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RBAS Goody Bag: Anita
Welcome everybody to
LAUNCH DAY(!) for RESCUED BY A STRANGER.
Release Day! It’s been coming for so long I can hardly
believe it’s actually here. I’m very proud of this book, and I hope you’ll all
get a chance to read it and let me know what you think. I especially love the
characters in this story, and to celebrate today I’ve invited the heroine of
RBAS, Jill Carpenter, to dish for you on some of her favorite people and moments in the book. I know you’re going to
enjoy meeting her just as much as I did when she was telling me her story so I
could write it!
Me: Hi Jill, welcome to GLIAS. Congratulations on the
release of your story!
Jill: Thank
you for inviting me! The story turned out really well, didn’t it? I’m not
usually a good cheerleader for myself, and I don’t love the limelight all that
much, but I’m really happy to share our story with the world.
Me: Everyone we’ve talked to says you’re one of the
nicest people they’ve ever met. What makes you so doggone nice?
Jill: That’s
very sweet of you to say. It’s true that I love people and I love doing things
for people. But Chase would tell you I need to stop being such a people pleaser
and spent more time pleasing myself. That’s hard for me. I don’t like
disappointing people. That’s what makes deciding what to do with my life so
difficult—I owe a lot of my successes in life to other people and their
support. But, I’m getting better. I’m a pretty exacting teacher!
Me: You met Chase under unusual circumstances. What
was your first impression of him?
Jill: We met
when I swerved off the road to avoid hitting a dog, and he jumped off his
Triumph (motorcycle) and found me and my truck sort of sideways in the ditch. My
very, very first impression was terror! LOL-he’d pressed his face to the car
window to see inside, and he scared the bejeebers out of me looking like a
smash-nosed demon of some kind. Of course, it didn’t take very long to find out
that he was anything but evil—he brought so much good into my life!
Me: Was it love at first sight for you and Chase?
Jill: I
suppose it kind of was. I know a
lot of couples struggle at first, but Chase and I each found something right
away in the other that filled a need. Not to say our relationship was easy. He
definitely had a lot of ghosts in his past—very painful ones. It was not easy to get him to trust that I
would love him no matter what. And it was hard for me to think I should stay
with him when I was considering leaving vet school and the state. Those
days were wonderful but very stressful.
Me: If you’ll forgive the pun, you’re truly a “Jill-of-all-trades.”
How did you get so many interests and talents?
Jill: My
father was a dreamer and a do-er. He’d try anything once, and he left my
mother, my sister and I because he just didn’t have it in him to be a plain old
teacher, or a plain-old, husband or father. I think I got a little of his inquisitive,
adventurous nature. Fortunately, I didn’t get his wanderlust, so I started all
my adventures at home. I fell in love with horses as a very young child and Dad
encouraged me, so my riding career was born early. I constantly brought home
stray animals, so the part time job at the vet’s clinic was kind of a natural,
and vet school grew naturally from that.
And, when I started showing horses at higher competition levels, I grew into
the role of riding instructor. My huge problem is that I love all my “jobs” and
that makes it really hard to pick one!
Me: I talked to a lot of your riding students—especially
the Barnes girls, Becky and Jamie. (They’re going to be part of a group
interview on the site “Just Contemporary Romance” on October 9-10.) Are you
still working with them?
Jill: I sure
am! They came to lessons via a recommendation from Becky’s middle school
principal. Now they come once a week like clockwork. I tell you though, Becky
is a little firecracker. One minute I want to hug her like a teddy bear, the
next I want to set her in the corner for a time out. That thirteen-year-old has
attitude that doesn’t end. Jamie, on the other hand, is a lot like I am – a people
pleaser. She’s got a spinal injury that keeps her in a wheelchair, but I’ve
never met a kid—anybody really—with such a positive outlook on life.
Me: Speaking of positives, how is your old friend
Robert McCormick doing?
Jill: Oh,
our dear Robert—without him Chase and I never would have had a chance together. Robert took to Chase immediately and never doubted
him, even at the darkest moments. He is a big old curmudgeon who loves to
grouse, but his heart is made of marshmallows. You can tell by how he treats
kids (like a patient grandfather) and his enormous draft horses. Those horses
are stunning, by the way.
Me: Gypsy and Belle, we’re talking about?
Jill: Yes,
Gypsy the Clydesdale—and her foal T.N. Tatters, and Belle the Belgian.
Me: What’s the most romantic thing Chase has ever done
for you?
Jill: There are so many things! I think what he’s
best at is support. He never lets me down and never . . . oh, wow, look. Like
this! Here he is—just because nhe knows I’m a
Chase: Hi,
honey, how’s the interview goin’?
Jill: Fun!
Want a turn in the hot seat?
Chase: No,
really not. This is your show. I’m just here to smile and eavesdrop.
Me: Can I
talk you into just one question?
Chase
(laughing): Sure.
Me: I have one that will fit your Southern sense of
humor.
Chase: I don’t think I
like the sound of that.
Me: If they made a cartoon version of your story—starring
cartoon characters we know and love—who would they cast in some of the parts?
Chase: What
on Earth?
Me: C’mon, give it a whirl.
Chase: Well
that’s as dumb as a bucket with a hole in it, but fine. Let’s see. I’d be Elmer
Fudd and Jill would be The Wabbit.
