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Catch of the Day was the second book I wrote, and it’s being reissued tomorrow. This is a proud moment for me; Catch is very dear to my heart, and of all the towns I’ve written, Gideon’s Cove, Maine, remains my favorite. In fact, Somebody to Love, which comes out in April, is also set in Gideon’s Cove, but more on that later. Catch of the Day, definitely a dark horse candidate, won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award in 2008. It was, quite honestly, one of the happiest nights of my life.
But back to the book. I love Maloner the Loner, the lobsterman hero. I am not alone in this; there is a cult devoted to Malone, and I think that if readers had to rank my heroes, they’d pick Malone as #1. Strong, silent, surly and dead sexy (yeah, Clive Owen works!). Nothing wrong with that combination! I love Maggie and her big heart, I love that she’s an identical twin, and I love her younger brother. And oh, do I love her dog.
And I love that poor Maggie fell for a priest without knowing what he did for a living. This is a hazard of being Catholic, I will tell you. I went to a Catholic high school and a Catholic college, and crushes on priests are a dime a dozen. After all, those guys HAVE to at least pretend to be interested in you. It’s their job.
I will admit: I have a cousin (well, a first cousin, once removed) who is a priest. And I’ve had a crush on him since I was five years old when he taught me to tell time. Said crush has yet to abate. When my cousin read the book, he said he laughed so hard he choked, which made me very proud indeed. I’m sure he’s had his fair share of longing looks and “Father What-A-Waste” comments leveled at him. Also, being Catholic, I’ve been freaked out by The Exorcist, because that stuff is scary to us. But Father Damien…adorable! Right? (There’s even a mention of how cute he is in Catch of the Day.)
At any rate, a few years ago when Catch was scheduled to come out, I rejoined the local Catholic church in my town. We’d been going to a bigger church about 20 minutes away, but I’d heard good things about the priest in town. As a new member, I was required to have a sit-down with Father I-Won’t-Tell-You-His-Name. How nice, I thought. He wants to meet me! The kids were too young to come, and McIrish breaks out in hives at having to talk to clergy members, so I went alone.
Oh, dear. To my instant horror, I found that Father Anonymous was extremely cute. He was foreign, like Father Tim in Catch. He had a delightful accent, like Father Tim. He was funny and charming, like Father Tim. And yes, half of the parishioners were in love with him. Church attendance had never been so high.
“So, Kreestahn, what do you do for a living?” asked Father He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
“Oh, uh…I’m a romance writer,” I said nervously.
“Wahnderful!” he exclaimed. “I cannot wait to read your books!”
“Yeah, about that,” I said. “I guess I should say this now, in the interest of full disclosure, just to show that I wrote this BEFORE meeting you… um, okay, well, my next book is about a woman who’s in love with her priest.”
There was an awkward pause. “Ah,” he said. He blushed. So did I.
“Look at the time,” I said. “Hey, great meeting you, Father! Thanks for everything! Please don’t read the book when it comes out!”
So listen. All I want from you is the name of your forbidden crush. Doesn’t have to be a priest or anything…maybe it was your best friend’s honey or your married mechanic. I’ll pick one person to receive a copy of the beautiful new edition of Catch of the Day.
To order Catch, click here.
Filed in: Jaunty Post
Feb 27th
2012
2:34 am
Aretha zhen Said:
Hi Kristan i ever have a crush with my neighbor’ son when I was 13 years old. Used to hide under the tree to watch him ride his bicycle which I thought was really cute. I throwed a love letter into his room but unfortunately I can’t throw good enough so instead of landing on his room the love letter that I put inside a can went inside his father’s room and hit his father head. O oh , in short that’s the end of my hope and my first crush coz his dad got mad and I kept running so fast from the incident place:). Luckily till today they haven’t found out it was me that threw the can:)
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Feb 27th
2012
2:53 am
Elise Rome Said:
This is one of your books I have yet to read… *moves to top of TBR list* Forbidden crushes? I just laughed so hard at Aretha’s above that I don’t think my story can compare.
