The Big "D"

WINNER, WINNER, WINNER.

Terri S., Please email me at my website address, christie @ christie-craig . com ((no spaces)) so I can get the info to send your prize. You have won a book, a pack of note cards, and a "silly" pen that will remind you to keep laughing.

CC



It’s almost time--almost time for Divorced, Desperate and Dating to hit the bookstands. Yup, November 25th, Sue and Jason go public; all their intriguing and dirty little secrets will be revealed. You’ll learn exactly why Sue got divorced from her first hubby and why it’s so hard for her to risk loving a man again. You’ll learn the truth of Jason’s past, why being a bad boy is just safer than letting himself care. And I promise you, you’re gonna laugh. Hey check out the link below to see the book video for the new release. DD&Dating Video.

November is also my birthday and anniversary month. So . . . because my grandma always said that giving is better than receiving, I’m gonna be giving away prizes for the next six weeks. Every week, I’ll randomly pick one commenter to win a prize. So . . . make sure you post. Hey…it’s free loot. And it’s Christmas time, so if you don’t like the free loot, you can re-gift it. (Don’t go rolling your eyes, we all know we re-gift!) I’ll be giving away some of my books, and if you already have those, I’ll give away some of my friends’ books. I’m going be giving away note cards, “silly” pens, pizza cutters (I’ll explain the reason for that odd gift) and some gifts that I like to call, “White Elephant” gifts. I mean, doesn’t everyone need a pooping Santa on their mantelpiece?

Below is another addition to the “Why Can’t Life Be Like a Romance Novel?” column that appears almost monthly over at the http://toberead.wordpress.com/. Its subject, “The Big D” is appropriate to introduce my new release, so enjoy.




Why Can’t Life Be Like a Romance Novel?

Two romance novelists ponder the meaning of life, love and anything else that comes to mind.


Ever been through the big D? And as that Country Western song so elegantly puts it, “I don’t mean Dallas.” I’m talking about Divorce.

That painful, chew you up and spit you out point that happens after your knight in shining armor morphs into a lying, cheating, two-bit-no-good-for-nothing scumbag. Most of us can say we’ve been there, done that, done him, got the T-shirt, and burned it along with a few of his pictures.

Most of us have sworn, “Never again!” Never to let another smooth-talking, sexy-in-his-jeans male get anywhere near our hearts or our bra hooks again.

But harder than learning to trust the opposite sex is learning to trust ourselves again. Yup, it hits most us. Bam! Hindsight.

Just like that, we remember seeing all the signs. And I’m talking flashing neon signs along the road in the relationship that we completely ignored. Signs like “Detour” or “Road Closed” or “Bumpy Roads Ahead” or even worse, “Dead End.”

Signs like his having six ex-wives. Or that little problem he had with the local authorities, and had to call you to come bail him out--which he never repaid you for, by the way.

Yep, warning signs that should have told us to walk, or rather to shove it into high gear and get the hell out of Dodge. But nope, we were blindsided by sweet promises, hard abs, and soft touches. And that’s where trust comes in, or rather the lack of trust. If we foolishly allowed love to make idiots out of us once, how do we know it won’t happen again?

It’s not easy to trust or to believe in love after your heart has been used as target practice. I’ve learned that personally. Yup, I’ve got a few ex-husband stories I could share. They even involve the FBI. But I also overcame that painful state of being. I found a man worthy of my love and my trust. (Though I still can’t train him to lower the toilet seat lid.) Interesting enough, I’ve relearned a few of those lessons by reading and writing romance. In my Divorced and Desperate series, three women, all divorced, all determined to never, ever fall prey to come-here bad-boy smiles, or hard muscled chests, all find the ability to trust their hearts one more time.

Five Things That I’ve learned About Divorce, Hindsight, and Learning to Trust Your Heart from Reading & Writing Romance Novels:

Your ex might be the spawn of Satan, a werewolf, or a serial killer, but chances are somewhere along the path you chose him. Maybe you were suffering from bird flu, got bit by a bad mosquito, or maybe you had daddy issues, but until you accept your mistake you could accidentally repeat it by choosing another louse just like the first.

While killing the ex sounds like a really good option, chances are his next wife will make his life more miserable and painful than the death you had planned. It’s called Karma, and it totally rocks.

Before you are ready to let another man love you, you need to learn to love yourself. Seriously. Divorce can leave deep wounds. But love by the right man can make the sting go away.

Just because the new man does it right in bed, doesn’t mean he’s Mr. Right. Then again, you shouldn’t hold it against him. Be cautious, but not close-minded. Sometimes the right man scares us more than the wrong ones.

No man is perfect; even in romance novels, our heroes have flaws. Find a man whose flaws you can tolerate, whose good qualities you respect, whose sense of humor keeps you giggling, whose touch melts your heart, and if you can train him to lower the toilet seat, please send me your strategy.



Crime Scene Christie


About the authors: Christie Craig, an Alabama native, is a multi-published photojournalists and award-winning writer of both romance fiction and non-fiction who is happily married to her prince charming. Faye Hughes, a Mississippi native, is single and an award-winning romance author who is still searching for her own prince after having kissed a lot of frogs. Together, they are the co-authors of The Everything Guide to Writing a Romance Novel and an upcoming humor-filled relationship/self help book (Polka Dot Press) slated for release on Valentine’s Day, 2010. Visit them online at www.WritewithUs.net.