Earlier this month, I sent out a newsletter to everyone who was a subscriber, and in it was a contest question for an international giveaway (two random winners would each get a packet of gourmet Door County coffee, a bar of Ghirardelli chocolate and a Marilyn Brant t-shirt). That question from my
Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match excerpt page (found in this passage
here), garnered
hundreds of responses, and almost everyone had the correct answer:
Charlotte Lucas! The random generator chose the two winning names: My congrats to
Susan Heim and
Shawn Andree!! You should already have emails from me in your inbox!
But there's more... Because I was so blown away by the many replies, I randomly chose six additional entrants to win a digital copy of
Holiday Man, which is a story that begins and ends on -- you guessed it -- Valentine's Day! Those winners have emails from me, too, and, between them, they live in at least three different countries!! Congrats to
Lory Diocampo, Emily Tardy, Heta Shah, Karen Haas, Kai Wong and
Catherine Lindley. I truly hope you'll all enjoy your prizes :).
There was also a general question that anyone who wanted to could answer:
"How did you meet your soul mate (or your Mr./Ms. Darcy)?" And the replies were
WONDERFUL! Below, I'm including passages from
every person whose response I received... These tales of enduring love are so lovely and inspiring to me. I hope you all will enjoy reading them, too. And a Very Happy Valentine's Day to each and every one of you!!
"How I Met My Mr. (or Ms.) Darcy"
I met my soul mate at work--in fact,
since it was company policy that couples couldn't work in the same department
we had to ask our boss for permission to get married! ~Sue
For 25 years I had been a pen pal with a
lady who was a cousin to a good friend of mine... I flew to New York for some
business and came to Iowa to go to her son’s wedding. Well her ex-son-in-law
wasn’t there, and the entire time I was here he was not around. On the way out
of town she stopped by the street he happened to be working--he was welding in
a hole--she introduced us and he gave me a kiss on the cheek. The next 8 months
I flew back and forth, then on Jan 1st he came out to Calif, we went to Reno,
got married and I moved back to Iowa. ~Peggy
I met my husband in high school--I was
15 and a Sophomore, he was 18 and a Senior at an FFA/FHA dance. We dated on and
off for 18 years (go out a couple of times--didn't see each other for a couple
of years--go out a couple of times--didn't see each other for a couple of years--etc., etc.--you
get the idea) before we finally got together and got married. I was 33 and he
was just shy of 37 when we married. That was over 17 years ago and we are still
together. ~Amber
I met my husband of soon to be 39 years,
when we were sophomores in high school. We didn't start dating until we were
seniors. Since we graduated in the same year, class reunions are great! When we
go in the door, he goes one way and I go the other. We end up meeting somewhere
in the middle of the room. We've raised two children and I now watch our
grandson daily. Life is good. ~Nancy
On my first day at my new school I
watched the older boys playing baseball. When one particular boy came up to
bat, I looked at my new friend and told her I’m going to marry him someday. Keep
in mind I didn’t know his name and I had never seen him before in my life. She
looked at me and shook her head. She told me he was her boyfriend and to forget
about it. I just smiled, after all I was only 11 years old. Well, 6 years later
I found myself walking down the aisle to the man of my dreams. (Yes, it was the
same boy I watched playing baseball so long ago.) This year we will be happily
married 40 years. Yes, there have been many highs and some lows, but so goes
the roller coaster of life. I guess I knew what I was talking about after all
when I was just 11 years old. Now, I think about that day, and I just smile.
