 I can't begin to tell you what a blessing it's been to work with the wonderful authors involved in the Fall Into Romance collection. I'm going to be chatting with one of these amazing people each week leading up to the release of Fall Into Romance. I hope you enjoy these interviews as much as I have! Chatting with Tamie Dearen Restoring Romance I'm so glad you can be here, Tamie! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Restoring Romance. The characters and story were so much fun! Melanie: Romance, Oregon is a beautiful place with a small-town atmosphere and big personalities. If you could visit Romance yourself, what one shop or person would you want to make sure was on your itinerary? Tamie: Since I love antiques, I wouldn’t want to miss visiting Adam Walker’s antiques and restoration store, Good As Old. Adam is the mayor of Romance Oregon, but his passion is finding and restoring beauty to old and neglected pieces of furniture. Melanie: Animals are a big part of the stories that make up our Fall Into Romance compilation. Tell us a little about the critters in your novella. Tamie: In Restoring Romance, Ash, a transplant to Romance from New York City, adopts a large, ugly cat named Lucky, much to the chagrin of Adam, who happens to have a violent feline allergy. Adam, in turn, adopts a large dog—Kujo—with a bark that makes Lucky yowl in fear. Melanie: Which of the characters in your story do you relate to the most? Why is that? Tamie: I suppose I most relate to Donna Walker, who has a large dinner gathering at her house every Sunday night. My husband and I do the same thing every Thursday night, except that our gathering is made up of college and graduate students instead of family. Melanie: What about writing your novella was the most challenging? Tamie: This is the shortest romance I’ve ever written, so my biggest challenge was sticking to the word limit without skimping on the plot or character development. I had to cut a few scenes, but in the end, I gleaned the very best for this story. Melanie: What state do you live in? What’s the weather like there in the fall? Tamie: I live in Texas, where we don’t have much of a fall, but it’s a dream of mine to spend a year some place like Oregon, where I can truly experience all the seasons. Melanie: Coffee, hot cocoa, or tea. Which do you prefer during the fall and winter? Tamie: I love the smell of coffee, but not the taste. I’m a tea girl, all the way. I drink hot tea every single morning, summer or winter. However, my husband makes the best hot cocoa in the world, a special treat I save for evenings around the fire in the winter. Melanie: There are a lot of wonderful pumpkin-flavored treats at the Fall Festival in Romance. Do you like pumpkin? If so, what’s your favorite pumpkin-flavored food? Tamie: For a special treat at Thanksgiving, we sometimes have pumpkin soup, baked in the pumpkin shell. Simply cut off the top, scoop out the seeds, and fill the pumpkin with chicken broth. Then replace the lid and roast it in the oven. When serving, scoop out a bit of the pumpkin meat with the broth. It’s beautiful and yummy! Melanie: When you go to a festival or fair, is there a particular type of food you look forward to getting that you don’t usually buy at any other time? Tamie: My favorite “fair” food is probably roasted corn on the cob. The corn is cooked inside the husk, which is peeled down to make a handle. Then the cob is placed back on the fire to give the corn a little char. Served with butter and salt, it’s a mouth-watering treat.  Tamie Dearen has been married to her very romantic husband since 1982. They have two beautiful daughters, two amazing son-in-laws, and one awesome grandson. She plays piano, flute, harmonica, keyboards, and guitar, and loves composing and art. And she hates housework. A dentist in private practice for thirty years, Tamie stays busy playing on her church's praise team and teaching graduate students each week. In her spare time, she escapes the real world by writing books. Tamie met her husband as a freshman in college when she acted out of character on a whim. One night in the library lobby, she spied a cute guy with his first name written on the back of his shirt. She called out his name. When he approached to talk to her, she pretended that she'd met him before, asking about his classes and how he liked college. To her surprise and delight, he also pretended that he knew her, but of course he didn't know her name. They continued this false relationship for two months. Each time they saw each other,an event which occurred three times per week at the cafeteria, he would pretend he knew her. Meanwhile, all of Tamie's friends were careful not to reveal her name to him. When he finally admitted his ignorance of her name, he was astonished to learn the truth. And the rest is history. Restoring Romance  She’s a big city chef who likes cats. He’s a small town mayor who restores antiques. But even with feline allergies at play, true love is nothing to sneeze at. When Ash Hendrix moves into her aunt’s historic home in Romance, Oregon, she’s ready to bring New York City style to the sleepy little town. But her dream of remodeling the old home into a stylish restaurant is cut short when the mayor interferes. Her opposite in every way, the infuriating Adam is the last man she could ever be attracted to. So why can’t she stop thinking about him? Mayor Adam Walker can’t believe the cute blond he met at the festival is the woman who’s trying to destroy his family’s legacy. Initially intent on shutting down her plans, he’s shocked to find himself wanting to fulfill them, instead. But she doesn’t trust him. And why would she, with her traumatic past and his earlier antagonism? Can these two opposites find happily-ever-after? Not without a little help from their friends and family… and a can of pink paint. Fall Into Romance - Pre-Order for Only $0.99!  Restoring Romance by Tamie Dearen is one of ten sweet novellas in the Fall Into Romance collection. Surround yourself in the romance of the autumn season with 10 heartwarming, sweet novellas from the USA Today, national bestselling, and award-winning authors. Each story takes you inside the heart of a small town-its people-and features adorable animal friends in need of a forever home. Take a trip to Romance, Oregon, where falling in love has never been easier and happily-ever-after is guaranteed! Join the Party  Join us for the Fall Into Romance Release Party on October 5th from 2:30 until 6:00 p.m. EDT. We'll have a lot of fun, giveaways, prizes, and more! You won't want to miss it!
1 Comment
9/14/2017 01:51:27 pm
So fun to learn more about you and your story, Tamie! Best wishes! Leave a Reply. |
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