Where Did You Have a REALITY CHECK? (RESULTS)

THE RESULTS ARE IN! Each contestant got an entry for each picture they submitted and for any votes they may have received. Today we selected a random winner from those entries. (No member of my immediate family was included in the drawing. I figure I give them enough stuff as it is.)

THE WINNER IS: ALISON T!! She received a silver bracelet with a starfish/heart charm dangler.

Thanks everyone for your fun entries! And always remember: if you're going to have a Reality Check, you may as well have a fun one!

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WHERE DID YOU HAVE YOUR REALITY CHECK?? Check out the fun photos below:

                                  A. I have a feeling this is exactly how he got Pinocchio too.

                                   B. I was in a fantasyland when I had my Reality Check.

C. Mouse approved

D. Being married to Homer ought to be enough of a Reality Check. But, no.

E. Um, you're Reality Check is about to bounce . . .

F. Can I use my lifeline?

G. Reality Check Beatles Style: Even meanies get Reality Checks . . .

H. Having a dental Reality Check up.

I. What's hotter? Thai food or Reality Check on Kindle Fire?

J. Some Reality Checks are more fun than others.

K. If he's looking for iambic pentameter he's really in for a Reality Check.

L. Being a first time mom, this is now my Reality Check.

Reality Check

I'm giving myself a reality check. First I pinch myself . . . yep, I'm awake. I'm not dreaming. Holy cow, it's really happening?? Yeah, baby!

My debut novel Reality Check will be hitting the store shelves in June. I'm not sure of all the locations, but you can pick one up at any Seagull Book and Deseret Book store for starters. Below is the blurb on the back cover:

Αfter college graduation, Lucy Kendrick heads home with big plans for work, travel, and relishing her freedom—which means no romantic entanglements. But her two best friends have other ideas. Lucy is seriously steamed when she realizes they’ve signed her up to be a contestant on the reality dating show Soulmates, but she decides not to renege and soon finds herself in Los Angeles—a small-town Mormon girl vying for the love of millionaire bachelor Ethan Glass. 

At first this cute, smart, fun young woman who would rather pray than party bewilders Ethan, as does the fact that his interest and admiration grow with every encounter. But a conniving associate producer is determined to stir up some made-for-TV drama and plants hidden cameras that inadvertently catch a truly honest but unsensational moment. And since reality television is anything but real, when the show finally airs, the story is not even close to what actually happened and Lucy has been recast as someone she unquestionably is not. Will the duplicities that have created this humiliation ever come to light? And will the truth emerge too late for the would-be soulmates?

Fun times! And especially written for all you Bachelor and Bachelorette fans out there (and even all of you who aren't) who constantly wonder, "What would happen if . . . ?"

Get Me Out of Here! (Escapism)

Which of the following statements are true:

1) When I read or watch a movie like The Hunger Games, I am transported to a dystopic world and imagine myself as someone like Katniss, Peeta, or Gale to the point where I actually think I am one of them. Where's my bow and arrow?

 2) When I read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings (or again, watch the movies) I find myself believing in hobbits and elves, and I am constantly on Google Maps searching for Rivendell and Middle Earth.

3) When I watch Star Trek (in any of its incarnations), read the fan fiction, or dress up like a Klingon or Vulcan and attend a Trekkie convention, I am in need of my anti-psychotic meds because I'm expecting to be beamed up at any moment.

4) When I read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works, I am a brilliant detective in Victorian London, shrouded in fog and intrigue, working feverishly to solve a complex riddle before something deadly happens. I also talk in a British accent and refer to my dog as Watson, although his name is actually Buster.

5) When I read Pride and Prejudice, I realize that Mr. Darcy is the perfect male specimen and insist that any and every man I meet must measure up to his standards. Relationship expectations cannot be taken too lightly.

Answer: None of them is true. And yet, could any of them possibly be true, in certain situations? Sure.

Most of the articles I've read related to the romance genre would make the claim that none of the above statements is true—except #5.  Apparently the writers of the articles would have us believe that women, in particular, are unable to distinguish between fantasy (as it relates to the romance genre) and reality, when it comes to love and their romantic expectations in their partners.

And yet these same women watch movies like Transformers and the various Harry Potters and have no more expectation of having their Volkswagens turn into a robots, or plan to fly on a broom while playing quidditch than the men seated next to them. Are women actually watching Brad Pitt or Ryan Gosling on screen and expecting either actor (or character played) will propose to them? Are men hoping Megan Fox or Angelina Jolie are going to give them a smile and a "hey, baby, text me" anytime soon? I don't honestly think so.

That being said, everyone—whether sitting in a theater, reading genre fiction, playing online games, or doing the traditional couch potato thing—can benefit from the occasional self-inventory when it comes to escapism. Sometimes people do run too far and escape for too long. And if we frequently find ourselves in that position, seeking to avoid the realities of our daily lives by these means of escape, then I suggest that maybe it's time to figure out why and head safely back to the world of reality.