Flirting with Forty finds new love

A divorced mom finds there is love in Hawaii after forty – 4 Stars ****

By Gabrielle Pantera

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 12/5/2008 – “Life and fiction collided,” says Flirting with Forty author Jane Porter. “I began dating the sexy surfer after interviewing him, and I started flying to Hawaii as frequently as possible to see him.”

Flirting with Forty is the story of recent divorcee Jackie Laurens and her struggle to find happiness as a single mom. Although fiction, the real life of author Jane Porter soon took the same course as the fictional character in her book. Flirting with Forty has been made into a television movie that will premiere on Lifetime on December 6th. (I just saw a preview of the film and am reviewing that next.)

“I went to Hawaii on a spur of the moment to finish a book for my London publisher,” says Porter. “I was newly separated and finding it difficult to write in Seattle since my boys were with their dad for Easter. But, I didn’t end up that much happier in Hawaii.”

“The 5-star hotel was beautiful, but I felt such emptiness and loss,” says Porter. “I missed my children, I missed my old life, I missed everything that had once defined me. All those intense emotions began to stir up the what-ifs for a new story.”

While in Hawaii, Porter began dating a surfer. “While I became happier, my friends back in Seattle weren’t happy with me,” says Porter. “They were worried I was behaving irrationally, worried about the surfer’s age and lifestyle, worried that I was investing too much time in a far away place when I needed to settle down and get used to being a divorcee in Seattle.”

“I didn’t anticipate their resistance but in the end, their resistance became part of the book and made it so much more real and complex,” says Porter. “To this day, people think I wrote about my life, but at the time I pitched the story to my editor, it was just a plot. A concept. I’m still amazed that four and a half years later I’m still seeing the surfer and we’re now having a surf baby together.”

“The story changed my life,” says Porter. “I discovered I could be happy. I, like every person, have a right to be happy. And happiness isn’t that elusive. It’s a choice. You just have to want the great life. You have to go for it. You can’t wait for life to come to you.”

Jane Porter is originally from a small town in the San Joaquin Valley in California. She currently lives in Washington State. Porter has written thirty books in the past nine years. Her next book, Easy On The Eyes, for July 2009, is a story of women dealing with aging in the entertainment industry.

Flirting with Forty is a book about a woman who finally realizes who she want to become and goes after it. As you read you’ll learn about yourself and think about your goals and whether you’ve chosen the right path to make you happy. You’ll need to hurry to read the book before Flirting with Forty airs as a TV movie on December 6th on Lifetime.
Flirting with Forty by Jane Porter
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: 5 Spot
Released: May 7, 2008
ISBN: 9780446509435