Girly Books Blog Hop – location!
Congratulations to Kimberly Holgate – winner of the gift card for $5! The winner has been informed and the prize has been delivered. Thanks to everyone for participating and see you next time!
I am so excited to be participating in the 2nd ever Girly Books Blog Hop!Thank you to Libby Mercer for organizing yet another fabulous blog hop, this time on location, location, location. Please read for your chance to win a $5.00 gift card from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. And don’t forget to read the posts of the other authors and bloggers for chances to win even more prizes and a fabulous grand prize!
What inspired me to write A State of Jane was my experience dating in New York City. I have a boyfriend now but at the time, I was single and one after another, guys who seemed to be completely smitten with me would simply disappear. Sometimes it was easy to figure out what happened, for instance, when the guy came on super strong, was oozing with charm and then never called me again when I refused to go home with him. Other times, I was completely thrown. Like the time a guy disappeared in the middle of an email exchange. We had gone out several times and I thought we got along famously but once I confessed that I preferred Mr. Furley to Mr. Roper as the landlord on the television show Three’s Company, he ceased our email exchange and never asked me out again. I didn’t hear from him until years later when he asked to connect with me on Linkedin of all places! Another guy pulled a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on me in the middle of New Year’s Eve. Yes, he was all touchy-feely and excited about ringing in the New Year with me at 11:59pm on December 31, 2007 but by 2:00am on January 1, 2008, he was more interested in his buddy at the sports bar he took me to after dinner. Oh, and let’s not forget about the guy I was dating for a couple of months who made me breakfast at his place after a sleepover, showed me the home movies of his students practicing for crew, took a nice leisurely walk around the lake and waited with me for an hour after I missed my train, only to never call me again as well as ignore my phone call and email to him. Not only did he lack the decency to initiate a “break-up”, he couldn’t even locate the balls to respond to an email I sent asking him if everything was ok. If he didn’t want to see me anymore, he could have lied and written an email saying he was too busy with school to date. That would have at least been an attempt to spare my feelings, but no, it was like I ceased to exist and it hurt. I wasn’t in love with the guy but I felt so violated and, well, stupid! I cried for days.
As mostly anyone who has been single for a significant period of time can tell you, dating in NYC is brutal. I’m sure it is brutal elsewhere but NYC is a whole other type of brutal. So, when I decided to write about a naïve woman who dives head first into the dating scene after a long term relationship, all optimistic and expecting to meet the love of her life, only to find an island full of men who are interested today and gone tomorrow, the location was a no-brainer – New York City – or as I like to call it “The planet of the flakes.”
In A State of Jane, there are many mentions of New York being a difficult place to find “the one.” Without giving any spoilers, I thought I would share some of these lines with you:
“Yes, Manhattan is full of eligible bachelors. Eligible bachelors who are looking to get laid, unemployed, not interested, or gay!”
“I’d like to know the reason God put all the asshole single guys on the island of Manhattan! They are only good for one thing, some of them better than others.”
“I think normal has a different definition when it comes to guys in New York City. There are so many girls here that for guys it’s like eating at a Chinese buffet. They want to sample everything.”
“I got him unjaded. Unlike some of these others New York City guys.”
“I’d heard that New York City girls were a ruthless bunch but, blimey, I wasn’t expecting it from you.” (Yes, sometimes we ladies are pretty messed up too….)
He just faded into oblivion – like every other guy I dated before him since my reentrance into the dating world. I didn’t think my mom would understand behavior like that was par for the course in New York City, especially since three guys flaked on me before I wised up.
“Not as difficult as finding a husband.” I pointed out the window of the bus. “Especially in this Godforsaken city!”
“It’s because of the men in this city! You dump us when we don’t sleep with you. You dump us when we DO sleep with you. And sometimes, you dump us for no reason at all!”
True that!
For a chance to win a $5.00 gift card from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, please leave a comment with your email address and the city you think is the best place to fall in love. And don’t forget to check out all of the other participating blogs!
Click here to enter the grand prize and to continue hopping:
http://libby-mercer.blogspot.com/2013/01/enter-to-win-girly-books-blog-hop-grand.html
Great post, Meredith, and congrats on your newest book! I’m going to check it out. I’m loving this Girly Blog Hop. I started an hour early, so will check back later when all of the sites have their posts ready.
Now I am looking forward even more to getting stuck into A State Of Jane which I started this morning! Always heard NYC was brutal, but your post just shows why Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus! I’d say Venice has to be one of the most romantic cities in the world, but ultimately it’s wherever you are with the one you love (especially right at the beginning!) Sooz
Dating anywhere sucks, but it does sound like NYC takes the cake when it comes to bad options for single women. I do have two friends who found their husbands in the Big Apple, although funnily enough their husbands were originally from Atlanta and Vancouver, so I guess that exempted them from being NYC a-hole bachelors. Your guy isn’t a native NYer either, Meredith, so I guess that’s the secret to success in NYC – find someone who’s a transplant! 🙂
Great post and I’m really looking forward to reading A STATE OF JANE.
I loved Mr. Furley! This is one hilarious post, and I’m glad you are no longer fighting your way through the dating jungle that is NYC. And the dating disasters in A STATE OF JANE had me rolling on the floor!
Samantha Stroh Bailey
I think NYC is definitely the spot! 🙂
Mr. Furley was a much better landlord than Mr. Roper, by the way!
