I’ve been in love exactly once in my life. I didn’t like it. I still don’t like it. Mainly because I’m still suffering from it. Suffering. And, ya know, quite frankly, I find myself telling my friends and family with some frequency that they should accept that I will never find love again, get married, or produce offspring.
Yep.
They don’t listen.
Nope.
My mother is like a dog with a bone when I mention a fellow. My friends recommend I do things I would never do, like joining random community clubs and vamping up a profile on match.com . Luckily, or perhaps because my pals have instincts of self-preservation, no one recommends eHarmony anymore because, yes, I am one of those twenty percenters that was reject by eHarmony. Don’t believe me? Here’s a quote from the email they sent me after I took their marathon length test:
eHarmony is based upon a complex matching system developed through extensive research with married couples. One of the requirements for successful matching is that participants to fall within certain defined profiles. If we find that we will not be able to match a user using these profiles, we feel it is only fair to inform them early in the process.
We are so convinced of the importance of creating compatible matches to help people establish happy, lasting relationships that we sometimes choose not to provide service rather than risk an uncertain match.
Unfortunately, we are not able to make our profiles work for you. Our matching model could not accurately predict with whom you would be best matched. This occurs for about 20% of potential users, so 1 in 5 people simply will not benefit from our service. We hope that you understand, and we regret our inability to provide service for you at this time.
I’m glad they stopped the “This Will Be” commercials because that song literally starts bar fights wherever I am.
eHarmony is based upon a complex matching system developed through extensive research with married couples. One of the requirements for successful matching is that participants to fall within certain defined profiles. If we find that we will not be able to match a user using these profiles, we feel it is only fair to inform them early in the process.
We are so convinced of the importance of creating compatible matches to help people establish happy, lasting relationships that we sometimes choose not to provide service rather than risk an uncertain match.
Unfortunately, we are not able to make our profiles work for you. Our matching model could not accurately predict with whom you would be best matched. This occurs for about 20% of potential users, so 1 in 5 people simply will not benefit from our service. We hope that you understand, and we regret our inability to provide service for you at this time.
I’m glad they stopped the “This Will Be” commercials because that song literally starts bar fights wherever I am.
So, what’s a down-with-love girl like me have to offer in the month of love? For that matter, how in the heck did I wind up a romance author?
Well, my friends, it’s like this. When you decide to read me (and come you should read me if not for the fact that I’ve been rejected by eHarmony), pick the title carefully. Let it be known that you’ll have a pleasant time reading any of my titles, but seriously, they are divided into two distinct categories. The first are stories about how I would like love to be for me. Perhaps, I’ve interweaved some of the things that were beautiful about my terminal relationship, perhaps I’ve added a dash of the working love I’ve seen up close and personal, but stories like The Builder inspire romance in me because I adore the men (all the men) I write and they end up being good guys; good-to-the-core guys.
The second option, should you pick up one of my books or short stories, is to read a tale that is about love in its purest forms and how it has the potential to destroy the universe (literally). Perhaps, I’ve interweaved some pent up aggression or leftover disturb-ed-ness (not a word) from some of my romantic liaisons in the past, perhaps I’ve added a dash of the dysfunctional love I’ve seen up close and personal, but stories like Bright Star inspire romance in me because I always want to know how far one will go for love, even when the greater good is at stake. Will you go when love commands and reason and duty say stay? It’s a question I’ll never get away from so long as I write speculative romance.
I’ll conclude this blog by saying that I’m thirty-something, closing on another thirty-something birthday which I will celebrate on a cruise to a Caribbean island where I will stay at a hotel that is not Sandals, because they don’t let my kind in (filing single on my taxes).
PS for those of you who are wondering, Hedonism doesn’t let my kind in either (I like last names). ;)
For a tender romance, read The Builder.
For something that challenges, read Bright Star.
For an amazing ride of a romantic comedy, read The Prescription Playboy
Grayson Reyes-Cole
http://www.graysonreyescole.com/
PS for those of you who are wondering, Hedonism doesn’t let my kind in either (I like last names). ;)
For a tender romance, read The Builder.
For something that challenges, read Bright Star.
For an amazing ride of a romantic comedy, read The Prescription Playboy
Grayson Reyes-Cole
http://www.graysonreyescole.com/
