Guaranteed Happiness...For At Least 285 Pages!

I used to be an actress in musical theatre and opera, much of which can feel far from relevant to everyday life. Casting a realistic eye upon an average production, a cynical soul might reduce it to a bunch of people who run around in tights and petticoats, bursting into song at the drop of a hat. Now I don't know about your city, but that sure never happens in Baltimore where I live! My first professional opera was Wagner's Die Meistersinger, so long at over 5 hours that they actually stop and give the audience a dinner break. And yet (yup, I really do have a point) that show sold out every single night. As a matter of fact, it probably fills the seats every time it is performed, whether in New York, Chicago, Milan or Berlin. Why? Because it offers an escape from everyday life for those five hours.

I love the 'mission statement' of this blog; where women can go to escape their everyday lives. Each time I stood on stage in a wonderfully floofy costume and sang, I knew that for those two hours, my performance offered an escape to the audience. Made them forget their troubles, eased their stress, and lifted their spirits. Now I (hopefully) provide the same service with my books. When a reader dives into any romance book (but preferably one of mine!), they pause their real life to immerse themselves into a different world. A world where happily ever after is guaranteed, a promise which is often not fulfilled in reality.

My latest romantic comedy Act Like We're In Love combines both my passions, in that it offers a backstage peek at love in a theatre. So dim the lights, settle into your seat, and let me give you the program notes:

When two people make beautiful music onstage, can their love survive once the curtain falls? Linnea Larson is willing to do anything to keep her family's Minneapolis dinner theatre from going under. Anything, that is, besides accepting a date from the Hollywood hunk her father hired to inject a dose of star power into their production of Guys & Dolls. It's a toss up whether his greatest claim to fame is playing a superhero on screen, or a super stud off screen. Neither fact convinces her he's got what it takes to share her stage. And thanks to a life long pact with her best friend, she never dates actors.

Luke Powell has fame, fortune and an endless string of women, but also a lingering dissatisfaction with his picture perfect life. Looking for a change, he escapes to his theatrical roots. What he finds are wary cast mates, a nervous best friend convinced the show will ruin Luke's career, and an adorable costar who stubbornly refuses to go out with him. Suddenly singing and dancing aren't the only challenges he'll tackle over the summer. Far from the spotlights of Hollywood, can he find happiness in the footlights of a tiny theatre?

Despite Luke dragging her into his daily papparazzi nightmare, Linnea can't deny her mounting attraction to his irresistable charm. And even if she's crazy enough to get involved, their fling has a guaranteed expiration date. He's leaving at the end of the run, and she's tied to her family's theatre. Why risk the inevitable heartbreak? Their job is to act like they're in love, but will they decide it's worth the leap to fall in love for real?

If this blurb intrigues you, be sure to visit www.christibarth.com for more information. Act Like We're In Love releases on October 7 - and it just might be your next Desert Island Keeper!