Shannon here: Michelle Griep shares how she met her husband, romantic places they like to visit in England, and a chance to win her latest Historical Romance, The Captive Heart. Comment or answer the question at the end of any post dated Oct 10- 13 to enter the drawing. U.S. only. Deadline: Oct 22nd, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Michelle:
My husband and I met in high school, which conjures up images of teenage sweethearts destined to marry. Wrong. I was dating 2 other guys at the time. Yes, indeed . . . I was a player.
But then I got saved.
So after high school, Mark and I did start going out—to Bible studies. Romantic? You bet, especially when we went out for pizza and played video games beforehand. In fact, it was in a little family-owned Italian restaurant, Vescios, where Mark first told me he loved me. Aww!
Eventually we married and had four kids. Wow. Talk about a romance killer. Sleep deprivation and lack of finances tends to squash the couple time. There were a few rough years there, but because we took our vows seriously, God’s grace helped us weather the storm.
We are nearly empty-nesters now, with only one of our own left at home, and our marriage is better than ever. Our favorite romantic place to visit is England. Yeah, I know . . . right? What’s not to love about castles and scones?
If you and your special someone ever get the chance to hop across the pond, here are a few of our favorite romantic places . . .
Ironbridge
This little village is on the banks above the Severn River and it seriously is like a set from the Shire in the Hobbit. There are little trails—called jitties—that you can explore up the steep hills and through the trees.
Haworth
Jane Eyre country is mysterious and haunting—and the perfect place to roam the moors hand-in-hand. It’s easy to picture Jane running away from Mr. Rochester, and imagine their eventual reunion.
Whitby
There’s a 7 mile hike from Robin Hood’s Bay to Whitby, all along the coast of the North Sea. It takes 4 hours to make the trek because it’s so twisty-turny. Bring along a picnic lunch an dine on the cliffs together.
Next time we venture to England, we’re hoping to go during the Christmas season.
About Michelle: Michelle Griep’s been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. She is the author of historical romances: THE CAPTIVE HEART, leaped the historical BRENTWOOD’S WARD, A HEART DECEIVED, UNDERCURRENT and GALLIMORE, but also fence into the realm of contemporary with the zany romantic mystery OUT OF THE FRYING PAN. If you’d like to keep up with her escapades, find her at:
Michelle’s Website Michelle’s Blog Michelle’s Facebook
Michelle’s Twitter Michelle’s Pinterest
About the book – The Captive Heart:
The wild American wilderness is no place for an elegant English governess.
On the run from a cruel British aristocratic employer, Eleanor Morgan escapes to America, the land of the free, for the opportunity to serve an upstanding Charles Town family. But freedom is hard to come by as an indentured servant, and downright impossible when she’s forced to agree to an even harsher contract—marriage to a man she’s never met.
Backwoodsman Samuel Heath doesn’t care what others think of him—but his young daughter’s upbringing matters very much. The life of a trapper in the Carolina backcountry is no life for a small girl, but neither is abandoning his child to another family. He decides it’s time to marry again, but that proves to be an impossible task. Who wants to wed a murderer?
Both Samuel and Eleanor are survivors, facing down the threat of war, betrayal, and divided loyalties that could cost them everything, but this time they must face their biggest challenge ever . . . Love.
Can’t wait for the drawing? Purchase now: The Captive Heart
Question for Readers: If you could travel anywhere in the world to a romantic spot, where would it be?
Come back Oct 13th for romantic interview with her characters!
Rome or Paris
This is a difficult question because I’m blessed with a dream life of travel with my husband as part of his current job for the past 8 years. In fact, I’m currently in Dublin Ireland for 1 more week & will be going to Toyko in two more weeks. I’m often asked what is my favorite place that we have been, & that is difficult as well–there are so many I love for different reasons. We have been to 32 different countries now! So, I will say, that after 3 weeks (plus 1 more) in Ireland, we both commented after our weekend of tours, that it would be fun to return someday for ‘just a vacation’ so we could spend several days time of doing things as you described in England. FYI–England is one of those countries we visited and we thoroughly enjoyed each time there.
Another place we would love to return to is Germany and particularly, I would LOVE to go stay, even just a few days, in the small village B&B at the base of the castle Neuschwanstein and enjoy the culture & scenery of this small village and have a chance to go inside the castle (the castle was closed by the time we got there & we didn’t have time to return. We would both, also like to spend the night in a castle & have dinner in one as well…
Vicki
I would love to go to England and see Buckingham Palace and all the other sites there. For some reason, even though he’s young enough to be my kid, I have always wanted to meet Prince William. He is so much like his mother. I would loved to have met her as well. Thanks for the giveaway and good luck everyone.
I have always said that I would love to go to England someday. I think it would be great to see the royals in a parade and get to see Buckingham palace. Thanks for the interview and giveaway.
I don’t like the idea of being in a different country but if I was I would want to go to Australia and if I was going to stay in the US I would want to go to Hawaii thank you for sharing on the Blog today
I’m really not a visit somewhere for the fun of it type. And especially not outside the U.S. I like to travel to see family or research for a book. Preferably, travel to see family and research during the process. And as long as my family is with me, I’m happy. I love going to Georgia and Texas since I have family in both places.
If I was just gonna pretend I’d like to go someplace romantic, I guess I’d say Paris.
Wow! Great ideas for vacations. And I’m happy to see there are other Anglophiles out there.
Thanks so much for having me on the blog!
I would love to go to Europe, all the castles, cliffs, and countrysides. My husband never had an interest in travel outside the U.S. I have always felt that a clearing next to a river or stream with dappled sun shining through the trees is very romantic. It could be anywhere in the world. It can’t be too hot or humid, though as that would spoil the mood.