Friday, June 26, 2009

His Forever Love


by Nancy

Today we welcome back Bellebooks and Steeple Hill author Missy Tippens. Her second release, His Forever Love, is out this month! She's here to celebrate and to tell us a little about the book. Welcome back, Missy!

Many authors wrestle with that second book. Was His Forever Love a struggle for you?

I didn’t so much wrestle with the book, but wrestle with myself to produce another book. It took me a while to make the second sale. I highly recommend writing and writing before selling (don’t keep working on the same old book). That way you have something ready to go. I had 16 months between books 1 and 2 and really hated to wait that long.


What gave you the idea for this book?

Well, this book started out very different! It’s had about three or four totally different versions. But the part that has remained the same through most versions is that it’s about unrequited love. The hero had a crush on the heroine when they were growing up. They were best friends and study partners. But right before graduation, when he had finally gotten the nerve to share that he loved her, she showed up with a ring on her finger. As soon as they graduated, he took off for Boston and never looked back. And of course, she was devastated that her best friend deserted her.

I wanted to bring these two back together and write about the nerdy guy finally getting the popular girl. :)

I love stories about friends. I've just started this one and am enjoying it. Tell us about the hero and heroine of His Forever Love.

Bill is a brilliant physicist who lives in Boston and pours himself into his work. He’s finally found the place he really fits in and is accepted—with his peers and coworkers.

Lindsay is a caregiver for Bill’s grandmother in a small town in Georgia, and together they run a community center for kids. She has poured herself into taking care of her nephews (whose mother deserted them) and pretty much taking care of everyone else in her family.

Tell us about the story.

Here’s the back cover blurb: In Magnolia, Georgia, local legend says that a couple who holds hands around the “forever” tree will have an unending love. Even so, Bill Wellington held Lindsay Jones’s hands around that tree years ago...and then left her behind. He chose the big city, and now he wants to bring his grandmother there. But to his amazement, he finds that Granny has a boyfriend—and a vibrant life. A life that includes Lindsay, Granny’s caregiver. Bill never thought he’d want to come home, yet Magnolia clearly has its charms. As does Lindsay, who makes him long for a second chance at forever love.


And I’d love to share an excerpt from where they first see each other. Granny has taken a fall, and he comes to the hospital to see her:

A man cleared his throat in the doorway, then rapped on the door. "Granny?"

She'd know that voice anywhere. Had she really thought she could prepare for this moment?

She was afraid to turn around. Afraid of the hurt that might still show on her face even after so many years.

Lindsay pasted a half-smile on her face, then swiveled around to see him.

Oh, my. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She absolutely could not believe this was Bill Wellington. Tall, skinny, nerdy, bookworm Bill had been transformed during his years away.
Tall. Yes, he was still tall. But that's where the similarities ended. He had filled out. And had turned into an attractive man. How could that have happened?

He hurried to his granny's side, then hugged her. "How are you feeling?" He was so careful, so concerned, that it gave Lindsay's heartstrings a big, ol' yank.

"I'm fine, son."

He looked up from Granny Bea and smiled in Lindsay's direction. "Hi, Lindsay."

After several seconds of staring at this near stranger, she realized she hadn't acknowledged his greeting. "Oh, hi. Good to see you again. Wow. You're all grown-up." Way to go, Lindsay. Stating the obvious.

"Yes, fifteen years have a way of doing that. But you look exactly the same. I would have recognized you anywhere."

And she couldn't have picked him out of a police lineup if her life depended on it. His dark brown, shaggy hair was now short and layered and looked as if it had lightened in the sun. His gaunt, pale face was now tanned, angular, masculine. And his beanpole body was now muscle-bound.

"Broken wrist, huh?" He touched Granny Bea's cast. Then he craned his neck, trying to read the signatures. Once he completed reading the circle of permanent marker, he smiled at Lindsay.
Her traitorous heart galloped underneath her rib cage. Stop it! I will not let my heart race over this man. This supposed friend.

"Lindsay, I appreciate you bringing her to the hospital. I'm sure you're worn out. I'll stay with her tonight."

She bristled. He'd marched in and was going to try to take over Granny Bea's care.
He's her grandson. He has every right to.