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Feb 27th
2012
3:13 am
Katherine Garbera Said:
I had a crush on our priest when I was growing up. He had a lovely Irish accent and I used to love going to church just to listen to him. Your book sounds very intriguing I’ll have to check it out.
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Feb 27th
2012
7:19 am
Heather Said:
I have a crush on a teacher that my daughter has. I never had any hot teachers so she is one lucky girl! I have read this book and I really liked it. I do not own it though and would love to read it again!
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Feb 27th
2012
7:25 am
Alina D Said:
Hi Kristan! I had a few crushes over the years that were bad, lol! In 7th grade I had a crush on my history teacher. Then in high school all the girls had a crush on our gym teacher. And I will admit I had a small crush on the pastor of the church we went to when we lived in Tennessee. So yeah I’m right there with you. Thanks for the contest and I can’t wait to read the book!
Have a wonderful day!
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Feb 27th
2012
7:50 am
Kathryn in Montreal Said:
Catch of the Day was the first book of yours I read, and it is still my favourite. I had a crush on my next door neighbour’s older brother growing up and a huge crush on one of my lifeguard co-workers as a teenager. Not too much since then except the odd longing over a couple of stars — can we say Daniel Craig, Tom Selleck and Clive Owen together?
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Feb 27th
2012
8:22 am
Carol Karlin Said:
oh I crush on random men on my commute….I choose names and professions for them. My favorite was one I called The Gift….cause he gifted us on the train platform only a few days a week…
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Feb 27th
2012
8:30 am
Cynthia D'Alba Said:
I loved this book. I laughed but at the same time, felt so sorry for her. I taught at Catholic school of nursing (taught Obstetrics, so the birth control lecture was done with the door shut and locked!
). There was a very cute priest associated with the hospital and a Catholic church nearby. Let’s just say…there were rumors about him and a few women. He disappeared after a year or so.
My crushes…Let’s see, Tim McGraw (I’m pretty sure Faith Hill can beat my ass so I’ll not pursue that one!) and the rancher husband of a well-known blogger (who shall remain unnamed!)
Fun topic
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Feb 27th
2012
8:34 am
Angela Said:
I had a crush with a boy in High School (I think his name was Danny) he looked hot… unfortunately the more I looked at him (specially up close) the less hot he became…
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Feb 27th
2012
8:36 am
carole Said:
Hi! I haven’t ever read this book and its really funny the 2 priests at my church were really cute,I thought they were so cute and at 16 and starting to like boys gosh i thought what a waste but then talking to them and finding out they were related to me, it was a bummer…anyways my first crush was my brothers beat friend, I thought Kevin was the cutest guy ever, I’d change my clothes and fix my hair just for him to notice me, which never happened..where friends and he’s remarried and such a good guy.We laugh about it now, whats funny is his first wife was jealous of me for Kevin and I would talk until late at night after my long night working at the bar,he’d come in at almost closing time. When my mom died he was around for our family and since i live in fla. he keeps in touch with me…he’s a good friend to my brother and I.Have a nice monday!
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Feb 27th
2012
8:42 am
Trish Said:
I still think you read my journals, Kristan…just sayin’, LOL! I was the weekend receptionist at a Franciscan retreat center in NH through HS and College. The Center director was Italian, with a generous heart and boisterous laugh. All the female staff had a crush on him. He got me through the trying teenage years, then was transferred to NY. Sadly, the retreat center has been leveled, but the fond memories remain. Oh – and I dated a seminarian in my 20s. Aah – memories…
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Feb 27th
2012
8:46 am
Kate Said:
I love Malone!
As for my forbidden crush, I had one on my co-worker/friend, who even asked me out despite the fact that I know he’s married! And of course I said No! Good thing we do not work together anymore
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Feb 27th
2012
8:47 am
Kristan Higgins Said:
Oh-ho! So at least I’m not alone! I still apologize to (and gaze soulfully at) my cousin whenever I see him…love hearing your stories, gang! The can through the window…wow. That’s dedication. Other of my guilty crushes…Kevin the UPS man!
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Feb 27th
2012
8:59 am
Harriet Sexton Said:
Love this book! It was my first one of yours to read on a recommendation of a friend. You are now an automatic buy for me.
