Regina Merrick – Real life Romance – Part 1 of 3

This week, aspiring author and friend, Regina Merrick, is helping me give away a copy of White Roses. Enjoy Regina’s real life romance and leave a comment on any post this week to be entered in the drawing.

Regina with her parents

Todd (middle) w/brothers

“So when did you two meet?”

Every time that question is asked, my husband and I just look at one another. He grins, I giggle.

We don’t remember.

The only thing we’re sure of is this. Todd, my husband of 27 years, attended my parents’ wedding. Really.

He was approximately two-years-old, and I came within the first year of their marriage. We grew up together, went to church together, went to the same schools with him being three years ahead of me, grade-wise. He has a brother exactly one month younger than me – a fact that my now-brother-in-law never lets me forget.

I didn’t get the oldest brother, or the youngest, though I love them as much as if they were my own brothers. I got the middle brother.

After years of playing together after church, and my being considered his younger brother’s contemporary, we started to “notice” one another when I was a freshman, and he was a senior in high school. Our youth group put together a play, and of course both of us were in it. I couldn’t figure out WHY I seemed to stammer and giggle my way through my part every time we were on stage together.

A little later in the school year, he and a friend of his started letting my friend and me cut in front of them in the lunch line. We would get there about the same time, since our classes were across from one another – he in chemistry, me in home economics – and the whole high school ate lunch at the same time.

We didn’t start dating until after school was out for the year. I kid him that he just didn’t want to be known for dating a freshman in high school, so he waited until I was officially a sophomore.

So that’s the story of how we met. The rest, as they say, is history . . . .

About Regina: Regina is Christian, wife, mother, musician, librarian, writer . . . still trying to connect the dots and constantly in wonder at how they all fit together.” A follower of Jesus since age 8, Regina has been a wife to the love of her life since age 19, a mother since age 25, and a college graduate since age 35. The rest is just “extra!” She was a school librarian for five years, and has been the director of the Crittenden County Public Library for nearly six years. As a result of becoming a public librarian, she was introduced to the growing genre, Christian Fiction, and was inspired to try her hand at writing.

Writing was part of her life long before that. At age 16, she began a sequel to one of her favorites, “Gone With the Wind” (which will never see the light of day). While working as a volunteer in children’s ministry, she wrote and presented papers on volunteerism and organization within her church. She has written over 30 stories and poems, as well as a collaborative novel-length story on the fanfiction site, RomanceFanfiction.net. She has completed and hopes to publish her first full-length original novel, “Carolina Dream,” a Contemporary Inspirational, and is at work on her second while brainstorming other ideas. Other writing activities include articles and author interviews for the Inkspirational Messages blog, and occasional articles for the local newspaper about library topics and activities.

Besides writing, Regina’s time is spent keeping up with an educator husband, an English-major daughter in college, a soccer-playing daughter in high school, and many church activities, including instrumental and vocal music.

Tune in June 16 & 18 for the rest of Regina’s story.