DARLENE GARDNER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jared Padaleki and Jensen Ackles

The nerds of The Big Bang Theory

 

Fast Facts About Me

CROSSING THE LINE -- In addition to Superromance, I've written for three other Harlequin/Silhouette lines: Harlequin Duets, Harlequin Temptation and Silhouette Intimate Moments (now called Silhouette Romantic Suspense).

IN MY PAST LIFE -- Dorchester Love Spell and Avalon published a combined five of my romantic comedies, the sort of fiction I wrote in a previous incarnation.

BUSTING DOWN LOCKERROOM DOORS -- After writing a column complaining that Joe Paterno wouldn't let me into the lockerroom after Penn State football games, I won a college journalism award. Just so you don't get any other ideas, I was a sportswriter at the time. :-)

YES, MA'AM -- My first job after I graduated from college was as a features writer at the Charleston Post and Courier in South Carolina. I was 22 years old, a Yankee and couldn't understand why everyone kept calling me ma'am.

TWIT WWW -- I'm nearly six feet tall. When my kids were little and gazing way up at me, I used to tell them I was the Tallest Woman In The Whole Wide World until I realized the acronym for that was TWIT WWW.

GO, TEAM -- One of my favorite pasttimes is watching my teenagers play sports. I've sat through so many basketball, soccer and baseball games, I usually have a serious case of Bleacher Butt.

THE AIR BENEATH MY FEET -- Although I'm a pretty good tennis player, my kids tease me that I can only achieve three centimeters of air. That's how high I can jump, for those who don't understand teen speak.

REAL-LIFE HERO -- My father, who fought in World War Two and the Korean War, is a bonafied hero. He has a bronze star, a purple heart and spent three years as a prisoner of war in Korea.

Just for Fun

My Favorite TV Shows (in no particular order):

SUPERNATURAL -- This is my teenage daughter's favorite. She insists it's because of the plot lines, but I think it has more to do with the two leads. Have you ever seen a better-looking pair of TV brothers than Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, who play Sam and Dean?

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES -- Oh, those wacky women of Wisteria Lane. I'm always wondering what they'll do next.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS FOOTBALL -- Okay, it's not technically a television show but I'm still waving my terrible towel every game.

THE BIG BANG THEORY -- Leonard and Sheldon are no Sam and Dean but they grow on you because the show is so darn funny. They are nerds in the extreme, but charming in their own way, especially when they get together with their equally nerdy friends Wolowitz and Rajesh.

PSYCH -- Another detective show, this one about an annoying guy with excellent powers of observation pretending to be a psychic. His long-suffering sidekick Gus is my favorite.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS -- A terrific, though barely watched, series revolving around high school football. A way to spend an hour a week with my teenage son.

LOST -- I know the plot line's convoluted, but I'm so caught up in the story that I don't care.

SEINFELD reruns -- Doesn't everybody watch them?

My Favorite Romantic Movies

TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY -- A story about letting go and finding new love featuring Alan Rickman and the wonderful Juliet Stevenson. It always makes me cry.

THE PRINCESS BRIDE -- A classic. How can you go wrong with giants, an evil prince, a beautiful princess, rodents of unusual size, swordplay and, yes, true love?

DEAR FRANKIE -- Touching, emotional and romantic. I didn't even know who the hunky Gerard Butler was when I first saw this. But I think the heroine made a great choice in the man to portray her son's deadbeat father.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING -- I could watch this again and again. And do! There's something wonderfully heroic about Bill Pullman suppressing his love for Sandra Bullock because he thinks she's engaged to his comatose brother. Sigh.

CROSSING DELANCY -- An old-fashioned Jewish matchmaker sets up Amy Irving with a pickle salesman, of all things. And not a very handsome one at that. But I melt when he tells her why he finally agreed to let the matchmaker set him up.

A WALK IN THE CLOUDS -- Keanu Reaves pretending to be married to a pretty, young stranger afraid to tell her old-fashioned father she's pregnant. The grape-crushing scene is wonderful

My Favorite Authors

I bet you thought I'd fall into the trap of naming them, but when you know as many authors as I do that's not a good idea! I can say, though, that Superromance is my favorite Harlequin line.