Roseanna White – Romantic Fictional Interview – Part 2 of 3

Shannon here: Roseanna White shares insight into her hero and heroine’s romance from her latest release: Jewel of Persia. Comment on any post dated Feb 28 – Mar 4 for a chance to win the choice of a digital or paperback copy of A Stray Drop of Blood or Jewel of Persia. Deadline Mar 5, midnight central time. Here’s Roseanna:

      1.    What’s the most romantic present your hero ever bought your heroine?
Hmm . . . though he bought her plenty, the most important gift he ever gave was in fact something he already owned. At their very first meeting, he gives her a silver torc—an open-ended bracelet—with lions’ heads on the terminals. This gift remains the symbol of their love all throughout the book. It causes some serious trouble at one point, and later is an overt image of the state of their relationship. Hence why it’s featured on the cover and gets special notice in my Companion Guide at http://www.roseannawhite.com/index.php/books/jewel_of_persia/companion_guide/
      2.   What simple gesture does your hero do that melts your heroine every time? 
He kisses her hand. Sometimes on the knuckles, sometimes on her palm.
      3.    What simple gesture does your heroine do that melts your hero every time?
She jokes him out of his tempers. He’s infamous for them, but she alone can soothe him with a smile, a jest, and a gentle touch. It effectively wraps him around her little finger. 😉
      4.    How soon after meeting the hero did the heroine know he was the one?
Right away, though she was only willing to call it a crazy dream at the start. So far as she could tell, theirs was an impossible match. He was a wealthy Persian, she a poor Jewish girl, and she knew her father would never approve, even if the moment’s flirtation turned into something more.
     5.    How soon after meeting the heroine did the hero know he was the one? 
He knew right away too—but Xerxes wasn’t a man to accept impossibilities. He literally ordered mountains moved, rivers crossed, land cut in two. One father’s disapproval was nothing to him.
     6.    Who is most romantic, your hero or your heroine?
They’re fairly equally matched, actually, though their devotion to one another has to take different turns for each. The weird thing about writing a love story set with a harem as the background, LOL.
     7.    What is the most caring thing your hero has ever done for your heroine?
He sent enough work her father’s way to keep their large family in luxury for years to come. Kasia was one of ten children, and her father a talented but poor wood worker. Thanks to the favor Xerxes gives them, the sons can all afford to find honorable professions and the daughters will have dowries to secure good marriages.
     8.    What is the most caring thing your heroine has ever done for your hero?
She picked out a queen for him. You all might recognize her story. She goes by Esther. =)
     9.    Who said, “I love you” first, your hero or your heroine?
My hero. Xerxes is a man of high passion and is willing to call his feelings for Kasia love from the moment they meet. Kasia is a bit more conservative with her words of endearment. Xerxes asks her outright if she will love him as he wants to be loved, though they barely know each other. Her answer (modified a bit to stand outside the scene): “That kind of love takes time and tending, but it’s likely I will someday. Shall I let you know when I do?”
   1o.    If your hero and heroine end up married, where will they go on their honeymoon? 
Well, this is before the era of honeymoons, but they do take quite the trip soon after they’re married. Xerxes is mounting a war against Greece, and two weeks after he and Kasia wed, they head out on campaign to muster the troops. Their trip lasts over two years and takes them from Persia (modern-day Iran) through Lydia (Turkey), to the site of the Trojan War, over the Aegean Sea, and into Europe.
Come back March 4 for an insight into how Roseanna met her husband and her hero and heroine’s first meeting excerpt from Jewel of Persia.