Or, romance fans might consider ordering a customized novel online from Kathy Newbern and her husband, J.S. Fletcher, at their Web site YourNovel.com. The couple offers $49.95 customized novels from a selection of 17 steamy tales ("Awake, My Love" and "Island of Love" are the names of two options). Fill out some forms at the Web site and the customized romance novel incorporates more than 20 details about a couple, including names, hometowns, occupations and eye color. While the site is up year-round, Newbern said that up to 70 percent of their business comes around Valentine's Day.
And as everything else in the world moves online, who really needs a dating service? Ordinary online hangouts can be as conducive to meeting people as the local bar. Lavale, Md., resident Mark Brickey met his girlfriend while playing a game called Ali Baba Slots at Web site Pogo.com.
"It was a surprise," he said. "I really wasn't looking."
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