Still, it made her mad that he lived his life way up there in Boston and barely ever spent time with his granny.

"I can stay," she said. "I imagine you're tired from traveling."

"I dozed a little on the flight. Go on home. I'll call you if she needs anything."

"He's right, dear. You've been here all day."

What could she do? "Okay. I'll come back tomorrow morning with some fresh clothes for her."

"Thanks." He started to hold out a hand, as if he were going to shake her hand, but then the gesture ended up as a little wave. A somewhat dorky wave, more like the Bill she remembered.
She was comforted by the fact that he was still Bill. Yet that little wave reminded her of the friend she'd lost.

***
Bill wasn't sure he'd be able to catch his breath until Lindsay was gone. He had to get a grip or she might think she needed to rush him down to the E.R.

Her eyes were still as violet-blue, her hair as deep red, thick and smooth as it had been when she was eighteen.

He was a complete sap. A thirty-three-year-old acting like a lovesick teenager.

He walked to the other side of Granny's bed, putting distance between him and Lindsay. She's only a woman like any other. Nothing special. Just happens to have been blessed with gorgeous eyes and hair. And just happens to be the girl I fell in love with ages ago.

"Well, Granny Bea, I'll see you bright and early." Lindsay kissed Granny's head. "Make Bill take good care of you."

"Thanks for everything, dear. Get some rest, and we'll see you tomorrow."

Lindsay smiled fondly at Granny, which didn't help his composure a bit. She stepped toward the door. "Good night." She made brief eye contact with Bill, but then turned and left.

What about the writing process do you most or least enjoy?

I love writing the first draft! I love the freshness and discovery. I do plan ahead and plot, but it’s still a joy to find out what’s going to happen. And I love it when themes come together or when ideas come during the writing that I know have to be God-given. I feel so blessed to be able to work at something that I enjoy so much!

Have you become heavily involved with marketing and promotion?

With Steeple Hill (as with all Harlequin lines), there’s a built-in readership from the book club. You can’t get better marketing than that! But I do have a website, hold contests, do a blog tour, and do signings if they’re convenient. I also enjoy doing workshops and speaking, and I think that helps to promote. The hardest part for me is promoting myself at other times—like to people I know or people here in town! But I’m trying to learn to hand out book marks and talk about my books more in one-on-one settings.

What's next for you?

I have another LI coming out in November, A Forever Christmas. It’s a story about Lindsay’s single brother with the two little boys. I LOVE the cover on this book! I keep going to CBD to stare at it! LOL Here’s a link:.
Be sure to click to enlarge it! :)

Thanks so much for having me, Banditas!! And thanks, Nancy, for the great interview. I’ll be giving away a copy of His Forever Love today from among those who comment. You can email me at missytippens [at] aol.com to enter. Just put Romance Bandits in the subject line.

Missy, I enjoyed having you!

What about everyone else--do you have an old friend who "might have been?" What do you like about stories where the hero and heroine have a past? What's your favorite one?

83 comments:

Helen said...

Oh is he coming back to my place

Have Fun
Helen

Helen said...

Well it is Hubby's birthday on Monday so everyone is here for dinner tonight he is going to love playing with the 4 grandkids. We are having Spaghetti Lasagne salad and garlic bread followed by chocolte mud cake and ice-cream YUM.

Great interview Missy and Nancy and I love the excerpt and that cover for the next release.

I do love stories about unrequited love I know I have read a few but I can't think of any at the moment but I love the journey the hero and heroine take to get to know each other again and of course there are always fond memories that keep popping up between the two.

Congrats on the release Missy

Have Fun
Helen

Fedora said...

Hi, Missy! Your latest sounds wonderful--I do enjoy stories where the characters have some history and have a second chance at forming a deeper relationship. And I also enjoy the development from friends to something more--that's a neat progression! It often makes the story richer, having an existing connection, and seeing how their pasts influence their expectations moving forward (sometimes in good ways; sometimes it holds them up). I don't really have a "might have been" anymore--I'm blessed to have married him the second chance I got ;)

Congrats on the GR, Helen!

hrdwrkdmom aka Dianna said...

