Dress You Up in My Love [Paperback]

Her life's becoming a nightmare.
Samantha Stone could have a wonderful life if only other people would cooperate. Like Greg Irvington, for instance. He's the man Sam always knew she'd end up with...right up until the moment he told her he's in love with someone else. Then there's her family, who have this annoying habit of disapproving of the way she lives. And don't even get her started about the holidays, which Sam would really prefer to be cancelled for a year or two -- at least. All that changes when Alex Graham comes into her life.
He's the man of her dreams.
Alex Graham is smart, sexy, successful, sensitive, and ready to commit. There aren't many guys like him around; in fact, there aren'tany.He's a figment of Sam's imagination -- one she makes the mistake of mentioning to her friends, her family, and Greg because she's tired of going it alone. And why should she have to when there are struggling actors like Mark Simpson eager to take on the role of Alex? Everyone who meets him swoons. Pretty soon, though, Mark's taking his role so seriously that Alex is more trouble than a real boyfriend. It's quickly becoming obvious that in order to reclaim her life and her self, Sam is going to have to end the charade...and break everyone else's heart in the process.Diane Stingleylives in North Carolina. Her first novel,Dress You Up in My Love,is also available from Downtown Press.Chapter One:

Karma is just a nice way of saying
the universe holds a grudge.

I've got the worst karma of anyone I know and it'scompletelyundeserved. I'm a nice person. I never get in the express line with more than ten items and pretend I didn't see the sign. I use my turn indicator. Whenever a charity sends me address labels, I always send them a check. Not a huge check, but still. I put one of my own stamps on the return envelope.

So maybe I wasn't such a nice person in my previous life. I don't see why thelS@