Julie Jarnagin – Real Life Romance – Part 1 of 3

Shannon here: Contemporary romance novelist, Julie Jarnagin shares her real life romance and a chance to win a copy of her debut novel, Canyon Walls. Julie visited the blog before, but this time her book has released. Leave a comment on any post dated April 4 – 9 for a chance to win a copy. Deadline: April 9, midnight central time. Here’s Julie:

            The conversation during the drive was great. Without thinking much about it, I reached under the seat to find the handle to move my seat back. As I moved my hand around looking for the handle, a sharp piece of metal sliced into my finger. I pulled my hand from under the seat to find blood gushing from my middle finger.
            At first I tried to play it cool, but soon, it was obvious that the bleeding was not stopping. We weren’t close to town, and there was nowhere to stop. Embarrassed, I searched for a napkin in the truck but couldn’t find anything to stop the bleeding.
            The next thing I knew, Kevin had lifted his dress shirt and pulled out the bottom of his white undershirt and stuck my bleeding finger in it. I was mortified. I was bleeding all over the shirt of the man I was trying to impress, but he was an absolute gentleman about it and put me at ease.
            When we reached the town, he immediately pulled up to the store, ran in and quickly came out with ointment and bandages. We sat in the truck as he doctored my cut.
            It certainly wasn’t the way I had imagined our second date, but it exposed some of the things that I love about Kevin. To this day, he would literally give the shirt off his back to someone who needed it. I still have a scar on the middle finger of my right hand, and Kevin jokes that he ruined my chances of becoming a hand model. Every time I notice the scar, I think about what a wonderful, caring husband I have. 
      1.    How soon after meeting you did your spouse know you were the one?
 On our first date, Kevin said that we were going to get married. I thought he was crazy. Turns out, he was right.
      2.    When did you know he was the one?
We were on the side of the road with a flat tire. He was putting the spare tire on as the cars zoomed by on the interstate, and suddenly, I realized Kevin was the man I was going to marry. I knew that he was always going to be there for me. I said “I love you” the first time as he changed the tire on the side of the highway. Shortly after he changed the tire, and after sharing a few laughs we realized we had run the battery out of the truck. After calling the highway patrol to give us a jump start, we were back on the road, and I knew we were heading down the road to the rest of our lives. Probably not the most romantic setting, but it felt right.
     3.   What’s the most romantic present your spouse ever bought for you?
When we were newlyweds, we were both still in college and didn’t have much money for holidays. We started setting a $5 or $10 limit for gifts. One year for Christmas, he dug through all of my childhood pictures to find a wonderful photo of me and my dad, who passed away when I was thirteen. He enlarged it and bought a beautiful frame for it. We learned that the best gifts usually don’t cost much because it forces us to put a lot of thought into them, and we still carry on that tradition for some holidays. Last year for Mother’s Day, he took the home videos of our son, and edited them together to one of my favorite songs.
      4.   What’s the most romantic present you ever bought your spouse? 
I was with my mother-in-law shopping, when we came across a figurine of a man looking down at a baby swaddled in his lap. We both noticed that the man looked like my husband. I knew that I had to get it and that I would give it to him to announce that I was pregnant. The problem was, we weren’t even ready to start trying to have a baby at the time. I swore my mother-in-law to secrecy and hid the little figure. About a year later, I was able to give Kevin the figurine, and he got to call his mom and tell her what he had just received.
About Julie: I grew up in a rural community where my family farmed and raised cattle, inspiring me to set much of my fiction in small towns. I earned a B.A. in Journalism/Professional Writing from the University of Oklahoma, and I’m a member of America Christian Fiction Writers. My articles have appeared in local and national publications. Through my writing, I hope to share stories that inspire readers through reflecting God’s love. I live in Oklahoma with my husband, Kevin, and our energetic young son. My debut novel, Canyon Walls, is scheduled to be released by Barbour / Heartsong Presents in April 2011.
Come back April 6 for another glimpse into Julie’s real life romance.