The Sequel

A few people have asked if there will be a sequel to Sam's story. If you've read Frog Kisser, then you probably know why people want one. I didn't plan on a sequel when I wrote it: that's really how this phase of Sam's life ends. I think it's a happy ending, but happiness is all relative.

Three weeks ago I thought I might change my mind, though. I thought I saw a good sequel forming in my own life, and since that's the basis for Frog Kisser, it seemed natural to extrapolate my experience to Sam's life.

Here's what happened: While promoting Frog Kisser, I met a man. Ironic, huh? At first I was a little skeptical. What kind of guy chases a woman who just wrote a book about dating all the wrong men?

A player, Susan. Duh.

Probably. I certainly thought that when I looked at his on-line profile. But, I ignored that little warning in my head and met him. He was sweet, and charming, and smart, and handsome. The entire fantasy package. Best yet, he thought I was the bees knees. I know this because he kept telling me so.

Bingo! After all that work I did to figure out why I'm attracted to frogs, I finally cracked the code. It paid off. I was sitting with a prince and he was digging me. It was a wonderful, wonderful feeling. One I can't remember ever having. And I thought, wouldn't this be a great ending to the whole story?

Well, I lived out that fantasy for a few weeks. Alas, my stories tend toward reality, not fantasy. After all the work I did to figure out why I'm attracted to frogs, guess what... I'm still attracted to frogs. A different frog species, sure. Much better than the poisonous ones. I'm making progress. This one actually paid attention to me for a while and I didn't have to humiliate myself by chasing him. But, at the end of the day, he just really wanted to play in the pond. He wasn't interested in moving to my castle.

I'm not sure what this means for Sam's story, except to reinforce the fact that old habits die hard. Fixing what is broken is hard work and it takes time. But I believe it's ultimately worth it.