HERE'S MY HOPE: A friend stated that Intimate Conversations is "chicken soup for the heart." I love that sentiment because my hope is that Intimate Conversations will, one day, be to CONVERSATIONS what Chicken Soup For The Soul has been to STORIES--a source of great encouragement, inspiration and practical help.There are so many intimate conversations waiting to happen: among couples in various phases of life, between friends, family members, even business associates. The intention behind this book is to pave the way for more in-depth dialogue; getting people talking, listening and acting in more respectful, loving and affirming ways.How Did the Book Come to Be?In 1999 I came across an intriguing analogy describing the two roles a man and woman play out in sex; that of guest and hostess (see page 18 ff. of the book). I decided to write a short paper about this analogy and... 365 pages later I realized I had gone a little beyond the scope of my original intent!From the beginning I worked at describing the "average woman/average man" and I called them "every woman" and "every man," with the couple taking on speaking roles and the conversation located at their favorite cabin during a weekend getaway. Their ongoing talk became so personal that the characters took on names. Matt and Sarah's conversation now makes up 70% of the contents with the other 30% comprised of highlighted principles from their interaction plus a number of practical exercises for journaling and dialogue--a unique right brain/left brained mode of teaching and learning.Early on I saw the potential of this conversation format being the first among many written by a host of gifted writers. So when the domain name IntimateConversations.com become available in 2002, I grabbed it. Indeed the possibility of building a brand around this name, not unlike Chicken Soup For The Soul, encouraged me to keep moving ahead. "What Chicken Soup is to STORIES," I began envisioning, Intimate Conversations could be to CONVERSATIONS."Upon reading the original manuscript my wife, Teresa, declared: "If that's what men are like, I'm not sure I want to be married!" This declaration brought about two revelations. First, the book needed a thorough reading by women because I must be missing something and secondly, my 30-year marriage must be missing something as well! Teresa and I ended up going into counseling for nearly a year with Carolyn Rexius who not only helped us solidify our marriage, but also played an important role in shaping the book.By 2006 the book was complete with two different possible covers and 22 beautiful scratch art drawing by Patti Sobel. But my day job of being a real estate investor was so demanding that Matt and Sarah--their conversation and their concepts--got stuck on the shelf, only to be circulated among a few friends with occasional updates. Six years later one of those friends, Carla Cochran, read the book and liked it so much she kept asking me to produce copies, ten at a time, to pass on to her friends. Carla's enthusiasm (she is forever deemed Intimate Conversations' Raving Fan #1) reminded me of the book's powerful message.Finally in the summer of 2013 another friend and film maker, Sandor Lau, prompted me to completely revamp the book. Sandor connected me with Patricia Marshall (Luminare Press) who redesigned the interior and cover, and with Kent and Thomas Goodman (Amsel Media Group) who provided a first-class marketing team. Matthew and Emily Flood stood in as the "beautiful people" for the front cover and Monique Kirby took on numerous rounds of copy editing, with publication by Crossover Press coming on Valentine's Day, 2014.There you have it: the inception, the hiatus, the brand, the hope. Those involved call ourselves THE INTIMATE TEAM (see https://www.facebook.com/intimateconversations) and invite you to join us. Leave a review, check out the website/videos/articles, spread the word to MAKE LOVE COUNT: When we, as couples, work on love's three key ingredients--Intimacy, Passion and Commitment--we can truly turn our relationship into a Lifelong Love Affair. How good is that?!IntimateConversations.comEnriching Our Lives--One Conversation at a Time.