Shannon here: Contemporary Romance author, Valerie Comer shares insight into her characters’ romance from her latest release, Dandelions for Dinner. Comment or answer the question at the end of any post dated March 6 – 9 to enter the drawing for an e-book copy. Deadline: March 14th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Valerie:
Interview with Brent Callahan, the hero from Dandelions for Dinner:
- What’s the most romantic thing you ever did for Allison?
That feels like it’s telling too much of our story, because I admit I didn’t feel any more romantic toward her than she did toward me for a long time. But I’ll give you a hint, and let your imagination take it from there. I’m the contractor in charge of building Allison’s home. Let’s just say I did my best to make her home as special as I could for her.
- What’s the most romantic thing Allison ever did for you?
It might seem like a baby step to you, but it was when she trusted me around her four-year-old nephew, Finnley. When she allowed me to participate in their relationship and be part of his life.
Allison doesn’t understand romance. She’s never seen true love in action. Her own parents stayed together for complex, self-serving reasons. So this step of letting me in was absolutely huge for all of us.
- What simple gesture does Allison do that melts you every time?
When she steps back and wraps both arms around herself, I remember where she’s come from. I remember it’s her need to protect herself talking. So when she actually opens her arms and steps forward into mine, when she reaches for my hand, or when she lets me read her soul through her eyes, I feel entrusted beyond belief.
- How soon after meeting Allison did you know she was the one?
Our relationship began rather rocky, starting with the fact she thought my uncle would be the on-site foreman, not a young guy like me. She challenged me every single time I turned around, and I soon began to enjoy the verbal sparring. It took a few weeks to realize how dangerous that had been—that with every confrontation, she’d wormed her way a little more into my heart. And then when Finnley came to live with her and I saw how vulnerable she was with him, I was totally sunk.
- Who is most romantic, you or Allison?
Me, hands down. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. I am really looking forward to teaching her about romance and love. I think the results will be very rewarding…for both of us.
- Who said, “I love you” first, you or Allison?
That would be me. She’s built high walls around herself. When she tells you about her life, you’ll understand why she’s so insecure. If I could make her past different, I would do it in a heartbeat.
- What is the most caring thing you have ever done for Allison?
Praying for her. Giving her the time she needed. This was also the hardest part, because by then I was completely convinced God had brought us together. It was agony waiting for her to realize the same and step forward with me.
About Valerie: Valerie Comer’s life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their creation-care-centric church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.
Valerie writes Farm Lit where food meets faith, injecting experience laced with humor into her award-winning Farm Fresh Romance stories.
About the book – Dandelions for Dinner:
She hates him. He loves her not.
Men are weeds. Allison Hart doesn’t need them in her carefully tended life, though her friends at Green Acres seem happy with their guys. Why can’t Allison open her heart to anyone but her young nephew? Then again, he’ll be a man one day, too. If only the irritating contractor in charge of building her home and farm school wasn’t the boy’s favorite person.
Fireworks with Brent Callahan’s newest client shift from antagonism to the rocky possibility of a relationship. When he comes face to face with a history he’d much rather forget, he realizes hiding his failures isn’t the best option for finding forgiveness, let alone love.
Can a little boy help weed out the past before it chokes their future together?
Purchase Links: http://valeriecomer.com/books/dandelions-dinner-farm-fresh-romance-farm-lit/
Question: Do you grow a garden?
Come back March 9th for part two with Valerie!
I have had some really nice gardens in the past. Unfortunately, my yard is filled with large, old trees and I no longer have enough sunlight to grow vegetables. I do have small areas here and there and I’m thinking of planting some herbs and leaf lettuce. One end of my front porch is sunny and I might try growing a tomato plant in a large container.
I love the title of this book. It reminds me of my dad. He loved dandelion greens and I remember fondly helping him dig young dandelions in the spring. I know my mom mixed them with another “green”, but I can’t remember which one(s). I prefer collard greens, myself.
I’m looking forward to heaven, where we can garden without weeds, and I’m sure there will be plenty of Light!
Hi Kay! I haven’t met too many people who’ve tried dandelion greens! I’d love to know what your mom mixed them with. Was it another wild green, do you think?
I’m not sure God considers dandelions to be weeds. As my characters muse in Dandelions for Dinner, weeds are simply plants growing where they’re not wanted.
Hope you enjoy reading Dandelions! 🙂
Thank you for the great character interview. I have not had a garden in a few years but plan to get back to it before long.
I am not a gardener by any means. I can hardly keep a house plant alive! I do have one ivy plant in my office at work that I have managed to keep alive for several years.
Thanks for the interview ladies!
I’ve planted many gardens. I really like canning pickles and salsa.
My husband is the one in our family with the green thumb. We have fig trees, blueberry bushes, and other assorted varieties of plants.
As you can tell I’m the one with the black thumb.
Valerie, we ate a lot of different greens, when I was growing up, so I don’t really know what she mixed the dandelion greens with. She was very interested in wild, edible plants. She also grew greens in her garden like Swiss chard, kale, mustard greens and turnips/greeens.
Thanks so much to all of you for your comments. I’m not very good with houseplants, either. And I share my garden plants with bugs, but there’s nearly always enough for all of us to share. 😉
I don’t grow a garden. But my parents usually grow tomatoes. And several people at church keep me supplied in cucumbers and okra, so I’m happy.
I don’t houseplants since I kill them. And no flowers in my yard. We moved into a house where a widow lady had lived before us once. There were flower beds everywhere. I pulled weeds and carefully mowed around them the first year. The next year, I put the lawnmower in the flowerbeds and mowed those babies down. Way too much time and trouble for me. I have flowering bushes that are easily mowed around and that’s all.