DB Author Diane Craver blogs about 1st Dates

My husband Tom and I are celebrating the anniversary of our first date this week. Yes, after thirty-four years of marriage, we still enjoy remembering our first date. It didn't go as Tom expected when he asked me out for that first memorable evening. He wanted to go to an early movie because of the lower price, but that didn't happen! By the way, we met at an orphanage while we were teaching and living on the students' campus. I had gone to visit a girlfriend in another town and didn't allow enough time to make the early movie. He graciously took me to dinner first, and to a later movie, "Butterflies Are Free" starring Goldie Hawn. I mention this because my characters' first dates aren't perfect either. If everything goes without a hitch in chapter one and there isn't any conflict or character flaws, then the book isn't going to be a page turner.

I love writing first dates or first meetings between the hero and heroine in romances. In my ebook, Whitney in Charge, Whitney Benson goes on a disastrous first date with her new neighbor, Ben Spencer. He takes Whitney to a lake resort that's for sale. He thinks she might be interested in purchasing the resort because of her plans to start a new business with her sisters. The date ends when Whitney falls on a hiking trail and is unconscious. She's taken to the hospital by Air Care. A TV friend from her past job as a news producer wants Whitney to appear during a future segment about the worst first dates for the New York news show called, The Bold News. She suggests that Whitney tell about her bad date on the air.

In my upcoming January release, Marrying Mallory, it was fun to write about the chemistry between Mallory Harrington and plastic surgeon, Dr. Seth Whitman, during their first meeting. After Mallory's consultation with him about cosmetic surgery, Seth shocks himself by asking her out for coffee. Seth realizes that having Mallory as a patient might not work when he's attracted to her.

One of my favorite love stories is LaVyrle Spencer's book, The Endearment. The scene becomes emotionally charged when Swedish Karl meets his mail-order bride Anna. He suddenly realizes that Anna lied to him about her domestic skills. Do you have a first date you'd like to share? Or what about when you first met the love of your life? As a reader, do you have a favorite scene from a romance where the hero and heroine meet? Is it a funny, suspenseful, painful or sweet meeting?