Secret crush #1 – a fellow I knew when I was I in college/OT school. He was a l Med student who lived in the dorm also as it was very convient to the Med School as well as much cheaper than an apartment. We became good friends & did a lot of things together. I think our friendship grew because I did not put any pressure on him regarding pursuing him. I knew he was ‘married’ to his books & his studies would always come first. I do think think he appreciated that his friendship meant too much to loose him over trying to have more of him.
Secret crush #2 – as a new Methodist 20 years ago, I was surprised to learn that their ministers get moved every 3-5 years. I was very upset about this as I really liked the minister that we currently had. He was the reason we were going back to church. But I will tell you, all of this went out the window when I met the ‘new guy’. OMG! Would you believe me if I told you he could have been Secret Crush #1′s twin. I am serious. No relation whatsoever, but the resemblence was so strong, they could have passed as brothers. Great, now I have crush on a married man in the ministry. He was our pastor for over 15 years & I never got tired of looking at him.
Several years ago I looked up Secreat crush #1 on Facebook. It took some searching, but he was there. Yes, he became a doctor. He even moved back to the metroplex where I live after he finished his residency. After examining his FB page more closely, I made the discovery that he is gay. I may be married, making him forbidden fruit, but I was disappointed to see this. BTW, the friend request is still hanging out there. He has yet to accept it.
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Feb 27th
2012
9:12 am
Kelli Said:
I grew up the only girl in the neighborhood so naturally my oldest and best friend is a boy -er – man. We’ve been best-friends for forever and I’ve heard my fair share of “No, I mean a REAL girl” and “You’re not a girl – you’re just a really cool dude with long hair.” So while at somepoint or another I fell for my best friend (I think probably when he was seriously thinking about joining the military -during a freakin’ war.) I was pretty sure that the feelings were not reciprocated.
He did not enlist but decided to go to school downstate and when I got engaged he was the first call I made. After I told him there was this horrible pregnant pause.
Michael eventually said “Yah here’s the thing, I sort of always thought you and I would get married.”
I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t. I’m married and happily so, to a great man and I really do love him and Michael is in a serious relationship to this wonderful woman but he gets me better than anyone else, and I get him better than anyone else and I’m alright with the fact that we’ll probably always be half in love with one another.
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Feb 27th
2012
9:32 am
Sharon @ Fictionally Inclined Said:
Ha! What a fun post. I really enjoyed Catch of the Day, and now I want to re-read it. As for forbidden crushes? Two come to mind. First, I also have a crush on a cousin. Good to know I’m not the only one! I only saw him once a year or so, and I had a huge crush on him growing up. Then I went to a family wedding a couple years ago, after I hadn’t seen him for quite a while. He had grown a hideous mustache. Thankfully, that was enough to kill the crush – momentarily, at least. I haven’t seen him since, so I don’t really know.
As for the other, I have a secret crush on the guy my sister’s been in (unrequited) love with half her life. Talk about the makings of a romance novel…or a Gossip Girl episode. Definitely one or the other.
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Feb 27th
2012
9:33 am
Shana Galen Said:
I had a crush on my Intro to Psychology professor in college. He was so cute and funny!
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Feb 27th
2012
9:53 am
Bridgett Said:
When I was younger, I had the biggest crush on one of my dad’s coworkers. My dad is a cop so I spent a lot of time around men in uniform. My crush was younger than my dad by a good ten years but still way older than me. I still know him today, and his wife and kids.
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Feb 27th
2012
10:10 am
Lisa Hutson Said:
Isnt it funny? This is certainly one thing we all have in common. Do you suppose men also have crushes like this? That they almost always keep totally to themselves? Or that they throw a can and crack the head of the dad of the crush? haha It has been fun reading. As for crushes, mine are too numerous and continuing! LOL
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Feb 27th
2012
10:10 am
Carrie Evans Said:
Colin Firth!! I LOVE him!!! My biggest (and not-so-forbidden) crush is my husband of almost 17 years. He’s still my favorite (and cute!!).
