Looking for Love (in all the wrong places)

Cindy Sample HeadshotToday I am THRILLED to have my friend (and Queen of the Cozy Mystery), funny lady Cindy Sample as my guest.

When she was eight, Cindy’s dream was to be a super cool detective like Nancy Drew, racing around town in a sky blue roadster. At sixteen, she realized her inherent klutziness could be an impediment to becoming a private eye or super spy so her new goal was to become a world-renown mystery writer like Agatha Christie. A few decades and diversions later, she was a newly divorced Mom and CEO, driving her kids to cheerleading and soccer practice. In a sky blue SUV.

Thus began the inspiration for her quirky, loveable heroine in her Dying For… cozy mystery series (all of which I have personally devoured and highly recommend).

Today Cindy is here to talk about her (and Laurel’s) adventures in dating. Okay, Cindy…take it away!

* * *

Looking for love…in all the wrong places. Some of you may recall that line from a famous song. It perfectly describes my dating life and that of my protagonist, Laurel McKay, a newly divorced soccer mom.

Ever since Dying for a Date was released, people assume I’m an expert on dating, which could be why I was asked to guest blog on the subject of romance. I will admit I’ve been brave enough to venture onto a variety of on-line dating sites in search of Mr. Right. And yes, I’ve gone on coffee dates with 44 potential Mr. Rights. My protagonist, on the other hand, was talked into joining a matchmaking agency called THE LOVE CLUB, the safe alternative to on-line dating.

And that’s where our paths diverge. My coffee dates have resulted in interesting conversations with some very cool, mature men, with the exception of the one guy who tried to impress me by sharing that his best friend was an assassin (honest, I wouldn’t joke about that).

Cindy Sample Cowboy Pic
Cindy keeping her date in line.

Baby boomer dating can lead to unique issues such as your coffee date cancelling your first meeting because he needs a four-way bypass! Maybe I should adopt Kaiser’s policy of requiring they bring all their medications to our first meet!

Now Laurel’s first date enjoyed her company so much he wanted to have HER for dessert. So she did what any resourceful woman would do. She whacked him on the head with the first viable weapon she could find, a cell phone. Things start going downhill when he’s found murdered the next day, with her unfortunately the last person to see him alive. When her second date disappears during dinner, the handsome detective in charge of the investigation can’t figure out if she could be the killer or the next victim

Rumor has it that authors write what they know. I evidently know dating, but so far, no one has died on my watch.

Yet.

I’m dying to know if anyone has ever gone on a date so bad that a few dastardly thoughts crossed your mind? Or maybe you’d like to share one of your protagonist’s bad date stories? Leave a comment and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a $10 Starbucks gift card. For that next coffee date! I’ll be here today to answer any questions you have (about dating or other topics).

For more information or additional dating tips from Cindy, check out her website at www.cindysamplebooks.com.

Look for Cindy’s latest book, DYING FOR A DUDE, due out November 1, 2014.

In addition to Cindy’s generous offer of a $10 Starbucks card, I will sweeten the pot. For every comment you leave, you’ll be entered to win a copy of my upcoming release, THE MANY LIVES OF JUNE CRANDALL. To increase your chance of winning, please subscribe to receive email notification of future posts (by entering your email address in the box above and to your right) and you’ll be entered into the drawing one additional time.

Photos provided by Cindy Sample.

35 comments on… “Looking for Love (in all the wrong places)”

  1. Well, you missed your chance, Cindy, by not dating that assassin. Think of the stories he could have told you! If that is, you survived the date (speaking of unhappy endings!) I do recall a Princeton guy coming to my college as a friend of a friend, and chasing me all around the college’s murky frog pond. The only way I could fend him off was to try to push him in. Only he was bigger than I was and I ended up in the bloody pond! Fortunately another couple came along just as he was about to dive in after me–and saved me from the unthinkable.

  2. I don’t have any funny dating stories but loved hearing yours and Laurel’s! I can’t wait ti read your books!


  3. Nancy F Johnson


    I can really relate to this post. I met my husband by placing a personal ad back in 1994. While dating from that ad, my worst date was with a guy who explained his communication style as follows: “When my girlfriend is pissin’ and moanin’ about something, I usually try to figure out what it is”. No, he didn’t get a second date!

