Good morning, all you beautiful people! Happy Sunday! Grab a seat and I’ll pour you a hot cup of Steeped in Love!
Continuing from where we left off, still in Addie’s POV:
Dating was a horror. She’d tried it all—blind dating, double dating, randomly-meeting-a-guy-at-a-bar dating (those never worked out), and she’d even played the damsel in distress at the hardware store, having heard it was the hotspot for handy homeowners. Handsy was a more appropriate descriptor.
Great-Aunt Edna was a huge believer in love by the leaf. She was a practiced tasseographer who’d met and married her husband all because the tea leaves told her he was the one. Of course, Addie’d found the idea ludicrous at first, but Edna had proven time and again how reliable the leaves were. Eventually, she’d given in and let the old kook teach her how to read her own leaves.
Not that she’d done much with the newfound skill, but it was becoming harder and harder to ignore. In fact, one night, about a week ago, as she was sipping her tea at the kitchen table, she could have sworn she heard the house whispering to her in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Edna’s, mocking her pathetic love life. The next morning she vowed to stop enhancing her tea with valerian root, and she also found herself flipping through the singles ads in The Daily Dispatch, and registering for an online dating site.
Here’s the blurb:
Addie Mitchell is a pie-on-the-fly entrepreneur who’s finally ready to settle down in the big, empty house her late great-aunt Edna left to her. Frustrated with her lack of success in romance, Addie turns to another gift her great-aunt passed on to her—the art of reading tea leaves—to aid her in her search for the ideal mate.
Novelist Ethan Holtz is having a hard time sinking his teeth into his next project, but he finds Addie fascinating. Mainly for her ability to make her dates disappear in fifteen minutes or less. He can’t help but eavesdrop on her dates in the local coffee shop, his writing haven, and soon finds himself taking pointers on what not to do from her failed suitors.
Though her methods seem nothing short of mad, he falls fast and hard for the pixie-haired pie-pusher. She thinks they’re all wrong for each other, but Ethan teams up with the tea leaves to prove they’re so right.
Thanks so much for stopping by and be sure to visit the other Weekend Writing Warriors!
The days are getting shorter, the temperatures are dropping, and I can definitely smell winter in the air. But before I welcome Jack Frost, I need to bulk up a bit for the bitterly cold months ahead. Enter: Halloween candy. I plan on buying boatloads of it this week, and you know what? I’m gonna keep it for myself. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I’m also going to be attending two exciting events next weekend–A music trivia charity thingamajigger, and a karaoke-themed Halloween extravaganza! Hope you all have a spooktacular week ahead! 🙂
Award-winning romance author & PE teacher who plays sports, sings, juggles, dances, has a sneaker obsession, & lives on PB! 
Ah, the anguish of the reluctantly single. I love the humour in your writing Julie.
I am looking forward to much more of Addie
Thanks so much, Kim! More next week! 🙂
As a single woman myself, I feel Addie’s pain and horror. It’s not easy out there. Maybe I should give tea leaves a try 😛 Great snippet! And I love the sound of that karaoke-themes Halloween extravaganza! Sounds like so much fun!
Oh, I feel Addie’s pain, too. Maybe we should both give those tea leaves a try! lol
This is my second year attending the karaoke-themed Halloween extravaganza, and if this year’s is anything like last year’s, well…I’ll have many, many stories to share next week! 😀
As usual, your writing has a mild sarcasm that would do Jane Austen proud.
BTW, Effing forgot to link to my WeWriWa (watch out, cat, or you’ll be replaced by Twiggles the dog!) but here it is.
Wow, Ed, what an awesome compliment! Thank you!
Oh, silly Effing. I’ll be sure to visit regardless. 😉
OOh, the ghost of Aunt Edna? I had a slightly kooky aunt like that. I miss her!
I’m a huge fan of Halloween candy too, and of keeping it all for myself. 🙂 Have fun at your events!
I knew there were others like me out there! 😀 Thanks, Christina! Enjoy your boatloads of candy!
Good to know Aunt Edna is still keeping an eye on her.
Kooky old aunts are good for that. 😉 Thanks, Naomi!
I love the way you take your time enriching your story with humor and frustration letting it all play out. Bets to you, my friend. As for candy, Yikes! don’t bite down on the hard ones. Savor the flavor slowly.
Haha, I shall savour the flavour, Charmaine! Thanks, as always, for your wonderful compliments. All the best to you as well! 🙂
“Handsy was a more appropriate descriptor.” I love your humor, Julie!
Is this story finished–and available to buy??
😀 Thanks, Teresa!
It’s finished, yes, but I’m still searching for a publisher at the moment. I’ll let you know the second it’s available!
Crazy aunts are the best aunts to have! Another treat! Thank you!
We know all about the crazy aunt (or ant) thing, don’t we? LOL. Thank YOU! 😀
Finally––someone I can relate with! 😉 I really liked the snippet and the last paragraph opened up a lot of possibilities. 🙂
Thanks, Amy! I think a lot of us single gals are able to relate with Addie. Let’s hope we all find our happily ever after! 🙂
I love the humor in this and you add that element so seamlessly, which is great. Minor nit: would she really refer to her great aunt as a kook? Seemed a bit harsh…I loved the bit about the hardware store and how that didn’ work out either. Terrific snippet1
Well, I refer to loved ones as kooks, too. As long as it’s done with an affectionate smile. lol. Thanks so much, Veronica! 😀
Your blog: fun AND informative! (I had to look up valerian root.) I too liked the handsy hardware guys and the loving ‘old kook.’ Have a boo-tiful good time at the Halloween karaoke!
LOL, I had to look it up too when I was writing that passage. Yay for new vocabulary words! 😀 Thanks so much, A-M! Happy Halloweeeeeen!
You do what you have to, right? Listening to tea leaves could lead to something good.
You’re right, Caitlin. Addie’s certainly hoping for that ‘something good.’ 🙂 Thanks!
Your heroine has the most endearing personality ever! And the tea reading idea is perfect…love the way your new website enhances it too!
Aww, thank you so much, Elizabeth! You brought such a huge smile to my face! 😀