Roseanna M. White – Fictional Romantic Interview – Part 1 of 2

Shannon here: I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and celebrated the birth of Jesus. Historical Romance author, Roseanna M. White shares insight into her fictional characters’ romance, plus a chance to win a copy of her book, Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland. Every time you comment, your name goes in the drawing, plus Roseanna’s Great Annapolis Giveaway. Deadline for my drawing: Jan 2, 2012 – 11:59 pm central time. Details for Roseanna’s giveaway at the bottom of this post. Here’s Roseanna:

Great Annapolis Giveaway

• Are you open to your own romance?

Oh, you delve directly to the heart of the matter, do you not? For so long I hoped, I dreamed. I thought all my wishes had come true. But now that they have been dashed to pieces, I wonder if romance is out there for me. My brother tells me it is, that somewhere there is a gentleman who will appreciate me. Perhaps I will find him someday.
Or perhaps I will be forever overlooked.

• What’s the number one quality you’d require in a mate?

Devotion. Do you hear that, Emerson Fielding? Not mere presence or a conveniently located plantation—I want your devotion.

• What’s the number two quality you’d require in a mate?

Honor. Not only the kind that will lead a man to distinction in war, but the kind that will inspire him to keep his promises from something more deeply rooted than expectation.

•  Where is the best place you can think of to find a mate?

In the pages of a book, obviously—those composed of flesh and blood are far too disappointing.

• Where is the worst place you can think of to find a mate?

At Fielding Hall, a mere mile away from my family’s home, Endover Plantation. Where a certain young man embodies from tip to toe that worst.

•  What type of character traits are you attracted to?

I find myself drawn to men who understand their company enough to speak with wisdom, wit, and charm when in society, who stand tall with confidence, but who are unafraid to let boyishness reign now and then.

•  What type of features are you attracted to?

Right this moment, I cannot say. But I am most certainly not attracted to eyes so deep and brown that a young lady could easily drown in them, or hair that gleams sable when it isn’t powdered. I care not a fig for figures that are every inch as tall as General Washington’s, nor a countenance that the ladies talk of from Philadelphia to Charleston. No, those don’t appeal to me in the slightest. Not one whit.

• What’s the one habit or lifestyle that would make you run the other way?

Disloyalty. To one’s country, one’s beliefs, or most importantly to one’s betrothed. I will not be known as the wife of the straying Mr. Fielding!

• What would be a reason to end a potential romance for you?

You may have surmised by now that my betrothed has betrayed me. That was indeed what ended our relationship and sent me fleeing here to Annapolis. But in truth, I contemplated ending the betrothal before I caught him in a compromising situation. Why? Because I was invisible to him. Nothing but an obligation. Never once, in the two years we were engaged, did he really look at me, really see me. And that is all I ever wanted.

•  Where do you dream of getting married?

If ever I find a man who can look beyond my less-than-dazzling face, who is not merely interested in my family’s connection, I would love my nuptials to take place at my family’s plantation, Endover, outside Williamsburg.

•  Where do you dream of spending your honeymoon?

Oh, I have no need of travel—I will be content to settle down and put into practice all those lessons I received in managing a house.

• Where do you dream of celebrating your wedding anniversary?

Oh my, if ever my husband planned a trip especially for me, for such a remembrance, I would scarce care to where we went, so long as we were together.

• If you could order a carbon copy of an actor or actress with the perfect character traits and beliefs for your mate, who would it be?

An actor? Perish the thought! They are hardly respectable, the lot of them. Theater has even been banned in Maryland. The old theater building on West Street in Annapolis is being used as the church now, as a matter of fact.

• What would be the best gift a potential mate could buy for you?

No more gold and jewels, that is for certain—I have received enough of those, and with no thought behind them. The best gift would instead be something that appeals to me, my true character. I fine quill, perhaps, or a perfectly stitched journal. A novel, or perhaps a book of plays or sermons or poetry. Those would be ideal indeed.
About Roseanna: Roseanna M. White grew up in the mountains of West Virginia, the beauty of which inspired her to begin writing as soon as she learned to pair subjects with verbs. She spent her middle and high school days penning novels in class, and her love of books took her to a school renowned for them. After graduating from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, she and her husband moved back to the Maryland side of the same mountains they equate with home. Roseanna is the author of two biblical novels, A Stray Drop of Blood and Jewel of Persia, both from WhiteFire Publishing (www.WhiteFire-Publishing.com) and Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland from Summerside Press. She is the senior reviewer at the Christian Review of Books, which she and her husband founded, the senior editor at WhiteFire Publishing, and a member of ACFW, HisWriters, and Colonial American Christian Writers.
About the Book: In 1784 peace has been declared, but war still rages in the heart of Lark Benton.

 

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Finds-You-Annapolis-Maryland/dp/1609363132/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322004990&sr=1-1
About Great Annapolis Giveaway: http://roseannamwhite.blogspot.com/p/great-annapolis-giveaway.
Come back Dec 28th for Roseanna’s excerpt.