Sunday, February 21, 2010

Wha...I'm the lead character in a romance novel!


My parents were nice enough to give me a good, unique name when I was born--there are a few Cole Strattons out there, but not a ton. There's a snowboarder in Colorado; a Daly City Firefighter; me--and now I'm a lead character in a romance novel by Susan Vaughan!

From Ms. Vaughan's website, the plot of Guarding Laura:

"Guarding Laura is the story of two former lovers who are the last people each wants to see. After witnessing a murder, museum curator Laura Rossiter hides under an assumed name at a Maine lake resort. Because the killer has terrorist connections, government officer Cole Stratton becomes her protector. Together they must trap a dangerous killer. How can Cole pretend to be the new lover of the woman who once broke his heart and left him to rot in jail? Laura must guard her resentment against him and the secret in her heart, but how can she when he's guarding her 24/7?"

I gotta pick up a copy...

May I suggest some further adventures for government officer Cole Stratton?

Protecting Penelope

"Disgraced government officer Cole Stratton takes refuge in Los Angeles after the woman he had sworn to protect was murdered under his watch. A slave to the bottle and painkillers, Cole scrapes by taking various one-off bodyguard jobs. When pseudo-famous actress Penelope Ann Miller becomes the target of an obsessed fan, Cole is hesitant to take the job--especially since he really hated The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag. But as the two become close over a screening of Big Top Pee Wee, Cole realizes that there's more to Penelope than he bargained for--will his new found feelings cloud his judgment so much that he fails her when she needs him most?"

Bodyguarding Bernie

"The last thing corporate embezzler and womanizer Bernie Lomax expected one fateful weekend was to be murdered--but that wasn't going to stop him from partying. Government official Cole Stratton had inherited a series of ropes and pulleys from his late uncle, and was just trying to unload them on Craigslist when he was faced with an interesting proposition--help two schlubs make Bernie the life of the party for one weekend only for some quick, hard cash. But as Cole and Bernie become close over a screening of Big Top Pee Wee, Cole realizes that there's more to Bernie than he bargained for--will his new found feelings cloud his judgment so much that he fails him when he needs him most?"

Safeguarding Susan

"Government official Cole Stratton didn't realize what he was getting himself into that fateful day when he accidentally traveled through time in a customized Toyota Celica to 1869, and found himself at a National Women's Suffrage Association meeting. The target of a change-fearing sociopath, young Susan B. Anthony found herself fighting not only for the right to vote, but the right to stay alive. Stuck in the past, Cole agrees to protect her. After a discussion about the upcoming invention of film and the description of Big Top Pee Wee, Cole realizes there's more to Susan than he bargained for--will his new found feelings cloud his judgment so much that he fails her when she needs him most?"

Get to it, writers!

3 comments:

  1. I used to go to Brand Bookstore in Glendale and ensconce myself in the corner with the romance novels. I would read the back covers of them, until the names and plot descriptions drove me to tears of laughter. Blast Hardcheese, indeed.

    Good times.

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  2. Cole, I'm so jazzed to find there's a real human named Cole Stratton. In spite of the titillating blurbs on the backs of novels, many romance novels have meaty plots and engrossing personal growth stories. I hope you'll find a copy of Guarding Laura and read about your namesake. Happy reading!
    P.S. Thanks for the new plot ideas.

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  3. Mock me if you will, but I would totally read Safeguarding Susan based on that description. I've always wanted a Celica.

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