~Debbie
As for my soul mate, not much to say. My
husband made payments where I worked, so once I broke up with my boyfriend of
1.5 years (he found out through mutual friends), my husband immediately asked
me out when he saw me walking in my hometown's downtown area. And the rest, as
they say, is history. It's been almost 32 years now, and we love each other
more all the time. ~Elaine
Drew and I were on the same
rifle team in high school, but Drew was shy, jealous of me and I had a slight
crush on him, so I had to ask him out first. Drew and I went on our first date
to Six Flags as a "get-to-know-each-other-and-be-friends," but then
one date lead to another and another. We've been together for over four years
now and I'm engaged to most stubborn, over-protective, jealous man I can ever
love. ~Heather
Met my husband at
college. He was my friend's neighbor in her co-ed dorm freshman year. Dated
after graduation. Married for 20 years and counting. Three boys. Living the
suburban life. ~Denise
I
met my husband on the internet. In a Nascar chat room. That was in 2000. This
year will be 6 years married and 16 years together. We got married on our
official anniversary. August 26, 2007 (we started dating officially August 26,
2000) The funny thing is if it weren't for him locking his laundry in the
apartment laundry room the night before, I would not have met him, lmao. The
website isn't even online anymore. So glad the room was locked lol. ~Tina
I met my soul mate when we were both in Junior High School, but at different schools. One day I was sitting next to a friend of mine in church when I noticed a new boy sitting on the other side of my friend. They were chatting and obviously knew each other, so I asked my friend who the new boy was. He introduced us. Little did I realize the new guy was to become my future husband. That didn't happen until after I had graduated from college, but it has been a great match. The boy who introduced me to my future husband was a
groomsman at our wedding and we all remain close friends. ~Gladys
My husband and I met at a Battle of the
Bands. Very boring. ~Kathleen
I had introduced my
girlfriend, Mary, to one of my single male friends, and I asked her to return
the favor. On February 12, 2000 I spoke to Brian for the first time. I had been
burned before, so I was very cautious and we didn't even have our first date
until March 17th, but we sure burned up the internet and the phone lines in
those weeks in between. It turns out Mary was a great, great judge of what kind
of guy would suit me, because it has been nearly 13 years now since I first met
Brian, and we got married 5 years (to the day) after we first spoke, so our 8th
wedding anniversary is coming up on February 12, 2013. We have so many
different things in common in unusual places that we truly must have been
destined to meet. ~Donna
I
met my soul mate at church. I was suppose to meet another guy Assistant Pastor
said would be there but he got cold feet and did not show. I was angry at the
friend - Assistant Pastor. When in walked a couple I was friends with and
wanted me to meet my husband of 33 years. They had been praying for him to find
a wife. Also they had prayed for me to find a husband. Now here is the good
part. Years before I had a dream of my wedding and the house and coming down
stairs with wedding in back yard. I had never seen the house. But at the time I
met my husband I was living in the house from the dream and he was the man in
my dream. Now we had never met before this. He told me he had a dream too where
God gave him a choice between the woman he was with and going nowhere in life
or me. So we had our first date on Easter in 1979 and married in June 1979. We
will celebrate 33 years in June. ~Jane
Believe it or not--I met my honey on the phone! I worked at a bank
and he worked at a S & L and had to call me every day as we were their
correspondent bank! Fortunately, he fell for my "sexy" voice --
couldn't decide to hire me or date me--so hired me--then dated me and the rest
is history! Ta Da! 28 years later and we are still soul mates! ~Kathy
Met my husband in 1951...in the Catskills in NY...which is where
singles generally met (at a resort and not bars or internet). We were married
many happy years and have children and grandchildren. Unfortunately he has
passed away but left a wonderful legacy. ~M.K.
There
he was--tall, blonde, hazel eyed and square jawed. It was evident he was smart.
