Linda Yezak – Real Life Romance – Part 1 of 3

Shannon here: Contemporary romance author, Linda Yezak shares how she met her husband, plus a chance to win a copy of her book, Give the Lady a Ride. Every time you comment on any post dated March 12 – 16th, your name goes in the drawing. Deadline: March 24th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Linda:

With his head bowed in prayer, he sat alone a few rows ahead of me. My head was supposed to be bowed in prayer, too, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. First thing that attracted me to Billy Yezak were his broad, Tom Selleck shoulders. Burden-sharing shoulders, strong enough to take on the world. Shoulders like that promised arms big enough and strong enough for me to seek comfort in during rough times. 
The first time I saw him, I never got a glimpse of his face.
The next Sunday, two young heads poked up from the chairs on either side of him. I shouldn’t have been surprised. At our ages, I couldn’t expect him not to have been married before. My suspicion was confirmed the following week, when I finally got to meet him. A mutual friend introduced us right after the service, telling him that I liked to fish, just like he did, then suggesting I show him my equipment. He was a bit underwhelmed at my Zebco reel and collection of purple worms, but he was gracious about it. Didn’t laugh.
Neither one of us were first-timers. We were statistics—the one-in-however-many-marriages-fail statistics. Neither of us believe in divorce, and yet, there we were, both single again, and both gun-shy. Both forgiven. And, my, oh my, he was a good-lookin’ hunkuva honey!
Was it love at first sight? No, but the attraction was definitely there, for both of us. We went out a couple of times, then for reasons neither of us recall, didn’t go out again.
That was in April, 1991. From May through August, I had one of the most unusual years ever in my decade of singlehood. I was dating. A lot. Sometimes juggling three different guys in a week. Although they were all nice, none of them appealed to me. I was just having fun. 
By the end of August, the fun dried out, and I was left to realize how very lonely I had been. Ten years before, I’d sworn I’d never get married again. That August, I was afraid I’d never get married again. One night, I was crying on my mother’s shoulder about it, and she said–get this–“Why don’t you call Billy?” 
In this modern age, folks may not understand the impact of that question. My mother never supported the idea of a woman calling a man. It was forward and unlady-like. For her to suggest it totally floored me, but what followed next didn’t. “Let’s pray about it first.” 
Meanwhile, at the Yezak bachelor pad, Billy was lonely, too, and also talking to the Lord. He never told me what instigated the prayer, but he prayed something like this: “If You want me to get married again, you’ll have to drop her in my lap. She’ll have to call me.” 
Not long after, his phone rang. 
September 17, 1991, he picked me up and took me for a drive out to the lake. Even before we’d revealed to each other what our prayers had been, we knew. There is no mistaking a God-chosen mate. Why we didn’t feel it in April, neither of us know, but Billy figures we weren’t quite ready for each other. Everything in God’s time. We got married that same November, which means, if you do the math, we celebrated twenty years in November of 2011. Twenty love-filled years.
About Linda: Linda Yezak lives with her husband and three cats in a forest in Texas, where tall tales abound and exaggeration is an art form. She is a two-time finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest, in 2008 for Give the Lady a Ride, a contemporary western comedy romance, published in 2011, and in 2010 for The Cat Lady’s Secret, a Women’s Fiction comedy-drama. She has been published in Christian Romance, Beyondaries, and Vibrant Nation e-zines, has served as a judge in several national and local writing contests, and is currently a freelance editor and a consulting editor for Port Yonder Press.
About the book: Patricia Talbert is a high-class social coordinator from New York. Talon Carlson is a rugged bull rider from Texas. He thinks she’s too polished. She thinks he’s insane.

Opposites aren’t quick to attract when the lady who enters the cowboy’s world is on a mission to sell the ranch. But a box of letters changes her mission-letters of unshakable faith and a love deeper than anything she’s ever experienced.

Soon, she finds his integrity appealing. Her spunk draws him in. He has the faith she craves; she may be the love he longs for. But faith and love aren’t achieved in a single weekend. To buy time to explore the possibilities between them, she issues a challenge: “Teach me to ride bulls.”

From here on, they’re in for the ride of their lives. Give the Lady a Ride-faith and love are just one bull away.

Come back March 14th when Linda interviews her characters from Give the Lady a Ride.