MX - Melbourne

Life in the singles lane is one big adventure for sex-deprived Suzanne Schlosberg, author of The Curse of the Singles Table.

By Laeta Antonysen

Q: Why the book?

A: I had much better (or worse) dating stories than anyone else. And my responses to my various outrageous predicaments were probably more extreme than most.

Q: Worst thing about being single, female and in your 30s?

A: Years of hearing my grandparents ask: "So when are you getting married?"

Q: How often were you on the singles table?

A: I probably went to 10 weddings where I was seated at the singles table. The worst one was when I was seated next to a cute, friendly boy — who was 11 years old.

Q: Worst dating experience?

A: A friend set me up with a blind date who was billed as a writer. The guy turned out to be a rider, not a writer — a motorcycle rider who had just filed for bankruptcy. Plus he was 27 years older than me.

Q: Why the sex ban?

A: It wasn’t a ban. I tried hard to break my streak and had every intention of doing so, all the way to 1000 days. In retrospect, I came to the conclusion that I had been holding out for the right guy — or at least if not Mr. Right, then Mr. Some Measure of Probability.

Q: How long did the streak — your sex drought — last?

A: 1358 days — that’s three years, eight months and 23 days.

Q: What did you do to take your mind off sex?

A: I travelled — Iceland, Kenya, China, Alaska, the Russian Far East, the desert, the mountains, the beach. I felt the more remote the destination and the wackier the trip, the better my chances of something great happening.

Q: Which dating technique was most effective?

A: Match.com. I think Internet dating is brilliant because you are in control of your destiny.

Q: Worst?

A: Speed dating.

Q: Funniest encounter?

A: My episode with BikeMan. We met on the Internet and had a torrid affair online for a month before we were able to meet. When he showed up at my door he was hardly the tall, strapping guy I had envisioned.

Q: Describe your ideal man.

A: A guy who can use the term 'I feel' in a context other than 'I feel like eating pizza'.

Q: Has your drought ended?

A: Yes. The guy — a handsome redheaded marathon runner — didn't run screaming when I told him about the streak. Even more amazingly, he ended up marrying me.

Q: Do women need a man to be happy?