When my blogmeister and great friend, August McLaughlin, asked if I would participate in her “Beauty of a Woman” Blogfest 2014, I pushed the Staples button: EASY. The 
most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, inside and out, is the one I’m married to: my Jacqueline. And the way we met? Think destiny; think karma; think MAGIC. I wrote about it a couple of years ago, and here it is again. (By the way, stop by August’s blog through March 3rd for links to other participants’ posts and chances to win prizes. She’s giving away gift cards [$5 to $50 value] and more.)
Okay, art is supposed to imitate life. From our life experiences we create paintings, prose, sculptures, you name it. But on rare—and awesome—occasions, art can create life.
Back in the early nineties I landed a contract with The Berkley Publishing Group for a satirical science fiction novel, Bicycling Through Space and Time. The story follows the misadventures of Jack Miller, a thirty-something Southern California writer who, like his creator at the time, is divorced and, as they say, “lookin’ for love in all the wrong places.” Jack has a 
twenty-one-speed mountain bike—twenty-two actually, because an alien study group has added an extra gear that allows Jack passage through gates into other worlds, dimensions, earth’s past, literature, etc. When he’s not riding the Ultimate Bike Path, Jack is going out on some pretty bad dates.
Halfway through the book, Jack has a date with a lady named Holly Dragonette. Holly is from Iowa but is transferring to San Diego to take a new job. Jack has a great time with Holly and tells readers that he’s looking forward to another date with her—which will only happen if there are sequels to the book. I delivered the manuscript to Berkley, and they liked it enough to offer me a book deal for two sequels. A writer’s dream, yes? But, they say, we’d like to see how you transition into the second book, so can you send us chapter one?
Standard writer’s answer: I can do that! So in chapter one Jack tells readers that the second date with Holly went great, and now he’s going to ride his bike cross country to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to help her move out. The chapter went to Berkley, and I got the contracts.
A month later I respond to a classified ad in a local newspaper placed by a lady named Jacqueline. The first time we talk—on the phone; you had to take it in steps—we seem to really connect, and at some point I tell her that I’m originally from New York City. Then I ask her where she’s from, figuring nearly everyone in Southern California is from somewhere else.
She’s from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Dead silence from me. Jacqueline asks what’s wrong. I say that she wouldn’t believe me if I told her. She assures me that she would.
And she did. In 2014 we celebrate twenty-four years together, seventeen of them as 
husband and wife. It hasn’t always been easy—life deals you a few curves along the way, no matter who you are—but it’s been a great ride. And what a neat way to find your soul mate.
And if how we met wasn’t enough, here’s more. Two months after meeting we went out to dinner and, for the first time, talked about living together. We settled on four or five months down the road, to give the relationship some time. That same night I took Jacqueline back to her rented condo, owned by a professor who was teaching in Europe—and we found an eviction notice on her door. The guy had decided to move back to the states.
We moved into a new place together three weeks later.
Yes, art imitates life, but art can also create life. Sometimes you just need to put it out there.
Truth is stranger than fiction. Or the same, in your case!
How true! Thanks, cousin.
One of my favorite stories! Thanks so much for bringing it to the fest. 🙂
Anything for you, o’ blogmeister and Goddess of the Book! 🙂
Beautiful story! I loved this, Mike.
Thanks, Lee. The magic of writing, eh? 🙂
What a lovely story. A great picture of you two as well.
Thank you, Kathryn!
Great post, Mike! I love hearing how couples met. And congrats on sticking together around all those curves. Hubs and I are coming up on 38 years, so I know firsthand it ain’t always easy.
Wow Kassandra, 38! That is awesome! You are right, it definitely is NOT always easy.
I love the story, Mike. Well done!!
Many thanks, Raani!
Lovely karmic victory. Such a great story!
Thank you, Kecia!
Isn’t that serendipity? What a great homage to your partner! 🙂
Thanks, Katy. We believe that we’ve been together many times before, and will be again. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Mike. Great addition to the BOAW BlogFest. Sharing now. Happy BOAW
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it.
When a woman is cherished as your Jacqueline is – my heart does a little dance. Thanks for sharing your romance with us!
Aw, shucks. Thanks so much!
What a great story! Of course, there are some who would say ‘there are no coincidences’… They might be right given that you found your soulmate through your art.
Many blessing and wishes for another 25 years of joy. Got to celebrate that magical 50th, right. 😀
Eden, thanks for your thoughts. Yep, you’re right, we ARE shooting for fifty. And then there’s always the next lifetime… 🙂
Mike,
What a wonderful and cool story!
I will also be celebrating 17 years of wedded (mostly) bliss this year.
And I’ve got a cool story, too.
In 1997, I was 27 years old, and had been engaged twice. My first fiance, Tim, died of cystic fibrosis in April of 1995, and an ill-advised and abusive rebound relationship ended the following winter.
I was ready to swear off men, and to do something I’d always dreamed of – travel, and see the country. Trouble was, I was broke.
So, in the deeps of an upstate New York winter, I took a job at the Grand Canyon, because I’d always wanted to see the desert.
I took a cross-country Amtrak with $50 to my name.
I arrived on February 20 (a date that would become very important!), I was assigned as a busser, and, on that first day, introduced to the lead cooks.
Little did I know that one of them was celebrating his birthday, and, although I didn’t like him at the time, less than six months later, I would be married to that Oregon boy, who proposed while holding me in the knee-deep turquoise water of the Colorado River.
Sometimes I wonder about the odds that we’d meet, in such a place, coming from opposite sides of the country. It’s pretty cool! =)
Wow, that is a GREAT story! Thanks for sharing it. Karma (and The Force) was with you.
Very cool, Mike, how you met your wife. I love to hear about Twilight Zone moments like the conversation with your future wife over the phone. I would’ve been stunned, too. Congrats on 24 years of marriage with your lovely wife. My hubby and I celebrated our 37th in September. Lots of bumps but lots of great times, and those decades sure zoomed by fast!
Thirty-seven is pretty impressive, Lynn! And yeah, we can’t get over how fast it goes as we approach our dotage. 🙂
Love your love story! My own is similar. I love it when things come together – serendipity! Great addition to BOAW!
Thanks, Marcia. Glad to hear there are other great love stories around!