Patrick E. Craig – Romantic Real Life & Character Interview – Part 1 of 2

Shannon here: Amish Romance author, Patrick E. Craig shares insight into his real life romance and his characters’ romance from the Amish Heiress. Comment or answer the question at the end of any post dated July 29 – 31 to enter the drawing for a copy. Deadline: Aug 8th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Patrick:

About Me and My Wife, Judy:

• Do you and your spouse have a favorite romantic restaurant?

Until we moved to Idaho, our favorite romantic spot was The Tides Restaurant in Bodega Bay, California. It’s right on the ocean and the food is terrific. Now we are searching for a new place. We liked The Shore Lodge in McCall when we went there this last Mother’s day.

• Do you and your spouse have a favorite song?

We love a song by Ronnie Milsap, “Lost in the Fifties Tonight.”

• What’s the most romantic present you ever bought your spouse?

When I got an inheritance several years ago, I bought my wife a new diamond ring. It blew her away.

• Do you and your spouse have a favorite romantic vacation destination?

For many years, when we lived in California, around our anniversary, we would spend a week in Mendocino at a Christian getaway place called Antioch Ranch. We stayed in a very quiet little cabin in the Mendocino woods with a wood burning stove, and a complete kitchen. On our anniversary we would go to the Mendocino Hotel.

• How soon after meeting your spouse did you know she was the one?

We met in Bible College and it was about six months before I knew she was the one for me.

• Who is most romantic, you or your spouse?

My wife is very romantic but she accuses me of being a closet romantic at heart—and I am. So that’s a wash I think.

• What is the most caring thing your spouse has ever done for you?

Last winter I came down with a serious illness. My wife cared for me day and night to the point of exhaustion. I will never forget how much she sacrificed for me.

• Where did you and your spouse go for your honeymoon?

We were married in January and spent our honeymoon at the Banff Springs Hotel north of Calgary Canada. We had the honeymoon suite. We went skiing every day and took a wonderful trip up to lake Louise. We went back when we celebrated our 20th anniversary.
Character Interview – The Amish Heiress, by Patrick E. Craig:

• Do your hero and heroine have a favorite song?

In my latest book, The Amish Heiress, Rachel the heroine’s father, Jonathan, was an Außenseiter —an outsider, who had converted to the Amish faith. Before he converted he had been an aspiring musician and when he met Rachel’s mother Jenny, he wrote a song for her. After he became Amish he supposedly put all his secular music aside, but sometimes he snuck out to the barn and got out his guitar and played. Rachel heard the song he wrote for Jenny and it became her favorite song. She would ask her papa to sing it for her when he tucked her in and it was a special secret between them. The lyrics went like this:
Tonight, I sing this song of love
You’re the one I’m dreaming of, Tonight
I’ll whisper in your ear, I always want you near
Tonight
As for Daniel, the hero, his favorite was Das Lobleid, the Amish Praise Song.

• How soon after meeting the hero did the heroine know he was the one?

Rachel met Daniel when they were six years old. They pledged eternal love and friendship under the old Chestnut tree at the top of the hill behind Daniel’s house. But some terrible things happened in Rachel’s life and she closed herself off to Daniel’s love. It isn’t until the very end of the book that she realizes she has always loved Daniel.

• How soon after meeting the heroine did the hero know she was the one?

Daniel, the hero of The Amish Heiress, met Rachel when they were six years old. He loved her from the moment he saw her. As he often said, “Gott bringt Rachel in meinem Weg” or “God put Rachel in my path.”

• Who is most romantic, your hero or your heroine?

I think Daniel is the most romantic. He always loved Rachel with all his heart and everything he did was to try and be with her or around her. When she was in danger, he risked losing everything to be her protector and he saved her life. Rachel, on the other hand, had become hardened by events in her life and became very practical and worldly in her outlook.

• What is the most caring thing your hero has ever done for your heroine?

When Rachel marries a wealthy Englischer and leaves the faith so she can inherit a huge sum of money, Daniel discovers that there is a plot to kill Rachel and he leaves his home and risks his standing as an Amish man and secretly gets a job at the estate where Rachel lives so he can watch over her. It is because of this that he is able to save Rachel’s life.

• Who said, “I love you” first, your hero or your heroine?

Daniel told Rachel he loved her many times and wanted to court her, but she pushed him away. Only at the last does she discover how much she truly loves Daniel.

• If your hero and heroine end up married, where would they go on their honeymoon?

Well, the Amish don’t exactly go on honeymoons. Instead, they usually marry around November, after the harvest, and then spend the down time of winter visiting friends and relatives. So that’s what Rachel and Daniel would do if they got married. I’ll let you read the book to see if they do.
About Patrick: Patrick E. Craig is a lifelong writer and musician who left a successful songwriting and performance career in the music industry to follow Christ in 1984. He spent the next 26 years as a worship leader, seminar speaker, and pastor in churches, and at retreats, seminars and conferences all across the western United States. In 2011 he signed a three-book deal with Harvest House Publishers to publish his Apple Creek Dreams series. The books are historical Amish fiction and include A Quilt for Jenna, The Road Home, and Jenny’s Choice. His current series is The Paradise Chronicles and the first book in the series, The Amish Heiress will be published by P&J Publishing on August 10. 2015. Patrick is represented by the Steve Laube Agency. Patrick and his wife Judy make their home in Idaho and are the parents of two adult children and have five grandchildren. Learn more and connect: www.patrickecraig.com
About the book: Rachel Hershberger’s life in Paradise, Pennsylvania is far from happy. Her papa struggles with a terrible event from the past, and his emotional instability has created an irreparable breach between them. Rachel’s one desire is to leave the Amish way of life and Paradise forever. Then her prayers are answered. Rachel discovers that the strange, key-shaped birthmark above her heart identifies her as the heir to a vast fortune left by her Englischer grandfather, Robert St. Clair. If Rachel will marry a suitable descendent of the St. Clair family, she will inherit an enormous sum of money. But Rachel does not know that behind the scenes is her long-dead grandfather’s sister-in-law, Augusta St. Clair, a vicious woman who will do anything to keep the fortune in her own hands. As the deceptions and intrigues of the St. Clair family bind her in their web, Rachel realizes that she has made a terrible mistake. But has her change of heart come too late?
Purchase Links for Apple Creek Dreams series: http://tinyurl.com/n6sfagg
The Amish Heiress is available for pre-release purchase: https://www.createspace.com/5623860

Question for readers: What is your favorite restaurant?

Come back July 31st for Patrick’s romantic excerpt!