Cara Putman – Real Life Romance – Part 1 of 1

Shannon here: Romance author, Cara Putman shares her proposal story, plus a chance to win a copy of a 4 in 1 romantic mystery anthology, Cherry Blossom Capers. Every time you comment, your name goes in the drawing for a copy. Deadline: Jan 14th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Cara:

Have you ever had plans for a day? Plans that you knew were the best possible? That’s what I had for my 21^st birthday. At the time I lived in the Washington, D.C.-area, and I could imagine a day spent exploring the city. 
Then my boyfriend called and seemed very insistent that I make the trip to Hanover, Pennsylvania, where he lived. Now Hanover is a nice town – but it’s not D.C. Still I acquiesced. I was in love after all. When the weekend came, I did what often happened. I took the Metro to Union Station, then switched to the train. When it reached BWI Airport, I climbed off and waited…and waited…and waited. About the time I was ready to give up and catch the next train home, I received a page over the loudspeaker. (Remember, this was a few years before cell phones became so common-place). My beloved had gone to the wrong train station, but was on his way to find me. 
That ride from BWI to Hanover was a bit quieter than most. Not an auspicious beginning to my birthday weekend. 
The next morning we got up, grabbed an early lunch at Wendy’s and headed to a state park. I love hiking…there’s nothing like being in the midst of God’s creation, but this still wasn’t exactly where I’d imagined spending my birthday. Still, the day was gorgeous and I determined to enjoy it. 
After we’d hiked around for awhile, we climbed down away from the other hikers onto an overlook that allowed us to gaze out over Camp David…somewhere in front of us. Eric had his arms around me, and we both looked out, but I could tell his heart was racing. Faster than I would have thought necessary after the bit of hiking we’d done. Next thing I know, he’s pulled something out of his camera bag and slipping to one knee. 
“Having received the permission of your father, will you do me the honor of marrying me?” Those words slipped from his mouth, and my heart stopped. 
I’d longed to hear those words for years. Told my friends for a couple years that if he ever decided to marry me, I’d say yes. 
Now he’d asked, and I decided this was a great way to spend my 21^st birthday. 
This month we celebrate 16 years of marriage. 
About Cara: Cara C. Putman lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She’s an attorney and a ministry leader and teacher at her church. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Mason University School of Law, Cara loves bringing history and romance to life.
About the book: Attorney Ciara Turner is horrified when she stumbles over a judge’s dead body in Alexandria. Will she be able to retain her composure and control when she joins her nemesis Daniel Evans in investigating the murder? Constantly on the opposite side of domestic cases, they have to work together to find the murderer…just in case the police and marshals run out of luck. As they are thrust back together, Ciara is reminded of how Daniel swept her off her feet as a clerk. Now she has to choose whether to risk her heart to love.
Learn more: http://www.caraputman.com, http://blog.caraputman.com, and http://www.facebook.com/cara.putman.
Come back Jan 9th for sci-fi author, Walt Staples.