This week I’m hosting Marta Perry with Katie’s Way, Susan Meissner with A Sound Among the Trees, and Pamela S. Meyers with Thyme for Love. 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 4th) evening.
Interview with the heroine for Thyme for Love by Pamela S. Meyers:
1. April Love, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
An obvious thing is my name. At least for those in my parents’ generation. People around my age never heard of the song “April Love” but whenever an older person hears my name, they start humming that tune made famous by Pat Boone. It was and still is my mom’s favorite sentimental song. It was popular when she met my dad. Then they got married the following April, and when I was born two years later on April 1st, what else with the last name of Love could she name me?
Another interesting thing is during college. I spent my summers with my Aunt Kitty in her home at Canoga Lake, Wisconsin. Canoga Lake is located about ten minutes east of Lake Geneva, a much larger lake that has twice as many mansions on it’s shoreline. Every morning during the summer an excursion boat carries the mail, and as it passes by a pier, a mail jumper leaps off the boat, shoves the mail into a mailbox, and hops back on the boat before it moves away. You have to be really fast, but it’s a blast. And on really hot days we often missed the boat on purpose for a cool dunk in the water. That kept the boat passengers entertained too.
2. What do you do for fun?
This is going to sound weird since cooking is what I do for a living, but even when I’m not on the job I love developing new recipes and trying them out on my friends. For years I had to put off my dream of being a chef because of a promise I made to my dad. I worked as a CPA during the day and attended culinary school at night. Since I just moved to Wisconsin from Georgia, I only know a few people, but I’m looking forward to having casual dinner parties very soon. As for now, Aunt Kitty is my willing guinea pig.
3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?
Visiting my parents in Chicago. I love both of them, but my dad has only one thing on his mind. Getting me to come back and work for him as a CPA. He thinks cooking is menial and that I’m wasting my college education by not using what I trained to do in college. Things have been tense between us for years. My mom understands me, but it’s hard to just visit her and not dad.
4. What are you afraid of most in life?
A while back someone I cared for a lot hurt me deeply and it took a long time for me to get over that. It’s been hard to trust again, because I never want to go through that hurt again.
5. What do you want out of life?
The morning I interviewed for my current job and came face to face with my former fiancé, Marc Thorne, whom I hadn’t seen in eight years, I wanted to turn tail and bolt. But I’m glad I didn’t. I don’t want to tell you more because it would ruin my story when you read it J. But, I will say I’d like to make amends with my dad. That’s been my prayer lately.
6. What is the most important thing to you?
My faith in God has to be number one. I gave my heart to Jesus as a child, but the past eight years have been my time for maturing in my faith, especially the past several months. I don’t know how I could ever live without God in my life.
7. Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?
I love to read antique cookbooks. There I go again. Do you get the idea that cooking is my life . . . almost? I love a good Christian romance, especially historicals. Aunt Kitty loves mysteries and I’ve read some from her collection. But after having lived through my own mystery, which you’ll read about when you read my story, reading fictional mystery doesn’t really cut it for me.
8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
To slim down my thunder thighs. Is it vain to answer the question that way? Maybe so, but I guess I’m so self-conscious because the bane of being a chef is all the tasting we do during preparation. My aunt and Marc both tell me my shape is fine, but I disagree. LOL
9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
I had a mixed breed dog named Toby growing up. He had to be put down while I was in college. I’ve never had a pet of my own since then, but Kitty has always had cats. Kind of goes with her name, doesn’t it? Right now she has two who came from a shelter—Rosebud and Violet. They’ve taken to sleeping with me which I think bothers Kitty, but she’d never admit it. Maybe I’ll get a cat someday when I’m in my own place. They do make good company.
10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
I think it would be fun to go back to the late 1800s when the mansion I work in was first built and see what the place looked like back then. I don’t think the outside has changed much, but the inside has been renovated a couple times. I’d like to peek in on the ballroom when it was used for dances and servants waited on the family. And, of course, the kitchen. That’s probably when I’d want to be transported back to the present. I have to admit I love that kitchen as it is now with the granite counters, huge stainless stove and fridge, the countertop grill, not to mention all the small appliances at my fingertips.
If that’s the last question, I’d better be on my way. I have paella to prep for tomorrow night. Thanks for having me. I hope you’ll get a copy of my story. It’s called Thyme for Love.