Shannon here: Elle E. Kay shares insight into her real-life romance, plus a chance to win a paperback or ebook copy (winner’s choice) of her Romantic Suspense, Project Sentinel. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter. Deadline: Aug 9th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Elle:
Our silver anniversary—twenty-five years. We celebrated this milestone in February with dinner at Ricketts Glen Hotel. My heart overflows with gratitude to God for the blessing of a wonderful marriage.
Our love story started when I was twenty-six and Joe was thirty-seven. We embodied the age-gap trope. We met at a country western dance club where he two-stepped and sweetheart-schottisched his way into my heart. A gruff carpenter with a burly demeanor (I’d claim the grumpy/sunshine trope, too, but I didn’t qualify as sunshine), he is not the type of guy you might picture sweeping me off my feet on the dance floor, but he knew how to make me swoon.
But Joe was so much more than a competent dance partner, we soon grew close, and he became my best friend in no time flat. He was kind to my young son and my baby sister. He even renovated my mother’s bathroom, without being asked, before I agreed to date him. I knew once I said ‘yes’ to being more than friends, I was going to marry him. The thought scared me. I’d been so hurt in the past, so I wasn’t ready to trust another man.
However, Joe was persistent. He’d stop by most days and bring me a coffee and a muffin from Dunkin Donuts every time. When he told me he loved me, I panicked at first, but it didn’t take long for me to fall, too. He proposed down at the old railroad tracks where I first admitted I loved him. Within months we married.
And when he chose me, he also became the dad he didn’t have to be. Ice-hockey, baseball, lacrosse, and
football games, not to mention practices, Joe was there with very few exceptions. Cheering Ian on. Then there was drum practice every week. I never attended a single drum class, as Joe took him to every single one.
Many of the fictional heroes I write have similar traits to my husband. For example, my husband always opens my car doors. He believes it’s a sign of a gentleman, and I appreciate the gesture even if it slows me down a little. You’ll find that the protagonists in my stories do the same. But they don’t just have his gestures, they have his heart, too.
The setting for our real-world romance was the Philadelphia suburbs, but we now live in rural North Central Pennsylvania near Ricketts Glen State Park, the home of 21 named waterfalls. I set my Pennsylvania Parks series near here, but my latest release, Project Sentinel, is a romantic suspense/thriller set in Maine and the D.C. area. I love books where the setting is so integral to the plot that the book couldn’t be set anywhere else.
Question for Readers: What is your favorite setting for a book and why do you love it?
About Elle: Elle E. Kay is an Angel Award–winning Christian author known for her gripping suspense and engaging romance. She lives on a hobby farm in Central Pennsylvania near Red Rock Mountain with her husband, three dogs, and a variety of farm animals. A devoted follower of Christ, Elle is active in her church’s youth ministry and shares her love of Jesus through music. Learn more & connect:
Elle’s Website Elle’s YouTube Elle’s Facebook Elle’s Instagram
About the book – Project Sentinel:
Faith Flanagan’s memory is gone, but the truth about her past could kill her. Two years after a devastating accident, she’s haunted by dreams and the growing suspicion that nothing is as it seems.
When Elijah Knight—a dangerously attractive operative from the life she can’t remember—crashes back into her world, he brings a chilling revelation: her husband was murdered. Faith holds explosive files that could expose a conspiracy involving Project Sentinel, an advanced AI surveillance system that can predict their every move.
Now they’re running from relentless enemies who will kill to keep their secrets buried. As fragments of her past resurface, so does an undeniable passion for the man sworn to protect her. But in this deadly game where betrayal lurks everywhere, can Faith unlock the secrets in her mind before they destroy her? And can a love she doesn’t remember outsmart the machine hunting them?
Can’t wait for the drawing? Worried you won’t win? Interested in Elle’s other titles?
Get your copy/copies now!
Come back August 31st for Amy R. Anguish!
I love small town/mountains because I am a small town girl!
I love stories set in small towns and mountains, too. I also enjoy beach stories.
I like small towns because of the sense of community.
That’s so true. I love that about small town stories (and our small town).
I like small towns because there’s just something special about them. I moved from a big city to a small town, and I love the fact that I can sometimes hear cows mooing when I walk into my backyard. And I don’t have to go far to see horses.
That is nice. We don’t have horses, but our neighbor does, so I can look outside and see them anytime. It’s a definite blessing.
I have a winner! Kelly V. won the drawing. I appreciate Elle for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.