One of the things I loved most about A State of Jane was how it captured the NYC dating scene so perfectly. The dating scene, the single scene, the roommate scene… I will never forget Jane’s ill-fated drunken striptease, and I will never admit why I related to it so well… NYC really is like no place else in the world. I may have to write it in to my books more. Great choice! Great post!
I don’t know if there’s an ideal city to fall in love. Wherever the right person is, of course!
vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
Oh, my, oh my! Can’t wait to read A State of Jane! 🙂 Let’s see… best city in which to fall in love. Ummm… Are there cities on Mars? Someone once told me ‘Men Are From Mars’ so there must be more men from which to choose there… But then, that can’t be true because it’s too cold to play football on Mars so they’re be nothing for them to watch on television. They probably staged an evac from Mars a long time ago. Hhhmmmm. I guess I’ll go with Dubuque, Iowa. Nothing to do there but drink beer and watch the corn grow. I imagine the sex there would be EPIC!
julievalerie1@gmail.com or @JBValerie or julievalerie.com
Excellent post, Meredith! And I agree, NYC is totally “the planet of the flakes” when it comes to dating. I lived there during my prime dating years (ages 24-29, I believe) and dated some doozies! I was totally taken back to that crazy time in my life when I read A State of Jane – fabulous book, by the way!! Can’t believe that guy you dated who flaked out after the Roper/Furley thing… I’m definitely with you on Team Furley. He was such a character! Thanks so much for participating in the hop!!
I am loving this hop! I have visited NYC and can see that it could be a tough one to find love…I think Seattle would be an excellant city to fall in love in…
Hi, Meredith! I loved your post. I’m going to say Ohio is the perfect place to fall in love since that’s where I met and fell in love with my husband of 20+ years. And, yanno, there may be something to that. Not to diss Cleveland and its suburbs, but it’s not exactly the hotbed of excitement, so a new couple doesn’t have too many distractions from each other…:) Anyway, I’m so glad to have read your blog and can’t wait to read A State of Jane.
Aww! My heart just breaks when you talk about how Manhattan men dump wonderful guys no matter what women do–good, bad, or indifferent. I loved reading JANE but I figured there had to be a lot of real-life heartache poured into this book.
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Seriously someone dumped you over Mr. Furley??? Well at least he didn’t do it on a Post-it note! I’m glad I’m an old married woman! HA!
I think it would need to be a city with a good percentage of singles, so I couldn’t say which one.
strive4bst(At) yahoo(dot) com
Great post Meredith! Being single In Portland, Maine can be a challenge, but I can’t imagine the challenges in New York! Terrific quotes, too!
Great post! I’m still laughing about the guy who broke up with you over three’s company…
Where ever you are is a great place to find love, as long as you are open to it. 🙂
I’m in Atlanta, a totally great place to be, and my e-mail address is kaur_chanpreet(at)hotmail(dot)com
I feel your pain! I remember when I lived in NYC, I dated a guy who slept with me, put me in a cab the next morning, and as the door was closing said, “I think I’m falling in love with you.” I never saw him again, but I did get a typed letter from him when he moved to San Francisco a week after that. He even signed his name in typeface! I should have known he was trouble when he dove for my rear end before anything else, almost before kissing. Yes, he went THERE! He wanted to go down on me THERE first!
“the island of the flakes”
Ha! All I know of NYC is what I’ve seen on TV or read in the paper. Your comment puts a whole different spin on it!
livrancourt (at) yahoo(dot)com
i’m not sure but i know everyone usually says paris france so i will go with that
kaholgate at ymail dot com
It’s not the city that matters it’s where you look for love in any city. If you look in bars and clubs you are not likely to find a winner. I found love in a bookstore in a small New Mexico city.
Aw man, I have no idea, I suppose it depends on the person. I choose anywhere with a really great aquarium- those are romantic, right? 😛
aircdrewood(at)gmail(dot)com
I thought I had left a comment, but hmm. Too many people in NYC to find just one that’s right for you! Too many choices. But I think any place can be ther perfect place to fall in love, the person you are falling in love with makes it perfect! Okay..almost any place. I’m sure people have fallen in love in places they hate. But perhaps for a few moments, even that place was perfect. See…I am really not good when there are too many choices! 😉
Forgot my email!~
dreammie_angel at yahoo dot com
I would have to say St. Petersburg, Russia is the most romantic place imo. So much history and beauty in one city.
Great post, Meredith! I’m looking forward to picking up A State of Jane. I’ve heard time and again that dating in NYC is a nightmare, and I can only imagine the fun shenanigans that your leading lady will get herself into over there. 🙂
I’d have to go with NYC!
bjoneill@hotmail.com
I think NYC is the best place to fall in love!
grapeapril75(AT)gmail.com
I’m personally a Roper fan, myself, but that seems an extreme reason to break off a relationship! Great post!
I am so sorry you had all those horrible experiences. I think dating is definitely difficult no matter the city, but from what I have heard and know of New Yorkers, they are not known for their manners. I think the best place for love is definitely in Paris. It just oozes romance and French men are soooo romantic, although they flake out on you also but at least it is fun while it lasts!
Thanks for the great giveaway. Your book sounds amazing and I am adding it to my TBR list right now!
Marlena
charmedpoms(at)yahoo(dot)com