A Place to Belong Interview

How exciting to have Jace Carter the hero from A PLACE TO BELONG by Linda Goodnight, a March, 2011 release from Love Inspired Romance .

1. Jace, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

I’m not too interesting but I think my work is. I restore historic homes and buildings, anything made of wood. Redemption is an old Victorian town and most of it’s on the National Register of Historic Buildings. I feel pretty good to be one of the few people around qualified to work on them.

2. What do you do for fun?

Work on restoring a turn of the century Queen Anne I bought. Sometimes I wonder why I want that big old money pit since I’ll never have a family live there with me, but I like bringing her back to her former glory. You should see the banister. It took me months to find and refinish it, but the result is worth the effort.

3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?

Police Chief Jesse Rainmaker wants me to mentor some rowdy teenager that’s been getting into trouble. Seems the boy has magic hands with wood and Jesse thinks I could help him. Me, of all people. Besides, I’m a private kind of man. I work alone. So I’ve put off following up.

4. What are you afraid of most in life?

People finding out who I really am. I’ve spent fourteen years convincing this town that I’m someone they can trust. If people knew, they’d run me out of town.

5. What do you want out of life?

Not much. Safety. Privacy. Peace. Well, I dream of Kitty Wainright but that’s all I do is dream. She runs the local motel, an old relic that needs constant work. Since Kitty’s husband died a war hero, I’m honored to work for her at a big discount even though the motel isn’t historic. Being around Kitty is pure pleasure. She’s like a fairy tale or something. I wish things could be different, that I was someone else, someone worthy of a woman like that, but she’s devoted to her husband’s memory anyway. She’d never want a guy like me. So I just go on with life, doing what I can to help a hero’s widow and try to be content with knowing her.

6. What is the most important thing to you?

My reputation. It takes a lifetime to build and only a few minutes to destroy. I worry about that.

7. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?

Magazines-usually about old houses or antiques or wood art. That kind of thing. I read the Bible too, though I stopped going to Kitty’s Bible studies. Every time I did, I had to repent for thinking about her instead of God.

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

I would have graduated high school. But keep that to yourself. The people of Redemption don’t know I learned my lessons through the school of hard knocks.

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

A while ago, the local vet talked me into adopting a little pup. He’s a beagle mix. Entertaining too though he leaves puddles on my hardwood floors. Still, I’m glad he’s around. He’s a good listener and he keeps our conversations to himself.

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

There’s lots of stuff I’d erase in my life, choices I’d make differently, but probably I’d see my mom again before she died and let her know I didn’t turn out as badly as she’d thought.