Hello, everyone!
Today I am graced with the presence of Viviana MacKade, author of All Those Miles I Walked, which is part of the collection Like A Firework: A Celebration of Love. The collection just came out and also features Deb Julienne, Krista Ames, R.M. Duffy, Lisa Kumar, and Raeanne Hadley.
Welcome, Viviana! Thank you so much for coming! How did you come up with the idea for your story?
I love Eric Church, since the very beginning. I was listening to an early song, Two Pink Lines, and the last few lines of it, all of a sudden, opened a huge door.
The lines are: She grabs her coat and says, "See you around."
Usually, when there's a baby scare, the guy is the first one to run but in the song they were on the same level of freaking out. And then, when it was all over, she just goes. That girl made me think about why she reacted like that, and what kind of person her, and the boy, had become after so many years from that event. And that's how the idea comes from.
I like the switch of positions. What can you tell me about your characters?
Scott and DJ are opposite. He's controlled, focused, goal oriented, and overbearing. She's open minded, loves the journey more than the goal, needs the road under her feet. But without each other, they are not complete. And that's what they accept by the end of the story.
And how did you select their names?
I wanted a steady, strong name for him, but not an aggressive one. And she comes from money, a lot. Old family and such, which reflects in her full name - Daphne Josephine. But that's not who she was, she'd always gone for DJ, which is as cool as she is.
Yes, that is a cool name. I see you've brought along some info about the story; what is All Those Miles I Walked about?
At eighteen, DJ made a choice - her heart or her dreams. Neither was wrong, yet either would break her heart. She chose the world. Over a decade later, she returns to Crescent Creek and to the one regret she's ever had - Scott.
Scott's always been steady as a rocky reef. He'd loved once and when she'd left, his strong heart had crumbled like a sand castle. Now DJ is back, and Scott wants nothing to do with her. If only Eva, his and DJ's old friend, didn't need their help. Because of her, he's stuck with DJ and he'd be damned, she still gets under his skin.
DJ is a free spirit who needs the road under her feet. Scott is a family man who wants to groom his roots. With danger at their doorstep and a baby to keep safe, how much are they willing to compromise for love?
Very intriguing. How did you come up with that title?
Well, you'll have to read the story, all the way to the last few lines, and you'll know it. <Winks>
<Frustrated huff of breath and a playful twist of lips> Well, before we get to the excerpt, I'd like the readers to get a glimpse into the writer behind the story. Who are some romance authors that have inspired you?
Nora Roberts is the reason I'm in the genre, for sure. I remember reading a book of hers as a teenager, and thinking, "Wow, this is what I want to write about, this is what I want people to feel when they read." I was hooked with romance.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot, avatar, or spirit animal?
A wolf, and not only as a writer. That's the one that I related the most: a loner at heart, accepts and needs only his family.
VERY cool! The wolf happens to be mine, as well. What is your favorite childhood book?
Mh, tricky question. Probably it's a draw between Robinson Crusoe, Ivanhoe, and The Wild Swans.
Does writing energize or exhaust you?
It depends on the stage. The first draft all but kills me. It's bleeding, and pain, and all the horrible things you can think of. Editing energizes me, because at that point I know both characters and story, and I can fix it. I love that stage!
<Grins> What does literary success look like to you?
Having a ridiculous amount of people reading my stories.
<Laughs> I've kept the readers in suspense for long enough. Here is an excerpt from All Those Miles I Walked, from the collection Like A Firework: A Celebration of Love:
DJ stomped her feet on the floor of her car, slapped the steering wheel too hard. Then cursed, because it hurt as much as the thought of not being able to face him for the last time.
DJ gritted her teeth. “That’s it,” she said, and whipped into a parking spot right in front of the restaurant’s entrance. She got out of the car, slammed the door. Got in again, killed the engine, and took her purse. Hated herself when her hand stayed on the entrance’s door handle a heartbeat too long. She pushed it open with a hiss, walked inside.
Nobody could say the man didn’t have taste. Like the first time she’d stepped into at Scott’s, she had no trouble giving him the room, with its soft tones and furniture of light wood, was perfect. Classy, but not uptight. Stylish, but welcoming.
Still early for lunch, the restaurant was empty except for a tiny woman sitting at a table, filling paperwork with a laptop in front of her. She raised her head, her eyes big for the surprise. “Can I help you?” she asked.
“Hi, is Scott here?”
“In the kitchen, prepping for lunch.” The girl got up. “I’ll see if–”
“No,” DJ hurried, and tried to soothe the edge in her voice. “Don’t worry. I… I’ll find him.”
The last thing she wanted was for him to have the smallest chance to boot her out.
She opened the kitchen door.
The Bobby Bones Show was on the radio, laughs from the speakers mixed with those of an older man. And Scott’s. The sound rippled through her, splashed into the bottom of her belly. How much she’d missed his laugh, low, and earthy, and precious like a rare gem.
He stood in front of a counter, sleeves rolled up, a rolled blue bandana on his forehead. He glanced her way, returned his attention to whatever he was chopping.
Then stopped dead. Looked not to her but right in front of him, and rested his fists on the counter.
“I… umh… I need to check on the…in the dining room,” the other guy said catching the room’s sudden mood swing.
“Stay,” Scott ordered. “She’s on her way out.”
“The hell I am.” DJ took a step further into the kitchen. “I know what I put you through,” she said, knowing time wasn’t her friend today.
“No, you don’t,” he stated quietly, not moving his gaze from the wall in front of him.
“Shut up for one second and listen,” she hissed, briefly recording the older man leaving the room despite Scott’s order. “I do know, because I put myself through the same.”
“Really? Then you’re stupid, on top of everything else.”
“I was young and scared.”
He turned to face her, resting one hip on the counter and crossing his arms on his chest. “Bullshit. After the test results, there was nothing left to be scared about.”
“I was scared of you,” she breathed out, regretting her words the moment they were uttered.
He said nothing, but one black eyebrow rose in question. One she wasn’t ready to answer, not to him and not like this, in anger. It had taken her years to dig deep enough within herself to fully understand–the rush to keep him away, to cut him from her life.
Even more time to get over him. If she ever had.
“I apologize,” she spat out despite a tight throat. “That’s all I wanted to do.” She spun around to get out of the suddenly chilly kitchen.
“DJ?”
She stopped, one hand on the door, didn’t turn around.
“You took 12 years worth of love away from my life. Gave me no explanation. You’re gonna have to do a lot better than apologize to make me even think about swallowing it.”
DJ nodded, knowing that if he watched every move she made, he couldn’t spot the little tilt of her lips.
The smile held in place when she got home. All she needed was a crack, and whether he’d wanted to or not, he’d given her that. In what she considered a big win, he hadn’t stuck that huge knife into her chest or back, or slit her neck. She would work with it toward being civil enough to get together with common friends.
Now that she planned to come back home, and because they shared a lot of friends, they were bound to run into each other. Or so she hoped. In any case, they needed to be at least on human terms.
Nice! I wish we could hear more, but unfortunately thats all the time we have today. Thank you so much, Viviana, for stopping by. I've really enjoyed talking with you, and can't wait to have you back. Perhaps you could also persuade DJ and Scott to come for a chat sometime?
Everyone, please check out this and the other five Fourth-of-July-themed stories, found on Amazon!
