If you're reading this profile, something made you curious about me. But let's talk about you first.

Perhaps you are on this site because you just haven't found the right man in your immediate circle of friends. Let's face it, in our circles from work to home to the grocery store to the occasional night out, finding the right person is like fishing in a shotglass. If you're like me, you're hoping this site creates a wider pool for your search.

Your life is good, but you want it to be great. You miss that spark. So you begin searching offline and here, hoping to find the perfect man. After a while you might begin thinking the perfect man can't be found. In searching for the perfect man, perhaps you are overlooking the man who would be perfect for you?

If you are interested in a man who can discuss literature and fine wines across a dinner table as well as get dirty cutting up fallen trees for firewood with his chainsaw or building new bookcases, who'll treat you romantically and respectfully, then maybe you might like to meet me.

My hobbies include blogging and writing fiction. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired.com are among the online sites that have linked to my writing. My goal is to be the next Stephen King.

So far I've written three vampire novels. An editor at one publishing house said the novel I submitted was very good, but he had too much vampire fiction in the pipeline. I try to remember Jo Rowling was turned down by every major publisher until a small publishing house took a chance on her tale of a boy wizard named Harry Potter. I write while I commute by train to my job as a journalist covering politics and policy in the Washington, D.C. area although most of my career was spent covering crime. There are days I miss the excitement of the crime beat, but on the other hand no one has pointed a gun at me in years either.

I enjoy good wines, cooking, working out daily in the gym and playing Monopoly and Clue with my daughters. We play almost nightly. My taste in music is eclectic, from Matt and Kim to the Allman Brothers to Le Mysteres Des Voix Bulgares to AC/DC.

I grew up on a farm and still enjoy growing vegetables and building things.

I'm friendly, outgoing and basically a happy person. I'm happiest when I'm standing in the twilight darkness watching my daughters chase fireflies in the backyard. I have vegetable and flower gardens. My favorite flowers to grow are sunflowers and cosmos. They match my personality. They grow easily and with little care, but they bloom for a long time.

I like taking my daughters hiking off Skyline Drive and the C&O Canal.

My ex and I share custody of them though they live primarily with me. They are 11, 8 and 5 and they are growing up intelligent and kindhearted young ladies.

What I'm looking for is a special woman to date and have fun with whether it is hiking or at a winery for a rainy day wine tasting. I'm fine with dating a woman who either has children or does not have children.

My ideal woman would be athletic and outgoing with a mischievous, fun nature. She'd want to travel to Europe to visit old cemeteries and castles. She'd be open-minded and non-judgmental about people and knowledgable on issues. She isn't a needy person, but calls me to chat about her day or because she wants to hear from me about my day too.

In the movie Amélie, there is a scene where the man Amélie wants to be with is on the other side of the door waiting. But she is unsure she wants to open it. She is comfortable with her aloneness even though she also knows she wants more. That, however, involves the risk of rejection, of possible heart ache, of dealing with uncertainty of the future instead of living in the sameness of the daily routine. Life, however, equals risk. In the end, she opened the door and found happiness and romance. That is what I want to someday find - to find someone willing to open her heart and open the door to happiness.

For a first date, I'd recommend some place quiet for coffee or a beer or glass of wine. For a second date, I'd like to go to Fells Point in Baltimore to hang out for the evening, walk around the museums in DC for an afternoon or visit a couple of wineries in Loudoun County, Va.