Please join me in welcoming two wonderful authors, Tera Lynn Childs and Sophie Jordan, to Caught in a FAB Romance! They're here to talk about one of those things you have to suffer through in order to laugh about it later - Bad Dates.
My Worst Date
by Tera Lynn Childs Warning: I don’t recommend anyone trying this at home. Or anywhere.
When I was a senior in high school, my best friend and I were driving from my house to a store or something and we pulled up next to a cute(ish) guy in a cute(ish) little red car. At the time I drove a very sporty and attention-grabbing, cream-colored Mazda RX-7. The guy in the red car checked us out and my best friend started talking with him. Well, one thing led to another and eventually we’re going on a double date with him and one of his friends.
Of course, he wanted to go out with my best friend, so I got stuck being the blind date for his friend. Now, I had never met the guy before (hence the blind date part) and have to admit he was quite good looking. He had that dark, wavy hair that I’m way too fond of and was in great shape because he was an athlete. You know how you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover? Well, I’m pretty sure his pages inside were blank.
Luckily we were seeing a movie (Wolf, starring Jack Nicholson—yeah, it was pretty awful) and I didn’t have to try to make small talk for long, because it was like having a conversation with a football. What I remember the most was that, even though he lived in a smallish, ruralish town, he’d never been near a horse or a cow. And that he was afraid of cows. Of cows! How is that even possible?!? (Now that I think of it, maybe he was intimidated by the intellectual superiority. Hmmm.)
After the movie, my best friend and I said goodbye to the guys and tried not to trip over ourselves as we ran back to my car. Turns out her date had been weirdly awkward, too. He’d held her hand throughout the whole movie, even though it was a first date and they’d never before been closer than the next car over. Lesson learned. All in all one of the worst—and weirdest—dates ever.
My Worst Date
by Sophie Jordan Hmm, my worst date? Immediately several scenarios pop into my head, which might alarm some that I’ve had a lot of bad dates. But actually no one date was sooooo terribly bad … just several stand out in memory … odd vignettes in my quest for the right guy. :) Alow me to regale you. Here goes:
One time I went on a date with a police officer and the first thing he let me know when he picked me up was that he just came from work where he had to perform a body cavity search on a man in custody. Ew, right? There was no hand-holding that night.
Another time in collage a date showed up with his buddy. Both were harmless, but that was just … weird. A movie, dinner … the three of us. I almost expected them both to walk my back to my door, but it was just the one. *shakes head* I guess he was just nervous and wanted some moral support.
Another time a guy showed up injured from his rugby game. He was hurting … wincing every time he moved. He accepted some Tylenol, but insisted he was fine, so we sat down to watch television (I think he might have wept in pain once or twice during movie – but again, insisted he was fine). Later, when he stood up to leave, I saw that he was bleeding profusely through the back of his jeans! The blood even got on my couch. Another “ew” moment. I insisted he go home and properly take care of his injury. Then I disinfected my couch. ;)
But honestly, these weren’t terrible guys or even the most terrible nights … it’s just that these dates lacked the chemistry we dream of in searching for … the one. It’s that kind of romance and chemistry I love to read and write about. When the emotional and physical connection is strong between two people it’s the stuff of magic. That’s the magic I write about in Firelight and Vanish. I wouldn’t be capable of writing a book without some type of high-stakes romance. Love really does make the world go round!
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Stories like that make me shake my head and say, "What were they thinking?" :) Don't forget to look for these lovely ladies on their next blog stop at Supernatural Snark on Friday, August 26. 
SWEET VENOM by Tera Lynn Childs
Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster. Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though. Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they’re triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.
These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful Gorgon maligned in myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.
VANISH by Sophie Jordan
An Impossible Romance. Bitter Rivalries. Deadly Choices.
To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.
Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?
In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever.
You can catch them in person here:
September 7 @ 7 PM Blue Willow Bookshop Houston, TX
September 8 @ 7 PM Books & Co Dayton, OH
September 9 @ 7 PM Magic Tree Bookstore Chicago, IL
October 1 Austin Teen Book Festival Austin, TX
About the authors:
Tera Lynn Childs (Authora neo) is a newly discovered species of author fish who always dreamed of being a mermaid, but never got closer than a career as a competitive swimmer. She loves to spend as much time as possible in and around water (right up until her fingertips turn all pruney) in the vain hope that one day her legs will magically turn into fins. When stuck on land, Authora neo can be found writing in coffee shops across the country, prowling for cool mermaid gear on Etsy, and spending way too much time online. Visit her at http://teralynnchilds.com.
Sophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she's also the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Avon historical romances. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she's not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes and Diet cherry Coke preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with true-crime and reality-TV shows. Sophie also writes paranormal romances under the name Sharie Kohler. Visit her at www.sophiejordan.net.
