JACK WITH A TWIST out in bookstores today!

My second novel, JACK WITH A TWIST (Engaging your adversary and other things they don't teach you in law school) comes out today. I hope you'll check it out!

Tonight is the Book Launch Party in New York City, but if you're not around tonight, don't fret! My tour calendar gets bigger each day:

Summer Gazebo Readings Series, Kiwanis Club of Oceanside
Monday, July 14, 2008, 7 p.m.
Schoolhouse Green on Foxhurst Road in Oceanside, just east of Long Beach Road

Books and Books, Coral Gables, Florida
Book club luncheon
Saturday, July 19, 2008, 1 p.m.
265 Aragon Avenue

Barnes and Noble, New York City
Thursday, August 7, 2008, 7 p.m.
Book reading and signing
Lincoln Center (Bway at 66th Street)

Want some free stuff? Email me with your address and I'll send you a free JACK WITH A TWIST bookmark and pen!

Hope to see you this summer!

xoxo,
Brenda

FREE STUFF!

Okay, so who doesn't like free stuff?!? Today, in honor of the JACK WITH A TWIST book launch tomorrow, I'm giving out lots of it. If you shoot me an email at brenda@brendajanowitz.com, I'll send you a FREE JACK WITH A TWIST bookmark and pen.

But, wait, there's more! Book Chic is doing a BOOK giveaway today! So check out her blog and enter to win free signed copies of JACK WITH A TWIST and SCOT ON THE ROCKS!

Don't Mondays rock?

You don’t know JACK!

But these people do!

Check out what some of your favorite authors are saying about JACK WITH A TWIST!

"a funny, sweet romance."
New York Times bestselling author Marian Keyes

"Another fun-filled page-turner from Brenda. Every bit as sparkling as the champagne that the bride-to-be's mother is so fond of..."
USA Today international bestselling author Carole Matthews

"A funny, smart, true-to-life novel about being your own woman. Loved it!"
Melissa Senate, author of SEE JANE DATE and QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE MARRYING"

Deliciously entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny and fraught with disaster after hilarious disaster, Janowitz's second novel is engaging, fast-paced and thoroughly delightful. Janowitz's pitch-perfect sequel to SCOT ON THE ROCKS is a hilarious look at the not-so-holy side of holy matrimony..."
Kristin Harmel, author of THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING

Book Launch Party!

This summer, Brooke Miller is back!

And Mediabistro's having a Book Launch Party to celebrate all of the fun!

Please join us on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 from 6:30pm until 8:30pm to celebrate the launch of my second novel, JACK WITH A TWIST (Engaging your adversary and other things they don't teach you in law school). RSVPs are a must, so please let us know if you'll be there! The fun starts at 6:30 and will be at Katra, 217 Bowery in NYC.

We've also got a whole new website in honor of JACK, so go check it out! And, as always, if your book club will be reading JACK, please email me at brenda@brendajanowitz.com and I'll send you free JACK WITH A TWIST bookmarks and even call in to say hi! I hope to see you all on Tuesday, June 24th!

xoxo,Brenda

I'm covered!

Hey everyone! So, it's official.

The book cover for JACK WITH A TWIST is out and it's gorgeous! If I was smart enough to implant an image here, I'd totally do that. But, as it turns out, I'm not really very tech savvy, so you'll have to go to Trashionista, who's posted an item about it today. I promise it'll be worth it! It's called JACK WITH A TWIST (Engaging your adversary and other things they don't teach you in law school) and it comes out on June 24, 2008. I hope you'll check it out. More info to come!

Is your muse commitment phobic?

I was recently interviewed for an article on writer's block and it's been published! I hope you'll check it out on Harlequin's website. In this piece, I divulge all of my deepest, darkest secrets on how to combat writer's block, so read this article and then get inspired to write!

And then leave a comment here and tell us how *you* combat writer's block.

I want to be the most popular girl

I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but I've been waiting for something big to blog about. No, huge. No, monumental! Because that's how big the news I have for you is-- it's monumental.

Variety is reporting that Ashley Tisdale is in talks to do a re-make of the movie TEEN WITCH! Am I the only one who has fond memories of this movie? It was the story of a girl who, on her 16th birthday, finds out that she was witch-like powers. It featured such hits as "I want to be the most popular girl," "I like boys," and the unforgettable "Top That!" If you haven't seen this movie, add it to your NetFlix asap!

What 80s movie would you most like to see re-made? And which ones shouldn't be touched?

