FAVORITES, FAILURES & FRUSTRATIONS WITH GUEST AUTHOR REGGI ALLDER

Reggi Allder writes suspense and contemporary romance, including the Sierra Creek Series. Learn more about her and her books at her website. Today Reggi joins us to discuss Favorites, Failures & Frustrations as it relates to one of her books.

Frustration: When I lived in Los Angeles, my day consisted of sitting in my car on the freeway for about fifty minutes in the morning and another fifty minutes in the evening, longer if there was an accident or a breakdown on the road. My subcompact didn’t have air conditioning or heat and I burned in one hundred degree heat in the summer and was cold in the winter. To decrease my frustration while sitting in the gridlock, I used the time to think up stories. The idea of living off the land and being self-sufficient was my inspiration for Her Country Heart Christmas Edition. Don’t get me wrong. I love LA, just not the traffic. Though I no longer live there, I still have friends in the area.

Failure: Past failures are a motivator for my female character in Her Country Heart Christmas Edition. After her marriage fails, Amy Long struggles to support her young son. Then she is downsized and loses her apartment in San Francisco. In spite of her failures, she is determined to start fresh in Sierra Creek and succeed this time.

Favorites: I love apples. In the book when I had to decide what kind of a farm my character would have, an organic apple farm seemed right. I did research to find out what kind of apple she should grow. This included tasting apples from around the world that are now in local markets. I selected the Red Delicious and the Macintosh Apple.

As a tradition at Christmas my family often has apple pie as well as pumpkin pie for our dessert, sometimes adding cranberries with the apples to make it a colorful holiday red.

Things about the apple you may not know:

1. The Adam’s apple was named because in the bible Adam was tempted by Eve and took a bite from the apple she offered him. He choked and couldn’t swallow it. According to the myths, that’s why a man’s larynx is larger than a woman’s.

2. Johnny Appleseed, born John Chapman (September 26, 1774 – March 18, 1845), was an American pioneer nursery man who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as the northern counties of present-day West Virginia (Wikipedia). Information about him is still taught in many schools, and there are movies and videos about his life.

3. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” According to research on the Internet, the saying came from Great Britain, a Pembrokeshire proverb c1866. “Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.” Other variations can be found from 1913 onward.

4. Apples have many vitamins including A, C, K and the B vitamins. One apple can supply much of the needed vitamins, so saying to eat an apple every day is close to the mark.

5. There are over 7,000 varieties of apples. By the way, the Crab Apple is from the US and the Macintosh Apple is from eastern Canada. Though there are many new varieties, the Red Delicious is still the most popular.

Her Country Heart Christmas Edition

Why is Amy Long attracted to the only man who can prevent her from achieving her dream?

Amy needs a home for Christmas. Hoping to find a fresh start, she returns to the small town of Sierra Creek to run her late grandmother’s farm.

Cowboy Wyatt Cameron knows Amy belongs in the city. She’s in the way of his plans and as executor of her grandmother’s will, he has the power prevent her from staying on the farm.

What can she offer to change his mind? Will sparks fly when opposites attract?

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