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About Face (Love in the Suburbs Book 1) Page 18


  Shit. That totally sounds like something I’d plan. I cross my arms over my chest and realize I’m still topless. I shake my head before standing and walk to my bedroom to finish getting dressed. Blaze follows. Of-freaking-course.

  “You pre-paid a gym membership for a year and six months of weekly sessions with a personal trainer.”

  I finish putting on a t-shirt and collapse on the bed. “That’s a lot of money. Probably all my savings. Why’d you let me follow through on such a crazy scheme?”

  Blaze slaps my thigh before laying down next to me. “Don’t be overly dramatic. It’s not all your savings. I know you have a secret savings stash for your dream wedding.”

  Yep. My lameness is such that I have a savings account for my wedding. I started the account when I was ten. Since I’m now thirty-five, it’s a good chunk of change. Change I will never touch. Except for my dream wedding. Which will probably never happen now. I make a sound of distress, but Blaze is having none of it.

  “Come on.” She stands and pulls me off the bed. “You’ve already paid for the trainer. You might as well go. If all else fails, you can stare at his hotness for forty-five minutes.”

  Oh, my god. I’m pretty sure that’s what I said last night when I went ahead with this crazy plan and pre-paid for the entire scheme.

  Keep reading Fat Girl Begone!

  Thanks!

  I struggled to write this book. Don’t I always say that? Some day it will be easier, right? Anyway, writing a comedy about something as personal as being scarred was tough. I’ve spent my life making jokes about my weight and my fat ass. I have no problem joking about that. But the 6 ½ scar on my knee has never been the butt of my jokes. Not even when I was in the military and all the guys thought it was ‘cool’. It took me decades until I was able to wear shorts and skirts that showed my scar.

  I couldn’t have done it without you, though. So, thank you to all my blog followers, twitter peeps, Instagram followers, newsletter subscribers, and Facebook friends for encouraging and supporting me as I struggled to find some balance between writing, marketing, building an author platform, and having a life outside of my office (aka Dena’s Writing Den).

  I may be super-proud to call myself an indie writer – even when people I meet say in a somewhat snooty voice ‘Oh, you’re self-published’ as if I have a communicable disease. But ‘independent’ is a major misnomer because it totally takes more than little ‘ole me to turn an idea into a published book. Let’s name those helpers!

  First and foremost, thanks to my friends and family who allow me to bounce ideas off of them at the most random and sometimes inappropriate of times and locations. There is a point to my questions – I promise! A special thanks to all my acquaintances who inspire me with their stories and funny antics. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

  The hubby deserves special mention for designing my book covers, being a beta reader, and just being all-around Mr. Supportive. Sometimes I worry he’s going to figure out that my characters feel more genuine to me than real life, but he still puts up with me after some twenty-odd years, so I guess he isn’t totally turned off by me not being entirely normal.

  And then there’s my editor. Thanks, Carol for continuing to make time for me when you have a gazillion other things going on in your life.

  I also want to throw a general thank you out into the digital universe to thank all the book bloggers who have helped me promote my books and especially those who take the time to read and review one or more of my books. You can’t believe how thankful I am there are bloggers out there who not only read my emails begging them for a review but also actually take the time to answer. Thank you!!!

  Of course, I can’t forget to thank you, the reader, for buying the book and reading it. I would be extremely honored and thankful if you could write a review—even if it’s just a line or two. You can do that here.

  If you want to keep up with what I’m writing next and maybe get some good deals on books, too, sign up for my newsletter here. Or you can just follow me on social media, where I’ll probably say lots of inappropriate things thinking I’m being hilarious.

  About the Author

  I grew up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.

  About Face is my sixteenth book.

  Connect with me online:

  Website & blog

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  Amazon Author Page

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  Complete book list

  Buried Appearances / Begraven in het Verleden

  Life Discarded

  Murder, Mystery & Dating Mayhem

  Jack Gets His Man

  Love in the Time of Murder

  The Gray-Haired Knitting Detectives Series

  Molly’s Misadventures

  Never Trust a Skinny Cupcake Baker (Book 1 of the Death by Cupcake Series)

  Bring Your Own Baker (Book 2 of the Death by Cupcake Series)

  Self-Serve Murder (Book 3 of the Death by Cupcake Series)

  The Death by Cupcake Series

  Fat Girl Begone!

  Searching for Gertrude

  Finders, Not Keepers (Book 1 of the Not So Reluctant Detective Series)

  Picture Not Perfect (Book 2 of the Not So Reluctant Detective Series)

  Hide Not Seek (Book 3 of the Not So Reluctant Detective Series)

  The Not So Reluctant Detective Series