I had a might of been way back when I was a sweet young thing. He married my best friend and they moved away so the might have been wasn't. We were kind of the odd couple in school, he was walking the line on being a bad boy and I was the shy girl in the corner reading a book...LOL

Nancy said...

Helen, you're on a rooster roll lately! Better watch your Tim Tams.

Your hubby's birthday meal sounds fabulous.

Nancy said...

Fedora, how cool that you married your "might have been" on the second go-around!

I had a might-have-been, but the timing never was right. Things just never quite clicked. For several years, though, he was the closest guy friend I had. The closest I'd ever had until the dh.

Nancy said...

Dianna, I was always the one with her nose in a book. You could pick that image of me up and drop it into almost any point in my life.

The bad boy and the shy girl--classic!

Nancy said...

I guess everyone noticed that Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson both died yesterday. Farrah seemed to have found her forever love, but poor Michael never did.

There are lots of quibble-eligible things about Charlie's Angels, but they were among the first women on TV to do, instead of need, the rescuing.

When I was in grad school, lots and lots of guys wanted Farrah as their forever love. Or at least their short-term one. *g*

Missy Tippens said...

Good morning, Helen! Thanks for stopping by.

I'm dying to know. What's spaghetti Lasagna salad???

Tell your husband happy birthday! And enjoy the grandkids.

Missy Tippens said...

Flchen, that's a great point about the friends to "lovers" aspect. I really enjoy those stories, too.

On one of the earliest versions, they didn't know each other. But somewhere along the way, I added that.

Thanks for stopping by!

Missy Tippens said...

Ouch, Dianna! I hope that ended up being a good thing for you.

In my November book, the hero and heroine were high school sweethearts but he was the bad boy and ended up marrying her good friend. (Is this sounding scarily familiar??) Of course, he ends up divorced, and they get their second chance at love as well. :)

Thanks for stopping by this morning.

Missy Tippens said...

Hey, Nancy!

I loved Charlie's Angels. And I think it was because I wanted to be strong and powerful. And you're right. It was a definite turnaround to have the women be the rescuers.

You know, now that I think about it, I loved Superwoman and The Bionic Woman, too. I guess they were my heros because I wanted to BE a hero.

Missy Tippens said...

Oh, and I also meant to add that as we were discussing Farrah's death yesterday, my husbnad reminded me that he (along with every other boy his age) had a Farrah poster on his bedroom wall. You probably remember that one in the swim suit. :)

I always wanted Farrah's hair. I got my bangs feathered in about 7th or 8th grade. But I have pitifully thin, straight hair. It never would do right. My sister called yesterday to see if I was grieving the death of my hair hero.

Christie Kelley said...

Welcome Missy! Your books sound great and I love the cover. It is beautiful.

I love stories about couples that have a past. Both my first and second books had heroes and heroines with a past.

Nancy said...

Missy, I loved The Bionic Woman, too. Lindsay Wagner was great! I didn't much care for the recent remake on the SciFi Channel. Since it sank like the proverbial stone, I assume very few people liked it.

Susan Sey said...

Good morning, Missy! And thanks for swinging by the Lair this morning!

The old childhood-crush-turned-grown-up-love is one of my favorite themes in romance novels, so I'm really excited about your latest release!

As far as former flames that might have been? Ha. I'm more in the former-flames-that-were-such-bad-decisions-I-cringe-when-they-find-me-on-Facebook camp. I have a few friends who are married to their High School sweethearts--jr. high for one of them!--and I marvel at this. When I think about who I was dating at eighteen, twenty-one, twenty-three...let's just say it's a wonderful thing I waited for Mr. Absolutely Right. :-)

Nancy said...

Missy, your "hair hero?" I love it!

I think having hair like that requires adept use of product, and one thing I'm definitely not adept with is product! In my hands, it's more like glue.

Nancy said...

Christie, I LOVED what you did with the past relationship in Every Time We Kiss. It played into the "present" conflict beautifully.

Missy Tippens said...

Christie, thanks on the cover! The art department did a great job of capturing a scene in the book.

I just read Nancy's comment on your story with past relationships. Sounds great! I'll have to look for it!

Missy Tippens said...

