Q&A with David Santino, a.k.a. "dev"

We're halfway through #ChickLitLove week. To review, Monday's post was a Q&A with our beloved Andi, and yesterday, to celebrate the official launch of She Has Your Eyes (and it was a fabulous day), I posted the first three pages of the novel.

Today you'll hear from David, our beloved escort-turned-art dealer. Questions were provided by Tracie Banister, author of Blame it on the Fame and In Need of Therapy.

Enjoy. He even surprised me on a few of these.


Celebrity you've been told you look like: Early on I was told that I looked like a young Chris Noth (aka Mr. Big, for those not in the know). This crazy author chick says it’s in my smile. Apparently I have a nice smile.


Naughty food you like to indulge in: Reese’s peanut butter cups. Although how can anything so simply and delectably perfect be naughty? (Then again… insert your own innuendo.)


What you wear to bed: Depends on the time of year. Pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved thermal tee in the winter; boxers and a t-shirt in the fall and spring; and boxers only in the summer. I’m not a sleep-in-the-nude kind of guy. At least not on a regular basis… (I’m going to regret answering this question, aren’t I.)


Favorite body part of the opposite sex: The torso. Does that count as a body part? Basically from the breasts to the pelvis. Maybe I’ve taken too many figure drawing classes, but to me that entire section is the essence of femininity. Ruebens and the Italians especially made it appealing. The curves, the flesh, the lines and shape… yes.


How many people you've said "I love you" to: It’s not about how many that makes an “I love you” so meaningful for me, but the person(s) to whom I said it, and the depth of that love. I told my father I loved him before he died. It was the only time I’d ever said it to him in my adolescent or adult life. Maybe I’d said it as a child—I don’t remember. I certainly hadn’t felt love for him in a long time, so my telling him was a big thing, a genuine moment. And he told me he loved me too. I’ve carried that around with me ever since. And then there’s Andi. My greatest regret was not telling Andi I loved her the moment I admitted to myself that I did. I was too afraid to back then, and by the time I did it was too late. Thank God for second chances. I don’t take such things for granted anymore. My heart can’t afford it. And now, with Wylie…


Relationship deal-breaker: I think Andi would have to murder someone at this point, we’ve been through so much together. Either that, or if she forbid me from eating Reese’s peanut butter cups. Yes, that one is definitely a deal-breaker.


Your first kiss - How old were you? Did you instigate it?: Twelve, I think. Sixth grade. Two girls in my class read Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret, and decided to throw a party with Spin the Bottle and that other one where you go in the closet and make out with someone. (I never read the book; I only heard from two other girls that there was a party-kissing scene.) I got paired up with Kimberly Someone. It was an OK kiss for me, I guess. I have little memory of it other than the "closet" being a creepy crawl space under the basement stairs and my not knowing that I was supposed to French kiss her. I would've tried to cop a feel, but she held both my hands when she kissed me. She also didn’t seem to mind that my tongue stayed where it was. Besides, she smelled like punch. That I remember.

She managed to slip a Valentine heart into my coat pocket, lunch box, class desk, you name it, every day for the rest of the term. That, it turns out, was just as creepy as the crawl space under the basement stairs.

My second kiss, however, was a thing of beauty, as was she. I'm keeping that one to myself.


Do you have any tattoos or piercings? If so, describe: I like art everywhere except on people’s bodies. Don’t know why, but I just never got into it. Andi’s not really into tats either, so what’s the point of my getting one other than to turn her on?


Favorite alcoholic drink: I go through phases—vodka cranberry, amaretto and orange juice, just about any kind of microbrew (although Sam Adams makes a lot of good beer)… Andi has the equivalent of lactose intolerance with alcohol, and her husband was killed by a drunk driver, so we don’t have much of it around the house unless we have company.


Describe your dream girl: Have you met Andi? If she’s a dream, then may I never wake up.


Tomorrow: Meet Maggie (Andi's best friend)
Friday: No blog post, but

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