I’m delighted to welcome back fellow Wild Rose Press author Linda Carroll Bradd. Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win in her giveaway.
Thanks, Babette, for hosting me today. I’d like to share an interview with the heroine of my latest short contemporary, Dipping In A Toe.
How about you introduce yourself by providing the basics?
Jessa Landers. Single mother to two children who are my pride and joy. Adam is 15 and Sadie is 12.
Did you grow up here in Lorenzo, California?
No, I moved here early in my marriage because my husband had a general contracting job here. We met and married while attending college in Chico, which isn’t too far away. When I got pregnant with my first child, I dropped out of college.
You’re a single mom. Is that due to divorce?
Nope, I’m a widow. My husband developed a strange form of pneumonia three years ago and was gone within 72 hours. The kids have accepted life without him and are getting on with their lives.
Do you work outside the home?
I am doing a balancing act—going to college to finish my degree in interior design and working a part-time job at a builder’s design center. Plus raising two kids and chauffeuring them to their athletic activities. Their dad instilled the love of sports in both kids, and I’m keeping that connection with Dylan alive.
What attracts you first to a man?
His gentleness. I experienced a relationship with a man who thought he knew what was best for his family and often my opinion was discounted. Now I’m looking for a partner who listens to what I want.
Are you ready to jump back into the dating scene?
Is anyone ever ready? Enough time has passed that I’m feeling lonely for male companionship. I can see my kids are in a good place and now it’s time for me to work on my identity separate from being “their mom.” In the time since becoming a widow, I’ve learned a lot about myself, established a new routine for our household, and have grown stronger. What’s scary is the thought I may lose that again by entering into a relationship. Layer on the worries about my children accepting a different man into their lives, how that will affect my relationship with my husband’s parents, and when I can even find the time to go on a date with my busy schedule. I’m afraid that adding one more facet to my life will tip the scales and everything will shift out of balance. Can you tell that I’m a bit of a worrier, and maybe taking a second chance on dating is not such a good idea?
A giveaway! Those who leave a comment here or on my blog (http://blog.lindacarroll-bradd.com) by June 13th will be eligible for a drawing of a title from my backlist. Be sure to include your email address so I have a way to contact you.
Entering into a new relationship brings hopes and worries. What are your favorite memories of taking a “second chance?”
Blurb:
Jessa Landers has a crush on her teens’ swim coach but is hoping no one notices. On her own following her husband’s death three years ago, she’s managing her life and enjoys her freedom–except for those long, lonely evenings when she craves the company of an attentive man.
Coach Rick Grant loves his job as high school teacher and volunteer swim coach. But being surrounded by other people’s families has him yearning for a romantic connection of his own. His attraction to Jessa has grown with each swim match, and he’s finally ready to make his move.
Rick is spontaneous, energetic, and years younger. When he declares his obvious romantic interest, his take-charge attitude pushes the boundaries of Jessa’s controlled world. Will she protect the balance of her family life, or take a second chance on love?
Excerpt:
As if pulled by an invisible thread, my gaze went to the tall, fit man with the ever-present clipboard in one hand and a stopwatch in the other. Normally an adult wearing tropical-print board shorts and a faded surfboard tee-shirt looked like he clung with desperation onto his youth. Instead Rick Grant wore the attire like a medal of honor—like he’d earned the right to promote a Hawaiian surfing competition from a decade earlier.
Maybe he had. The image of his tan, lean body balancing on top of a surfboard flittered through my mind. I pictured him, thinner but still muscular, body sparkling with water droplets, wavy hair streaked with blonde highlights, outlined against a cerulean blue sky. A heartfelt sigh escaped.
Christy stopped to turn in her ascent up the metal bleachers, and cocked her head. “You okay, Jessa?”
Caught. I whirled toward the bleachers and set a foot on the lowest step. “I’m fine. Where do you want to sit?” Heat burned my cheeks and I ducked my head, pretending the need to focus on placing my wedge sandals on each step. I didn’t want the other mothers to learn about my pathetic infatuation with the swim coach.
An infatuation I kept telling myself was wrong. Didn’t I have enough to do between my paralegal job, keeping up the house, managing the kids’ activities, and arranging visits with their grandparents? How could I possibly add dating to this hectic lifestyle?
Even if by some wild chance the man in question were to show interest…
Bio: As a child, Linda was often found lying on her bed reading about characters having exciting adventures in places far away. Upon reaching a landmark birthday, she decided to write one of those romances she loved so much. Easier said than done. Perseverance paid out and twelve years later, she received her first call from a publisher and a confession story was published. Now Linda writes heartwarming contemporary and historical stories with a touch of humor, and many have a tie to her previous home of Texas.
Linda currently lives in the southern California mountains with her husband of 34+ years and their two spoiled dogs, Shiba Inu Keiko and terrier mix Phoenix.
You can find Linda at:
http://blog.lindacarroll-bradd.com
http://twitter.com/lcarrollbradd
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Linda-Carroll-Bradd-author/440814942635289
You can find Dipping in a Toe at:
The Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=175_140&products_id=5204
Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BJ7LIBI/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb
babettejames.com 
So sorry to hear about your husband. Best of luck. On a side note, the book looks great.
Lisa, luckily I was writing about my character’s husband, and not mine. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.