Lisa Becker is a Los Angeles native currently residing in Manhattan Beach. Her novel, Click: An Online Love Story, about a young woman's search for love online in LA has been called, “a fast read that will keep you entertained,” “a fun, quick read for fans of Sex and the City,” and “hard to put down.” The story is loosely based on her own online dating experiences. After she married, she captured some of her hilarious dating experiences in writing and from there, a novel emerged. The ultimate goal was to create a fun read for anyone who has ever had a bad date, been in love, been dumped, or is searching for “the one.” But, the happy ending is real. She and her husband met online 12 years ago, have been happily married for nine years and have two amazing daughters - ages 7 and 5.
Online
Dating Inspired Click: An Online Love
Story
By
Lisa Becker
I
first met my husband while wearing my pajamas. Really! No, we
weren't at some kinky singles party. I was sitting comfortably in my
apartment and he was hanging out in his. But, I will never forget his
email introduction via an online dating service, which invited me to check out
his profile. It was sweet, endearing and intriguing enough for me to log
on to learn more about him. After a week of emails, followed by a week of
phone calls, we met for our first date - a traditional dinner and movie
outing. Even before I opened the door to greet him, I knew he was
"the one." Considering he lived 30 miles away, I'm not certain
our paths would have typically crossed. But after 12 years together
- including 9 years of marriage (which in Los Angeles is apparently no
small feat!) and two beautiful daughters, I have no doubt he is my soul
mate.
After
my now-husband and I met online, I was recalling some of the hilarious
experiences that I had during the whole online dating experience. How
could I forget the guy who started every story (no joke!) with “My
buddies and I were out drinking one night.” I decided to capture
some of them in writing and, from there and based loosely on my own
experiences, my novel Click: An Online
Love Story emerged. The entire story is told in emails between our
heroine, Renee Greene, her three best friends and the gentlemen suitors she
meets online. The format felt like a modern way to tell the story that
fit the topic, and allowed readers to develop an intimate relationship with the
characters.
Clearly,
I’m a big fan of online dating and find it to be a useful tool for young
professionals who are busy working and finding it difficult to make the right
connection at the gym, bar, coffee shop or grocery aisle. I say, people
today are “married” to their cell phones and laptops, so why not use that
technology to really get married,
right?
While Click doesn’t end with a wedding (sorry
for the spoiler!), during Renee’s road to happiness, we find many advantages to
online dating. My five favorite are:
·
On
Your Own Terms - Online dating provides a relaxed, anytime and on your own
terms experience. Share as little or as
much information as you want. Avoid
people you are not interested in.
Communicate at your convenience. But, don’t send a message at 2:30 am. Nothing smacks more of desperation than an
email from someone trolling the Internet for a date in the wee hours of the
morning.
·
Multi-Tasking
Enabled - Flirt while filing your taxes.
Chat and trim your nails. Meet a
mate while making breakfast. It’s a
well-known fact that women are great multi-taskers. Take full advantage of that skill. As Shelley, the over-sexed character in Click says to the
about-to-try-online-dating Renee, “A whole host of hot and horny single men
that I can review, chat with, judge and mock - all while sitting in my office
looking very busy. Maybe I should give
it a try myself.”
·
Trade
the “Meat Market” for the “Meet Market” - Now you can avoid the “meat market”
scene of bars and clubs and instead enjoy a “meet market” - an international bazaar
(but let’s hope not too bizarre) of prospective mates. The Internet allows you to make an online
introduction to thousands if not millions of people around the world. So, if you want to meet someone in Katmandu,
well then, can do!
·
Save
Time, Money and Energy - Let’s face it.
Dating isn’t cheap. It takes time, money and, likely your most
valuable and scarce resource, energy.
With the “try before you buy” environment of online dating, you don’t
have to meet for a drink, grab a coffee or sit through a long dinner only to discover
there’s no physical attraction, you have nothing in common, conversation is
lacking, etc.
·
Rejection
Made Easy - In Click, Renee gets an
email from someone halfway across the world looking to meet someone willing to
move for him. After sending a polite and
diplomatic “thanks but no thanks” email message, she proclaims to her friend,
“It’s so much easier to reject someone over that Internet than in real
life. Score one for online dating!” While rejection is easier for both parties
when done online, it’s important to remember that people still have feelings.
As I've said many times before, if it
happened for me, there's hope for you. So log on and take a
chance. To purchase Click,
please click here. To follow updates on Click and share
your stories about online dating, visit the Click Facebook fan page.
Thanks much for letting me stop by today and share a bit about my book. I hope your followers find it to be a light and breezy read. Best, Lisa Becker
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