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Feb 27th
2012
10:19 am
Lorelei Said:
I still remember my first crush. I was about 5-6 at a Catholic School. His name was either Matthew or Joseph, (over the years I get these confused, because my school was St. Josephs and I don’t remember knowing any other Matthew at the time but I know it’s either one or the other). Anyway, I clearly remember my favorite time of the day was nap time because we had to take naps in cots and he was always next to mine and I would stare longingly at him while he slept. Whenever the Nuns would walk by I’d shut my eyes. I hardly got a wink, and he never knew (or maybe he had one on me too, that’s why he always napped next to me?) I doubt boys back then thought of girls as cute, they probably thought we had the cooties or something, lol! I was very shy back then. He was sooo cute, with straight light brown hair and almond shaped brown eyes… come to think of it,I think now I know why I have a crush on one of your other heroes…. But I love Malone. To tell you the truth, Maloner’s personality is very much like my Hubbys, well to me- that is. ;D Happy Monday!!!
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Feb 27th
2012
10:32 am
eap Said:
An older man I only saw at the airport.
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Feb 27th
2012
10:39 am
Martie Said:
Crush or love?
I’ve fell in love only once in my lifetime (I’m only 20 though, so I still have plenty of time) and it all started when I was 13 years old: a blue eyed boy with the same family name as me, but that had no relation whatsoever with me (well, we didn’t check our family tree far enough to find a relation, anyways). It started with a teenage crush but at 18 it was love. I’ve never hated myself so much for loving one of my best friends, because oh yeah, he’s one of my best friends. Never, ever I thought that he would love me back. Besides, even if he did, that would mean risking our friendship. A year and a half ago, I told him how I felt. He took it well, and it was never awkward between us. And then, a couple of months later, he started going out with one of my best friends… Boy, oh boy, did that hurt or what? And I hated myself EVEN MORE for not being able to be happy for them, to be jealous of HER. They broke up 3 weeks later. She never loved him anyways, but he did, madly. Anyways, I’ll skip that part, but let say that seeing him pained like that made me feel even more pain then I thought was possible.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided that loving him was useless… That I simply couldn’t do anything about it. And so, I started dating. Yet, I wrote him one last message… where he answered that if he could, he would ” marry my personality”, and that it’s not a question of personality but of feelings… He’s my best friend. And for him, that’s how he’s gonna love me. I still think that I’ll always love him.
I’m at my third date with a wonderful guy now, and we’ll see where life takes me.
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Feb 27th
2012
11:11 am
Amy Medeiros Said:
I had a big crush on a guy a year above me in high school. He was the strong silent type and was just so damn mysterious that i couldn’t help but think about him back then. Its wierd cause i just saw him the other day at work.
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Feb 27th
2012
11:34 am
Kathleen O Said:
My first teenage crush was on my friends much older brother Don… He had that charsmatic bad boy charm and I fell hook line and sinker.. Oh well that lasted but a summer…
But I never stopped falling for the the “bad boys”…
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Feb 27th
2012
11:50 am
Quilt Lady Said:
I have not read this book yet but want to really bad, love your books.
My first teen crush was with my best friends uncle he was about three years older them me and oh sooo cute. I was in love all through high school with him. I did get to kiss him at a teenage party playing spin the bottle and I thought it was just awesome. Haven’t seen this guy in years, not even sure where he is at now.
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Feb 27th
2012
12:04 pm
Sherie Said:
My first job, I worked as a secretary for a financial firm. I had a huge crush on one of the advisor. I even had dreams about him and me dating! He wasn’t much older than me but I was a lonely college student and he was a Financial Advisor. Is it funny that now I am married to a Financial Analyst??
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Feb 27th
2012
12:12 pm
Na S. Said:
The original cover for Catch of the Day is lovely and I didn’t think it could be topped but the new one is so adorable. I like them both! Congratulations on it’s re-release.
I didn’t have an exciting crush life but I believe my earliest crush was a boy from my kindergarden days. If anything I appreciated his skills on the playground (you know hanging on to those monkey bars take endurance) as well as his tag-you’re-it moments.