  4. Cindy, I can see why you might not want to have a second date with the guy whose best friend is an assassin. But there may be a book idea in there for you. 😉

    I’ve been married so long, I barely remember my dating life. There were some bad ones, but I don’t recall contemplating murder and mayhem. Your series sounds really cute.

  5. Hi, Cindy,

    It’s been a long time since I’ve dated anyone but my husband. But I did have one blind date that was so awful I feigned a headache to go home early. Luckily, I was never threatened by a date. Looking forward to reading your latest novel!

  6. You (and Laurel) have a lot of courage jumping into the dating waters! A friend urged me to get on “those sites” and the best I found was a a guy I’d had a relationship with many, MANY moons ago. He’s now retired and his major enthusiasm is fishing…in Patagonia!

    • What a coincidence, Michele, the same thing happened to me, although he looked far different 15 years later. I, of course, had not changed! (you can stop laughing now)

  7. We met at Barnes & Noble for coffee. He was already seated when I arrived. His first comment as he rose to his six foot height with blond/gray hair dressed in golfing duds and very tan, “You don’t look like your picture.” My response was, “Well, you don’t either. Shall we call it quits?” “Oh, no, let’s chat a while and see where it goes.” Where it went was three hours of him talking about his great wealth, his travels, his experiences with women, his yacht, his Corvette and his desire to have the phone number of a mutual friend of mine he once dated. That was the only moment of my input, the discussion of our mutual friend. I don’t know why I sat there so long except there was no place to get a word in edgewise to excuse myself. When he finally paused, I said “Thanks for the tea, but I have to run. Send me an email if you’d like to meet again.” He stood, hugged me and that was that. That was the end of my Internet dating. I don’t have that much time to waste.

  8. If I remember correctly, spent some time going out with you a few months back. I have to say that time with you was exciting with all those unexpected things happening BUT it was fun . A man you liked would be lucky to spend time with you, too. I do have those beads hanging on my curtain rod in my new office. 😉

  9. I wish I had a witty bad date story to tell, but alas I do not. I did date a guy who told me he was a race car driver. Why that was supposed to impress me, I’m not sure, but he apparently thought that was something to brag about.

    There’s always fun stories in your books though, Cindy. You have a great imagination.

    Patricia Rickrode
    w/a Jansen Schmidt

    • I’m not sure how thrilled Laurel is about my overactive imagination, Patricia. I’m particularly having fun with my latest chase scene – one stagecoach, one motorcycle, a bevy of horses, and Laurel in a saloon gal outfit!

  10. Cindy, I’m suitably impressed by 44. One of my worst dates earned that distinction because it was…very, VERY boring. Sure, that sounds hopelessly benign after your assassin story, but if you’ve ever been on a date where the guy answered the opening pleasantry, “So, tell me a little about yourself.” with a three hour monologue, you’ll understand the torture level of that date. I won’t lie to you Cindy, it was bad. I got the double nostril flare when I tried to interject something so that he could, you know, perhaps learn something about me. I did get ice cream at the end, so it wasn’t a total loss.

  11. I had to laugh about the Assassin friend. I agree with some of the other comments, he’d probably have some “Stories” to tell. Interesting reading; all the comments. I don’t have a bad dating experience to tell.

  12. I imagine any date with you, Cindy, would be an adventure. Fun post.
    My dating days are decades in the past, thank Goddess. Hubby and I often have what we call “accidental dates.” Like snuggling in a bed of ferns on a mountaintop during a pop-up thunderstorm. Or burning the honeysuckle brush he’d cut up, tending the fire long into a summer evening under the stars. Or the time when…well, no. That one goes into a book.

  13. I met the guy I married (and stayed married to so far–51 years and counting) over a ping pong table at a party. We were both champs but did not know that, as we’d just met. I debated about whether to beat him or not–you know–shy, unassuming, passive, let-him-win, but my competitive spirit overtook me, alas and I beat him 2 out of 3. A week later he asked me out. Why? He wanted a closer look at my wicked serve! Ha. Love your books and can’t wait for DUDE!

    • Susan, I love your Ping-Pong story and can’t believe you’ve been married for 51 years. You must have been a child bride!


  14. Linda BR


    Cindy. You know I’m from Jersey. I DO have a couple of stories I could share. But as the sayings goes….. It I tell you I’d have to ……. Well you know the rest. My Ex …. Rocco and his cousin Vinnie would be glad to give Laurel a tour of the Jersey shore. She might want to be careful though …. Someone always ends up sleeping witht the fishes.

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