Christa Ann Banister

Blessed Are the Meddlers
Former serial dater Sydney Alexander has met and married the love of her life, the illustrious Gavin Williams. But in the midst of her wedded bliss, Sydney can’t help but want her friends (and her sister Samantha) to be as happy in love as she is.

So like Jane Austen’s famous heroine, Emma, Sydney does a little freelance matchmaking of her own. Sometimes solicited, sometimes not. But even with the best of intentions, Sydney soon learns that a little meddling in the love department goes a long way. From New York to Nashville to Minneapolis and back again, will any of Sydney’s friends find true love? Well, if Sydney has anything to do with it, then…

Around the World in 80 Dates
Sydney Alexander is a travel writer. She’s a very well dressed travel writer—hasn’t yet met a shoe or clearance sale she could pass up. She’s funny. She’s got a great relationship with her sis. She’s got a hilarious best friend, Rain, who happens to be a hippie. And, she’s got a wonderful relationship with God. So what’s missing?

A decent date. A date where she doesn’t have to pay because he’s “between jobs.” A date where she’s not fabulously fashionably ready to go only to learn “the band just got a last minute gig” and he has to cancel. A date she wants to kiss goodnight—not run screaming from the curb.

Bridget Jones may have had a few more public disasters (Sydney works in print not on the telly), and considerably more cigarettes (Sydney doesn’t smoke), but really, besides that, their lives really aren’t so different. She’s just a girl, looking for love, drowning in a sea of cute couples, determined to keep swimming.