Heroine Interview from Harvest of Rubies by Tessa Afshar

» Posted on May 25, 2012 in Blog | Comments Off on Heroine Interview from Harvest of Rubies by Tessa Afshar

This week I’m hosting Lena Nelson Dooley with Mary’s Blessings, Rhonda Gibson with The Marshal’s Promise, Allie Pleiter with Homefront Hero, and Tessa Afshar with Harvest of Rubies.  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 (May 27th) evening.

Interview with the heroine from Harvest of Rubies by Tessa Afshar:

Sarah, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

Some say I am brilliant because I speak several languages with ease, and have considerable expertise with accounts. They say I am astute because I have managed to solve plots and palace mysteries that have saved the queen of Persia from grave trouble. But I have come to realize that the most interesting thing about me is just … me.

What do you do for fun?

Once I would have said reading and writing. I love to learn. I still enjoy these things. But my greatest joy is being with friends and family now. I have come to see that people are much more important than achievements or pastimes.

What do you put off doing because you dread it?

Beauty treatments and hair appointments. God preserve me; the boredom of it is enough to bring tears to my eyes. The only thing worse is housework.

What are you afraid of most in life?

Failing other people’s expectations. Being a burden. And spiders. I don’t much care for those either.

What do you want out of life?

To win my husband’s love, my father’s approval, and my God’s acceptance.

What is the most important thing to you?

Ah, Margaret. That is such a wise question, for if you know the deepest desires of my heart, then you know me. Once, I am ashamed to say, the most important thing to me was to win the approval of others by my achievements. I am changing now. Through loss and my own foolish mistakes I have come to learn that the most important thing is to be true to God. If I can live to please Him, my heart rests content. Even if others cannot see my worth, I can have God’s peace.

Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?

My world does not offer the same richness of reading material as yours. I do read whenever I can. Recently, some of the Psalms have become accessible in written form, and these I read voraciously. I also like tales of adventure, like the Epic of Gilgamesh. However, after my own recent adventures, I read such stories with sober sympathy. Adventures are not all that they are cut out to be, I have found. They can be painful and uncomfortable.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would be taller and thinner. My legs would go up higher. My hair would curl naturally. My tongue would be more still. Oh, I beg your pardon. You asked only for one thing. But what a constraint to put upon a woman.

Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

My beautiful Caspian, my husband’s favorite hunting dog, is more of a friend than a pet. He is loyal and smart, and always under the impression that he the master and I the servant. I am not sure that he is wrong.

If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

I would love to visit king David. He seemed to have found the secret of faithfulness and joy in the midst of grave trials. He would cry out to God with one breath, looking for salvation and respite, and with the other, he would whisper his trust and hope. I would learn the secret of that man, for he seemed to know how to be happy in the midst of hardships.

Thank you so much for inviting me into your world, Margaret. It is so fascinating. I especially like active wear and yoga pants. And cars. I cannot believe that your women can move in such comfort.