This week I’m hosting Jill Elizabeth Nelson with Mistletoe Mayhem in Season of Danger and Hannah Alexander with Silent Night, Deadly Nightin Season of Danger. 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 (December 18th) evening.
Interview with the heroine from Mistletoe Mayhem from Season of Danger by Jill Elizabeth Nelson:
Kelly Granger, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
Interesting is in the eye of the beholder, but I suspect most people would raise their eyebrows if they knew how sentimental I am about family heirlooms. I know these items are just things, and they won’t last forever, but they create a link for me to my heritage, and more importantly, to people that I loved but are now waiting for me in heaven.
What do you do for fun?
I treasure family and have very little of it left. Hanging out with my sister and my three-year-old niece is my idea of the best day ever. Unfortunately, my demanding career as a veterinarian and my sister Brenda’s equally demanding responsibilities as a restaurant owner create a challenge for us to make time for each other. But I guess what is truly important to a person is what they’ll sacrifice to have. I’ll even put my laundry on hold if I have a chance to take my niece to the park. 😉 From that statement, you can probably tell that I have a fascinating private life. I wish that circumstance would change, but am I ready to give in to my attraction to my new next door neighbor?
What do you put off doing because you dread it?
Cooking. Blech! That’s my sister’s domain. More power to her. I’d rather eat at her restaurant every meal than try to make myself anything more complicated than a sandwich. Any man who marries me will have to like kitchen time. Maybe I should be on the look-out for an unmarried chef. LOL. I wonder if a guy who inspects restaurant kitchens for the state government is close enough to a chef to qualify. That Matthew Bennett next door knocks me out every time he smiles, but I’m not ready to fall for a guy just because he makes my heart trip over itself. One broken engagement in my past is one too many.
What are you afraid of most in life?
Living out my days as a slave to my career and coming home to an empty house every night. Don’t get me wrong. I love being a veterinarian and tending the health of people’s livestock and pets, but I’ve never believed that anyone’s job should trump a rich family life. On the other hand, I’m afraid to open up my heart to someone new. The loss of my parents in a tragic accident, a fiancé walking out on me, and nearly losing my sister to breast cancer has made me skittish about investing myself in a fresh relationship. What if I lose that person too? Does my fear of risking my heart condemn me to live out my fear of being alone?
What do you want out of life?
More family—my own immediate family so I don’t have to live vicariously through my sister’s family.
What is the most important thing to you?
See my answer to question 2. J
Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?
With a jam-packed social schedule like mine, how would I make time to read? Just kidding! Most evenings, I curl up under the covers with a book and devour a few chapters before the yawns win out. I’ve awakened more than once in the middle of the night with the book drooping in my hand and the bedside lamp shining in my face. I’m an avid mystery fan, but I’m also a sap for gooey, sweet romances. Must be my secret yearnings leaking out.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d like to be less of a “fixer.” I’m always jumping into a situation with both feet to try to make it better. More often than not, I end up in trouble—like getting treed by a vicious dog. Of course, if I didn’t have a “fixer” personality, maybe I wouldn’t do well as a veterinarian. I’m a bulldog about making sure the animals under my care get the best treatment. I’m also a bit of a crusader about people taking proper responsibility for their pets and livestock. Abuse or neglect makes me livid.
Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
I don’t have my own pet, but I care for all sorts of pets on a daily basis. My sister has an adorable Yorkshire terrier, and my next door neighbor has the cutest galoot of a St. Bernard pup. He’s a little trouble-maker—er, a big and getting bigger trouble-maker. The critter tore my outdoor Christmas decorations to shreds then slobbered my face with his tongue and gazed at me with heart-melting eyes. Kind of like his master’s mesmerizing gaze. Ahem, but my attraction to Matt is in a whole other league than fondness for a pet, and I’m not sure I’m ready to go there. Matt better get his dog into an obedience training class fast, or he’ll have more than ripped up Christmas decorations on his hands.
If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
I wouldn’t mind reliving a few of my childhood and young adult Christmases, back before my parents were killed in the car accident. Though the reason for the season brings comfort regardless of outward circumstances, my most recent Christmases have contained more heartache than joy. I wish I could be sure that some wonderful Christmases were in store for my future.