Thank
you so much for hosting the Rainy Day Writers on your blog! We have a
special treat for you today. We brought along all the heroes and
heroines from our Romance
in the Rain
novellas to answer a couple questions. Ready, set. Go!
Featuring
James and Mattie from “Splendor in the Moss” by Charlotte Russell
Interviewer:
Mr. Caldwell, what is your favorite pastime?
James
[grinning
hugely]: Why, making—
Mattie:
Ladies first! Ahem. I have a particular fondness for climbing trees.
Interviewer:
How…interesting. Do you do this on your own?
Mattie:
No, tree climbing is much more… thrilling when James comes along.
Interviewer:
And you, Mr. Caldwell? Is tree climbing your favorite pastime?
James:
It certainly is entertaining, especially when coyotes are involved.
But truthfully, my favorite pastime is making Mattie smile. Who needs
sunshine when she smiles just like she is right now?
Interviewer:
That’s lovely. May I ask what you look for in a life partner?
Mattie
[confused]: Do you mean a spouse?
Interviewer:
Yes.
James:
Life partner. What an interesting way to phrase it. You’re not
from around here, are you?
Interviewer:
Not
really.
James:
Hmm.
Very well, I will go first on this one. I need someone to believe in
me. Someone who has faith in me and will encourage me in everything I
do, even encourage me to
do
something I never thought of. I need someone who will stand by me,
forever and for always.
Mattie
[cheeks
flushing]: I will. Forever and for always. And I want someone who
knows just the right thing to say to make me smile, laugh, feel at
ease, feel comforted—and who knows just when I need each of those
things. And, a “life partner” who knows that when I need to cry,
I just need a shoulder to do it on.
James
[reaching out to pull her close]: I’m right here, every minute of
every day.
Mattie:
Thank God.
**************************************************************
1993
Phil Donohue Interview with Joe and Charlie Caldwell
Phil
[smiling, addresses camera]: Good afternoon, everyone. On today's
show, we're chatting with some folks who seem to have found the
secret for a long and happy marriage. Help me welcome Joe and Charlie
Caldwell.
Phil
[turns to Joe]: You and your lovely bride met during the war in 1942
and married less than a year later. Over the last fifty years, you've
raised a family and are now a retired Seattle Homicide detective.
When you first saw Charlie, did you know she was the one?"
[Joe
and Charlie glance at each other, blush, and grin]
Joe:
Well, Phil, I never believed in love at first sight, but I have to
admit, there was something about Charlie, something I've never been
able to define. I just got this feeling about her. Every time I spoke
to her or was near her, that feeling just got stronger and stronger.
If that's love at first sight, then I'd have to say, yeah, I believe.
Phil
[addressing Charlie]: What about you, Charlie?
Charlie:
I don't believe in love at first sight. Attraction, certainly.
Desire, surely. But love, as I define it, is a combination of
attraction, desire, and an emotional connection that must also exist
for love to flourish.
Joe
[smiling, nudging Charlie with his elbow]: She's the pragmatic one.
Phil:
So Joe, you must be the romantic of the couple.
Charlie
[patting Joe's knee]: Is he ever.
Phil:
Before you met and married, what were your goals for a spouse, what
were you looking for in a life-partner?
Charlie:
When I met Joe, I was still grieving for my husband. He, Johnny
Thompson, was my childhood sweetheart. We'd only been married a few
months when he was killed.
Phil:
I'm so sorry.
Charlie:
Thank you. He was on the Arizona and died when Pearl Harbor was
bombed in 1941. To that point, I'd never considered what I wanted in
a husband – it had only been and was only going to ever be Johnny.
But when I met Joe, I had to ask myself what I wanted and would Joe
be the one to give it to me.
Phil
[big grin]: I guess we know what you answered yourself.
Charlie
[sends a loving look to Joe]: Joe saved my life. He was my hero.
Still is. I love him, I respect him, we communicate and don't hold
grudges. And most importantly, we're friends. Best friends. That's
what makes it all work.
Phil
[turning to Joe]: What about you?
Joe
[looks over at Charlie, then at Phil]: There's no big secret to a
long happy marriage, Phil. I can tell you what it is in four little
words.
Phil
[smiling]: And they are?
Joe:
All you have to do is Marry
The Right Person.
I did, and fifty years later I can say that's the long and the short
of it.
Phil:
Good for you both. Thank you for your warmth and wisdom, and here's
to many more happy years to come.
Joe
and Charlie
[together]: Thank you, Phil.
**************************************************************
Featuring
Kara and Ellis from “Love Phantom” by Dawn Kravagna
Interviewer:
What is your favorite passtime?
