Down the Aisle, Into the Mainstream

When that popular maven of mystery, Twist Phelan, got married during last month’s Left Coast Crime convention in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it was the talk of the crime-fiction community. This past weekend, however, Phelan’s nuptials went wide, with the story hitting The New York Times.

According to the piece, Phelan met her husband, Jack Chapple, through an online dating site.

Shortly after her dating streak ended, she was sorting through profiles of men who had looked at her profile but had not contacted her. As the faces flashed by, something clicked. She saw Mr. Chapple, who had blue eyes and tousled red hair. His profile said he owned an investment firm and lived in Boulder, Colo.

“This guy looked cute,” she said. “I wondered why he didn’t write me. I checked his preferences: no lawyers, not taller than 5-4, no blondes, must downhill ski. I’m a 6-foot-tall blond lawyer who doesn’t alpine.” Unabashed, she e-mailed him: “Why didn’t you write? I’m perfect for you!”

The rest, as they say, is history, though anyone who has met Phelan will not think it’s any mystery that the bold, blond bombshell author should have found her match with such apparent ease.

And there’s good news for fans of Phelan’s fiction too. According to the Times, she is close to completing a new novel:

“I have come to rely on Jack’s quiet confidence and intelligence and wry sense of humor to keep me centered,” said Ms. Phelan, who is nearly finished with her latest book, a corporate thriller titled “Doubt.” “My output has increased tremendously since I met Jack. He’s a great first-reader and he inspires me. Writing is lonely sometimes, but he makes me believe I can do this.”