Susan said: I'm more in the former-flames-that-were-such-bad-decisions-I-cringe-when-they-find-me-on-Facebook camp.>>

And I'm dying laughing!!!!!!! Don't you just love Facebook? :)

I have a couple of those former flames, too. :)

Missy Tippens said...

Nancy, I used to have a guy who did my hair, and he once told me, "Products are your friend." I still think of that every time I put gel in my hair! LOL

Nancy said...

Susan, I sort of envy you those cringe-worthy former flames. My were all run of the mill as exes go.

Nancy said...

Missy, product may be YOUR friend, but it certainly isn't mine. *sigh* My hair dresser tries to urge it upon me from time to time--and my hair always looks fabulous when SHE does it. But I can never seem to replicate the look.

Trish Milburn said...

Hey, Missy! Good to see you here.

I love friends-to-lovers stories. In fact, I'm writing one now. :) And Granny sounds like fun -- her and her boyfriend. :)

Your Christmas cover is pretty.

Trish Milburn said...

I was a big Charlie's Angels fan too, even got a Farrah doll for Christmas one year.

I too loved not only the Angels, Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman. Still like gals who can kick butt. :)

Trish Milburn said...

Nancy, I so feel your pain about hair product. I can only make it work when my hair is really short, like on the day I walk out of the salon.

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Hi Missy! *Waving madly* So good to have back in the Lair!

Helen, congrats on getting the chook back to Oz! ;> Watch him now, he's in rare form this week.

Missy, I love the thoughts and stories about the 'might have been' romance. I also love the way you write, so kudos to you. :>

I think we all have a "might have been" - and I think about a couple of mine now and again. Then again, one of those old flames contacted me on facebook, and I'll just be nice and say...oh. my. Snork.

I like the continuity of a story like this, I like that there are so many things a hero and heroine share already that they don't have to work off the prickly edges. I also like that they have to discover the things that HAVE changed or ARE different that maybe they didn't expect. :>

Very cool! Enjoy the day in the Lair!

Nancy said...

Trish, Lynda Carter was on Smallville a while back, as the mother of one of the regular characters. And I loved her in Sky High.

We can suffer together in the Product Phobia club. :-)

Nancy said...

Jeanne, I like the characters having to work out old issues, too.

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

I loved Lynda Carter in Sky High too. My boys didn't understand why I was snorking about her being the principal of the school though. :> Granted, I didn't try to explain TOO hard - made me feel old.

Nancy, I'll join you in the "hates product" club. I'm just not a fan of putting sticky goo on my hands, rubbing it in my hair, then having to wash my hands and style my hair. Besides, with fine hair like mine? Ugh. Product = flat.

KJ Howe said...

Congrats on all your success, Missy. Your enthusiasm is contagious...it seems like you definitely found the right fit with HQ. Looking forward to reading your books.

Nancy said...

Jeanne wrote: Product = flat.

That's what happens to me.

So far we have 3 members in the club, you and me and Trish.

The boy also didn't get the Wonder Woman reference in Sky High. These young people . . . tsk, tsk, tsk!

Missy Tippens said...

Hey, Trish! I hope you have as much fun with your friends-to-lovers story as I had with mine. I look forward to reading it!

By the way, your hair always looks good! You get it to fun things my hair could never do--even with products. :)

Nancy said...

Hi, KJ--I'm glad you noticed Missy's enthusiasm. I've known her for years, and it comes across very well in person, too.

Unknown said...

Congrats Helen on the rooster, he's home again!

Great interview! I love stories like this. I guess we all have one of those that might have been! I know I did, but it just didn't work. I would love to go back to my younger days and see if it would have played out different.

Donna MacMeans said...

Hi Missy - Welcome back in the lair. I love the sound of this book and the way you've worked the reunion around a feisty Grandmom.

Could-have-beens? I can really only think of one that I met in college and he just wasn't ready for commitment. His loss. Must admit I am curious as to what happened to him.

I'm just know reconnecting with some high school girlfriends so the reunion theme strikes me as timely (grin).

Hair product - blah! I use it when I need to look nice as my hair is straight, thick, and fine. It's too heavy to have lift if I don't use product. Fortunately, I have no need to look nice on a recurring basis so only use the gunk on rare ocassions.

