Men from the Candy Heart Collection

Men. What goes on in their minds? Especially men who find themselves in an unexpected romance? Did anyone ask them whether they wanted to be the hero, or the loner, or the misunderstood hunk?

Rachelle: Today, authors Lisa Bilbrey, Laura Braley, and Michele Richard make their men squirm with some incisive questioning. So, who's first?

Come on, don't be shy. Laura? What? Chance is still applying hair pomade? Okay... How about Gabe? No?

Ah... thanks Michele. *drags a man by the hand and leads him onto the stage*

Okay, let's start with Michele Richard’s interview with Life’s Unexpected Gift’s Secret Admirer:

Michele: Where did you get your ideas for the gifts you sent?

Man: *Shaking his head and letting out a hearty laugh, he shifts in his seat* Nothing like getting to the hard stuff right away, huh? Okay, well, Emma was a hard nut to crack, that’s for sure, but it ultimately came down to what meant the most to her. She’s little box of secrets and I had to pull them out slowly.

Michele:  Why not just come out and admit your feelings?

Man: Honestly? I was afraid. Emma has this way of looking at me with this underlining hope and expectation. I wanted to be the man she deserved, the man who made her feel as beautiful as she is.

Michele: Knowing what you know now, would you do it all over again?

Man: In a heartbeat. Emma is worth going through it all. As much as I wish I’d had the courage to tell her before how much I loved her, we both had to be ready. She needed to grieve and I needed to hold her.

Rachelle: *sniff* that was touching. So, are you going to tell us your name? No? Well, next time you're in a gift buying mood, I'm NOT a hard nut to crack. Ah, I see Chance from Smoky Rooms is ready. Okay, please, step right up and sit here next to Lisa Brilbrey.


Lisa: What are you thinking about when you’re performing your music?


Chance: The songs I pick tend to fit my mood. The past few years haven’t been good ones. I screwed up – big time – and it cost me a lot. When I sing, I reflect on my life, the choices I made, what I could have done different, what I SHOULD have done different. It’s a melancholy feeling to know that sometimes in life, you can screw up so bad that you can’t go back and fix it, you can only move on and try to be better. When you’ve messed up as bad as I did, it’s hard to believe that you can get a do-over on life.


Lisa: You shut yourself off emotionally from a lot of people. What made you decide to go into Duke’s that first night?


Chance: Honestly? I needed a drink, which is probably the last reason I needed to be there, since booze had helped lead me down my path to ruin. There are a billion clubs in New York City. Duke’s was far enough off the beaten path, I figured I could languish in obscurity there, safe from the media that would have recognized me on sight anywhere else. I didn’t need to be reminded by someone else of my mistakes, I did a good enough job on my own making sure I didn’t forget.


Lisa: What are your hopes and dreams for the future?


Chance: To do life right. I’m being given the cosmic do-over that everyone always wishes for. I want to love someone who loves me back, and make sure that every day, in every way, I’m one hundred percent committed to her and us. I want to keep my priorities straight, and live my dream of being a successful musician, but this time with the wisdom that eluded me the last go-round. And maybe, one day, if I’m really lucky, I can have a family again, one I won’t walk away from when I have my dream, because they are my dream.

Rachelle: Thank God for do-overs and the wisdom to do it right. Okay, our final guest is Gabe from Changes of the Heart with Laura Braley. Please, step up to the mike.

Laura: Gabe, you sat by the window every night. What were you looking for?

Gabe: What was I looking for? I don't know, really. Maybe a sign from God that I hadn't been abandoned after all, that there was still hope for me.

Laura: You mentioned to Juliette’s father that you didn’t want to spend Christmas alone. If you didn’t want to be alone, why did you isolate yourself from everyone?

Gabe: Isolation hurt less. Seeing everyone looking at me with pity in their eyes wore thin on me. I didn't want their pity, I wanted my family back. When Juliette arrived, she looked at me without knowing what had happened. To her I was just a man, granted a man who was less than kind to her in the beginning.

Laura: Why didn't you push harder to get Juliette to listen to you New Years Eve? Might have saved you six weeks of loneliness.

Gabe: Honestly? It stung to see the pain I caused her. Also, she needed to be the one to accept me. Cole's father had returned, as much as I wanted to be his father, he had one already. That’s why she had to be the one to choose.

Rachelle: Very touching. When you've lost everything, to take another chance at love. Thank you Michele, Lisa and Laura for sharing your men's emotional journey with us today. I'd like to rush out and read the book. Where can I get it?

Lisa: Glad you asked. You can find the links to buy Life is More Than Candy Hearts on our website, http://ow.ly/aonC3. Thanks again, Rachelle for having us on your blog.

Rachelle: My pleasure.