Valerie: Hi, Zane! Welcome to Inspy Romance.
Zane: (shifting awkwardly in his seat): Uh, hi.
Valerie: You have a rather unique job. Would you like to tell our readers about it?
Zane: Sure. It’s my responsibility to find a variety of activities for the residents of Retro Village — a care home for seniors — to participate in every week in Arcadia Valley, Idaho. If we’re off-site, I drive the handi-bus and oversee the activity. It’s challenging because the residents have wildly different interests as well as capabilities and personalities.
Valerie: Interesting! What kinds of activities are we talking here?
Zane: Some of your readers might remember Blake Taylor from On Board for Romance by Annalisa Daughety? He’s the guy who runs the pet therapy program here. So that’s one thing. Also there’s Bingo, and carpet bowling from wheelchairs, and swimming and knitting. But my supervisor is applying pressure for me to find more activities to get more residents involved. He’s threatening to cut my position if I can’t prove my worth.
Valerie: Oh, no. That stinks. Do you have other interests, or other job possibilities?
Zane: I, uh, I have this problem that makes getting good employment difficult. So, I’m focused on making myself indispensable at my current job. Have you heard of the Grace Greenhouse project?
Valerie: Isn’t that the living trust Grace Fellowship is operating on the old Akers property? With the two abandoned greenhouses?
Zane: Yes, but if you haven’t visited Arcadia Valley recently, you may be surprised at what a busy place that property is. Not only are they growing tons of food for the local food cupboard (Sprouts of Love), there’s also a daycare and after-school program on-site, too (Rooted in Love). I had this idea of seeing if we could do something there with our residents, since elderly Clarence Akers used to own those greenhouses, and he misses getting his hands in the dirt desperately.
Valerie: He also has a lovely granddaughter. Single, I believe.
Zane: Well, yes. I’ve met Kenia. She’s… beautiful and vibrant and amazing. I blustered in and asked her out, but…
Valerie: But, what? Did she agree?
Zane: No. I totally blew that. I mean, she manages a bookstore.
Valerie: How is that a problem? It sounds like a perfectly respectable occupation to me.
Zane: I don’t… I don’t read. When I went into Page Turners, it felt like all those bookcases were going to fall on me. Attack me. Smother me.
Valerie:Hmm, that is a problem. Kenia is an avid reader. She lives and breathes books.
Zane: I know. I’m not in her league. Please… please don’t tell her why I don’t read.
Valerie: Tell me more.
Zane: No, I’ve said too much already. She might be a bit attracted to me, even though she turned me down the first time, but she just broke up with Jonah Baxter (Donuts & Daydreams by Elizabeth Maddrey), so she’s on the rebound. Or maybe I’m her rebellious phase. I’m not sure, but it can’t last. I mean, have you met her? She’s absolutely confident and gorgeous. Did I mention gorgeous? Because she’s gorgeous. And a woman like her would never be interested in a loser like me, long-term.
Valerie: I think you’re selling yourself short. You have a lot of talents, too. And you’re (ahem) not so bad-looking yourself. Besides, you’re a follower of Jesus, just like Kenia. You have a lot in common with her.
Zane: You really think so? Never mind. It would never work, not once she knows my secret. If she even believed me. No one else ever did, when I was a kid in school.
Valerie: I’ve got a little advice for you.
Zane: That makes me nervous.
Valerie:Just pray about it, okay? Pray about the right time to tell Kenia. Because maybe — just maybe — whatever your big revelation is won’t faze her a bit. Maybe she loves you, and nothing else matters.
Zane: I just… I’m not sure.
About Harvest of Love
Hot on the heels of a failed relationship, Kenia Akers focuses on her bookstore along with granting her aging grandfather’s desperate desire to get his hands in the dirt through a program at Grace Greenhouse. Reminding herself she’s on the rebound isn’t enough to keep her from falling for the hunky activities coordinator from Granddad’s facility.
Zane Russell is amazed that the fun-loving, pretty bookstore owner is attracted to him, a guy who’s not even in her league. As their relationship deepens, he avoids explaining why he seems allergic to books. Admitting his failures has never been a good move in the past.
Will they find a way to let openness, trust, and acceptance blossom into a harvest of love?
Harvest of Love is now up for pre-order on Kindle, and is coming soon on Kobo, Nook, Google Play, and iBooks. Please click here for links and more information.
Valerie Comer is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner who writes where food meets faith and fiction. She injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances. Her life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.
HI Valerie, thanks for introducing Zane- the guy on the front page looks like physicist Brian Cox:) Zane and Kenia’s story sounds like another good one. We’ve just returned from a great holiday away where I had a chance to catch up on some reading, yet that TBR pile continues to grow somehow- what a great ‘problem’!!
Blessings:)
I looked your physicist up on Google, and there sure is a resemblance!
I understand about the runaway TBR. We’re going on vacation in a couple of weeks and I usually read quite a lot more than in my day to day life, so here’s hoping!
Really looking forward to reading this one, Valerie!! Thanks for sharing a little of Zane with us today!
I <3 Zane. That is all.
Hi Valerie! Delightful interview. I enjoy reading about the interaction of senior citizens at Retro Village and residents of Arcadia Valley. Including people of all ages children, teens, young adults, as well as senior citizens makes this a intriguing series. Preordered Harvest of Love on March 31. Best wishes and Happy Writing.
Lee Tobin McClain wondering when Joy of My Heart will be released. I enjoy interacting with the Quintana family and eating at their restaurant El Corazon.
Hooray! Just preordered Joy of My Heart!
Thanks so much, Renate! I agree, the multi-generational aspect has been fun to write in this series. I’m glad you’re enjoying it, and I appreciate the pre-order.
Lee’s book is up now for pre-order on several platforms at http://arcadiavalleyromance.com/books/joy-of-my-heart/
I really like the character interviews :-)
Yay! And they’re fun to write, too! :)
I love reading the character’s interview. It makes the story comes alive.
Thank you! It’s so much fun to dive in a different way. :)
Character interviews are always fun to read.
I agree! I enjoy reading AND writing them. :)
I really enjoy your character interviews. :) Love the cover!
Thanks! The cover’s stock photo informed some of their character traits. That woman couldn’t possibly be introverted, could she?!?
What a fun interview! And I love the premise of the story. Can’t wait to read it, Valerie!
Thank you so much!
what a fun interview. the excerpt sounds like a fun story. sounds like here we have a hero that needs encouragement and a heroine that is made for that bill.
I love your assessment, and I’ll be curious to find out in a few weeks if that’s how you it pans out for you after you read it!
I’m looking forward to reading this! I like having pictures that help me visualize the characters.
Me too on the photos! I spend a lot of time finding them in stock photos, preferably before I begin to write.
I loved the character interview.
The new book can’t come soon enough.
Your books @lways make my day.
Aw, thanks!!!
Wow, that is a unique job. Zane sounds like a very interesting, caring guy.
Thanks, Shannon! I had a lot of fun figuring out what made him tick!
Valerie, this sounds like a wonderful book. Do you hire your own cover models?
Thanks Merrillee! (Good to see you here!!!) This is a stock photo.
Valerie, that was such a fun interview! Loved reading it.
Thank you, Alexa!