Helen - I think the rooster thinks of you as a second home. Either that or it's the lure of chocolate mud cake!

jo robertson said...

Hi, Missy! Welcome back to the Lair. I love the premise of your second book FOREVER LOVE. That theme of marrying your best friend is a favorite of mine. In fact, my daughter wrote a song about it cuz that's exactly what she did!

Good advice to keep writing and not allow a long lapse between books. The cover for A FOREVER CHRISTMAS is darling, love those two little boys.

Nancy said...

Hi, Virginia--It's tempting, isn't it, to think that if one event or another had occurred in a different way, it could have changed the future? I used to say my timing was always wrong in relationships. In fact, I used to say my tombstone would read "Her timing is always wrong," as I think I've mentioned here before.

But it was always wrong. Until it was right.

Having settled that in the relationship dept., I'm now trying to do it in the market.

jo robertson said...

Oops, forgot to answer the question. I think I like these stories because your "friend" gets you in ways other people don't. And the "liking" is really important long after the "lust" has abated!

I'm curious about "inspirationals" as I judged that category in the Daphne this year. Can you tell us something about the "rules" for inspy?

Nancy said...

Donna, doesn't that chocolate mud cake sound good? Chili's had a chocolate volcano cake that was to die for. Ruby Tuesday has a double chocolate that's decent.

Never had bad chocolate, now that I think about it.

Since you use product sometimes, but grudgingly, you can be an honorary member of the club. :-)

Nancy said...

Jo, Missy does a wonderful workshop program on perseverance.

I so agree with you on the "liking" part. There are only a couple of the guys I dated I think I'd still like today. But I do like the dh--liked him before I loved him, which wasn't the case with adolescent crushes. Adoration came before knowledge, then, and I don't know that you can truly like someone you don't know. Instead, I think we like the person we think or hope he is.

Missy Tippens said...

Ack! My internet has been out this afternoon! I hope this message will get through. I think my message to Jeanne got lost in cyberspace.

I'm waving back atcha wildly, jeanne!! :)

Missy Tippens said...

Kim, thanks for your nice comment! I love writing and I love blogging. :) (Although you wouldn't know it by the infrequent posts on my own blog!) LOL

Missy Tippens said...

Virginia, I guess that's why the renewed relationship is an often-used hook. So many people can relate!

Thanks for stopping by.

Missy Tippens said...

Hey, Donna. Thanks for the welcome.

You made a great point about being a writer--we don't have to worry about our hair while we're working! :)

I use the hair gel on Sundays. And on rare times during the week where I have something special planned. LOL

Nancy said...

Missy, I'm bad about updating my own blog, too. I really need to get that done before I hit National and start meeting people I might hope would look at my site.

Missy Tippens said...

Jo, how cool that your daughter married her good friend, then wrote a song about it! :)

As for inspirationals, there's quite a variety, depending on the publisher. The main rules for most publishers are that there aren't any on-screen love scenes, there isn't cursing, and there should be a faith or spiritual thread through the plot or with the characters. Some won't allow drinking or dancing or gamling, but it really depends on the plot. Most won't allow violence, although if it's needed in the plot and isn't overly-graphic, they may allow it.

For Steeple Hill, I went to a workshop an editor presented, and she said our main demographic is married, working mothers who don't have much time to read, and who feel guilty when they do spend time reading. So I try to write stories that are a nice escape from the pressures and mom guilt! :)

Missy Tippens said...

Okay, gotta go run to Wendy's! My kids have friends over, and the pizza I had in the freezer is supreme, with all that junk kids don't like (and I love!). LOL

I'll be back shortly.

Becke Davis said...

Wow! This sounds really good!

jo robertson said...

Thanks, Missy, that was a perfect explanation. I liked the part about your goal of helping married with kids people escape the pressure of their lives. There's no job more difficult IMO than being a working mom.

Plus, I imagine without the sex on the page thing, you'd have to be quite skilled at developing the sensual tension between the main characters.

jo robertson said...

