Monday, February 10, 2014

What is Patience Bloom reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Patience Bloom, author of Romance Is My Day Job: A Memoir of Finding Love at Last.

Her entry begins:
Finding Colin Firth by Mia March: I’m close to finishing this charming story about three women whose lives intersect in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Of course, any title mentioning Colin Firth compels a purchase, but I got swept up in the characters’ journeys through romance, pregnancy, pie-making, marriage, adoption, and starting over. This is a comfort read for the soul...[read on]
About Romance Is My Day Job, from the publisher:
Who knows the ins and outs of romance better than a Harlequin editor? A surprising and exhilarating look into Patience Bloom’s unexpected real-life love story.

At some point, we’ve all wished romance could be more like fiction. Patience Bloom certainly did, many times over. As a teen she fell in love with Harlequin novels and imagined her life would turn out just like the heroines’ on the page: That shy guy she had a crush on wouldn’t just take her out—he’d sweep her off her feet with witty banter, quiet charm, and a secret life as a rock star. Not exactly her reality, but Bloom kept reading books that fed her reveries.

Years later she moved to New York and found her dream job, editing romances for Harlequin. Every day, her romantic fantasies came true—on paper. Bloom became an expert when it came to fictional love stories, editing amazing books and learning everything she could about the romance business. But her dating life remained uninspired. She nearly gave up on love.

Then one day a real-life chance at romance made her wonder if what she’d been writing and editing all those years might be true. A Facebook message from a high school friend, Sam, sparked a relationship with more promise than she’d had in years. But Sam lived thousands of miles away—they hadn’t seen each other in more than twenty years. Was it worth the risk?

Finally, Bloom learned: Love and romance can conquer all.
Learn more about the book and author at Patience Bloom's website.

The Page 99 Test: Romance Is My Day Job.

Writers Read: Patience Bloom.

--Marshal Zeringue