Marrying Mallory, Diane Craver

Romance/Contemporary
Is Mallory Harrington jinxed because her name means luckless?

Things have gone wrong for Mallory since she was a small child. All she ever wanted was to have a complete family and live happily ever after. It appears she has it all when she marries Toby Harrington and they have a son. Unfortunately, their marriage ends when Toby has an affair with his law partner. After their divorce, Mallory doesn't think she should ever get married again.

Mallory decides to do something for herself, and get a surgical procedure that she's always wanted. What she doesn't expect is her instant attraction to her surgeon.

She learns that sometimes faith is about accepting what can’t be changed and grabbing what God offers. Life must go on.

Excerpt:
He realized he'd made a mistake having coffee with Mallory. He liked her too much which wasn't appropriate for a patient-doctor relationship. Add to that, he thought she was beautiful. Her dark brown hair shone in the bright sunshine that streamed in through the window by their table. Her brilliant green eyes mesmerized him. Incredible eyes with such a sparkle to them that he loved staring at them. Her warm smiles got to him, too. He'd noticed in the office Mallory had a tiny scar that looked like a dimple when she smiled. He'd wondered then what had caused the scar but hadn't wanted to ask her.

Maybe he should tell her that she could skip the nose surgery. Mallory's face had so much character with her strong cheekbones, overwhelming smile, beautiful eyes and personality that an imperfect nose was of small importance.

"Thanks. This is nice to relax after a rough day with junior high students." She took a sip of coffee. "And I love the smell of coffee. When I was growing up, I always woke up to the aroma of coffee brewing. My mom had to have coffee first thing in the morning."

"How about you? Do you get up at the crack of dawn?" He bet she looked cute even in the early daylight hours.

"I usually don't have any trouble getting up."

Should he talk to her about not having the surgery? Sure, he should. It was his obligation. "Mallory, I know Sharon put your name on the calendar for your surgery, but I'm not so sure you need to have anything done. Look at Sarah Jessica Parker. She has a strong nose."

"But my nose is bigger than hers."

"You might think your nose is imperfect because of the size, but I do think it gives your face character."

"Well, I can do with a little less character on my face."

"Your nose is large but it's aristocratic… like Princess Diana."

"And look what happened to her. Prince Charles loved Camilla." She snapped her fingers. "Guess what? Camilla has a small nose."

"But Princess Diana was considered beautiful." Like you, he wanted to say but didn't.

"I bet you're afraid I won't be happy with my appearance because I still won't have the perfect small nose. I understand that you can only do so much, but it'll definitely be a big improvement over what I have to live with now."

"I'm happy to do your surgery but if you should change your mind, I'll understand."

She gave him a warm smile. "You're stuck with me. I'm not changing my mind on this. I loved seeing the imagining of what I'll look like after surgery."

Mallory was definitely serious about having rhinoplasty. Part of him was glad because he'd be seeing her again several times, for sure. But he wasn't sure he liked that it'd be as his patient. "Then I'll see you in June for your surgery."

She cleared her throat. "What made you decide to become a plastic surgeon?"

The abrupt question caught him off guard. He thought about that for a moment. "I was impressed how plastic surgery made a difference in my sister's appearance. When we were still young, a stray dog came in our backyard and attacked her. Amy had to endure many surgeries."

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm still not sure why the dog went after her instead of me. We were both playing outside."

Her cell phone rang. While she pulled it out of purse, his eyes shifted to her mouth. Mallory had full perfect lips. Ideal for kissing. Big oversight spending time with Mallory outside the office. Now he was noticing her lips.

Reviews:
"In his book, ‘Writing the Breakout Novel’, Donald Maas states, “God works in little ways as well as big ones, so look for small moments of magic as well as big ones.” He then asks, “Have you ever felt that something that happened to you was fated?”...Well in Diane Craver’s book, Marrying Mallory, that is the precept she has used...For those who assume an inspirational romance cannot handle conflict, drama and suspense, I recommend they read Diane Craver’s Marrying Mallory, for it is all there."

Fennel - Long and Short Reviews
Rating = 4.5 Books
Voted BOOK OF THE WEEK 3/15/10

Why Diane Wrote this Book:
After reading many romances, I decided it was important to have a character with a physical defect, such as a large nose. Of course, not all heroines in romances are flawless beauties, but usually the main female characters have smaller noses. I decided that Mallory would not have a perfect nose. After her marriage ended, she would then decide it was time to do something for herself.

Mallory is a realistic character because I used my personal feelings in writing what she desired. I got into her mind completely because I know what it's like not to have a cute, small nose.

My large nose hasn't kept me from enjoying life. I've been happily married for thirty-four years to the same great guy and we've been blessed with six children. But I'll admit if I had extra money to spend on my appearance, I'd love to have rhinoplasty.

Divorce is another issue I tackle in Marrying Mallory. Even though I can't imagine ever being divorced, my character Mallory is a divorced Christian. She wanted to be married to Toby Harrington forever and have a happy family life while serving the Lord. When she learned Toby had an affair with his law partner, she couldn't forgive him so she agreed to a divorce.

Mallory struggles with her feelings for her surgeon because she feels it wouldn't be right for her to get married again God's eyes.
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Author Bio:
Diane graduated with a degree in English and Speech Education from The Ohio State University. Before writing her books, she was a schoolteacher and play director. She met her husband, the love of her life, while teaching at an orphanage.

She is the mother of six children and lives in southwestern Ohio. Her dream vacation is going to the beach. Her husband is supportive of her writing career as well as her awesome children. Diane writes contemporary and inspirational romance, chick-lit mystery, and women's fiction.

http://www.dianecraver.com/

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