Stephen H. Provost

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Anita Blount, author of "The Proper Choice"

Stephen H. Provost

Today’s interview is with Anita Blount, author of The Proper Choice. It’s the second book in her Tenacity romance series, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel. (The first was A Lovely Condition.) The author is a Mississippi native.

THE AUTHOR

Name, age and occupation: My name is Anita Blount, and let’s just say I’m a late-blooming author. I’ve done a lot of things in my life. Long ago, I was a home economist for a power company. For a time, I taught English as a second language and monitored a learning library for soldiers. I seem to remember demonstrating microwave ovens and selling Tupperware for a brief spell. And I taught preschool, kindergarten, and first grade in the United States, Europe, and Saudi Arabia. I was an Army wife for a lot of years, which explains the many career changes. Military spouse is a job, too, and it’s not always an easy one.

Where and with whom do you live? I live in the often misunderstood state of Mississippi with the man I married when I was twenty-two years old. Since he was only twenty, I admit to robbing the cradle, but I claim to have raised him right.

If you could co-write a book with any author, living or dead, whom would you choose? I’d have difficulty writing with anyone, but if I had to choose a co-writer, I’d choose Robyn Carr, author of the now-televised Virgin River series. I’m a fan, and the fictional town of Tenacity, Mississippi, where my characters live and love, is a Deep South version of her Virgin River community.

Why do you write? I write because I enjoy it. Most of my adult life has been crowded with responsibility and activity. I’ve moved twenty-six times, lived out of the United States more than eleven years, taught school when the opportunity presented itself, sent my husband to war, and helped support the families left behind. During all that activity, I rarely found time to develop my creative interests. When we retired, and I became the beneficiary of precious free time, I discovered the rewarding adventure of writing.

Where do you write? I write in an office I share with my husband. With separate desks, computers, and headphones, we’re able to work in the same room.

Your superhero alter-ego: If I could choose a superhero alter-ego, I’d possess the power to end hate, greed, and sickness. I might as well think big.

Historical period you’d like to visit: I would only go back in time if I could choose the destination and length of stay. Under those circumstances, I’d travel to the 1930s to listen to smooth jazz singers like Sara Vaughan and Billie Holliday and big bands like Glen Miller’s.  I love the romantic, bluesy sounds of that era: My Funny Valentine, Stormy Weather, The Very Thought of You, The Way You Look Tonight.

Favorite board, card, or video game: When our family is together, we pair off to enjoy the game of Rummikub, a board game that’s been around the U.S. since the 1970s.

THE BOOK

Title, genre and length? The Proper Choice is the second stand-alone novel in my Tenacity romance series. It consists of three hundred and seventy-four pages of desire, disappointment, fear, and hope. But it’s a romance novel, so you know the emotionally damaged farmgirl and the patient, movie-star-handsome attorney eventually experience their happily ever after. My books can’t quite be classified as “clean” or “sweet,” but neither are they titillating. 

When and where does it take place? The books in the Tenacity romance series take place in the fictional, present-day small community of Tenacity, Mississippi, on the banks of the Tanakbi River. It’s the kind of place where people attend Friday night football games, go to church on Sundays, and take care of their neighbors whenever help is needed.

How did you come up with the title? Conner, the story’s hero, is from an influential society family in Savannah, Georgia. While his mother looks for the perfect debutant to become Conner’s wife, Conner falls in love with a farm girl from Mississippi. Although his family goes to extraordinary lengths to dissuade him from that relationship, Conner knows that Samantha is THE PROPER CHOICE for him.

What inspired you to write it? When I wrote Conner and Samantha as secondary characters in the first novel of the Tenacity series, I had no idea the two of them would become lovers. But my readers were enamored with Conner and wanted more of him. Since I’d fallen a little in love with him too, I was happy to give him his own story. A statement Samantha made in Book One jumped out at me as the premise for Book Two, so Samantha became the lucky girl Conner set his sights on.

Is there a sequel in the works? Yes. The third book is coming along nicely. I wish I could give you the title, but I discovered that my first choice was recently used for another romance novel, and I’d rather find something unique.        

Where, how can you get it? A Lovely Condition (Book 1) and The Proper Choice (Book 2) are available on Amazon. The novels stand alone, but are more easily enjoyed when read in order.

