Hope Bolinger – Romantic Interview – Part 1 of 1

Shannon here: Hope Bolinger shares insight into her characters’ romance from her Contemporary Romance, Picture Imperfect, coauthored with Alyssa Roat. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter Tuesday’s drawing. Deadline: Nov 13th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Hope:

• Are you open to your own romance?

I am. I am definitely a hopeless romantic. I have been praying in earnest for years for a godly man who can come and do life together with me. If you are reading this, I would love prayer as well that God can guide me in this as I wait and pray.

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

Easy, he must love the Lord. I want to see a man who pursues the Lord first, and myself second.

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

I often will say doing a project together. That’s why I enjoyed writing this series so much. We see two creatives who join together to create a project that will better a community. In the case of Picture Imperfect, a picture book to save a nonprofit for children who come from troubled homes.

• What type of character traits are you attracted to?

I love someone who is passionate about what they do and what I do. Even if they don’t enjoy reading or theater or history, if they can get behind supporting me in my artistic endeavors, I think I will have found a winner.

• What type of features are you attracted to?

So I love tall men—because I’m 5’10” myself—and tend to have a fatal attraction to dark hair and beautiful eyes. But honestly, there are many different men I am attracted to. I tend to find character to be the most important determinant in a person’s level of attraction.

• What’s the one habit or lifestyle that would make you run the other way?

Immaturity. As a 24-year-old, it’s so hard to find a guy my age who doesn’t like the party scene. It’s so hard to find commitment and long-term goals these days.

• What would be a reason to end a potential romance for you?

If they don’t love the Lord. I know I’ve made this point clear above, but so many men will lie about having a relationship with Jesus. They often do this because they tend to know that Christians girls are often more committed to a relationship than someone who may not necessarily be of the faith (there are plenty of exceptions, of course). I’m looking for a man to lead me closer to the Lord, so if I’ve found that he doesn’t pursue God with his whole heart, it’s a definite dealbreaker.

• Where do you dream of spending your honeymoon?

I’m actually a museum and national parks gal, so I’d love to go to Yellowstone or out west. I know it’s not the typical beach honeymoon, but I’d love to go hiking with my future husband.

• If you could order a carbon copy of an actor or actress with the perfect character traits and beliefs for your mate, who would it be?

Oh, this is so embarrassing, but Tom Hiddleston. He is far too old for me, so I’d have to age him down about six years, but he can act like nobody’s business, and has the most beautiful eyes. And who doesn’t fall for a beautiful English accent?

• What would be the best gift a potential mate could buy for you?

Honestly, if he bought all of my books, I’d probably marry him on the spot. I’ve gone on many a date because a guy informed me that he bought a book of mine. It shows me that he supports where I’ve been called, what I’m passionate about, and tells me that I have someone I can excitedly share my ideas with when I get married.

About Hope: Hope Bolinger is a content editor at Salem Media and a multi-published novelist. More than 1200 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer’s Digest to Keys for Kids to HOOKED to Crosswalk.com. She writes about 250-300 articles a year. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Fourteen of her books are under contract or traditionally published, including her latest, PICTURE IMPERFECT. She has won awards for her essays, poetry, children’s books, novels, and plays.

About the book – Picture Imperfect:

Can a struggling career woman and a procrastinating artist save a beloved nonprofit?

Aspiring novelist Caroline Penn expected a promotion, not a picture book assignment. But when her employer, the non-profit Helping Hope, runs into financial trouble, this book might be the solution. With the company struggling to stay afloat, she and the illustrator will need to collaborate on a strict deadline—no problem for a workaholic like Caroline, right?

Andy Jackson, a “starving” artist, pays the bills by taking on graphic design gigs, but his perfectionism gets in the way. If only he could focus on a project for once, perhaps he could achieve his dream to make art for children for a living.

When the two are thrust together to create a book, Caroline can’t seem to write for children, and Andy can’t meet a deadline to save his life. As time ticks down to release day, the two must face their pasts and insecurities. If they can avoid strangling one another for long enough, they may just bring to the table what the other is missing. 

If not, the fate of their careers—and a beloved nonprofit—hangs in the balance.

Question for Readers: How do you handle deadlines? Are you a procrastinator or do you work ahead? What type of deadlines have you faced?

Come back Nov 9th for Donna Schlachter!