5/05/2015

BOOK RELEASE DAY FOR JAN SCHLIESMAN!!

Day Two of my published book release and I thought I'd share how I met Mr. Wonderful.


Love At First Sight

My senior year in high school, I worked afternoons and Saturday mornings as a teller at a local bank.  It was a portable building, the kind frequently used to add extra space to an overcrowded school, and it had a walk-in lobby and three drive-thru lanes.  I was working the lobby one afternoon when a man I’d never seen before walked in.  He went to the opposite counter and filled out a banking slip before approaching my window.

He was tall, with curly brown hair and the bluest eyes I have ever seen.  He hands me his deposit slip and asks if I can verify the account number because he just had his eyes dilated and he isn’t sure he wrote it correctly.  I recite the account number, then glance to the name, Tim Schliesman.  There’s something familiar about the name, but I can’t quite place it.  The deposit slip also had a place for the address, which he’d filled in.  My heart is doing one of those beat-skip-beat-skip rhythms that made me wonder if I’m actually breathing or not.

Me: “You live at 31 Huck Finn Drive?  We’re moving to 21 Huck Finn Drive.  We’re going to be neighbors!”

Him:  “Okay.”

His lack of enthusiasm doesn’t lessen mine.  But seriously, he could have cared less about anything I was saying.  I finish the transaction and send him on his way, watching his Levi clad butt walking toward the door.  He even looks good from behind!

As soon as the building is empty, I wave the deposit slip at my co-workers. “Okay, who knows this guy?”  Everyone is shaking their heads.  It’s time for Plan B.  I call the main bank and ask them to pull his information card.  Mainly, I want to know his age.  I find out he’s three years older than me, which means he should be in my freshman yearbook.

Cue the Mission Impossible music!  I spend the night searching through multiple yearbooks, trying to find him.  No luck.  I did, however, locate two other guys with the same last name.  They are younger than me so I’m guessing they’re his brothers.  At this point, there’s really nothing else I can do.  We’ll be moving in two weeks, so I wait it out.

Our new house is directly across the street from his.  He spends a lot of time doing yardwork and I spend an equal amount of time watching him.  Then I get this brilliant idea to work in the yard, too!  I pull out some spandex bike shorts and a sports bra and go in search of the lawnmower.  Luckily, we have a brand new one.  I take off across the yard, mowing an uneven path while waiting for him to notice me.  When he finally looks up, I wave and smile.  Unfortunately, steering the mower with one hand causes me to hit the culvert under our driveway.  The mower makes a horrible screeching sound and smoke rolls from the motor.  I’ve just ruined a $300 lawnmower.  Ooops!

No more yardwork for me.

By now, the senior prom is approaching and I want *someone* to be my date.  Except, he’s never shown any interest in me and I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.  I’m completely and totally in love with this guy.  Can’t eat, can’t sleep, in love.  Instead of going to prom, a group of friends go to dinner and then head to the Holiday Inn for a party.  We walk through the front door and guess who is standing behind the desk?  Yep, it’s him.  He works as a night auditor and I just know he’s going to tell my parents.

He doesn’t.  But my brother is friends with his brothers and he spends hours over at their house.  He usually comes home and says, “Tim doesn’t know you’re alive!”

By now, four months have passed and it doesn’t seem to matter how many hours I spend watching him from our living room windows.  I have to accept the fact that he obviously doesn’t like me and certainly doesn’t want to date me.  I have to give up on him.

I’ll never forget that day.  I pulled into our driveway after running some errands and he was outside using the weed eater.  I didn’t bother to wave, I just went inside.  Then I found my favorite window and watched him one last time.  I had to give up on love because, obviously, men were stupid.

Ten minutes later, my doorbell rang.  When I answered, guess who was standing on the other side?  Yep, it was him.  All sweaty, covered in grass and looking nervous.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”  I answer.

“I’m wondering if maybe you’d like to go out for dinner or a movie sometime?”  he asks.

It was honestly the last thing I expected him to say, and it took me several seconds to respond. “Sure, I’d love to.”

That was the beginning of a courtship that lasted two years before we married.  I like to say, “It was love at first sight…for one of us.”

My hubby always responds, “I was blinded by your beauty.”


Don’t you just love a happy ending?

It's probably not giving away the ending of Protecting His Brother's Bride to say that it has a happily ever after:)  So scroll to the bottom and jump through a few hoops to earn extra entries and check back tomorrow for a new blog and more chances to WIN!
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Twitter @JanSchliesman
On Sale at Harlequin     Kindle    Nook


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Get Lost on Goodreads, Facebook
or @GetLostInAStory  #GetLostStories


Do you believe in love at first sight?

29 comments:

  1. love the book
    love the cover
    love it when a plan comes together
    BEST OF LUCK, JAN!

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    1. Thanks for being my partner in crime, Angi:)

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  2. Happy Happy Book Release Day! Congrats on your book being release Jan! :)
    I like when a cover shows a scene or the characters on the cover... sometimes it bugs me when the cover does not match the description of the characters.
    Wishing you the best!

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    1. Thanks, Colleen! I feel the same way. It helps to picture the characters when the cover matches the story.

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  3. Hi, Jan! Congratulations on release day. Aren't you just over the moon? Have fun and know we're here to party with you. Hugs, vb

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    1. Hi Vicki, Day One meant I didn't spot a copy of my book anywhere so let's see if Day Two is better:)

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    2. I wish I could go looking for you and shoot you a photo! Day Two is better. AND I forgot to add I love your how we met story.

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  4. don't have a preference

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  5. Having a scene on the cover is such a delightful tease. I love it.

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    1. Hi Mary! A scene on the cover is a nice teaser. Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Replies
    1. Ahhh....what's sweeter than love at first sight??

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  7. Love this love story! I had no idea how you guys met. Congratulations on your book release! I can't wait to read and promote it in Phoenix.

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    1. Thanks Steph! You'll have to send me a pic when you find it on shelves. It's not out here yet:(

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  8. Congratulations!!! So excited for you!!!! Love at first sight? YES.... Will be looking for this on the shelf!!!!

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    1. Thanks so much! And I heard that Harlequin is sending you 24 copies for the Beach BBQ! I can hardly wait:)

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    2. One word AMAZING ! Everyone needs to drop what they are doing and buy this book ! # buy ,buy, buy ! Hey maybe I'll write a song waiting for the next book ! Jan Schliesman , you are amazing !

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    3. Yay! Glad you loved it Denise:)

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  9. Oh yes! Those are my favorites :)
    Congrats on your new release

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    1. Thanks, Alina! Happy endings are the best:)

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  10. Congrats on your new release, love the cover and title, would love to read it. Entering under the name of Virginia.

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    1. Thanks Virginia. Good luck with the contest!

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  12. Congrats on your first Intrigue. Love the cover too. I do like seeing a scene from the the book on the cover.

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    1. Glad to see you here, Tammy! Did I mention how much I love my cover??

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