'Worst-Case Scenario' handbook writers to the rescue

Lessons in surviving dating, sex and love

Trying to escape a bad date? Going into a bathroom and jumping through the window is one solution, says "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex."

(CNN) -- During their childhoods, most people are instructed in the ways of "the birds and the bees." However, most people aren't taught other important lessons about life and love: How do you deal with a bad kisser? How do you have sex in a small space? And, perhaps most important, how do you determine if your date is an axe murderer?

Fortunately, Joshua Piven, David Borgenicht and Jennifer Worick have thought about these possibilities, and they've filled this gap in the world's knowledge with "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex" (Chronicle).

The work is the third book in the "Worst-Case Scenario" handbook series, following the best sellers "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook" and "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel."

Borgenicht said the idea for the original book came about because he was a fan of action movies and TV shows.

"I always wondered how you could survive some of that stuff in the real world," he said in a phone interview from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

	EXTRA INFORMATION
Gallery: Check out some worst-case scenarios

"Then I read an article about a guy who had to land a plane after the pilot passed out."

Borgenicht, a writer and editor, hooked up with his old friend Piven, a computer journalist, and the two set out to find the answers to those sorts of life-or-death questions.

After the first book became a hit, the two brainstormed on other ideas. Dating and sex seemed a logical field to write about.

"Everybody has a worst fear," Borgenicht said. "For some it's [things that happen while] traveling. For others it's love and romance. We saw the chance to get answers for all sorts of areas."

After all, he pointed out, "Love is a battlefield."

Helpful hints

So "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex" takes on questions from first date to marriage:

Dealing with a poor kisser is one of many problems tackled by "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook."

Borgenicht and his co-authors talked to experts in various fields to get their answers. A retired CIA officer contributed ways of escaping a bad date; a restaurant critic offered tips on how to get an emergency restaurant reservation. The Internet was an invaluable source, he said.

"If you look under 'bullfighter' in the Yellow Pages, it's hard to find," he said.

'We'll take the call'

Both Borgenicht, 33, and Piven, 31, are married; their co-author, Worick, is a single woman about 30 whom they recruited to provide some opposite-sex perspective.

"We knew her to be an avid dater," Borgenicht said.

While acknowledging the book is meant to entertain as much as inform, Borgenicht wishes he had a copy when he was in the dating trenches.

"I certainly could have avoided a few missteps when I was single," he said. "I would not have found myself stranded that time in Hoboken, for example."

The authors have used the success of the "Worst-Case Scenario" books to branch out. There's already a board game and a Web site; coming up is a video trivia game, stationery and a TV series.

"We had no idea [it would be so successful]," Borgenicht said. "The odds of the book selling 100,000 copies, much less 2 million, are immense. ... It's a lucky fluke."

There's no "Worst-Case Scenario Land" yet, Borgenicht said, "but we'll take the call."

"We're trying not to overdo it," he said, more seriously. "We see it's a brand that has life, so we want to keep it entertaining and informative."

As for dating and sex, Borgenicht said he believes the current "Survival Handbook" is an excellent primer that covers most any situation.

But after the book was released, the authors received a letter that mentioned one they missed: What do you do if you run into someone else you're dating while on a date with another person?

Borgenicht said they'll get that covered, too.

"Maybe we'll put that in the reprint edition," he said.