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Feb 27th
2012
12:14 pm
misskallie2000 Said:
Hi Kristan, I have this book on my wish list and can’t wait to read. I have you as a new author and looking forward to reading all your books.
This was 55 yrs ago but I had a big crush on a neighbor boy for a long time. He was (and I guess still is) the cutest boy I had ever know. Of course I was shy and said very little where he was popular and had girls drooling. He did date a friend of mine up the street for a while but only said hi to me.
Thanks for stopping by to chat and share with us.
Thanks for the opportunity to enter this giveaway.
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Feb 27th
2012
12:19 pm
Sabrina Said:
In college my freshman year I had a huge crush on a guy in my English class. During that semester he hurt his leg and was on crutches. One day I worked up the courage to offer to help him with the books he was struggling to hold and use the crutches at the same time. Nope. He seemed embarrased I asked and I felt horrible.
In teh next few months I dated this guy’s Fraternity brother and was good friends with his roommate. I was still crushing on him.
Fast foward 3 years and the guy finally asked me on a date. Last October we celebrated 10 years of being married. My secret crush turned into the love of my life.
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Feb 27th
2012
12:46 pm
ptclayton2 Said:
In my foster home they wouldn’t let me see this blonde hair blue eyed wonderful guy i saw him at school he was wonderful from 5th grade till the 11th then he went to another school, Well my foster parents were wrong he ended being a firefighter in Texas when he found me on classmates he had 1 girl and was divorced and i’m married,,,,oh well they say only if in the books huh..
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Feb 27th
2012
12:48 pm
Kristan Higgins Said:
I had a crush on a kid in grammar school…David, his name was. He was better at math than I was (take a number, bub) and lorded it over me, but then invited me to dinner during Hannukah. I came back convince that I wanted not only to marry him, but to convert so that I too could get an 8 day gift-receiving holiday…
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Feb 27th
2012
12:59 pm
Elvina Hanson Said:
Many years ago…LOL, I was 17 and joined the US Navy. I had a small crush on my Navy recruiter. It was wrong on all accounts. He was much older than I was and I was young,stupid and didn’t know what I wanted in life. Thankfully, he was a gentleman and didn’t take advantage of me.
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Feb 27th
2012
1:12 pm
Joanna Said:
When I was 17, I had a pretty serious boyfriend that I had been dating for three years. We were like an old married couple. Then one of his closest childhood friends moved back, and boy did I fall hard. I think this is one of the most forbidden types of crushes: you don’t come between best friends. He started spending a lot of time with us and it just made me like him more. I did a good job of keeping it to myself, but it was hard not to wish I had met him first. I still wonder about him sometimes…
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Feb 27th
2012
1:36 pm
Corinne Said:
Hmmmmmm…..secret crush….let’s see, would have to be the guy who gave me my first kiss. His name was Jack. His mom & my dad used to have a “thing” so used to be around together ALOT. The first time I ever attended a drive-in movie was with my dad, his girlfriend, her 2 daughters & Jack. Was “Phantom of the Opera”. Dad & her in one car and all of us kids in the other. Let me just say this, at the time of “the kiss” must have been something because I have never forgotten it….I was even under 10….GO FIGURE!!
PS My fav book is “Just One Of The Guys” but “Catch Of The Day” is a VERY close second and I LOVED all the characters in BOTH of these books!!
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Feb 27th
2012
1:44 pm
Sharon Said:
My first crush was on my next door neighbor when I was in third grade. He and I were in the same class at school. Class picture time came and I was standing next to him. I don’t know how it happened, but the picture came out and I was leaning against him.
My current crushes are all actors – Colin Firth, Brendan Fraiser, and Johnny Depp.
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Feb 27th
2012
1:50 pm
Amanda Bordner Said:
One of my forbidden crushes would have to be one of my old bosses at the bar I used to work at in college. Haha I was 19 and he was married with two kids. Shh. Such an adorable an nice guy though, it was hard not to like him!! I bet I barely top half of the stories above though.