Oh, pul-ese, Nancy! I don't think I'd even tolerate the fellows I adored in high school and college. I've realized that a quick mind and a ready wit are the most important things, both of which Dr. Big has in spades LOL.

Speaking of which, today he climbed on a tall ladder into a giant Chinese elm in our front yard to cut off some dead limbs. Men his age DO NOT climb trees.

I take back what I said about him being smart. Maybe he's just my pretty boy toy.

Missy Tippens said...

Well, I'm back from Wendy's, but barely! I drove my husband's Mustang GTO, with the acceleration that I love. (I drive my Expedition like a granny, but put me in that five-speed big with the big, purring engine and, and I turn into a wild woman! LOL)

Anyway, I pulled out from a stop sign in front of an oncoming car, thinking I could gun that wonderful engine and make it easily across the intersection, only to realize halfway through-- chugging--that I was in 3rd gear!!! Oh my gosh, I thought I was a goner!

Time to go back to granny mode.

Nancy said...

Jo, I agree with you that mom is a hard, hard job. I'd vote for single parent as the world's hardest.

As for Dr. Big and ladders, the dh is like that, too. So was my dad. So was our next door neighbor, who was on ladders cutting tree branches until his back went bad in his seventies.

I think it's something chromosomal that shuts off the safety valve in their brains when they see ladders. It's like a challenge or something.

Of course, I'm afraid of heights and so probably am not the best judge of their motivations.

Missy Tippens said...

Thanks, Treethyme. I appreciate you stopping by!

Nancy said...

Missy--So glad you survived! You know, I would've never pictured you for a wild sportscar woman. That could go on a Little Known Facts page on your site. *g*

Missy Tippens said...

Oh, Jo, I bet your husband scared you to death! My husband used to clean our gutters, even though we have a terribly steep roof in parts. I've finally conviced him we need to hire someone.

LOL, Nancy. I think you're right about it being related to testosterone. Although, my husband's grandmother got on her roof in her late seventies to fix the roof. When we fussed at her, she said she tied a rope around her waist and tied it to the chimney, so she was safe!! So maybe women have the gene, too. :)

Missy Tippens said...

Nancy, I'm normally so calm and careful. But there's something about a fast car that I love! And I would love to fly a plane. I love the acceleration while taking off.

Gosh, I wonder if this has anything to do with me also wanting to be Wonder Woman?? I have a repressed crazy woman inside! LOL

Nancy said...

Missy, your inner Wonder Woman is in good company here in the Lair. We love kick-butt women. *g*

Anonymous said...

I had a might have been in high school. He came along when I already had a boyfriend(the one I married)I do wonder if my life would have went down a better road had I chosen him.

Anna Campbell said...

Helen, clearly he wants another Tim Tam fix! By the way, yum to the menu! Hope you had a great night.

Missy, welcome back to the lair. Nancy, thanks for inviting our fellow Six Packer back. I really enjoyed catching up on your career and what you've been up to. By the way, I love the sound of the new story - I had the 'tree' song from the Great Race playing in my head as I read it. Does anyone else remember that lovely song about a tree giving people true love? Hmm, that didn't quite come out right! And lovely cover, Missy. The inspirational covers are always some of the prettiest out there. The historical ones are often just gorgeous!

Cassondra said...

Hey Missy!

Congrats on this release. This sounds like a great read. I love the excerpt.

Unrequited love stories are some of my favorites because there's a history there. It's much easier for me to believe these people know one another well enough to actually make a life together after the HEA. I like the way you've set this one up, also. Who among us doesn't know a geeky nerd who turned out to be Mr. Hunky? There were a couple of those at my first high school reunion and I was like, "OMG, what happened to YOU?!"

Cassondra said...

Helen, Woot on the GR!

I've been awol because of ongoing internet issues, but good to see you're keeping him beate...er...coaxed into line. ;0)

Nancy said...

Kimmy, it's fun to think about things like that, isn't it? There's a song by the new incarnation of The Moody Blues, "Once Upon a Time," I think it is, in which the singer speculates about his old love and whether she thinks about him.

In some relationships, it really is all about the timing.

Kathleen Gilles Seidel's Until the Stars Fall is about former lovers who get back together much later.