Things I'm obsessed with this week

Um, okay, how awesome is this?!?

And how hilarious is this? I actually owned some of those albums, and will still debate that PARTY ALL THE TIME is a true 80s classic.

And, yes, I know it’s old news by now, but I still can’t stop talking about this.

What are you guys obsessed with this week?

Nice to meet you, wanna get married?

One of my latest obsessions is the Bravo show called THE MILLIONAIRE MATCHMAKER. (Damn you, writer's strike!) Have you seen it?

Well, if not, you must start watching it. Immediately. On it, third generation matchmaker Patti sets up millionaires with the women of their dreams. And we TV viewers get to watch them from the first meeting all the way through to their first date.

The season finale truly ended the season with a bang—handsome real estate developer Paul took out "nice Jewish girl" Cidney, and in a moment that was "totally out of character" (his words), he actually proposed!

Yes, you read that right. They were on their first date EVER and he proposed!

Nice Jewish boy meets nice Jewish girl, right? Now, I know I should just look at this from the romantic part of me and say it was truly love at first sight. But, there's something about this that's bothering me, and it's not just the fact that nice Jewish girls don't do Playboy. I'd like to think that he just got caught up in the moment and felt a genuine connection to this woman. In that moment, he truly felt that this was a woman he could spend the rest of his life with. And we've all had first dates like that, haven't we? First dates where we got swept away and began referring to our dates as "our future husband" to friends and family the very next day. First dates were everything just seemed so perfect that you wanted to freeze the moment in time for an eternity. (Granted, that feeling usually went away by the time you got to date two and he was rude to a waiter/ wore those atrocious pants/ talked about his ex the whole night, but hey! The feeling was there for that first night. You just know it was!)

What's really bothering me about this whole thing is the fact that if a woman *dared* to make such a proclamation as this on a first date, the guy would be out of there faster than you can say: psycho! At the end of the episode, we learned that Cidney moved to Las Vegas to be closer to Paul and to give things a shot. But if the roles were reversed, Paul would have been asking the Millionaire Matchmaker for his money back.

On a first date, a woman can barely tell a guy that she likes his shirt without the guy packing up and running for the hills. So, why is something like this okay for a guy? Why is it that when a guy does it, he's perceived as romantic and in touch with his feelings, but if a girl professes to love at first sight, she's considered desperate and insane?

The Art of French Kissing

Kristin Harmel's latest book, THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING, will be out on bookshelves this Tuesday. It's a fantastic read and I was honored to have been asked to give a blurb! So, I got to read an advanced copy and I must say: I loved it! And you will, too. It's absolutely adorable and here's what I said about it:

"Tres magnifique! I loved this book and you will, too! The Art of French Kissing is a sweet and adorable page-turner that will make you long for the city of light!"

Here's some info on the book:

How do you say, 'So many men, so little time,' in French?

Well, Emma Sullivan can always figure that out later. The point is -- she's in Paris! Which would be great, except that she's stuck doing public relations for one of the hottest -- and craziest -- rock stars on the planet. Making things worse is Gabriel Francoeur, the sexy and stubborn reporter who refuses to believe her when she tells him that her client was just playing Go Fish in that hotel room with all those scantily-clad girls....

But Emma will always have Paris. The City of Light, of romance, of high fashion and of unfathomable varieties of cheese. If a girl can't reinvent herself here, there's no hope! It's time to leave the old Emma Sullivan behind and become someone courageous, exciting, successful. The type of girl who, when faced with a reporter who won't stop asking questions, knows just what to do. After all, they don't call it French kissing for nothing!

The requisite Valentine's Day post

Those of you out there who come to my blog just know that I would never let the opportunity to post a holiday blog pass me by. So, happy valentine's day! On this day dedicated to love, roses and chocolates, I'm wondering what you are all up to.

My fiance and I are going out for a super fancy dinner (I get to dress up and everything!), but truth be told, I'm exhausted from teaching on Monday and Wednesday nights, and wish we could just lie on the couch and watch bad tv (Rock of Love, anyone?). Does that make me a bad bride-to-be?

The Lost Boys

Okay, so what on earth is this about?!? It's clearly not meant to be a joke, but something about it *is* kind of funny. Which is mean, I know. I know that.

In light of the nature of celebrity today-- child celebrity, specifically-- and the legions of Lindsays and Britneys running in and of rehab, it is somewhat refreshing to see a star who is eager and ready to work. Without all of the bullsh*t.