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Feb 27th
2012
1:57 pm
RobynDeHart Said:
I can’t really think of any awkward crushes I had with real life people. But I did have a crush (for a long time) on Corey Feldman and well, frankly that’s kind of embarrassing to admit cause well, he didn’t turn out so well. BUT I did stop crushing when he hit his strange Michael Jackson phase.
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Feb 27th
2012
2:20 pm
Brenda Margiet Said:
Another Catholic girl here. My best friend in high school became a priest, and even was pastor at our parish for a number of years. Odd sensation to see the boy you tutored in math at the altar, but very proud, as well. I can’t honestly say I ever had a crush on him, but we were very close through those difficult high school years.
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Feb 27th
2012
2:21 pm
Brenda Margriet Said:
Yes, yes, I did. I typo’d my own name in the post above. Monday….sigh.
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Feb 27th
2012
2:45 pm
Sue P. Said:
So many to choose from! In college I had a crush on a college professor. I never had him for a prof, but we worked together on some things. We did have a nice friendship though, even though I was crushing on him. About ten years ago, I crushed on our contractor while we were getting our house addition done. Never acted on and long over. Now I just crush on movie stars. Oh well!
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Feb 27th
2012
3:09 pm
catslady Said:
I just love your sense of humor!! It’s been forever and a day since I’ve had any real crushes unless I can count Nathan Fillian from Castle lol.
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Feb 27th
2012
3:57 pm
Suz Glo Said:
Catch of the Day was such a fun book. It made me laugh, cry and cringe. (But all in a good way!)
No crushes to speak of since school days, way back when. I did have a super cute TA in college who I just knew was “the one”. Unfortunately, he had already found his “the one”, unbeknownst to me!
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Feb 27th
2012
4:16 pm
Kristan Higgins Said:
These are such great stories (and yes, Nathan Fillion definitely counts!)…I asked my son the other day if he had a celebrity crush, and his answer was, “As if I would tell you…” Smart boy!
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Feb 27th
2012
5:05 pm
Michelle R Said:
I LOVE THIS BOOK! Even more now that I live in Maine. Most beautiful state!
I can’t wait for your next release.
As for a crush… I used to work at a summer camp. The AC repair man that always came to fix our units was so cute. Beautiful blue eyes, nice smile, cute butt… It helped that we were in Texas so the AC was important! All of us ladies in the office would come out of the woodwork when he showed up.
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Feb 27th
2012
5:35 pm
Karen Said:
My forbidden crush would be Malone……..when I read Catch of the Day I have this ridiculously looking grin from ear to ear (with the exception of the teary bits) and my husband just gives me a look and says “what on earth are you reading!!” If I was to get him to read it his comment would be something like “but he’s nothing like me”!!!
When I was 15 and did work experience in the photography section of our local paper and had a crush on the guy I tagged along with for the week…he was older and married with two kids but I thought he was really cool…..gosh I hope my family doesn’t read this blog!
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Feb 27th
2012
8:28 pm
Paige Said:
My crush would be Jordan from NKOTB. I know! EMBARRASSING.
And I would love a copy of Catch of the Day. I live in a waterman town and I can relate to the diner, the life of a waterman, and a small town.
Thanks for the giveaway!
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Feb 27th
2012
10:27 pm
bn100 Said:
Very interesting post. I don’t have a forbidden crush.
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Feb 27th
2012
11:03 pm
Kimmers Said:
I have had many impossible crushes in my lifetime! I was an incorrigibly boy-crazy girl! The most fun one was my oldest brother’s best friend Tom. I was 14 or so and he was 18 or 19. I used to sneak out my window to go driving around with him. We came from a VERY small town – less than 200 people – so there was really nothing else to do. It was fun because it was a secret (or so I thought). Turns out it wasn’t meant to be, though. Tom ended up marrying my brother’s high school girlfriend! And we’re all still friends. Gotta love small towns.
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Feb 28th
2012
3:36 am
Serenissima Said:
I too have had many impossible crushes in my lifetime…
The one that first to my mind was my cousin: I was five, he was seven. Oh, how I followed him like a puppy 
And Leslie, the singer of Scottish band Bay City Rollers. Do you remember those scarfs? 
Those were the days…
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