Jill (smacks
his arm): Be serious.
Chase: Serious? Excuse me, did you
hear the question? Okay, fine. Jill
would be Snow White for sure. She’s amazing the way she can make something
sweet out of any situation--even mine.
And I’ve seen her turn a
group riding lesson full of squirrelly
little girls into an organized thing of beauty.
As for me, I think I’m a little like Pinocchio. I’m sometimes a little naïve
about what I think I can accomplish—I bite off more than I can handle. Then I do
a little fudging and my nose grows. But in the end, with help I come back to
being a real boy.
Jill: Oh,
you’re a real boy, buster. I can vouch for that in, um, several ways.
(Chase just smirks.)
Me: Before
you two get out of hand, it’s time to wrap things up. Anything you want people
to know about your story?
Jill: Just that if you want a super sexy, amazing
hero, who knows exactly how to RESCUE a girl without taking away her strength,
then pick this book up.
Chase: I
have to kind of disagree. This is really about a girl who knows more than I
ever will about people. She’s a heroine who definitely knows how to RESCUE a
man from himself!
Thanks
you two for taking time to answer these questions—silly or not. I think you’re
both right. You two came to me so long ago with a fabulous story to tell—I’m
glad I got the chance to put it all down for you!
A Short Excerpt--
Since Jill didn't tell us much about what she's decided to
do with her life, it must be because she hasn't quite decided yet – as these
few paragraphs show:
A
thrill stabbed Chase low in his belly when Jill floated by her legs long
against Dragon’s sides, her hands delicate on the reins, her hips rocking in
sync to the horse beneath her.
He
couldn’t stop the continuing memories of her meshed just as perfectly with him
last night. It made her riding sensual and personal and riveting.
“She’s
a pretty rider,” Robert said.
“She’s
a true horse whisperer, on and off the horse,” David agreed.
“She
can teach others how to do it too,” Robert mused. “Is she really going to the
Olympics? She don’t say much about it.”
“She
certainly has the ability, but the reality of how much time it takes is hitting
home. I never had the drive, to Da’s disappointment. I think Jill is making up
for me a little—never seen my father this invested in a rider.”
Lead
formed in Chase’s heart at the assessment. How could he stand in the way of a
dream like this? He wanted to think Jill had looked this happy after their
lovemaking, but maybe that was wishful thinking.
Where
did he belong?
“I
know you’ve had the Barnes sisters out at your place.” David turned to Robert.
“It’s marvelous you’re helping them. And, may I add, that you’re helping the
whole town.”
“Bull
wash. What I do is pure selfishness.”
“That
could well be. But people are behind you.”
Robert
harrumphed again. “The most important thing right now is that the little girls
get to ride, and Jill gets to teach. Only time Jill’s any purtier than she is
here is when she’s trying to knock some sense into those two kids.”
The
words nearly knocked Chase off his seat. He stared at Robert, who was clueless
about the import of his words. Jill did
look this happy, this gorgeous, when she was working with the girls. Even when
she was furious with Becky her passion was stunning.
A
thrill stabbed Chase low in his belly when Jill floated by her legs long
against Dragon’s sides, her hands delicate on the reins, her hips rocking in
sync to the horse beneath her.
He
couldn’t stop the continuing memories of her meshed just as perfectly with him
last night. It made her riding sensual and personal and riveting.
“She’s
a pretty rider,” Robert said.
“She’s
a true horse whisperer, on and off the horse,” David agreed.
“She
can teach others how to do it too,” Robert mused. “Is she really going to the
Olympics? She don’t say much about it.”
“She
certainly has the ability, but the reality of how much time it takes is hitting
home. I never had the drive, to Da’s disappointment. I think Jill is making up
for me a little—never seen my father this invested in a rider.”
Lead
formed in Chase’s heart at the assessment. How could he stand in the way of a
dream like this? He wanted to think Jill had looked this happy after their
lovemaking, but maybe that was wishful thinking.
Where
did he belong?
“I
know you’ve had the Barnes sisters out at your place.” David turned to Robert.
“It’s marvelous you’re helping them. And, may I add, that you’re helping the
whole town.”
“Bull
wash. What I do is pure selfishness.”
“That
could well be. But people are behind you.”
Robert
harrumphed again. “The most important thing right now is that the little girls
get to ride, and Jill gets to teach. Only time Jill’s any purtier than she is
here is when she’s trying to knock some sense into those two kids.”
The
words nearly knocked Chase off his seat. He stared at Robert, who was clueless
about the import of his words. Jill did
look this happy, this gorgeous, when she was working with the girls. Even when
she was furious with Becky her passion was stunning.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR CELEBRATING WITH ME THE PAST FOUR DAYS HERE ON GET LOST IN A STORY. THANKS TO MY FABULOUS BLOG PARTNERS FOR LETTING ME HOST SUCH A LONG PARTY.
REMEMBER, I WILL BE DRAWING TWO MORE NAMES FROM COMMENTERS YESTERDAY AND TODAY FOR A FREE E-BOOK COPY OF "RESCUED BY A STRANGER" , AND THERE'LL BE A GRAND PRIZE DRAWING TONIGHT AFTER MIDNIGHT FOR A SPECIAL RBAS GOODY BASKET!
