Happy Friday, everyone! I’m super excited to share about my new book that just released on July 2nd. Book four of my Spark Brothers series, At First Spark, features our most tenderhearted brother. I thought I’d introduce firefighter Darren Spark to you by playing a game of 20 questions with him. So, let’s get started …
Me: Hi Darren, thanks for joining our InspyRomance blog today.
Darren: Hi there, thanks for having me. I’ve heard good things about you all from my brother, Brandon.
Me: That’s right. Brandon did a guest takeover on this blog before. Today’s format is going to be a little more relaxed and fun. I’ll be asking you 20 random questions. Just answer with the first thing that comes to mind. Ready?
Darren: (nods) As ready as I’ll ever be.
1. What’s your favorite burger? (licks lips) A double cheeseburger with onion rings and bacon.
2. What was your favorite age growing up? Fifteen. That’s when I grew taller than all of my brothers.
3. Would you say you’re more of an extrovert or an introvert? Definitely an introvert.
4. What activity instantly calms you? Praying. Works every time.
5. If time wasn’t an issue and you had forever to master a skill, what skill would you master? Learning how to speak Mandarin.
6. Who are you the closest to in your family, and why? That’s a hard one. The five of us brothers are all pretty close. The closest would probably be my brother, Colin, since we live together. He drives me nuts sometimes with his messiness, but he’s got a great heart.
7. If you could own a mythical creature, which one would you pick? (smiles) That’s easy. A fire-breathing dragon.
8. Cake or Pie? Definitely pie. Dutch Apple with the crumbly sugar topping. My mom makes it the best.
9. Football or basketball? Football.
10. What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation? Fire safety. Or rock climbing.
11. What’s your “back in my day, we…”? We used to talk on the phone instead of text. There was no chance of texting the wrong person by accident!
12. What are three interesting facts about you? I’m double-jointed, I’m good at braiding hair, and I can run 1.5 miles in 10 minutes.
13. What chance encounter changed your life forever? Meeting Danica at her bookstore when my crew and I were called there to help one of her customers. (smiles) That was one of the best days of my life.
14. What do you wish your brain was better at doing? Reading.
15. Car or plane? Car. I like driving.
16. What are you really good at, but kind of embarrassed that you are good at it? (blushes) Burping the alphabet. My dad taught me how to do it when I was eight.
17. What was the last major goal you accomplished? (raises eyebrows) Sorry, I’ll have to pass on this one. You can read At First Spark (and pay attention to the epilogue) to find out though!
18. What’s the worst pickup line you’ve ever heard? (groans) Oh man, okay, here’s one I heard on my brother, Evan’s, TV show: “I seem to have lost my phone number. Can I have yours?”
19. What’s your favorite song right now? Baby Shark. It’s kind of catchy, don’t you think?
20. What’s the funniest place you’ve ever fallen asleep? At the bathroom sink when I was brushing my teeth. True story—you can ask Danica. (winces) I probably shouldn’t have said that last bit.
Me: It’s all right! We’ll just call that a spoiler alert. LOL. Thanks so much for playing along, Darren. That was fun.
Darren: My pleasure. I hope everyone will check out my story, so you can meet Danica. She’s amazing. (grins) I think you’ll love her as much as I do.
Do you have a question for Darren? Please ask in the comments below and I’ll get him to answer you!
Giveaway: I’d like to give away two digital copies of At First Spark. Two winners will be randomly chosen from the comments below. The giveaway will remain open until midnight on Monday, July 8th.
You can also grab At First Spark for only 99¢ now through the 9th!
He’s a tender-hearted firefighter who’s been burned by love. She’s an optimistic bookstore owner determined to heal his heart. Little do they know how much sacrifice it will take for them to be together.
Firefighter Darren Spark doesn’t think twice about risking it all when it comes to his job, but he’s not about to put his heart on the line for love. He’s accepted the fact that no woman will want him when he can’t promise them a future …until he meets the one who challenges that belief.
Abandoned as a baby, Danica Reed longs to fill in the missing pieces of her past with a family of her own. She’s more than ready to get married and have kids, but she wonders why the perfect man—who’s just as into her and wants the same things—keeps taking one step forward in their relationship, then two steps back.
Darren won’t let himself hope for more; Danica won’t settle for less. But there’s one obstacle they can’t seem to overcome. Will the spark that drew them to each other be enough to keep their love burning or will their short-lived romance go down in flames?
Renate says
Hi Liwen! Love your stories, even though sadly to say I have not read the Sparks brothers’ series. Love their last name. I have a nephew named Darren!
So Darren! Two questions for you. Question 1. As a firefighter, have you ever been called as a standby for someone who has a massive amount of candles to blow out on a birthday cake? My husband did that to me for my 40th birthday. As if I didn’t already feel bad enough having a baby at 39.
Question 2. What is the most unusual call you received as a firefighter?
Glad to get to know you better. Looking forward to reading your story.
Best wishes Liwen. Enjoy your weekend. Congrats on your new release.
Susan Bates says
Love this format!
Here’s my question: Darren, what inspired you to become a firefighter?
Sally Shupe says
Hi Liwen! Love these questions and answers! Darren, it’s nice to meet you. My first question is: I have been running for a few years now, but I am so slow. I am very jealous of your 1.5 miles in 10 minutes. How can I run faster? I’d be happy with a 12-minute mile. I regularly run 3 miles, have run as much as 8 miles, and want to run a 1/2 marathon.
My second question is: What do you do when Liwen makes you do something you don’t want to do?
