Always the Bridesmaid
by Whitney Lyles

What do you do after you walk down the aisle in four weddings in a few months-none of them your own? What's left after you've donned the must-have-not dresses of the season, forked over your cash, and fake-smiled your way through countless photos? After you've dealt with the smashed guest, the smooshed cake, the dashed hopes, and the missed bouquets? That's what Cate Padgett is starting to wonder, as she embarks on stint after stint on the sidelines, watching friends swap bar-hopping for baby- naming...while her own love life goes nowhere fast. But is Cate unwilling to settle down-or just unwilling to settle? And can anyone really judge her if they haven't walked in her dyed-to-match shoes? Wild, witty, and full of weddings to cry over, Always the Bridesmaid is an endearingly romantic comedy about standing out in the crowd even when everyone's wearing the same celery-green dress...and daring to make every day The Happiest Day of Your Life.

Whitney Lyles' Bio

Whitney Lyles was born in San Diego, California. At the age of seven she moved with her family to Poway, a suburb of San Diego, onto a forty acre ranch complete with a rolling stream and enough oak trees to build a development of tree houses. It may have been the lack of cable television in the mountains of Poway that led her to reading and writing. But her real passion for writing began in high school. She spent the long hours of French, science, and math writing and passing detailed notes to her friends on the other side of the classroom. Encouraged by her classmates, she continued to write.

After graduating from high school she moved to Los Angeles to attend Marymount College. While trying to pick a major she decided she wanted to write novels. She chose psychology as her major, transferred to the University of San Diego, and began creating her first novel. By the time she graduated from USD she had completed half of a manuscript. In order to have time for her book she took on a number of part-time jobs, which included clerking at a photo lab and babysitting.

Ultimately, it was working at a church that sent her on "the right path." After a hellish two months of proofreading the church bulletin and repeatedly answering questions with, "Bingo is held at eight o'clock in the rec center on Tuesdays" she was fired. The church staff claimed it was for "lack of experience in a parish environment," but she thinks it was for lack of enthusiasm. It was then and there that she made the decision to charge full speed ahead with her writing.

She moved back in with the folks and took up babysitting again. Inspired by her non-profit career as a four time bridesmaid, she wrote Always the Bridesmaid. Things happened quickly after that. Sandra Dijkstra signed on as her agent and sold the book at auction to Berkley in a two book deal. She is currently at work on her next novel.