
One plastic surgeon recently made the news because he offered free plastic surgery for anyone who can introduce him to his future wife. His requirements include college graduate, natural blonde and a size zero. You can understand why the average American woman believes any size above an eight is obscene.
Every generation struggles with image issues. The beautiful Marilyn Monroe was a voluptuous size fourteen. No one seemed to have issues with that then, but women were squeezing their feet into shoes too small for them. A small shoe size was indicative of femininity. My own mother has ruined her feet because of this preference.
Seriously, why are we torturing our daughters with unrealistic Photo-shopped images of models and celebrities? One British magazine publisher just went with computer-generated images because they couldn’t find models thin enough. Shame on you, I expected better of the Brits.
It is for these reason, I am excited to introduce a novel about a real sized woman. Skin by Lydia Michaels tells of a real-sized woman at first can’t believe the hunky hero finds her beautiful. Please check out Lydia’s story and the Skin trailer.

When Finnegan McCullough gets a flat tire he bumps into a woman he’s never seen before. After a stern lecture on trespassing, he offers her a ride and a friendship takes shape. Mallory Fenton is unlike any girl he’s ever met. She’s funny, sexy as hell, and sweet as pie, but she doesn’t see herself that way.
After literally crashing into Finnegan McCullough, Mallory is a hot, tongue-tied,mess. A true lumberjack, he wears his flannel well and possesses the sexiest smile she’s ever had thrown her way. Unfortunately, men like that don’t look at girls like her. When Finn confesses his desire to be more than friends, Mallory is shocked. After years of being the ‘fat girl’ she knows better than to believe a man like Finn could ever find her attractive. But she’s gotten under his skin and Finn is determined to show Mallory how beautiful she truly is.
A realistic and heartwarming romance that proves love and beauty come in all shapes and sizes.

So everyone is curious about the book SKIN and they should be. The fact that so many readers are connecting with this topic gives me such joy. SKIN is different from any book I’ve ever written or read because the heroine is real. She is you. She is me. She is every woman who has ever looked in the mirror and not liked her reflection. My decision to write SKIN was inspired by the media's sudden overzealous interest in celebrities packing on baby weight, respected clothing chains making disrespectful statements about not wanting girls bigger than a size twelve wearing their attire, and the inescapable fact that I have been shopping in the plus size department since I was thirteen.
Here’s some real news. I am curvy and I am beautiful. I have skinny friends and they're beautiful too. Beauty doesn’t come in a shape or size.Beauty is defined as a quality in a thing or person that gives pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind. Beauty is a smile, a laugh, a look. Beauty is confidence. Beauty is love, loving yourself and others. When society tries to pigeonhole beauty we often don’t laugh. We see ourselves and frown. We look at ourselves differently,unfavorably. Our confidence becomes shaken and we love ourselves a little less.Why? If everyone looked the same, our minds would lose interest. Variety keeps the world beautiful.
Beauty is about perception and we must, as a whole, begin perceiving ourselves as beautiful, not on levels, but on a diverse plane where no quality outweighs another. We are all beautiful.
I love writing and reading romance, but never have I read a book where the heroine’s thoughts matched mine. I don’t think there is a woman out there who has not contemplated how her body appears in the midst of an intimate encounter. Nobody is one hundred percent confident one hundred percent of the time. When I wrote SKIN, I wrote it honestly. I wanted the reader to truly know the character’s thoughts, fears, insecurities, and dreams. Mallory Fenton wants to change the SKIN she’s in. Her journey is an emotional evolution that does indeed change her, but not the way she assumed it would.
I hope that you enjoy this story and the rest of the McCullough Mountain Series. SKIN releases on August 22, 2013 and it is dedicated to you.