Elizabeth Maddrey – Romantic Character Interview – Part 3 of 3

Shannon here: Contemporary romance author, Elizabeth Maddrey shares insight into her character’s romance from her latest release, Courage to Change. Comment from April 1 – 5 to get your name in the drawing for a copy. Deadline: April 13th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Elizabeth:


 
 
Note from Elizabeth: I’ve asked Allison and Phil, the heroine and hero of Courage to Change to come do this interview for me. They don’t know they’re the heroine and hero yet though, so bear with them.
“Hi there, my name is Allison Vasak and Elizabeth asked me to stop by and answer a few questions for you. So, here I am. What’s first?” 

• Are you open to your own romance?

“Wow. Starting with something tricky right off the bat! I want to say yes – I think I am. But if I really sit down and think about it, I probably have a good bit of self-sabotage going on. I’d really like some kind of sign – preferably big and with flashing lights or arrows – that the guy is the right one. And without that? It’s tough to know if I should bother with dating someone. Which means I work late a lot on Fridays.”

• What’s the number on quality you’d require in a mate?

“They have to love Jesus. And not just in an “I go to church every week” way – I really want my husband to love Jesus and work at that relationship. I take my walk with Christ seriously – maybe not always as seriously as I should (really, who does?) but it’s always something I’m working on. And he needs to be right there with me.”

• Where is the best place you can think of to find a mate?

“You’d think with my answer to number two there that I’d say church. Bzzzt! Now that I’ve been out of college for a while, I realize why my mom was so concerned when I didn’t graduate with my degree *and* an “Mrs.” (Don’t tell her I said so though, okay? If she asks, I’m going to say you’re lying.) College was probably the best place, hands down. I just happen to have squandered that opportunity. So I guess if I have to choose something relevant to me now…maybe an non-church Bible study. Somewhere people aren’t going with the secondary (or primary) purpose of finding a mate.”
“This was fun – thanks! Wait…Phil? What are you doing here?”
“Oh, hey Allison. I didn’t know Elizabeth asked anyone else to do this. Were you finished?”
“Yeah…can I stick around and hear your answers?”
“Um. No.”
“Spoil sport.”
“Okay. Now that she’s gone. I’m Phil Reid and I thought I was pretty special getting asked to do this. I see that I was mistaken. Whatever. Let’s do this.”

• Are you open to your own romance?

“You’re joking, right? No. I have no interest in romance. Look, I don’t know what Elizabeth told you, but she clearly left out the sordid details of my life. I was married. Then I came to Christ and cleaned up my act – and I don’t regret that for an instant, don’t get me wrong – but Brandi, she’s my ex, couldn’t deal with it. I figure that, as they say, is that.”

• What’s the number one quality you’d require in a mate?

“What kind of interview is this again? If we’re being purely hypothetical, since I’m never going to remarry, I’d definitely say she needs to love Jesus more than anything – even more than me. I never want to be in a position where I have to choose between my spouse and my Savior again.”

• Where is the best place you can think of to find a mate?

“I have no clue. I’m not looking for one. But I can tell you the worst place to find a mate. Will that do? Yeah? Ok – the worst place to find a mate is a bar. That’s where I found Brandi and, at that point in both our lives, the bar was kind of the center of everything. But drinking and partying are not a great way to build long term relationships. Please take my word for it…that’s a hard lesson that no one should have to go through if they don’t have to.
“So this was interesting. Thanks for having me – though I’m still not sure why I was here. Hey, I should run, I think I hear the phone ringing.”
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 on April 8, 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 – Courage to Change – Book 2 in the Grant Us Grace series:
Should you be willing to change for love?
When Phil Reid became a Christian and stopped drinking, his hard-partying wife Brandi divorced him. Reeling and betrayed, he becomes convinced Christians should never remarry, and resolves to guard his heart.
Allison Vasak has everything in her life under control, except for one thing. Her heart is irresistibly drawn to fellow attorney and coworker, Phil. Though she knows his history and believes that women should not initiate relationships, she longs to make her feelings known.
As Phil and Allison work closely together to help a pregnant teen, Allison melts his defenses. But when Brandi discovers Phil’s new relationship, she decides that though she doesn’t want him, no one else can have him either. Can Phil and Allison’s love weather the chaos Brandi brings into their lives?
Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Courage-Change-Elizabeth-Maddrey/dp/193870813X/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1
Come back April 8th for Darlene Franklin!