It makes the baggage more specific. I don't just have issues; I have issues with you. Which I think makes the pairup more of a challenge sometimes.

Nancy said...

Hi, Anna C.--I don't remember the song, but it sounds very romantic.

Cassondra said...

Jeanne said:

I loved Lynda Carter in Sky High too. My boys didn't understand why I was snorking about her being the principal of the school though. :>

Wonder Woman turned into a high school principal?

Hmmm. Age gets us all...even wonder woman. Dang.

Missy Tippens said...

Kimmy, I guess at one time or another we all think the grass is greener on the other side. We just have to move on and do the best we can today with the choices we've made.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Missy Tippens said...

Hi, Anna! It's great to see you again!

I don't think I know that song.

But I do remember a wonderful kids book called The Giving Tree. :)

Thanks on the covers!

Nancy said...

Hi, Cassondra. Glad your internet issues are resolved, at least for now. We miss you when it cuts out on you.

The nerd who turns into the hunk is the basis of the old Clark-Superman-Lois bit, too. Nobody like that went to my high school,so far as I know.

I was the nerd who later studied martial arts, not that I show much sign of it now. *g*

That's an interesting point about people with a history knowing each other better. After two trips through the dating gauntlet, I guess there aren't so many unpleasant surprises lurking.

Missy Tippens said...

LOL, Cassondra! I can just see you at your reunion saying that. And if you didn't actually say it in words, I'm sure your expression did. LOL

Nancy said...

Cassondra, Lynda Carter was very good in Sky High--not a big role, but she played it well. She was also good as the mother held captive by the Luthors on Smallville.

And she did a cabaret show in NYC for a while.

Pat Cochran said...

I only had one "boyfriend" in HS,
in my senior year during football
season. He drove me home after the last game (a Friday) and on Monday,
he was walking down the school hall
with another girl. He turned up one
weekend when I was in nursing school in his military uniform. I never saw him again! Unrequited on his part, who knows, certainly not on mine!

Pat Cochran

Gerri Russell said...

Missy, I love the cover of this book. It's very ethereal. I also really enjoy books where the nerd becomes the hero. I'm always one to root for the underdog!

Good luck to you with your new release.

Nancy said...

Pat, that guy seems to have a strange courtship pattern.

Nancy said...

Hi, Gerri. Isn't that a nice cover? Very inviting scene.

Helen said...

Missy
I should have put a commer between the spaghetti lasagne and salad the spaghetti lasagne is just bologaise with a cheese sauce and put into the oven easier than the lasgne sheets I like things easy LOL.
We did have a lovely dinner and Hayley stayed overnight that was fun with the GR & Hayley who will be 2 next month and we call her hurricane Hayley so you can imagine what it was like here last night and yes a few Tim Tams did get shared around although Hayley loves them as well.

Have Fun
Helen

Missy Tippens said...

Pat, that's so strange! I guess you were only a football game date! :)

But apparently, he kept thinking of you. :)

Missy Tippens said...

Thanks, Gerri! I love how the sunlight is filtering through the trees. :)

Missy Tippens said...

Well, Helen, that sounds good, too. But I may just have to create a spaghetti lasagna salad now! LOL

I'm glad you had a great time.

Nancy said...

Helen, sounds as though Haley and the GR kept you hopping!

I also love easy recipes. In fact, they're the only kind I can handle. The first time I read one that said to "reduce" a sauce, my reaction was, "Reduce it how? By how much? Where do I put the part I take out?"

*sigh* All the kitchen-adept banditas and buddies are probably shaking their heads right about now.

Missy Tippens said...

Nancy, don't feel bad. I decided to reduce some balsamic vineagar down to make a sauce, and it turned out to be the most sticky, icky goo!! And the house stunk so bad. I have no idea what I did wrong! LOL

Anonymous said...

Your book looks amazing.
I love when hero/heroin have a past !! They really know each other and so their love seems somehow deeper. One of my favorite story is What I did For Love by SEP. Critics were not as good as for the other books but I really really loved it.

Missy Tippens said...

Emmanuelle,

I love SEP! But I'm terrible with titles. I'll have to make sure I've read that one!

Missy Tippens said...

Philip, what's the title of the book?