I am a Wreader!

Local wreader (writer/reader), Anita Mae, went undercover Thursday night to find out if the rumours were actually true. Were Harlequin Medicals to be found on the shelves of Regina bookstores?

In disguise (wearing her red knit shirt instead of her periwinkle one), Anita walked briskly through the main doors of Chapters, the biggest bookstore in the Queen City.  Forcing her eyes to remain focused on the back corner, she refused to look at the non-Harlequin books trying to tempt her money from her purse. Three quarters of the way back, she made a left wheel toward the dais which covers 25% of the store. Lumbering....uh...springing up the steps with a light step, she crossed the varnished wood floor to the Harlequin display. Hmmm. Not a Medical in sight. After mere minutes, she pulled her eyes from the Blaze covers. Spotting the Harlequin flyer, she grabbed it. After all, her mission here was accomplished and hubby was waiting in the van. She had the required info so she should go back...hmmm....

On the bottom of page 4 was a photo and blurb about The Desert Lord's Baby -  Book 1 in the Silhouette Desire Throne Of Judar series by Olivia Gates. Although Anita isn't an SD reader, her last book review says she was blown away by Oliva's book Radical Cure.

Knowing she should leave, Anita's eyes shifted  - she ooohed at the Love Inspired Historicals gracing the opposite page. A movement to the right caught her eye. Two men with HQNs in hand were watching with wary faces. Ignoring them, she burrowed back into the flyer, wondering if the Harlequin people knew they printed the same book cover twice on the same page. No wait - it was a picture puzzle! After a swift glance over her shoulder to see if her hubby was approaching, Anita's eyes fly between the photos, trying to spot the differences between The Road to Love in red lettering and The Road to Love in blue. Hmmm. Only six. She could spot only six. In frustration, she flipped the page deciding to look for the other 2 differences back in the van.

On the next page, a ‘buy 4, save $2‘ coupon for Harlequin Americans caught her eye...okay, definitely worth keeping...

With a sense of urgency, she flipped through the remaining pages knowing time was of the essence if she wanted hubby to drive her anywhere else, but as she closed the flyer, her eyes fell to the bottom right of the last page and before she could comprehend what she was looking at, she'd spotted the final 2 differences in the book cover puzzle. She folded the flyer and slid it into her back pocket. Drat! She might've been walking quickly back down the steps and through the store but her mind was on The Road to Love.

Back at the van, she warded off hubby's questions by asking what he wanted...not needed...in the electronics dept at the next stop - Walmart, just across the parking lot. Hubby took the boys one way while Anita headed to the book aisle. Hmmm. No Medicals. She was beginning to wish she hadn't told the medical thread on the eharl site that she'd spotted Medicals in Regina a couples weeks ago. Now she'd have some groveling to do when she reported back in...

Thirty mins later, she dragged her menfolk out of the store saying they had to pick up dd from music lessons. Once in van, though, Anita asked hubby if he'd mind stopping at the Book and Briar Patch...after all, it was on the way. So, a few blocks up, he drove into their lot. Anita's cell phone beeped as hubby was pulling up to the door - dd was ready to be picked up..oops...saying she'd be right back, Anita charged into the store, typing a 2-handed text msg back to dd as she marched straight to the back wall...straight towards Starbuck's. She could see the patrons sitting in the light diminished room. The smell of cappuccino permeated her senses, but she was on a mission and wouldn't be deterred. Just when you thought she'd give in to temptation, she veered right to the Harlequin display stand. Her eyes flew over the books, while her hand spun the circular stand. Nope. No Medicals here either. She sighed.

Two hours later, Anita, still in sleuthing mode, walked into SuperStore to check out their looooong book aisle. Lots of Harlequins here. Displayed at an angle, Anita's eyes skimmed the covers and bindings as she looked for the distinctive peacock blue covers. And she found one. There, mixed in with a half dozen other leftovers...ummm...books that hadn't sold from the past couple months, was one blue binding. Anita slid it out and placed it in front of the others. There. Maybe someone would see it now...

Hmmm...so the rumors were true...the Medicals were only on the shelves for a short time...where they successful? Will they be brought back? Is the only way to get them through subscription? Only time will tell. 

With her mission accomplished, Anita headed over to Pharmacy to refill her prescription of blood pressure meds. With April's book challenge being It's Raining Men, she's gonna need all the help she can get...

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