“Knock, knock? Is this where I’m supposed to be?”
Yes. Hi, come on in. Have a seat. I’m Elizabeth.
“Whitney Hall. It’s nice to meet you. I brought headshots and…do you mind if I say this doesn’t look like any audition I’ve been on before? I expected to see more people waiting.”
Oh, well. This is more of an interview than audition.
“Interview? Like for an agency?”
Sure. We can go with that for now. Why don’t we start off with you telling me a little about yourself.
“Okay. Well, like I said, I’m Whitney Hall. I came to L.A. for college and have stayed since. I love acting–theater has been a big part of my life basically since I was born. And–”
Hang on. Tell me a little about that. You were a child actress?
“It’s not that impressive. I’m from Gilead, Kansas. You won’t have heard of it. But our town–and the Bible college there–put on a big Passion Play at Easter every year. I don’t think you can live in Gilead and not be part of it. You sure can’t if you’re in my family. So I grew up doing that. My senior year of high school I got to be one of the angels at the tomb. That was my first real speaking role. I also did some of the backstage stuff, but it’s not nearly as exciting as being out under the lights.”
Sounds exciting. Why did you leave?
“Well. I mean. It’s Kansas. No one makes it big when they stay in Kansas.”
I guess I can see that. So, you’ve been in L.A. looking for your big break?
“Yep. I know it takes time and I have to pay my dues and all of that. I’m willing to do that. I just need someone to give me a chance and get my foot in the door. Are you sure this isn’t an audition?”
Right now it’s more of a conversation. Why? Do you have somewhere to be?
“Sort of? I’m watching a friend’s three year old. He’s with my neighbor and I really don’t like to do that for too long. She’s great–he’s in good hands–but he’s not her responsibility, you know?”
He’s not yours, either.
“Oh, well. I told Shelby Ann I’d keep him while she went on one of her long hikes. She likes to get away and get in tune with nature. Something about realigning something or other. Honestly, I tend to tune that part out. I like having Beckett though. I know I’m the only exposure he gets to Jesus and he soaks it up. He loves reading the Bible story book I have and singing. I pray for the two of them a lot…and that’s probably too much Jesus talk for Hollywood. I’m sorry.”
Don’t apologize. I’m a big fan of Jesus talk. You’re not worried about balancing a Hollywood career and your faith?
“Well. A little. I figure God will show me how to do it though.”
Is that your phone?
“I’m so sorry. I thought I put it on silent.”
You can go ahead and check it. That’s fine.
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t want to–”
It’s okay. It might be about the boy. Beckett?
“Right. Thank you. Hello? This is…what? No. Of course. Yes. Sure. Okay. Goodbye.”
Everything okay?
“No. I need to go. I’m sorry. There’s a possibility that Shelby Ann had an accident and I have to–I have to go.”
What will happen to Beckett?
“I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep him safe.”
Won’t that be interesting.
You can read more about how Whitney goes about that in The Billionaire’s Nanny.
Liwen blogged last week about audiobooks on YouTube. I’m in the process of putting some of my backlist books into AI audio for free on YouTube as well. Even if you’re not an audiobook listener, I’d really appreciate it if you’d pop over and hit subscribe.
Whitney was pretty quick to get out of Kansas to chase the bright lights of Hollywood. Have you ever relocated to chase a dream? Or, if not, what would it take for you to decide to relocate? Or (lots of options, lol) if you could relocate anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.
I moved across the country more then once to chase dreams. All good.
Cool! I’ll admit I do not easily embrace the idea of moving. It always feels overwhelming.
Each of our three children was born in a different country- that’s relocating!
Then in our forties, my husband left the corporate world, working for an international mining company in Johannesburg and we relocated 700 miles away to a village of 400 inhabitants to run a hotel, which is something we had never done before! It gave our family the change in lifestyle that we needed. Three of us had chronic illnesses which improved significantly in the clean air and healthier environment.
Oh my! That’s fantastic. I have these small dreams of running a B&B in our retirement, but I’m not sure I’d actually be any good at it.
Yay for improvement in health from better surroundings though for sure!
Never have relocated never would want to relocate
Ooh. Tell us why your hometown is so perfect! Why do you love it?
My family lives here so wouldn’t want to move
Being near family is definitely a delight.
I’ve never moved!! If I could move anywhere, I’d want some place that’s cooler than Florida, no hurricanes, no earthquakes, no tornadoes. I have no idea where that would be, so I’ll stay where I am! lol!!
Lol. Fair! Florida is pretty nice tho.
Yes, it is!
Italy
Ooh. What part?
I have actually relocated to chase a dream…..I moved from Illinois to Oregon to be with and marry my now-husband in 1997. Well, I moved in 1996 but we dated for a few months before getting married (separate houses obviously). That was definitely a HUGE move, but 25 years later I can say it was well worth it :-) We just celebrated our anniversary on April 5th!
This character interview had me going over to Amazon to borrow the book from KU because I need to get to know Whitney more & find out what happens next!
Aw! I love this. And happy belated anniversary!
I think it’d have to be job-related in order to consider relocating. Or maybe somewhere I already have friends or family, like the US or UK.
That definitely makes sense. It’s certainly nicer to go where you already know someone!
We’ve moved a couple of times so my husband could chase his dream of building rockets. :) We most recently moved from L.A. to Texas, so I could picture where Whitney was living at the start of your book!
Oh fun!
He should come to Florida! We do lots of rockets here!
not really
At one stage I would have liked to go to Canada for a year or so and work and travel. Now I am relatively happy here. Although if I had the money spending a few months in Hawaii and then a few months in Canada and parts of America would be fun. For that matter having money to go to places New Zealand and other parts of the world.
There’s so much of the world to see. I do think living and working and then moving and living and working in a new spot is a great way to go about it.
I got as far as finding out what requirements were needed to get the visa and was getting info sent. It was a goal but would have needed the money. But its good to dream. My idea was starting in British Columbia and joining a temp agency to do admin.
My friend who is now living in Texas has done this. She lived in country South Australia and would go to the city for temp jobs. She went to South Africa backpacking and doing some temp work. She then moved to New Zealand for about 10 years even got a cat and was again with an agency doing contract work. She was often offered extensions. Now she is in Dallas and has been for several years.
No, only relocated to follow jobs my husband got, if I would relocate now, it would only be to be closer to my grandchildren.
That’s a great reason to relocate for sure!
No not to chase a dream but to get away from an abusive husband.
Oh goodness, I’m glad you got away!
Subscribed. I cannot imagine at this time in my life relocating anywhere. When my husband and I were dating, we considered moving to Harrisonburg, Virginia. We decided that we did not want to be that far away from our family. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Thanks for subscribing! Harrisonburg is lovely, but it’s so nice to be near family.
I moved to the country & wanted our child right after high school. So, I didn’t go to college to become a Journalist but got a couples job later & then became a stay at home mom
I didn’t go to school to become a Mechanic or go into the government where I could have but got a better life with my wife & work.
The dreams chase me lol