FEATURED BOOK AND INTERVIEW: Love By Design by Christine Johnson

Romance Takes Flight 

Jen Fox won't let anyone stand in her way of joining the first flight expedition to the North Pole. Even if the person trying to take her seat is the dashing world-famous stunt pilot Dan Wagner. Being on that flight crew would fulfill her father's last wish for her. And Dan should know better than to unseat the dressmaker's determined daughter. 

When Dan arrives in Michigan, he's intrigued by the offer to fly over the North Pole. He needs the money, even if it means taking the spot from the driven—and attractive—Miss Fox. Yet their strictly business relationship hits turbulence when they realize they both wish for something more personal… 

The Dressmaker's Daughters: Pursuing their dreams a stitch at a time 

Interview

How exciting to have here with us today Jen Fox, the heroine from Love by Design written by Christine Johnson, a May 2015 release from Love Inspired Historical Romance .

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

            I’m going to fly an airplane, like my friend, Darcy Hunter, and then I'm joining the expedition to be the first to fly over the North Pole. Can you imagine what it will look like from high above? And then when we get back, the reporters will clamor for our story. Our photograph be in every newspaper around the world.

2.  What do you do for fun?

            I like the moving picture shows, especially the ones with daring adventurers. If I lived near a big airfield, I'd go to air shows to see famous aviators like Daring Dan Wagner do the loop-the-loop and other death-defying tricks. I heard you can actually meet the aviators. If I saw Daring Dan in person, I'd ask him to show me how he does the tricks. Maybe he'd even take me up in his airplane. Just the two of us. That would be incredible.   

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

            Any sort of social function. Church is fine, of course, but parties or dances mean getting dressed up and putting on manners, and I just hate it. My hair sticks out every which way, and I never seem to say or do the right thing. So I make excuses. Now that Daddy's gone, I just can't muster any enthusiasm for events like that. How can people be so happy when everything is changed?

4.  What are you afraid of most in life?

Losing another person I love. It was horrible losing Daddy. Sometimes I don't think I can get out of bed in the morning. I do, because that's what everyone expects me to do, but it's difficult. I know people lose loved ones all the time, and Daddy had been sick a long time, but nothing prepares you to say goodbye to someone who is a huge part of every day.

5.  What do you want out of life?

             I want to fulfill the dream that Daddy and I shared—to fly. And not just to fly, but to set a record. Then I can tell the world about him. Everyone will know how important he was. That's what setting the North Pole record would do.  

6.  What is the most important thing to you?

            Family. The best times of life were when we were all together. I wish it was still like that, but everything is changed. Now Daddy is gone, my two older sisters are married, and my baby sister is getting married later this year. Our family will never be the same.  

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

            I wish I understood mathematics better. That's the part of the aviation examination that gives me fits. I have one more chance to pass the test. If you know some method for understanding mathematics, please tell me now.  

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

            No. We've never had a pet. That's probably for the best. Mother says I'm so distracted that I would forget to feed it.

9. Can you tell us a little interesting tidbit about the time period you live in?

            The best part of 1925 is how technology is advancing so quickly. Motor cars and airplanes and telephones and phonographs. They say radio is the next big invention. Yet some people are afraid of trying the new technology. For instance, I've been following the story of a diphtheria epidemic in northern Alaska. They have a serum to treat the children down in Anchorage, but there's no way to get it to the sick children because of the cold and the snow. If you ask me, they should fly it there in an airplane, but the last I heard, they're planning to use dogsleds, of all things. How primitive!