1. Scooter was inspired by a sweet, real-life dog named Zander

2. Both are transplants to the Golden Isles, having grown up in the Midwest

3. Mark is an only child, but his best friend Phil has become a brother to him

4. Both Mark and Lizzie love to dance; Mark took salsa for a semester before dropping out of college, Lizzie has been a life-long tap dancer

5. Lizzie is a size 10

6. Mark is hard to miss, over six feet tall, but is uncomfortable with strangers and crowds

7. Lizzie is a girl’s girl, but HATES cocktails; she drink craft beer

8. Mark taught himself photography

9. Both Lizzie and Mark are brunettes

10. As an adult, Mark took piano lessons; picking up where he left off as a kid

11. Lizzie’s brother Patrick is five years older than her, but has always thought of himself as ten years older

12. He moved to the coast to escape the dreary, overcast winters in the Ohio River Valley, but ended up spending most of his time trapped behind a desk

13. Mark is six years older than Lizzie (He’s 31, she’s 25)

14. Lizzie’s childhood dream had been to live at Colonial Williamsburg as a historical interpreter

15. Mark has only had one serious girlfriend and that relationship has been on/off for nearly a decade; Lizzie has never had a serious boyfriend

Read Lizzie & Mark’s story for free now on Wattpad. Tidal Patterns is my entry for this year’s #sytycw15 contest for Harlequin.