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| Rumney Fire Department |
I was invited to participate in my very first Blog Chain, this one made up of members of my local chapter of Romance Writers of America. How could I resist? The men and women of Heart of Carolina Romance Writers are a great bunch of people and this sounded like a great opportunity for me. I write under two names, so today’s post will be my alter ego, Nancy Lennea, answering questions thrown at me by a character from my next book, LOVE TO THE RESCUE.
An interview BY a character you say? Yes! I can already see the possibilities even before I hear the questions. I will do my best to keep the conversation P-G, since my book’s hero has insisted on stepping up to the plate. As you will find out in the book, Pete Thayer is NOT a boy scout, especially with the secret he carries.
The Character:
Paramedic firefighter Pete Thayer arrived in the small New Hampshire community of Parmenter about a year ago. His partner, Josie, suspects he is hiding something. Once on track to be a doctor, a woman’s lies ruined everything for Pete, which is why he keeps women at a distance unless they agree to share his bed…and nothing more.
The Interview:
After what I’ve heard about Pete from the gossip making the rounds all over town, I agreed to meet him in a very public place…the firehouse on Parmenter’s Main street. I pull into the lot and wave to other firefighters who are keeping the summer sun’s heat at bay by hosing down the fire truck…and each other. Ooh, my heart be still. They had removed their shirts, and the water cascading over sun-kissed muscles is making me feel faint. I hope Pete keeps his shirt on, or this could turn into one uncomfortable interview.
I find Pete sipping coffee at the kitchen table. He stands and gestures to a chair.
“Coffee?” he asks.
“Sure. A little cream, please,” I say with a shy smile. He IS good looking!
“No sugar?”
“I’m sweet enough, my husband says,” I add, letting him know up front that I am taken. I must remind myself, too. He smiles as if reading my mind. When he slides his trim 6’ frame into the ladder-back kitchen chair, I take a moment to drink in his tanned profile. Sandy-blond hair and golden eyebrows nearly hide his baby blues. I am such a sucker for blue eyes. I swallow.
“So, ready?”
What did he say? Ready for what? I gain control over my breathing once again and concentrate on his light blue paramedic shirt and brass nametag. I’d glanced at his navy blue uniform slacks with many pockets and several tools. A flashlight? A radio? He wore much the same things I carried when I volunteered on the Rumney F.A.S.T. Squad.
“Ready when you are,” I answered.
“Well, Nancy, rumor has it that you were a volunteer firefighter. True?”
“Yes. I joined the rescue squad first. I have always wanted to be in medicine but never got around to it, and I saw this as a great opportunity. My kids were now old enough to be left unattended when the pager went off. Poor Eric, my youngest.” A laugh erupts and I slap a hand over my mouth. Pete reaches across the table and pulls it away, the heat from his fingers dancing over my skin. Why aren’t these buildings air-conditioned?
“What about Eric? I heard you have two sons?”
“Rob’s my oldest. I didn’t want him stuck baby-sitting his brother, so I waited until Eric turned 10 to join the Rumney New Hampshire Volunteer Fire Department. Several times I had to stop the car and tell him to walk home, or I was late picking him up from sports, or he actually drove to an accident scene with me. He was a trooper and allowed his mother to help others. Both boys were proud of me and the little red light on my white Dodge Caravan!”
“What about the fire department? Isn’t that tough on women?”
“Don’t let Josie hear that!”
Pete had the smarts to blush. “You’re right. Joe is great and as hard-working as any of the guys.”
“But, you DO know she isn’t a guy.” I was worried Pete wasn’t taking advantage of someone who wanted him with every beat of her heart. I’d spoken to Josie just the other day and she couldn’t stop talking about her partner, Pete. Ah, well, love is wasted on the young.
“Well, sure, but I don’t see her as a woman. True, her hair usually smells great, unless we’re fighting a forest fire. And her chocolate-brown eyes make my head swim, when they aren’t hidden by her safety visor.” Pete squirmed in his seat and wouldn’t look at me. He sipped his coffee, then grimaced.
“Gone cold.” He jumped from his seat and poured another cup, giving me a chance to look. Something akin to a bulge filled the front of his slacks. Me thinks the man protests too much. He does like Josie! Well, well, well.
“I take it you’re married?”
“Who, me? Yes. Very. Thirty-five years, actually.”
“To the same guy?” His look of incredulity makes me squirm in my seat. Luckily, I am not one to keep quiet when insulted.
“What? You don’t believe a virile man like my Richard would want to spend a lifetime with a woman like me?” The tips of my ears are burning, and probably turning red. Now I see why Pete has few friends. The man speaks before thinking.
“Whoa, Nancy. I meant no insult! I personally cannot conceive waking up each day to the same woman. Not that you aren’t the perfect woman for…Richard.”
“I guess you have to hope that you someday find the woman who makes waking up beside her worth your while,” I add.
“Okay, let’s change the subject. You have several books out and I want to know more about your latest release, LOVE TO THE RESCUE.”
“Thank-you. Yes, I have four titles out under either Nancy Lennea or Nancy Lee Badger, and my two websites and blogs keep me busy, while I keep writing. LOVE TO THE RESCUE follows my September 2010 release of DESTINY’S MOUNTAIN.
This current book is the continuous mountain saga also set in the small college town of Parmenter, New Hampshire. I have brought two characters from my last book forward, because their relationship and their profession as paramedic firefighters made them an obvious choice for adventure and intrigue. Secrets, mountain rescues, car accidents, and forest fires keep my readers turning the pages.”
“What about sex?”
My throat spasms. No air. What is Pete asking? Well, ask him, you fool. “What about sex?”
“Is there sex in your book? I happen to like hot and steamy love scenes.”
“Well, yes there are a few, but since my heroine is…let’s just say NOT a player…her relationship with the man of her dreams is a long time coming. He, he.”
“Okay, where can your readers buy your book?”
“LOVE TO THE RESCUE, my romantic suspense, will be available from Red Rose Publishing on July 14th.”
“Tell your readers more about YOU.” Pete winks, clasps my hand in his, and leans closer. Thank goodness there is a solid wood table between us. “At least, I want to know more.”
“Anything you say, handsome. I grew up on New York's Long Island then earned a Bachelor of Science degree at a small state college amid the mountains of New Hampshire. My husband and I settled in a tiny rural town nearby. I worked many years as a 9-1-1 emergency medical dispatcher and we now live in North Carolina where I write full-time. I am a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Celtic Heart Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, and Sisters in Crime. I invite my readers to check out the other HCRW members being interviewed by their characters. "
"Is that all?"
"Oh, well, I would love readers to follow me on Twitter. I am @NLBadger."
Full list of participants:
Aimee Laine : http://www.aimeelaine.com/blog/
Lyla Dune : http://lyladune.com/blog.html
Carol Strickland : http://carolastrickland.blogspot.com/
Amy Corwin : http://amycorwin.blogspot.com/
Lilly Gayle : http://www.lillygayleromance.blogspot.com/
Rebekkah Niles : http://juturnafaerthing.blogspot.com/
Laura Browning : http://www.laurabrowningbooks.blogspot.com/
Andris Bear : http://andrisbear.wordpress.com/
Marcia Colette : http://marciacolette.wordpress.com/
Nancy Badger (ME!) : http://www.nancylennea-inlove.blogspot.com/
Sarah Mäkelä : http://blog.sarahmakela.com/
Jennifer Harrington : http://www.romanceadventures.blogspot.com/
Scott Berger : http://romanticadventurestories.wordpress.com/
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