LUCIA

L.A. DATING AND RELATIONSHIP EXPERT OFFERS ADVICE ON KEEPING THE ROMANCE ALIVE ON VALENTINE'S DAY: FASHION PERSONALIZED. HOMEMADE CARDS AND INCLUDE 12 “LOVE COUPONS,” WITH ONE REDEEMABLE EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR

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Longtime Advice Columnist, Former “Miss Urban Cougar” And Host Of The Popular TV Show ‘The Art of Love' Currently Teaches “How to Date Younger Men/How to Date Older Women” at the Learning Annex

Fresh off the resounding success of her first “How to Date Younger Men/How to Date Older Women!” class at The Learning Annex, L.A. based dating and relationship expert Lucia (pronounced Lu-CHEE-ah) is set to appear on the home page of the renowned school's new, how-to video website ( www.OneMinuteU.com) offering much needed tips just in time for Valentine's Day.

The longtime dating advice columnist and host of the popular local TV show The Art of Love—which ran from 2003-2006—urges married couples and singles involved in new or long term relationships to get creative this year with their Valentines. Keeping love and romance fresh is not a matter of spending a lot of money, but taking time away from our busy schedules to fashion exciting, personalized cards.

“Instead of just buying a card from the store, you can use either a greeting card program or Photoshop. Use pictures that represent your relationship over the past year,” says Lucia, whose Learning Annex class was mentioned on Forbes.com. “If you've gone to Hawaii , use a photo from that trip. If you went to a great concert, find a picture online of that artist. The card doesn't have to be a work of art, just a memento your partner can cherish forever that lets them know you cared enough to take the time to put it together.”

Lucia also thinks it's a great idea to include 12 “love coupons,” with the card, redeemable for such special relationship-enhancing events as a romantic evening in front of the fireplace, a candlelit dinner, or perhaps, as the year goes along, something more risqué. The “one for each month” notion conveys a sense of optimism; not only will the relationship last through the next year, it will thrive.

As for how to make this Valentine's Day a unique celebration, Lucia adds, “Do something you wouldn't normally do, something you've talked about or haven't had time for in a long time. If you live in a nice climate, go to the beach that night. If not, go to a play or a musical you've been meaning to see. Everyone goes to dinner, but how many people have a picnic right on the living room floor? Relationships usually become stagnant because people start taking each other for granted and the dynamic romantic thought that went into the first dates goes away. Romance and love require creative effort and Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion to start thinking pro-actively about those things.”

Lucia sees herself as a true 21 st Century dating expert, in the sense that she deals hands on with the dating scene as it is today, rather than simply give the usual, old-fashioned time worn advice that people have been hearing for years. She is fully bi-partisan in this respect, siding neither with men nor women and fully committed to what works best for society as a whole.

While Lucia continues to write the provocative, syndicated column, “The Art of Love”, launched in 2003—which she also distributes as a weekly, email newsletter to her many loyal subscribers--she has an exciting new flurry of activities on tap for 2008. She is starting her own radio show in February and will soon be pitching her reality show to several networks.

Lucia first heard the term “Cougar” when she was a guest on an episode “The Tyra Banks Show” which dealt with older women dating younger men. In December, 2005, she was voted Miss Urban Cougar by Urbancougar.com, a website that celebrates this unique liberated female lifestyle. “For the women, the advantages are men with much less baggage, who don't have kids, are in shape and connect well with the women's childlike, young-spirited personalities,” she says. “These are independent women who want to have a good time and make their own money so they don't need a man to support them. That's unique to the more recent generations. The guys we date are more mature than their chronological age, and they are tired of being around girls their age who play games or phone and text constantly.”

Lucia's website ( www.theartoflove.net ) makes the bold declaration that “No one can accuse Lucia of being a wallflower.” The author of “Lucia's Lessons of Love,” this Italian born, Canadian raised Renaissance woman has been featured on E! Entertainment, The KTLA Morning Show, Playboy Radio and Rolonda Radio. She has also been interviewed for documentaries which aired on the British TV network iTV and Current TV. Before her 20-year ride through the modern world of dating and relationships—which, she proudly admits, includes romancing in Thunder Bay, Saskatoon, Toronto, Milan, London, Miami and L.A.-- led her to put her insights into the service of helping others.

As a teenager, she had a stint as a truck-driving soldier. Speaking four languages helped her enjoy a successful European modeling career for a time. Her duet with a popular Italian artist afforded her the opportunity to parlay her singer-songwriter talents into a song and a video that aired in both L.A. and on Canada 's Much Music . She later created and managed the girl group, “Goddess” and, learning to express her artistic vision through photography, began shooting top artists like Britney Spears and The Rolling Stones; she won a Los Angeles Music Award for “Outstanding Photographer.”

These days, Lucia is a dating expert unlike any other. She coined the phrase P.T.D.D. (Post traumatic dating disorder) along with her “ Minefield Theory ” (Dating is like walking across a minefield) and “ Yellow Flag/Orange Flag Theory ” (Your personal dating alert). She makes no apologies for her belief that people who crave happy, healthy relationships need to learn to take care of their selves first and rely on logic rather than emotion in order to be successful with the opposite sex. Her practical know-how makes her the perfect candidate to dispense relationship advice—after all, in almost every dating dilemma she has “been there, done that” and lived to tell about it.

She once caused an ex to sob hysterically when she told him she was seeing someone new. She's inspired a man to climb a tree outside her apartment to try to find out why she stopped returning his calls. And she's reduced a self-described “player” to a frustrated mess, forcing him to seek advice from his famous rap star friend on how to win her over. Most recently, a man flew across the country just to see her for 5½ hours and another man said “I love you” only one hour after meeting her.

Lucia offers people the ultimate package as a relationship advice expert—she is old enough to have “in the field” experiences to draw from, but remains young enough to relate to the dilemmas today's singles face when navigating through the increasingly complicated world of modern romance. She often likes to quote that, “Experience is the best teacher, but the tuition is very costly.” Tempered by her light-hearted ability to laugh at the absurdities of life and an upbeat nature, Lucia believes love should “Empower, inspire, uplift and enlighten.”

“The most important thing I convey is that everyone should think for themselves and not get into a groupthink mentality where you have to get married and have kids just because society expects it,” Lucia adds. “People need an opinion from someone who's objective. When you're emotionally involved, you can't always see what's in front of you. You need someone who can think rationally and tell you the truth, even if it's painful or difficult to hear at the time.”