Have you ever been so excited and nervous that you couldn’t sleep? I have. This time next week, my debut novel A Life Worth Living will be released. My mind has been racing with doubts and fears, because with the release of this book, I will be revealing an inner piece of myself to the world. Now that is scary stuff!

And not very conducive to sleep, but as I’ve been contemplating, and worrying, and tossing and turning through the nights, a thought occurred to me.

Reading a book is almost, exactly, like dating.

I know, shocking, isn’t it? But think about it.

Choosing who you date is just like choosing a book to read. Something has to grab your attention to this one person or book amongst the millions that are out there. Often, your initial interest is at face-value. There is something about the person’s physical appearance or the cover that attracts you. Granted, this is not always the case. There are times you will have been set up on a blind-date by a friend (or they’ve lent you a book because they love it); sometimes you are attracted to a person’s reputation-she’s so nice, he’s got a huge ^^, or maybe the book has a ton of 5 star reviews on Goodreads. However it has happened, something has garnered enough of your interest to warrant a second look.

In the world of cyber-dating and e-reading, this second look can be relatively commitment free. You can have a trial run without committing to a face-to-face date or a purchase-I love the sample chapter option with my e-books. If you are doing it the old fashioned way you have to put yourself out there more, but either way, you are still in the trial period. You’re getting to know them and deciding whether the attraction is more than skin deep.

You’re not going to match with every person who catches your interest, just like you will never adore every book you read. Sometimes you’ll get to the end of the first date (or chapter) and know it will never work. Sometimes you’ll give it another try, just to see if it gets better. And sometimes you’ll hit it off so perfectly straight away that you know from the first few moments that this is a match made in heaven, and you’re in for a great ride.

In one week’s time, I’ll be embarking on the biggest date of my life!
I really, really hope you find yourself on a great ride with my book. But…oh dear…I sucked at dating.
Let’s hope my writing is better.