This week I’m hosting Jill Elizabeth Nelson with Betrayal on the Border, Louise Gouge with A Suitable Wife (US and Canada only), Katy Lee with Real Virtue (ebook only) and Alan Schleimer with The Q Manifesto (ebook only). 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 23rd) evening.
Interview with the heroine from Betrayal on the Border by Jill Elizabeth Nelson:
1. Maddie Jerrard, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
Whoa! Way to start the interview with a hard question.
I don’t think of myself as particularly unusual or interesting, though I guess some folks find my career choice odd for my gender. Being raised in a military family—both parents and a brother also in the military—the choice didn’t seem strange at all.
I guess becoming an Army Ranger was going a little above and beyond, but the career path came together so naturally. My heart aches that my Ranger days came so abruptly and tragically to an end following the massacre of my unit and the other coalition forces on the Rio Grande.
I can’t talk any more about that right now. I’m getting choked up, and there’s no time for tears until justice is served for my fallen comrades.
2. What do you do for fun?
Hmm. Fun hasn’t figured much into my life for quite a while. I’d sure like some though.
When I was a kid, I used to love to swim just for fun, not for training purposes. We had a local water hole, complete with rope swing hanging from a tree limb. The neighborhood kids, along with my brother and me, would spend hours there swinging like Tarzan, whooping and splashing.
Thanks for asking this question. I haven’t thought about those idyllic summer days in a long while. The memory brought a smile to my face.
These days I don’t even dream about fun, but I treasure any moment free for a little stolen relaxation. There’s nothing like a nice, long bubble bath in scented water as hot as I can stand it. I sink down in the tub, close my eyes and let myself pretend for just a little while that I haven’t a care in the world. Talk about a fantasy!
3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?
Paperwork and dealing with bureaucrats who understand nothing about the operational end of military service. I’m an action sort of gal.
4. What are you afraid of most in life?
Ending life as alone as I am right now. With my brother and parents dead, my closest relatives are an aunt who lives on the other side of the country and a few cousins I barely know. Since the threat of death dogs my heels every minute of every day, I have no idea how I might hope to form a lasting relationship—much less, a relationship with Chris Mason. However much I’m attracted to him, I have to know for sure that he’s worthy of my trust before I give him my heart.
I guess my hope has to be in Jesus. He’s my Friend—at least I used to know that. We haven’t been as close lately as we used to be. Perhaps I need to work on that.
My other big fear is public speaking. Cliché, right? I’m in awe of Chris, who talks to millions in front of a camera for a living.
5. What do you want out of life?
I want a home and a family. If I’m ever in a position to have kids, I want to give them roots and stability.
6. What is the most important thing to you?
Honor and loyalty. Yes, I know I named two things, but to me, these qualities go hand-in-hand. These are qualities people join the military seeking, especially if they go into any type of elite unit like the Army Rangers.
Comrades-in-arms need to trust one another implicitly. Our lives literally depend on each of us possessing, in addition to a honed skill set, an ingrained sense of honor and loyalty. A traitor to the unit is about the worst skunk on the planet, and I mean to uncover the rotten lowlife who betrayed us to die in the desert.
7. Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?
Sure, I read—training manuals, communications software briefs, that sort of thing. Just kidding! Well, not really. I do read those things—at least I did before I was discharged from the Army. But I assume you’re referring to recreational reading. I absolutely devour biographies of political, military, and humanitarian figures. (I’m not much on reading about the so-called celebrities.) A good historically-based novel can also hold my attention.
I do have one guilty pleasure—I enjoy reading fashion magazines, checking out all the latest styles in clothing and make-up. My career choice didn’t allow me much chance to get out of Army fatigues, but a gal can dream.
8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Hmmm. Maybe become a little more of a girlie-girl? Try out some of those fashions I drool over? I’d probably feel like a fish out of water, but it might be fun to glam up once in a while. If I survive to actually find a life for myself, maybe I’ll have that opportunity.
9. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
I would travel back a year ago to just before my unit was wiped out in the Mexican desert and somehow stop the massacre from happening. All my best buddies died in that attack. Talk about being adrift in the world with no ties . . . Which leads into the pet question.
10. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
Being in the Army for so many years and then being on the run from hired assassins doesn’t leave any opportunity for adopting a flesh and blood pet. I do have a pet car—my brother’s restored 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass. He died on duty in Afghanistan a while back, and I inherited Ginger from him. The car is just about the last link to close family that I possess. She means a lot to me.
If I ever get out of this mess and settle down, I think I’d like a dog. Something medium-large and trainable, like a Golden Retriever, that would enjoy morning runs with me and go swimming with me just for fun.
