I kind of hate purses. This aversion goes back to my college years, when I felt it necessary to separate myself from the less-than-adorable purses my well-meaning relatives tended to gift me around holidays and birthdays. I had one of those itty bitty college wallets, embossed with my school’s logo, that didn’t hold much behind my official ID, driver’s license, and five bills. And if I could get away with not carrying even that tiny, relatively useless thing, I’d do it.
Supposedly, the contents of a woman’s purse can reveal things about her personality and lifestyle. You’d have to take the contents of my purse in tandem with the contents of whatever larger bag it’s usually being carried in to really get a sense of who I am.
Purse + work bag = teacher who keeps procrastinating about grading papers.
Purse + diaper bag = mom who really wishes her kid would figure out how to use the potty so we can downsize said diaper bag.
When you narrow it down to just my purse, though, it’s pretty basic.
A wallet. Yes, it matches the purse (and diaper bag). I like things to color coordinate.
- Smartphone. Because connectivity.
- Gift cards that may or may not have money left on them.
- Lip balm of some sort, usually Blistex. My lips always seem to be chapped.
- Lipstick and lip gloss, specifically Mary Kay because that’s the only brand of lip color I’ve purchased in the past ten years. The only reason it’s even in there is because I went to a wedding a month and a half ago, and still haven’t remembered to take the lip color back OUT of my purse.
- Business card carrier, because you never know when someone might ask about your books and you want to send them easily to your website.
Interestingly, I rarely carry my keys in my purse, unless I’m out and about without one of my larger bags.
I guess I’m still a minimalist at heart.
At least when it comes to my purse.
Marissa O’Brien has sworn off long-term relationships. But all her rules fly out the window when she grabs the attention of a sexy, international stranger during her weekly Girls’ Night Out.
Josh Mattingly has spent the last two years trying to turn over a new leaf. In Asheville, North Carolina, on business, the last thing he’d planned on was getting involved with a local girl. But one encounter with Marissa has him hooked.
Marissa recognizes a playboy when she sees one and tries to keep her attraction to Josh under wraps–until they share a passionate kiss that leaves both of them singed. Now Josh has to prove to Marissa that she can trust him with her heart.
The One I’m With is available at Amazon.
About the author: Lynn Rowan started writing stories as a small child, usually starring her favorite cartoon characters. Most of her work through middle and high school was filled with typical teenage angst and melodrama, and usually mirrored the books she loved to read. But eventually she found her own author’s voice and decided to seriously pursue a writing career.
Historical fiction remains J. Lynn’s “first love”, but she has enjoyed the journey to becoming an author of romance and chick lit. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Central New York Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel Society. She is also a teacher who tries to instill a love of learning, reading, and writing in her students.
When she’s not writing, J. Lynn enjoys travelling, gardening poorly but enthusiastically, studying various topics in American history for her own expertise, and channeling Julia Child every time she steps into the kitchen.
A native of Oswego, NY, she now lives in Charlotte, NC, with her own Romantic Hero of a husband and the most adorable toddler on the planet.
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