He had manners. Quite a discovery on the first day of high school! For the next
four years we hung out in the same group, had the same all honors classes, and
represented the school at various meetings and functions. We were friends--only
friends. Then, as Senior year was ending, I told him he blew it and could have
been dating me for 4 years. He said, "You're right--but if I get the
chance again, I won't blow it." Two years and a broken engagement later,
we started dating, and married 2 years later. Now, after 37 years of marriage,
he's still the one, and always will be! ~Karen
My
husband and I met on a blind date almost 28 years ago, set up by mutual friends
who were dating at the time. It was a group date to go dancing at a local night
club. We hit it off and started seeing each other immediately and have been
together ever since. He actually was supposed to see someone else later that
evening but gave in to his friend's request, even bringing me a white rose that
he left in the car--he planned to give it to me at the end of the evening, only
if things looked positive. Needless to say, I received the rose and he did not
go to his other date that evening! ~Jennifer
Jeff
and I had gone to school together with him being a year ahead of me when my
family moved out of the area during my sophomore year. Fast forward 12 years
and my roommate talked me into going to a local dating service with her. She
paid to join but I couldn't afford it. My profile was so good that they offered
me 6 free meets with guys. I had one I really liked but accidently threw his
information out, so when I went back to the service to get my next pull. Jeff's
name came up. I remembered him from school as a jokester and wasn't sure how to
take him. We started semi-dating, with my roommate coming along for the first
few as I built up a friendship with him, until he made mention that he didn't
know who he was dating and I left roommy behind. Four months later he proposed
and we were wed 6 months after that. We celebrated our 17th anniversary last
year. We are still more friends than romantic lovers and I think that is how we
have stood the test of time. Romantic love sometimes burns out during
trying/stressful times in a marriage but friendship first stands the test of
time. ~Carolyn
My
partner of 27 year was my soul mate. She completed me. We encouraged each other
to be the best possible. I always told her that she was my heart and so she was. We
worked together in a computer assembly company. She was trying to get parts for
her units and I was trying to get the same parts for my area. At first we
became friends and after a year we found that many of our interests were the
same. Several years after we got together, we decided to make sure all our
personal wishes were taken care of. A power of attorney was filled out giving
each other the ability to have a say what we wanted. This was the greatest gift
we gave each other. She died four months ago and I was able to have a say in
her final wishes. This was my gift to her. ~Pat
I
met my husband (soul mate) 11 years ago. I was out with some friends and one of
them invited along his friend. Later that night, I mentioned that I had to go
bowling in the morning and his friend overheard me and told me that he had a
friend who was single, Jewish, liked to bowl, and lived in the same Chicago
suburb as me. I gave him my number and got a call not even 12 hours later. We
connected up the next night and talked for three hours. On February 6th, he
invited me to meet him at B&N for hot cocoa. As soon as I saw him, I felt
an instant familiarity and knew he was the one. We've been married for almost
NINE years and have three kids now. I still feel the same as I did when we
first met! ~Melissa
I
enjoyed reading the excerpt of your book! I also wanted to tell you that my
wedding anniversary is on Valentine's Day!! I'll be married to my lifelong
valentine 21 years and we call it our Valenersary!!* It's my favorite day of the
year! ~Lauren
I
met my soul mate, best friend and husband when I was in college. I had known
his brother for a while, and I was not attracted to him because he was
"too short and too much younger". I used to hang out with a group of
guys in college. One of the guys asked who I would date out of the group if I
had a choice. I said, "Mark," who is my husband's brother. Then, I
had to tell Mark that then guy was obnoxious and I needed something to say, but
I was not attracted to him due to him being "too short and too much
younger." He said, "I have an older, taller brother". I met his
older brother a few months later when he returned from overseas, and I have
loved him ever since. ~Sandy
Randy and I met at the bank where I was working at that time. He
and his friend, Chet were starting a part time business and needed to open
a checking account for it... Chet said that as soon as he introduced Randy to
me, he might have well have left! The three of us have laughed about that for
years. Randy and I were both single parents, so it took a while to
co-ordinate our "week-ends," so the first Friday night date we were
able to arrange just happened to fall on Valentine's Day!!! It was magic!
Dinner and dancing at The Governor's Inn! Very elegant! There were even
flowers in our salads!!! Not that I'm a small town girl or anything, but while
I was deciding what to choose from our 5 course menu, he sweetly explained that
we got all of it, we didn't have to choose. LOL!!! We were married 4 months
later! I know I've rambled on, but you're the writer expert, so you can decide
how to edit it!!** Thanks for helping me remember this magic time! (It was 21
years ago!) ~Robin
Have
not yet met my Mr. Darcy, but am hoping I will some day. ~Teresa
* Happy "Valenersary," Lauren! :)
**All
of these stories were so great, Robin, I found I really didn’t have to edit very much!
Many thanks to EVERY ONE OF YOU for sharing, and may your Valentine's week be filled with joy!!
