title: Happily Ever After I Do: A simple tale about marriage, which is anything but simple.
author: Valerie Chiappone
description: Happily Ever After I Do began as a poem inspired by the impending wedding of one of Valerie's oldest and dearest friends. At the wedding ceremony, she read excerpts aloud while donning a professionally-shellacked up-do; silver, strappy heels; and a lavender, satin, bridesmaid dress with a bubble skirt. Valerie was born in Brooklyn, raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and currently lives in Sacramento. She received her B.A. degree in English from the University of San Francisco. Happily Ever After I Do is her first book.
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Julia Quinn
  
  
  BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN
  
  
  ![](logo.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  For Auntie Susan—
  
  
  Thank you.
  
  
  
  
  
  —Miss Julie
  
  
  
  
  
  And for Paul, even though he just doesn't understand why I can't end all of my
  titles with exclamation points.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Dear Reader,](9780061739699_contents.html#dear)
  
  
  **I** don�t know about you, but I�m a sucker for marriage of convenience
  stories. Don�t get me wrong, I can�t imagine getting married for any reason
  other than deep and abiding love, but when it comes to fairy tales and romance
  novels . . . well, I just can�t resist it when a hero and heroine find that
  their marriage isn�t so convenient after all.
  
  
  So it came as no surprise when I sat down to write Brighter Than the Sun and
  thought to myself, “Hmmm, I haven�t written a marriage of convenience story
  yet.” But I knew that I had to be careful to put my own stamp on the story.
  They say that there are no truly original plots, after all, and that all 