Romance Is My Day Job : A Memoir of Finding Love at Last

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-- Prelude To A Romance -- High School Dances Don't End Like Romance Novels (except Maybe If There's A Pregnancy) -- Tragic Heroes Are Romantic On The Page But Sad In Real Life -- When In Crisis, Go Party In Paris! -- Harrison Ford Isn't Coming To Cleveland -- If He Says He Doesn't Reciprocate Your Feelings, Believe Him And Run -- Romance On Paper Can Help A Girl Through A Long Dry Spell, And It's Not As Messy As The Real Thing -- A Hero For All Seasons -- Never Discount The Power Of A Birthday Wish -- The Voice From Five Thousand Miles And Twenty-six Years Away -- Is This My Romance Or One Of Those Strange Friendships That Goes Nowhere? -- The Airport Scene -- Eat, Pray, Move In On The First Date -- Where There's A Ring -- Wedding Planning And Taking The High Road -- Happily Wedded Ever After (but Someone Will Puke). Patience Bloom. “Highly recommended for romantics of all stripes."—Library Journal, starred review Why isn’t real-life romance more like fiction? Patience Bloom asked herself this question, many times over. As a teen she fell in love with Harlequin novels and imagined her life would turn out just like their heroines: That shy guy she had a crush on would sweep her off her feet and turn out to be a rock star. Not exactly her reality, but Patience kept hoping. Years later she found her dream job, editing romances for Harlequin itself. Every day, her fantasies came true—on the page. Her dating life, however, remained uninspired. She nearly gave up hope. Then one day Patience got a real-life chance at romance, but Sam lived thousands of miles away. Was it worth the risk? Could love conquer all? “Highly recommended for romantics of all stripes."— Library Journal, starred review Why isn’t real-life romance more like fiction? Patience Bloom asked herself this question, many times over. As a teen she fell in love with Harlequin novels and imagined her life would turn out just like their heroines: That shy guy she had a crush on would sweep her off her feet and turn out to be a rock star. Not exactly her reality, but Patience kept hoping. Years later she found her dream job, editing romances for Harlequin itself. Every day, her fantasies came true—on the page. Her dating life, however, remained uninspired. She nearly gave up hope. Then one day Patience got a real-life chance at romance, but Sam lived thousands of miles away. Was it worth the risk? Could love conquer all?