Fireman Dad Interview

How exciting to have Marissa Hawthorne, the heroine from FIREMAN DAD, By Besty St.Amant, an August 2011 release from Love Inspired Romance!

1.Marissa, tell me the most interesting thing about you. “That’s easy - I’m a party planner! I get paid to organize someone else’s good time. It’s very rewarding, especially when doing children’s birthday parties. I love my job.”

2. What do you do for fun? “Uh, good question. I don’t get a lot of free time, being a widow and raising my active young son alone. I pretty much work or spend time with him—thankfully I consider both of things fun—usually!”

3. What do you put off doing because you dread it? “Cleaning my son’s room. Ugh. There’s some kind of specimen growing under his bed…if I could afford a maid, trust me, I’d have two.”

4. What are you afraid of most in life? “Ohh, now you’re getting serious on me. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry during this interview. So much for that.” ::clears throat:: “I’ve always been afraid of being alone—ironic, since I already am. Once I lost my husband to a tragic firefighting accident, I sort of withdrew, you know? I guess I’m afraid of being alone, but maybe have been more afraid of loving again and risking that kind of loss a second time.” ::coughs and waves hand:: “Okay, next question.”

5. What do you want out of life? “Goodness, another heavy question! I just want my son to be happy, above all. Owen deserves the best, having been robbed of a father at such a young age. For me, I guess I just want security. Safety.”

6. What is the most important thing to you? “My son, of course. Though I really wish he’d pick a new favorite toy beside that old fire truck of his.” ::shudder:: “He takes that thing everywhere, and it’s just an ugly reminder to me of the past. If he ever decided to become a fireman one day…” ::shakes her head::

7. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book? “I don’t get a lot of time to read, but sometimes I do late at night when I can’t sleep. It’s a nice escape from reality, you know? My favorites are Historicals – it’s nice to get lost in a different time period and caught up in someone else’s struggles for a change.”

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? “I guess I can be a little uptight.” ::shrugs:: “But when you’re in my situation, it’s kind of hard to be all fun and games, you know? Sometimes I wonder if I’m too hard on Owen. But it’s rough being mom and dad at the same time.” ::sighs::

9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet? “No, there’s no time or money for that, though Owen would love a dog one day. We’ll see... Isn’t that Mom-speak for ‘no way?’” ::winks::

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why? “Since I love to read Historicals, this is easy. I’d choose the Regency period. So romantic and charming yet dark and mysterious…”