Corey Haim had his share of substance abuse problems, but he's back and ready to "make amends" and get back to doing what he loves best-- which, presumably, is acting. So I think that's great. But, the question of the day has nothing to do with all that, really. What I want to know is which Corey all of you preferred: Haim or Feldman? And more importantly, how long until we see a remake of License to Drive?

THE LIAR'S DIARY by Patry Francis

Did you hear about this amazing web movement yesterday about The Liar's Diary by Patry Francis? 300 bloggers got together and all posted messages about the fabulous Ms. Francis and her book. She is unable to promote the paperback release of her book herself, as she is presently recovering from cancer.

What a fabulous thing for all of these writers to band together and help a fellow writer! I bought my copy today and you should buy yours today, too! To see a full list of all of the wonderful people who were involved, go to Lit Park. And then go buy the book!

Well reviewed

Slate's got a fascinating article about the "top" reviewers on Amazon. Seems that those in the "Top ten" of Amazon's reviewers are reviewing up to 5 books a day. Grady Harp, Harriet Klausner.... have you seen these names as reviewers of your favorite books? The Gradys and Harriets of the world are either unbelievably prolific, or, as the article suggests, working with a staff of writers to produce so many reviews each day.

I should mention here that Harriet Klausner actually posted one of the first reviews of my book, but when I started to see the comments from various people doubting that Harriet really existed, I asked Amazon to take Harriet's review down (even tho, as I recall, she gave me a really good review!).

Don't get me wrong: I don't have a problem with publishers putting books into the hands of those who review the most books on Amazon (if that is, in fact, what they are doing, and I should mention here that I have absolutely no idea how Harriet Klausner got her hands on my book). What I *do* have a problem with is reviewers reviewing up to 5 books a day. There's just no way that a normal person can read that much. Can they?

And if people like Harriet Klausner actually represent a bunch of writers who are doing reviews, is that fair to then take the Number One Reviewer spot on Amazon? Shouldn't people who are *really* reading books and reviewing them honestly get a chance at this spot?

Get dirty with me!

Okay, that subject line really should have read "Come get clean with me" but that's not really that exciting, now, is it? And I just had to grab your attention to announce that I've been asked to read as part of the Dirty Laundry Reading Series here in NYC! It's the reading where you bring your dirty laundry (thus the name) out to a laundromat, and while you're washing and drying, a few authors read to you from their books. What could be better? Get entertained while you do your chores!

For those of you in NYC, here's the press release:

Date: Thursday January 31st, 2008
Time: 8-9pm
Location: Klean and Kleaner, (yes, it's a laundromat)
Tickets: FREE, bring your laundry, we provide the quarters and detergent!
173 East 2nd St. between A/B;Directions: F train to 2nd Avenue
Wash and Dry Productions, LLC
Presents"The reading series in your local Laudromat"
Dirty Laundry: Loads of Prose
Volume 15: The Agitatorswith

BRENDA JANOWITZ, author of SCOT ON THE ROCKS
and
ALIX STRAUSS, author of THE JOY OF FUNERALS

Wash and Dry Productions presents the reading series that adds a literary twist tothe laundry cycle, Dirty Laundry: Loads of Prose returns on January 31, 2008 with Volume 15 in a special edition we are calling The Agitators.Unusual venues are good ideas…they integrate reading into the real world."Roy Blount, Jr. (Vol. 7)

Rhapsodically biting and hilarious, New York fiction writers, Brenda Janowitz and Alix Strauss will read from their latest work. Your heads will literally spin with the twisted,yet heartfelt tales bubbling out of the minds and mouths of these accomplished authors.Here's more about the writers:

A native New Yorker, Brenda Janowitz has had a flair for all things dramaticsince she played the title role in her third grade production of ReallyRosie. When asked by her grandmother if the experience made her want to bean actress when she grew up, Brenda responded, "An actress? No. A writer,maybe." Brenda graduated from Cornell University and Hofstra Law School.

Her first novel, SCOT ON THE ROCKS (How I Survived My Ex-Boyfriend's Wedding With My Dignity Ever So Slightly Intact), is on bookshelves now. Brenda's second novel, JACK WITH A TWIST (Engaging Your Adversary And Other Things They Don't Teach You In Law School) will be out in July 2008. She currently lives in Manhattan and teaches creative writing at Mediabistro. Visit her at www.brendajanowitz.com.

