, and sealing a love letter with a kiss or leaving chocolate candy kisses on the pillow seems like kid stuff, there are plenty of lip-smacking, if not goofy, ways to deliver a smooch - like No. 185, The Bathroom Surprise Kiss.

Float a kiss in the commode. Here’s how: Plaster on some lipstick, pucker up and blot your lips on a piece of white tissue. (Guys, you might opt for a series of red X’s made with a waterproof, felt-tip pen.)

Peel apart the two plies and discard the bottom one.

Place the tissue on the water’s surface and close the lid.

How’s that for romantic?

Edmark says she and her fiance have put most of the methods to the test. The couple likes the more humorous ones.

But if an imprint of your lips floating in the toilet doesn’t take your love’s breath away, and if you’re still fixated on bathroom-related kisses, try No. 235, The Mouthwashing Kiss.

Hide both toothbrushes one morning. Instead, put toothpaste on each other’s tongues and French clean the other’s mouth.

Edmark said people age 50 and over tend to be better kissers because they logged more hours courting.

“People used to savor kissing more than they do now,” she said. “They used to save the home run for when they were married.”