Describe your book in one word that most people don’t normally use. Unpretentious accurately describes the down-home setting of The Proper Choice, as well as its matter-of-fact inhabitants. Mama’s Café looks exactly as it did in the 1950s and is the only place to eat in town. But Lucky’s Catfish House, overlooking a cypress swamp, and The Bar None, specializing in crawfish gumbo nachos, are just down the road. Samantha, the main female character, is a modest schoolteacher who lives in a historic farmhouse in the small community of Tenacity.  Even Conner can be described as unpretentious. Despite his privileged background and movie-star good looks, he’s surprisingly down-to-earth and unfailingly loyal.

To whom did you dedicate it and why? I dedicated it to my daughters because I’m so proud of the lovely, capable women they’ve become.

THE PROTAGONISTS

There are two protagonists in my book. I’ll tell you about both, but I’ll start with Conner for two reasons. He’s a great character, who’s easy to fall in love with, and it’s hard to tell you about Samantha without revealing too much of the story.

CONNOR McARTHUR WILMINGTON

Name, age and occupation: Twenty-eight-year-old Conner McArthur Wilmington is a junior attorney, determined to pay his own way and make his own decisions despite his parents’ efforts to control his life.

Where and with whom do they live? Conner lives and works in Clarkston, Mississippi, not far from the small town for which my series is named. But as the story unfolds, he spends more and more time in the Tenacity farmhouse belonging to Samantha, the heroine of The Proper Choice. '

Who would play your protagonist in a movie? It would be hard to find an actor to play this part. Conner is an elegant 6’5” man, with a face and body women dream of. He’s blond, with a chiseled jaw, and a basketball player’s build. Although not as tall as Conner, Australian actor Luke Bracey might qualify for the part. For the sake of our imaginary film, allowances could be made.

What real-life person would be your protagonist’s hero, mentor or  role model? Conner is a keen observer and a wise judge of character. He trusts his own instincts, makes his own decisions, and keeps his own counsel.

Who’s his celebrity crush? Conner, like any man, admires beautiful women, but if he’s ever had a celebrity crush, he’s kept it to himself. Women seek him out, and beautiful women have always been available to him.

What’s his biggest fear/phobia? When Conner discovers what happened to Samantha, he goes into total protective mode. His biggest fear is that the man who harmed her will return to carry out his threats.

What’s his favorite quote or motto? The following is a quote from easy-going Conner in The Proper Choice: “People won’t always behave the way we want them to. So when they disappoint us, we have to decide if their behavior falls within acceptable parameters. I guess you could say my parameters are fairly broad.”

Best feature? I can’t choose just one. His best features, to this author’s mind, are his kindness and his determination to be his own man. But I can’t ignore his appearance. All eyes are on him when he walks into a room. You’d think someone with his looks would be conceited, but he isn’t. The man must know the effect he has on others, but you never see him glance at his reflection as he passes a mirror. He says his appearance is the luck of the draw, and if the genes hadn’t lined up the way they did, he’d still be the same person.

SAMANTHA LINDSEY

Where and with whom do they live? Samantha Lindsey, born and raised in the small town of Tenacity, is a twenty-four-year-old schoolteacher who lives alone in the farmhouse where she was born. Before she leaves for school each morning, she feeds Hot Shot and Queenie, her loyal bird dogs, Henrietta and the other hens, the barn cats and kittens, a cow named Lazy Maisie, and a pet bull she calls Maynard.

Who would play your protagonist in a movie? Samantha has an upbeat, happy-go-lucky personality and wears a smile on her face even when she’s hurting inside. Her philosophy is “fake it till you make it,” and it works for her much of the time. Young Meg Ryan, as she appears in the original Top Gun movie, looks a lot like Samantha, down to her curly hair. But since Meg is older now,  Emma Roberts might be able to play Samantha.

What real-life person would be your protagonist’s hero, mentor or role model? Since Samantha is a young schoolteacher, just starting out, I think she’d  choose an admired teacher as a mentor.

Who’s her celebrity crush? In the beginning of the story, Conner is Samantha’s celebrity crush.    He’s not an actual movie star, although he looks as though he could be, but he has an online following of young girls from the Savannah area who have crushes on him. '

What’s her biggest fear/phobia? That’s an easy question to answer. Samantha is afraid the man who attacked her will return to carry out his threats. It’s a fear that rules her life.

What’s her favorite quote or motto? Samantha likes this quote from Will Rogers: “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

Best feature? Samantha thinks her curly, strawberry blond hair is her best feature. Conner thinks it’s her smile.