Alix Strauss - The media savvy social satirist, has been a featured lifestyle trend writer on national morning shows and talk shows including ABC, CBS, CNN and most recently, VH1. Her articles cover a range of topics, from beauty and food trends to celebrity interviews, appearing in an array of publications such as:The New York Times, The New York Post, and Daily News, as well as national magazines: Time Magazine, Town & Country Travel, Travel & Leisure Golf, Marie Claire, Entertainment Weekly, Self, Time Out, and Esquire, among others.. Her collection of shorts, THE JOY OF FUNERALS, was published by St.Martin's Press in both hard and soft cover. The Joy of Funerals will be heading to the big screen with Stockard Channing attached to direct. Alix will write the screenplay as well.

Currently, she is editing an anthology of blind date stories for Adam's Media called HAVE I GOT A GUY FOR YOU, due out in 2008while finishing up her next novel. She can be reached at www.Alixstrauss.com

This event is funded in part by Poets and Writers, Inc. with public funds from theNew York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.PLEASE NOTE: All laundry do-ers are offered quarters and laundry detergent

Hot date

I'm thrilled to announce that my publisher has set the publication date for my second novel, JACK WITH A TWIST (Engaging your adversary and other things they don't teach you in law school). It will be out on bookshelves on June 24, 2008 and I'm absolutely thrilled.

The funny thing about that pub date, though, is that I already had it highlighted in my calendar, since it is my father's birthday! I think that it's a pretty lucky coincidence, and can only mean good things for my second book. I always think it's so special when things happen on those dates that are special for your family. My brother was born on my grandfather's birthday, and my first date with my fiance was the same day as his nephew's birthday (which, at the time, he told me was very lucky!). Do any of you have shared "lucky" dates?

Sibling rivalry

Just came back from a fun filled vacation with my fiance and we got to visit lots of family. What could be better, right? Well, I guess a fun filled vacation on a sunny deserted island where we don't speak to anyone else but each other for two weeks, but I digress.

I was especially excited to go, since my cousin's wife just had their second child. The baby is an adorable little bundle of love and everyone adores her. Everyone, that is, but her older brother. Sure, he talks a good game-- "I'm a big brother now!" "I love my little sister!" "She's so beautiful!"-- but I couldn't help but notice that he tried to kill her once or twice. Okay, no, he didn't actually try to kill her, but he *did* ask me why on earth I wanted to sit around and hold her when I could go and play with him.

Oh dear.

I tried to explain to him that I, too, am an older sibling and being an older sibling rocks! He asked me why, exactly, being an older sibling rocks, and I couldn't think of one thing. Zip. Zippo. Nada. Which is strange, because I'm incredibly close with my brother. And I never once tried to kill him. (That I can remember.)

The whole thing made me think about siblings and your birth order in the family. I've always thought that your birth order in the family truly makes you who you are (in fact, in my writing classes, I urge students to think about where their characters fall in the birth order of the family).Where are you guys in the birth order of your families and how has that made you who you are today?

The Mystery of Chick Lit

We are so lucky today because we have the fabulous Jason Pinter, the Man in Black, guest blogging for us! For those of you who know his amazing work, you know that he writes mystery thrillers. But a recent conversation we had made us both wonder whether our genres are really that far apart from each other…. So, without further ado, I give you our fabulous guest blog for the day:

The Mystery of Chick Lit
(or, is my book schizophrenic?)

Hey everyone. My name is Jason Pinter, and my debut novel THE MARK just came out this summer. Now when I wrote THE MARK, I conceived of it as a thriller. You know, the kind of book that keeps you turning the pages, makes you sweat, hinges on the relationship between the male and female characters, and keeps you aching for more. No, get your mind out of the gutter, it really is a thriller, honest!

Ok, so maybe I need to look at things from a different perspective. Is there a chance that, in my desire to write a great thriller, I wrote a chick lit novel? Now, my experience with chick lit is kind of limited in the literary sense. Though having been with my wife since college, I’m well-versed in the cinematic realm of chick lit. The movies I’ve seen have ranged from the really good (“Bridget Jones’s Diary”) to the pretty decent (“The Devil Wears Prada”) to the downright unforgiveable (“Little Black Book”). Plus I’ve seen every episode of “Sex and the City.”

Seriously.

So I think I have a good understanding of traditional chick lit themes. Now I know there are many, many variations on these themes, so apologies if my interpretations are, like my reading experience, rather limited. So, inspired by Brenda Janowitz, I’ve decided to break down the main plot threads from THE MARK to see if my book really does fit the chick lit mold…

Here we go:

My hero, Henry Parker, 24, comes to New York from Oregon to take a job as a reporter at a prestigious New York newspaper.(Are there any chick lit books that DON'T feature young characters who work at a newspaper, magazine or publishing house?)