Ellis:
Tweaking Kara. She takes everything I say too seriously. She forgets
what a ham I am.
Kara:
Because you're always putting on an act. I never know when you are
being sincere and
when you really mean
what you say.
Ellis:
When I'm putting on an act, I'm smiling. When I'm not putting on an
act...
Kara:
You're still smiling. You're a happy guy.
Ellis:
Being with you makes me happy.
Kara:
You were perfectly happy before you met me.
Ellis:
Definitely not. Happy, yes. Perfectly, no; Not till I met you. Ah,
you're blushing again.
Kara:
I wish I could control that!
Interviewer:
We're getting a little off track here. Kara?
Kara:
Writing, of course. I'm a Drama major at the University of
Washington. I'd like to be the
female
successor to Neil Simon one day. I have a particular love for the
comedies of the French playwright, Moliere. His plays were
character-based: the plots emerged naturally from the mix of
personalities. I also enjoy drawing caricatures: pictures which
emphasize the unique features of each person.
Ellis:
That's why you love me: I'm a wild and crazy guy.
Kara:
I fell in love with you because you're a nice guy. I found out later
that you were also funny. I try to balance out sitting at my electric
typewriter and in class by exercising: Swimming twice a week at the
Hec Ed Pool at the UW and running at least three times a week for a
few miles.
Ellis:
I love to swim and bike, but I don't need the exercise like Kara
does.
Kara:
Because you're always running circles around me.
Ellis:
How'd you know I was going to say that?
Interviewer:
Do you believe in love at first sight?
Ellis:
Not till I met Kara. When I saw her gorgeous ruby red hair and hazel
green eyes, her shy smile, and her slim figure, I fell head over
heels. I just didn't let her know--didn't want her to think I was
easy.
Kara:
You were so aggressive that it made me nervous; I was
practically running away from you.
Ellis:
It was more of a stroll.
Interviewer:
Kara, you don't seem quite as eager to answer my questions as
Ellis has been.
Kara:
Some classmates have been critical of my writing, accusing me of
being superficial. I didn't understand what they meant at first,
but I finally got it. I guess I'm a little too protective.
I don't like to bare my soul to strangers. But I don't want to be a
hack writer: I've got to learn to be a little more vulnerable so that
my characters feel genuine to the audience.
Ellis:
I'm more of a social butterfly than Kara is. Opposites attract.
Kara:
To be honest, I don't believe in love at first sight. I believe in
lust at first sight, but you can't build a long term relationship
with a guy based just on physical attributes. The flower
fades, the grass withers...
Ellis: Sure,
you have to have more in a loving relationship besides physical
attraction--but there's nothing wrong with a partner who has a
great personality AND physical attributes. And I'm fortunate to
have found both in Kara.
Kara
[smiling]: I got lucky too.
**************************************************************
Featuring
Sam and Ivy from “What’s Wrong With Mr. Perfect?” by Sherri
Shaw
Interviewer:
Ivy, who was your biggest influence (positive or negative) growing
up, and why?
Ivy:
My biggest influence growing up has to be my Grandfather, Vincenzo.
After escaping war-torn Italy, he and my grandmother started
Vincenzo’s Restaurant in the heart of Pike’s Street Market. It is
a family business, so I spent most of my childhood in the kitchen at
the restaurant where my grandfather taught me everything he knew
about cooking. He passed his passion for food and people onto me.
Some of my fondest memories were of him behind the line, laughing and
joking with the staff as he plated one fragrant dish after another.
At eighty-eight, he is retired now, but he still cooks Sunday for
dinner for the family.
Interviewer:
Sam, who was
your biggest influence (positive or negative) growing up, and why?
Sam:
My step-father, David Rockney. My biological father was mentally
ill, and his subsequent addiction to drugs made him an absent parent.
He died when I was twelve, and David adopted me. My mother had
married David when I was six, and we made an instant connection. A
kind and decent man, he coached football at the local high school.
Throughout the years, he taught me to be as passionate about
education as football and with his guidance, I won a scholarship to
the University of Washington. To this day, I consider David my real
father. He is still coaching football, and recently took his team to
state.
Interviewer:
Ivy, tell me one thing about your friends (or people) don’t know
about your life-partner.
Ivy:
He will probably shoot me for telling you this, but my macho,
football player fiancé, is a sucker for a sappy movie. The other
night we watched Simon Birch, and he--
Sam:
That’s enough out of you, Ivy. It’s my turn. Okay, one
thing our friends (or people) don’t know about Ivy…
Ivy:
Be nice.
Sam:
Ivy smiles in her sleep. The first time I noticed her doing it, I
thought it was a fluke. Now when I wake up before her, I wait for
it. When I see her face light up, I know she’s happy.