Thanks!
Paula Marie says
YAY! I am excited about this story, I fell for Darren in Brandon’s book….hahaha! Looking forward to it. Darren is my kind of guy!
Trudy says
I’m loving Darren in At First Spark!! I’d kinda like to slap Danica upside the head! I’m thinking she finally comes around by the end of the book, though! Kudos to you, Liwen, for tackling the topic of male infertility in this book! I’d never thought of it, probably because I’d never heard of it, from the male perspective!
Janet Estridge says
Darren,
I would love for you to meet my nephew who is also a firefighter.
I’m sure you both would have a lot to talk about.
He is a Lieutenant in the county where I live.
I see that your last name is Spark, well, my nephew’s first name is Blaise.
Teri DiVincenzo says
Happy book birthday Liwen! I have a special place in my heart for firefighters so this one looks like a real winner to me! Thanks for the chance!
Liwen Y. Ho says
Hi Renate! Oh how fun, Darren is a cool name. :)
Darren answered your question on the IR page, but he’ll reply here as well. :)
1) Hi Renate, nice to meet you. I’ve actually never experienced that before, but I would have gladly shown up for your party. Sounds like your husband has a sense of humor. I hope for his sake you have one, too. ;)
2) Great question. My most unusual call was probably the time when a woman down the street from the station got stuck in a tree. You guessed it—she was trying to save her cat. We helped both of them down. We later found out the cat had a litter of kittens, 5 of them. She named them after all the guys who showed up that day to help. So somewhere out there is a little tabby cat named Sparky. :)
Thanks so much! Happy weekend to you, too!
Liwen Y. Ho says
Hi Susan, this is Darren. Thanks for joining me today. That’s a great question. It all came down to what I could do with the athletic abilities God blessed me with. It’s a privilege for me to do something I love that helps people. I also happened to love fire engines as a kid. ;)
Thanks for reading and commenting, Susan! (This is Liwen.) :)
Liwen Y. Ho says
Hi Sally, Darren here. Good for you! Running is great for the body and mind. I recommend running regularly, at least two to three times a week. Also, switch things up by including sprints in your run. If you’re listening to music, try sprinting during the chorus. Or if you’re running around the neighborhood, sprint past ten mailboxes, then recover for another ten, and repeat. Be sure to stretch and stay hydrated, too. Best wishes on your training.
(Chuckling) I don’t know if I should answer that. But it’s a good thing Liwen already finished my story, although I do make appearances in the next Spark book. I do have to say that Liwen took it easy on me and didn’t make me do anything I didn’t— oh wait, I just remembered the mud baths she had me and Danica do. Sitting in mud isn’t one of my favorite pastimes, but honestly, what happened afterwards was a huge turning point in my and Danica’s relationship, so it wasn’t so bad after all.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Sally! And for asking that fun question. Haha. (This is Liwen.)
Liwen Y. Ho says
Hi Paula! Aww, he is swoon-worthy, isn’t he? I hope you enjoy Darren’s story!
From Darren: Thanks, Paula, that’s very kind of you to say. You and Danica have great taste. ;)
Liwen Y. Ho says
Hi Trudy! Haha! I believe Danica more than redeems herself by the end. Thank you so much for reading! This book was a challenge to write because of the topic of male infertility, but that’s the storyline that Darren gave me. Well, ultimately God gave it to me, and He helped me put it all together. :)
From Darren: Please don’t be upset with Danica, Trudy! She just needed some time. You should know she’s made me a very happy man. Hopefully that wasn’t a spoiler. ;)
Liwen Y. Ho says
Hi Janet, Darren here. That’s awesome. Please say hi to your nephew for me. I’d love to meet him and talk shop some day. And what a cool name. Seems like he was meant to be a firefighter.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Janet! (This is Liwen.)
Liwen Y. Ho says
Hi Teri! Thanks so much! Do you know someone who’s a firefighter?
Darren: We firefighters appreciate your enthusiasm, Teri!
Sally Shupe says
Darren, thanks so much for the tips. Liwen, you’re welcome!
Liwen Y. Ho says
Darren: You’re welcome, Sally!
Trudy says
She did redeem herself in the end. I was very happy for her and Darren!! Personally, I don’t think it should have taken her as long as it did!! Everyone is different. I can honestly say, having, or not having, kids would never have been the deal breaker for me. A solid Christian man, that’s my selling point. Anything and everything else, that’s of secondary importance. Maybe because at 34, almost 35, I had to have a hysterectomy, after meeting 6 pages of protocol (except one item, which my doctor finally got waived). I did have one male “friend” that said that would be a deal breaker for him. He definitely wasn’t for me!
Anitra Parmele says
Love this way of getting to know Darren.
Liwen Y. Ho says
Thanks, Anitra! So glad you liked it. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Narelle Atkins says
Hi Liwen, Congrats on your book release! Thanks for inviting Darren to visit with us – I’ve enjoyed reading your Q&A :)
Gina Johnson says
Great Q&A and story. Love the Sparks.
Jessica B. says
Hi Darren, I take it you’re not a big reader but if you do take time to read what is your genre or publication type of choice? (Liwen, what a fun idea!)
Liwen Y. Ho says
Thanks so much, Narelle! :)
Liwen Y. Ho says
Thank you, Gina! :)
Liwen Y. Ho says
Hi Jessica, you’re absolutely right. I leave the reading to Danica. (smiles) I’m more of a Sunday comics type of guy.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Jessica! So glad you enjoyed this post! (This is Liwen.)