Henry's relationship with his college girlfriend, Mya, is falling apart due to something terrible that happened a few months ago.(Relationship troubles? Uh, ya think?)

Henry’s mentor is a legendary—and legendarily scrabby—older newsman who doesn’t take crap from anybody.(Maybe he was married to Miranda Priestly…)

Henry is accused of murder and must go on the run to prove his innocence.(Hmm…not quite sure if this works. But didn’t Bridget Jones end up in a Turkish prison in her second book?)

Henry meets a young woman who offers to give him a ride out of town, not knowing he’s a fugitive.(Aside from the fugitive part, isn’t this the definition of meeting cute?)Henry finds out that no less than half a dozen different people want him dead.(Main character realizes he/she is desired by several suitors? Hello!!!)

A mysterious black-clad assassin called The Ringer is dispatched to find Henry, retrieve a missing package and then kill him.(A strange man who wears all black? Can you say ‘Tall, dark and mysterious’?)

Consensus: Uh…in my effort to write a page-turning thriller, I just might have written the next GIRLS GUIDE TO HUNTING AND FISHING. I’ll leave it to readers to decide for themselves.

Jason Pinter is the author of THE MARK (Mira). Visit his website at www.jasonpinter.com.

So, I had so much fun guest blogging over at Trashionista that I decided to do it again! Mystery-thiller writer extraordinaire, Jason Pinter, and I will be swapping blogs this week! I'm up on his blog, The Man in Black, today-- I feel just like "Special Guest Star" Heather Locklear when she came to Melrose Place....

On Friday, Jason will be swinging by my blog to show you that serious mystery-thriller writers can be funny, too! So, please go and check out my post and then come back on Friday to see Jason's post. And, of course, don't forget to check out his amazing debut, THE MARK, which James Patterson called "[a] gripping page-turner you won't be able to stop reading."

Be our guest!

I'm so thrilled to announce that I am guest blogging over at Trashionista today!

When they heard about this humilitating event, they thought I might want to blog about it. And, of course, just like any good writer, I figured, why not! Total humilitation, massive blows to the ego.... who wouldn't want to write about that, right?

Anyway, head on over to Trashionista now to check it out!

Is chick lit dead?

There's always talk about chick lit, as a genre, being dead. Which to me, a chick lit author, is highly infuriating. I mean, I still love chick lit. I still read chick lit. And, dammit, I still write chick lit!

But, more importantly, when's the last time anyone declared that an entire genre of writing was dead? Isn't that sort of like saying that mysteries are dead? Or romance is dead? Perish the thought....What do you think? Is chick lit dead? Check out what Trashionista had to say about it this week and let me know your thoughts

Does Johnny Depp do a Grecian accent?

So, in my new incarnation as recently-engaged-woman, my fiance and I (how great is it to say fiance?!?) have been invited on a number of couple-y type activities. Mainly it's just double dates and the like, but one of my fiance's friends had a much better invitation for us-- he invited us to go on a cruise around the Grecian islands this August! It's a tiny charter yacht, and only about 10 people would be going.

I know! Greece!

Now, I've never been to Greece, but I've ALWAYS wanted to go. Beautiful weather, hummus, how could you go wrong?!? BUT, as it turns out, last minute airfare to Greece in August is really, really expensive. Who knew? So, we decided not to go.But before I told my mother that we'd nixed the trip idea, she called me in a panic.

"You know, Brenda, I've been thinking about that trip to Greece," she says. "And I don't think you should go."

Now, at this point, we'd already decided not to go, but it just always tickles my fancy to hear my mother try to tell me what to do even though I'm thirty. Um. Well, you know. Ish. Thirty-ish.

"Why shouldn't we go, mom?" I ask.

"Pirates," she answers.

Pirates? Did my mother actually just say pirates? Can you really use pirates-- actual real life Johnny-Depp-type pirates-- as an argument? And more importantly, are pirates really something that we have to worry about in today's world? And, if so, does this mean that if I go on a cruise, I have to wear a corset?

Apparently, my mom thinks so. The pirates part, I mean, not the corset.

"It's not funny," she says.

"It's kind of funny," I answer.

