Elizabeth Maddrey – Real Life Romance – Part 1 of 3

Shannon here, Contemporary romance author, Elizabeth Maddrey shares how she met her husband plus a chance to win her debut novel, Wisdom to Know. Comment on any post dated Jan 14 – 18 to get your name in the drawing for a copy. Deadline: Jan 26th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Elizabeth:

How We Met: 
My husband, Tim, and I don’t have one of those stories that involve longing looks across a crowded room. We’re both much too nerdy for that. So, picture with me, if you will, mid-August 1992. It’s warm, but not unbearably so. The grass is green. The early morning sun is shining. The air itself seems to be full of promise and possibility because today is the first day of our freshman year at Wheaton College.
As the institutional clocks all tick and chunk to mark the hour, we settle into our desks and look about furtively. It’s 8 a.m. There are just a handful of people in the classroom, and none look familiar. All but one are clearly returning students who know one another as they’re chatting comfortably and catching up. That one, like me, sits quietly at his desk looking slightly anxious. He’s wearing faded grey jeans and a teal striped shirt.
Hesitantly, we strike up a conversation, exchange names and the fact that yes, we’re both freshmen, then the professor walks in and we’re awash in details about the fascinating world of VAX Architecture (it’s computer architecture, not building architecture) that awaits us this term. 
I’ll admit it wasn’t love at first sight. But we were definitely friends from the get go. Turns out he was in my calculus class, as well. So we spent a good deal of time bumping into one another and working on homework. There wasn’t anything romantic between us for that whole first year, but by the middle of the fall term, I definitely considered him my best friend.
Tim says that he was interested in me that first year. But I’d gone off to college without breaking up with my high school boyfriend who was a year behind me. I knew there was no long-term future for us, but there was something about that security blanket that made leaving home for school 14 hours away a little easier.
Apparently I mentioned the boyfriend just enough that Tim decided to steer clear in that area, despite being told by his friend that “just because there’s a goalie, doesn’t mean you can’t score.” By the time I broke up with the boy back home, Tim had started dating someone else and I still considered him just a friend, in line with the brother I never had. Thankfully, all of that changed sophomore year.
About Elizabeth: Elizabeth Maddrey began writing stories as soon as she could form the letters properly and has never looked back. Though her practical nature and love of math and organization steered her into computer science for college and graduate school, she has always had one or more stories in progress to occupy her free time.
When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books and has mastered the art of reading while undertaking just about any other activity. Her debut novel, Wisdom to Know, Book 1 of the Grant Us Grace Series, was released in January, 2013. Courage to Change, the second in that series, continues the story of characters from the first book will be released in April 2013. She is also the co-author of A is for Airstrip: A Missionary’s Jungle Adventure, a children’s book based on the work of a Wycliffe missionary.
Elizabeth lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. with her husband and their two incredibly active little boys. She invites you to interact with her at her website www.ElizabethMaddrey.com or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ElizabethMaddrey
About the book – Wisdom to Know – Grant Us Grace – Book One: Is there sin that love can’t cover?
Lydia Brown has taken just about every wrong turn she could find. When an abortion leaves her overwhelmed by guilt, she turns to drugs to escape her pain. After a single car accident lands her in the hospital facing DUI charges, Lydia is forced to reevaluate her choices.
Kevin McGregor has been biding his time since high school when he heard God tell him that Lydia Brown was the woman he would marry. In the aftermath of Lydia’s accident, Kevin must come to grips with the truth about her secret life.
While Kevin works to convince himself and God that loving Lydia is a mistake, Lydia struggles to accept the feelings she has for Kevin, though she fears her sin may be too much for anyone to forgive.
Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Know-Elizabeth-Maddrey/dp/1938708008/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356036960&sr=8-2&keywords=wisdom+to+know
Come back Jan 16th for Elizabeth’s proposal story!