Ivy:
Aw, that’s so sweet.
**************************************************************
Featuring
Maya and JD from “Shelter From the Storm” by Clare Tisdale
Interviewer:
Who were your biggest influences, positive or negative, growing up?
Maya:
My father was, and is, one of the most creative people I’ve ever
met. He set up a miniature easel for me to use in his studio. I
always felt so grown up doing my finger paintings alongside him while
he worked on a painting. He also taught me how to dig for clams, how
to sail, and how to fish.
JD:
Is that awesome or what? I mean, how many women do you know who take
their own sailboat out on fishing trips?
Interviewer:
How about you, JD?
JD:
Probably
my brother Michael. He’s the oldest, so I always looked up to him.
He was good in school, motivated, while I was a daydreamer and
average student. Michael was always one step ahead of me, and I spent
a lot of my childhood trying to catch up. It took me a long time to
realize that I didn’t have to compare myself to him.
Interviewer:
What would you say is the secret to a happy relationship?
JD:
I don’t know if there’s one big secret.
Maya:
Don’t take your problems and frustrations out on your partner. You
are your own person, and you need to deal with your own sh-t.
JD:
Give one another space, but make sure to schedule quality time
together as well.
Maya:
JD and I love being together, but we also like a lot of time alone.
JD:
You mean, you
need a lot of time alone. Maya’s kind of introverted.
Maya:
It’s true. JD’s the life of the party. I’m the wallflower.
JD:
The wallflower surrounded by buzzing guys.
Maya:
[swats JD playfully] Shush! Here’s another one: Wait until you’ve
both cooled off to try and resolve an argument.
JD:
Absolutely. There’s no point trying to have a rational discussion
when one of you wants to smack the other on the head with a sharp
rock.
Maya:
And
do your share around the house, chores, whatever. It’ll prevent a
lot of resentment from building up.
JD:
I’d say that’s doubly important when you have kids.
Maya:
Triply important when they’re still in diapers!
JD:
For the record, I’m a master diaper-changer.
Maya:
[kisses
JD’s cheek] And I love you for it.
**************************************************************
Interviewer:
Jamie, who was your biggest influence, positive or negative, growing
up?
Jamie:
I
guess you’d expect me to say my father. He’s a great guy, but my
biggest influence was my mother. How she managed to raise five
children, four of them rambunctious boys, on a shoe-string budget,
I’ll never know. But she did. She’s the bravest, strongest, most
well-balanced person I know.
Erica:
Not Superman? He thought he was fireproof too.
Jamie:
Haha. Seriously, who was your biggest influence?
Erica:
I’d also have to say it was my mother, but not in a good way.
[reaches out and takes Jamie’s hand] Because of her, I almost lost
you.
Jamie:
[leans over and kisses her gently] I’m not going anywhere, Rickie.
Interviewer:
[clears her throat] Okay. Next question. Tell me one thing your
friends don’t know about your life-partner.
Erica:
[laughs] Jamie has a serious hero addiction. He owns every superhero
comic book Marvel ever made.
Jamie:
Not true. [mutters under his breath]
Interviewer:
What was that, Jamie?
Jamie:
[sighs] I said, I only have all the Superman ones.
Erica:
[laughs] Close enough.
Jamie:
Now I get to tell one of your secrets, Miss Smarty-pants. [turns to
interviewer] Rickie alphabetizes the spice rack! *And* everything in
the pantry.
Erica:
I do not!
Jamie:
You're going to argue this one? Do you want me to tell them about...?
Erica:
[blushes] You wouldn't! [He holds her stare.] Okay, you would. So
yes, okay, I alphabetize the pantry. Satisfied?
Jamie:
Never. Not when it comes to you.
Erica:
[blushes again] I think this interview is over!
All giveaway ends November 22, 2012 at midnight. Make sure to only enter the giveaway you are eligible for.
Giveaway for US residents only.
Giveaway for US residents only.
Grand Prize:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
- 1 autographed copy of Deadly
Obsession + SWAG
- 1 autographed copy of
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- The Secret Diaries of
Miss Miranda Cheever, by Julia Quinn (autographed copy)
- Blood Trinity, by
Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
- 1 e-book copy of
“Falling Angel” by Clare Tisdale
- 1 handmade shell
necklace by Clare Tisdale
- A handmade afghan
crocheted by Marianne Stillings
- 1 autographed copy of
AROUSING SUSPICIONS
- 1 autographed copy of
SATISFACTION
- 1 autographed copy of
KILLER CHARMS
- 1 bag of truffles from
Seattle Chocolates
- 3 chocolate bars from
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- $15 Starbucks gift
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Giveaway for both US and International residents.
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