Shannon here: Tanya Eavenson shares how she met her husband, how her characters meet in her latest Contemporary Romance, Dial K for Kiss, plus a romantic excerpt. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for an e-book copy of To Gain a Valentine, US residents only. Deadline: Feb 24th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Tanya:
- How did you meet your spouse?
I met my husband, Chuck, on a Wednesday afternoon in 1990 while I was visiting a church with a friend. After the evening service was over, I saw this cute boy staring at me from across the room. I smiled. He smiled. I was fifteen years old; he was seventeen. Thirty-four years later, he still makes my heart flutter.
Here are several pictures from our wedding.
- How did your hero and heroine meet?
Julia and Drew met when they were children at a daycare. Drew had teased Julia often, even chasing her across the playground until one day she became injured, and her family moved away. After years apart, Julia learns Drew is a radio personality at the hottest radio station in town and listens in on his show often. Never does she think she’ll meet Drew again, especially when he walks back into her life with a proposition.
Here is an excerpt. Hope you enjoy Julia and Drew’s story!
Prologue from Dial K for Kiss by Tanya Eavenson:
Five-year-old Julia Morgan nibbled on the edge of her lip as she crouched behind the monkey bars. She wasn’t really hidden, but she didn’t know where else to go.
“Run, Julia! Andrew sees—” Courtney squealed as one of the other boys appeared from behind a shrub and grabbed her arm.
“Got you,” he shouted, triumphant.
Julia took off running, scanning the playground for a good spot to go unnoticed but coming up empty.
Another squeal and shout drew Julia’s gaze over her shoulder. Beth had been caught as well, and the boys were pulling her friends out of sight, probably to their “boys only” headquarters.
It was up to her now. The girls could win if she didn’t get caught. She continued to the far side of the playground, where a group of kids hung out around the fence. She darted behind them and, trying to blend in, knelt in the dirt. A rock pressed against her knee, but she ignored it and craned her neck to see where Andrew had gone. He was rounding the double slide, stalking the playground like a hunter in the woods.
Since she was only five, her dad never let her do anything when they went hunting, only sit in their hunting blind and watch the deer, but the last time, her mom had gone out of town, and he’d taken her tracking with him. Now, she felt like she was that hunted deer.
“Julia! Game’s over!” Andrew’s hazel eyes swung from right to left, searching. “We have to go in now. It’s snack time.”
Already? Had they been playing that long? The group of kids she knelt behind ran toward the classroom door, leaving her out in the open.
Andrew’s gaze caught hers, and a satisfied smirk filled his face. “There you are.”
As he neared, she dodged toward the fence gate. He countered. She tried to move away again, but he shifted with her. She huffed deeply, trying to catch her breath, and put her hands on her hips in frustration. “I thought you said it was time to go in.”
Giveaway
“I did, but you won’t get away. I’ll chase you for as long as it takes.” He jumped onto the fence gate and swung toward her to block her from getting away.
She tried to run but the gate collided with her face, and the impact threw her onto the ground. Pain slammed both sides of her head, and tears filled her eyes.
Andrew stood over her now, a frown marring his face. “Julia, your forehead’s bleeding bad.”
“My head hurts.” She reached to touch the spot, but Andrew caught her hand.
“You’ll get it dirty.”
At his words, her stomach became queasy. “I don’t feel good.”
His lips flattened, and his brows dipped before he looked away. “Teachers are coming.” He dropped her hand.
“Julia!” Mrs. Dunlap rushed to her side. “Oh dear. Let’s get you inside so we can take a look at your boo-boo.”
Julia whimpered as her teacher lifted her into her arms. Mrs. Dunlap carried her through the yard and into the room where they took naps and set her down gently on her cot. She hurried to a box of tissues on her desk, nabbed a few, and came back. “Let’s put these on your forehead for a moment while I get a washcloth to clean the area. Hold the tissues for me.” She looked away, gaze searching. “I’ll find Mrs. Bright to call your parents.” She hurried away.
How bad was it for her parents to be called? Andrew hadn’t even let her touch it. She could barely hold the tissues against her skin.
Andrew crept through the door, his focus following where Mrs. Dunlap had gone, then settled on the edge of her cot. His eyes narrowed on her forehead. “Are you okay? It looks bad. You have blood on your new shirt.”
“How do you know it’s a new shirt?”
“I’ve never seen it before.”
She looked down at the blue flowered print her mom had brought back from her trip to France last week but seeing the blood drips on the fabric caused nausea to bubble in her throat.
“It hurts?”
Afraid to speak for fear she’d become sick all over Andrew’s shoes, she squeaked out, “Yes.”
“Can I kiss your head and make it feel better?”
“No!” She jolted with shock, then winced at the pain. “You’ll hurt me worse.”
“Then on your mouth. That’s how Daddy makes Mommy’s hurts go away.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips hard against hers before pulling away. “Better?”
She blinked, assessing. “I don’t think so. It still hurts. Is it still bleeding?”
He stood and cocked his head at her. “Yep. Bad too. I think the tissues are stuck to it.”
“Andrew!” Mrs. Dunlap startled them both. “Out with you now.” She was at the cot in three steps and turned Andrew with a small push toward the door.
He complied, looking back at Julia as he went.
Question for Readers: Have you met anyone in church who became a large part of your life? Friends, mates? Tell us about it.
About Tanya: Tanya Eavenson is an award-winning Christian romance novelist. To date, she has
written eleven novels and novellas. Her historical romance, The Rescue, won the 2018 Cascade Award.
Tanya and her husband have been in Christian ministry for twenty-seven years teaching youth and adults. Although she doesn’t consider herself a speaker and prefers to be behind a computer screen, she loves to share her testimony, her faith, her writing journey, and her love for Christ with churches and women’s groups.
When she’s not writing, Tanya enjoys spending time with her husband and their three children. Her favorite pastime includes grabbing a cup of coffee, eating chocolate, making graphics, and reading a good book. Learn more & connect:
Tanya’s Website Tanya’s Facebook Tanya’s Goodreads
Tanya’s Instagram Tanya’s Bookbub
About the book – Dial K for Kiss
When a simple kiss becomes a media frenzy.
Millionaire Julia Morgan isn’t a fan of the limelight, but when a neighboring city blocks her community garden expansion request, she’s left with few options for moving the project forward, all of them uncomfortable. Especially the one involving the man from her past who just walked back into her life with a proposition.
Radio personality Drew Larsen has spent years waiting for an opening in the top-spot morning show of the hottest radio station in town. When it happens, he throws his hat in the ring with a crazy idea. He didn’t expect it to catch like wildfire, or for the station manager to up the ante. If Drew can find his first kiss and convince her to date him for all the world to see, the job is his.
She wants to help others. He wants his dream job. Can they make their hearts’ desires come true before their untold story is revealed?
Dial K for Kiss is a heartwarming Christian contemporary romance, and part of the You Are on the Air series. All books in the series are standalone and can be read in any order.
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I love your wedding pictures, Tanya.
As a pastor’s wife, making friends in church is kind of tough. There for a while I went all in. And got hurt when members left our church on bad terms, through no fault of my husband’s. I went through a short time of keeping church members at arm’s length, so I wouldn’t get hurt. Eventually, I learned to fully love them as long as they’re with us.
How old were you when you got married?
I think I can relate to Shannon on church friends because my husband is pastor’s kid and his brother is a pastor now. We’ve left this church in July and we are making new friends, they really welcomed us. God is good!
I have a winner! Natalya Lakhno won the drawing. I appreciate Tanya for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.