This week I’m hosting Kellie Coates Gilbert with Mother of Pearl (giveaway for only U.S. residents), Margaret Daley with A Mom’s New Start, Kathy Harris with The Road to Mercy, and Ronie Kendig with Trinity. If you want to enter the drawings for the books, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (September 9th) evening.
Interview with the heroine from Mother of Pearl by Kellie Coates Gilbert:
1. Barrie Graeber, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
I’m a high school counselor because I believe I can make a difference. I often tease that motivating teens is a little like herding rabbits. But, most young people will rise to the occasion when they feel supported. I love being a part of that.
2. What do you do for fun?
Added to my responsibilities at school, I also juggle the roles of wife and mother. So, I don’t have a lot of time for fun. Occasionally, I show up at a football game with my family, but most of the people in our small Idaho town could say that. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against football. But why must education always take a back seat to sports? Truth is, in this town football reigns. Academics are often left to drift to shore while the athletic program leans back, clipping along like a Kennedy on a sailboat. Sometimes the one with the most trophies can still wind up a loser.
3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?
I definitely dread going for Sunday dinner at Mother’s. The only thing worse for my mother than being controlling, is being seen as controlling. She hides behind fancy china and perfectly coiffed hair, but I know she believes I married beneath myself. Fact is, I’m pretty much one big disappointment in her eyes. And, no matter how much armor I build around my heart, I’m amazed how much it hurts when one of her little darts pokes through. Daddy, God rest his soul, served as a buffer when he was alive. Now that he’s gone, I simply have to remember to brace myself in every conversation.
4. What are you afraid of most in life?
Becoming my mother—a person void of the ability to connect without pretense. At the end of the day, I don’t want my children feeling alone and unable to tell me what is on their hearts.
5. What do you want out of life?
I long to know when you find yourself in the deep places in life, there really is hope on the other side.
6. What is the most important thing to you?
I hope my children understand they never have to earn my love.
7. Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?
My nose is typically buried in FAFSA manuals. Oh, and I read a lot of take-out menus!
8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would not let my mother get under my skin. And I would probably lose a little weight.
9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
Our family dog is a yellow lab named Omelette. I’m not necessarily what you’d call a dog person, but my Aaron adores that animal.
10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
I’d reverse the clock to that sunny fall afternoon when I drove Pearl home from a football game, the day everything changed.