After an extensive conversation about whether Johnny Depp looked hot in the Pirates movie (I say yes, my mom says he just looked dirty), I finally had to tell her that we decided not to go, after all. She sighed in relief but then told me that she needed to get off the phone.

Apparently, my brother and sister-in-law were considering a trip to the Caribbean.

Like the wedding guest that just wouldn't leave....

Yes, that's right, I've got even MORE wedding stories for you! I've gotten such great feedback from posting the contest winners that I thought I'd post a few more.

This one is from someone who was not brave enough to leave her name. But, it's so funny that I'm sure you won't care!

"For my second marriage, I didn't have to look far for a groom—I married a groomsman from my first wedding! So, what they say is really true: sometimes love is right in front of your eyes. Even at your own wedding."

Anonymous
Anytown, USA

One more crazy wedding story!

Time for one more crazy wedding story-- my other Honorable Mention! This one comes from the lovely Heather Arthur and she affectionately calls it: Frosting Fiasco!

My story happened when I was about 12 years old. My parents have a HUGE backyard, so my aunt asked my parents if she could have her wedding and reception there. And of course, they said yes.

My grandmother use to make wedding cakes for a living, so to make things easier, she just baked the cake in my parents' kitchen. She even made the frosting from scratch!

Well, my cousin Tiffany(same age as me) and I decided to play a trick on our grandma. The frosting for the cake was in 2 big, plastic buckets and we decided that we would freak her out by taking the buckets of frosting and hiding them. Hilarious, we thought. Not so much! Tiffany and I waited until ol' granny took a bathroom break and as soon as she left the kitchen, we snatched those buckets of frosting and ran out the front door! Well, turned out...my dad and grandpa were in the garage and saw us...buckets and all! My dad started yelling, so we ran. He went running after us! He chased us around the side yard, around the pool, and into the backyard.

That's when it happened. I went running up the deck on the back of the house and I was going to run through the door, into the kitchen and put the frosting back where I had found it. That's not how it turned out, though. I ran up the steps and on the last step, my foot got caught and I fell. The bucket of frosting flew out of my hands and into the air. Mind you, this was the middle of July so the frosting was melting. It went EVERYWHERE! All over the deck, the sliding glass door(where my aunt was going to walk out from), and not to mention, all over Tiffany and me! It was a huge mess and the whole family was so mad at us, and they made us clean it ourselves. Grandma also made us help make new frosting and help put it on the cake. Tiffany and I missed the wedding, due to having to fix the cake, but we were told it was beautiful.

Now I'm 22 and I'm getting married this October. I will make damn sure no one even gets NEAR the frosting!

Time for the honorable mentions!

I really did get so many amazing entries to my crazy wedding story contest. It was nearly impossible to decide! Here's one that won for Honorable Mention by Bobbi Harrison. I loved this story so much. Ultimately, though, it wasn't as much of a "wedding" story as some of the others, but here it is now for your enjoyment! I call this one: Always a bridesmaid....

About a year ago, I joined a popular, Web-based singles community. Admittedly, I signed up as more of an experiment than a way to meet men. I was curious about the guys who were willing to take a shot at finding love online. Were they searching for a soul mate or just looking for another way to hook up? What about the guys in their 40s who had never been engaged or married? (Or, those in their 30s who had three ex-wives?) Were they commitmentphobes? Emotionally detached? Mamma's boys?

Arghhh, who am I to be so judgmental? I asked myself. Like many women, I have struggled with my weight and body image issues for many years. In truth, I wondered if any of the men registered on the site would find me even remotely interesting or attractive.

Soon after I submitted my profile - complete with a not-so-fat photo of myself - I had my answer. Genuinely surprised, I had received a number of e-mails from guys who wanted to get to know me.

One random evening, I checked my account and found a message from a man named Mike. He was tall and attractive, and looked sort of familiar. But after reading his profile, I couldn't imagine where we might have met. And his e-mail certainly didn't seem to indicate that he knew me. Still, I was curious. So I clicked on Mike's picture for a larger view.

When the full-sized photo opened in a new window, it revealed another man standing next to Mike. A man I definitely recognized.

Steven had been married, albeit briefly, to my niece, Tracey, who is six years younger than me. In fact, Mike's default pic had been taken at Steven and Tracey's wedding, where he had been the best man and I, at my heaviest, had been a bridesmaid. As I squinted at the photo, I swore I could see myself in the background, wearing all those yards of purple taffeta.

More than a little freaked out, I promptly cancelled my subscription to the online dating site. My experiment was complete.