H.L. Wegley – Character Interview – Part 1 of 1

Shannon here: H.L. Wegley shares insight into his characters’ romance from his latest political thriller, Voice in the Wildness. Comment or answer the question at the end of the post to enter the drawing for a copy. Deadline: July 8th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s H.L.:

Interview with KC Banning, heroine of Voice in the Wilderness

Hi, my name is KC Banning. People say that I’m the heroine of this story, but I’m not sure that’s true. You can decide that for yourselves. The real hero of the story is Brock Daniels. And he is, what else can I say, magnificent. He, and a handful of other men, saved our nation.

• What’s the most romantic thing Brock ever did for you?

Seven years ago, when I was 14, dad was elected to the US Senate. He moved us from Oregon to DC, mostly to split up Brock and me because we were becoming too close and dad didn’t think Brock came from the right social class. I thought I’d never see Brock again, so I asked him to etch our initials into a flat rock. At 17 Brock could throw as hard as a major-league pitcher. He threw that rock 600 feet down into Crooked River Canyon so we could be together in the place where we had spent so much time as kids. I didn’t know it at the time, but after I left, Brock hiked down into the canyon and spent a whole day swimming in the river until he found that rock. Seven years later, he gave it back to me.

• Where is the most romantic place you and Brock have ever been?

After our wedding, we flew westward, halfway around the world, to spend our wedding night in the honeymoon suite of a big rustic log house on Alta Lake, near Whistler, BC. And when we arrived there at 11:45 PM, it was, technically, still our wedding night. How many couples can say they spent their wedding night half way around the world from where they married? Sorry, but no further information about this romantic event will be provided.

• Do you and Brock have a favorite song?

I thought Brock had been killed after the attack that came at the end of our wedding ceremony. I cried until my makeup turned my eyes black, like two big shiners. When Brock found me and saw me crying, he sang me a modified version of Van Morrison’s Brown-Eyed Girl. You can probably guess what the modification was.

• What simple gesture does Brock do that melts you every time?

When Brock is really concerned about me and wants to know what’s going on, he grabs my shoulders and holds me at arm’s length, studying my eyes. When he does that, I can’t hide anything from him. I let him look into my eyes until he sees what he’s looking for. He reads them correctly … every time.

• What is the most caring thing you ever did for Brock?

What I did may have been caring, but it was also stupid. I tried to sacrifice myself by surrendering to the black ops team the president sent to kill us. They asked for Brock, but POTUS actually wanted me even more than he wanted Brock. So I surrendered to them to save Brock’s life. It didn’t work. But you’ll have to read our story to find out what happened.

• It sounds like you ended up married. Where did you go on your honeymoon?

As I mentioned before, we went from Netanya, Israel to Whistler, BC, leaving Israel after our wedding and arriving at our honeymoon suite near Whistler on the same date, courtesy of an Israeli-owned Gulfstream 650. The flight came after our wedding was punctuated with an RPG attack, courtesy of Hamas. Israel had been protecting us from our rogue president until the Israelis realized we needed to find another country to hide in.

• How soon after meeting Brock did you know he was the one?

After about five minutes. You see, I was almost nine that day at Crooked River Ranch when some bullies saw the target painted on my face and hair. Here’s a link to a video where you can see what I looked like when I was nine and you can learn a little more about Brock and me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9nblxuc_S0&t=2s   

I can ignore bullies when they call me carrot top and freckle face. But when that bully started using gutter language, I started swinging away. With a 13-year-old bully’s hand on my forehead, I couldn’t reach him with my roundhouse swings. That’s when 12-year-old Brock Daniels told him to stop. He didn’t listen. So Brock, who knew how to box, sent the big bully home with a bloody nose and a black eye. As unlikely as it seems—a boy that’s 12 and a girl that’s 9—Brock and I have been best buddies ever since. But, a few years later, we became a lot more than buddies. That’s when we learned about the biggest bully of all, a US Senator, my dad.

About H.L.: H.L. Wegley served as an Air Force Intelligence Analyst and a Weather Officer. In civilian life, he worked as a research scientist, publishing in the scientific literature, then developed Boeing computing systems for 20+ years before retiring near Seattle with his wife of 50 years. He is a multi-published author with a 4-book inspirational thriller series, a 3-book political thriller series with romance, 2 nonfiction books, and 3 more novels on the way. Learn more and connect:

H.L. Wegley Website                    H.L. Wegley Facebook Author Page                    H.L. Wegley Facebook 

H.L. Wegley Twitter                        H.L. Wegley YouTube 

About the book – Voice in the Wilderness:

What if your blog could save the nation, but posting to it might cost your life?

As catastrophes drive the US into martial law, all eyes are on America, waiting to see what emerges. KC Banning, network specialist, discovers President Hannan’s tyrannical plans and is branded a terrorist, sending her fleeing the Beltway to find her childhood soulmate and protector, Brock Daniels.

Brock, a writer and man of faith, gives CPR to a dying nation through his blog, which is read by military members still loyal to the Constitution. But starting a grassroots insurgency while reconciling KC’s and Brock’s broken relationship proves difficult. When Hannan sends Special Forces to kill Brock and KC, starting a war in the Central Oregon desert, reconciliation, like staying alive, might be impossible.

Two extraordinary people … born for a time such as this.

Set in Washington DC and near Crooked River Ranch in the Central Oregon desert, Voice in the Wilderness, Book 1 of the Against All Enemies Series, is a political thriller, with romance, about two people who must decide if they’re willing to sacrifice their lives to prevent the USA from becoming the Dystopian States of America.

Question for Readers:

My hero and heroine in Voice in the Wilderness formed a deep friendship when they were still children, too young to even think about romantic relationships. Who was your closest childhood friend? Has that relationship lasted to the present?

I’ve known my wife since we were about 4. We attended first grade together. If you’re married, at what age did you first meet your future spouse? Can anyone beat 3 ½ years old?

Come back July 4th for Heather L.L. Fitzgerald!