Today’s guest is author Shannon Taylor Vannatter who answers one of my favorite questions for novelists–and gives an unexpected answer:
What is something unexpected one of your characters did?
Tori Eaton, the heroine in my latest release, Rodeo Family isn’t very heroine-worthy at the beginning of the book. She’s a promiscuous, party girl. But a relationship with an abusive boyfriend soon drives her to her knees.
The first time she meets Brant McConnell, she’s recovering from her last beating which convinced her to leave her boyfriend. When Brant mistakenly arrives at the guest house where she’s staying, she threatens him with a fire poker.
The second time they run into each other, Tori’s ex-boyfriend shows up at the interior design store where she works. He threatens her and breaks some lamps before the owner calls 911 and then the business next door for help. Brant happened to be next door and arrives along with some other cowboys to help until the police arrive.
After her ex-boyfriend is arrested and Tori and Brant have both answered the police’s questions, she’s shaken. Her boss asks Brant to drive Tori home. Though assured by her boss that Brant is a longtime friend and great guy, Tori still has trust issues.
I needed something that Brant could do for her throughout the course of the story that would bond them and help Tori trust him. I came up with some kind of comfort food. So when Brant asked her if she wanted to eat before he took her home, her response surprised me—McDonald’s.
Every time Tori got rattled through the course of her story, Brant brought her a Filet-O-Fish, fries, and chocolate milk shake. Through his kind gesture, she learned to trust him and eventually revealed her very painful past and how she came to rely on McDonald’s for comfort.
I guess this came from loving McDonald’s as a kid. We lived five miles from one in an Atlanta suburb for five years during my childhood. The restaurant was right between our house and where my cousin lived. Whenever we went to my cousin’s, we ate at McDonald’s.
But when I was twelve, we moved to rural Arkansas where my parents were born and raised. Our community is tiny. A store, two churches, and a post office—that’s only open four hours a day—makes up our main street. The closest McDonald’s was thirty minutes away, and we didn’t go to that city often. I went from eating at McDonald’s once or twice a week to once every three months or so.
With the lack of McDonald’s, on top of not knowing anyone and being used to a larger city, I thought my life was over for about three years. But two awesome things happened when I was fifteen, the city ten minutes away got a McDonald’s. And I met my future husband. These changes helped rural life grow on me and now the city of 7,000 where our McDonald’s is would be too big for me to live in.
Comment or answer this question to enter the drawing for a print copy of Rodeo Family:
What is your favorite comfort food?
TORI EATON IS READY TO START OVER
She’s beginning a new chapter in Aubrey, Texas, away from her abusive ex-boyfriend. As she picks up the pieces of her broken life, Tori’s surprised at the helping hand the church’s new song director, Brant McConnell, offers her, and at the warm emotions he inspires. Brant is drawn to Tori. And as their friendship grows, so do his feelings for her. But Tori is still hounded by her past, and the walls she’s built around her heart are high. Can he convince the wounded beauty that he’s exactly the kind of man she needs—and deserves?
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Meet Shannon!
Central Arkansas author Shannon Taylor Vannatter is a stay-at-home mom/pastor’s wife. She lives in a town with a population of around 100, if you count a few cows and once climbed a mountain wearing gold wedge-heeled sandals which became known as her hiking boots. Vannatter won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award in the short contemporary category, The 18th Annual Heartsong Awards 3rd Favorite New Author and #1 Contemporary Award.
She has ten published titles and is contracted for five more. Her books are available at christianbook.com, barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, harlequin.com, and barbourbooks.com. Learn more about Shannon and her books at http://shannonvannatter.com and check out her real life romance blog at http://shannonvannatter.com/blog/.
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Contest Details
Please leave a comment before 11:59 p.m. (Central time) Sunday, February 8th to be included in the drawing for a print edition of Rodeo Family. Be sure to include your email address. The winner will be announced on Monday, February 9th.
Favorite comfort food: brownies!
And I hit post too fast…
I wanted to also add that Rodeo Family sounds very good. It also sounds like the heroine is going to really have to learn to trust all over again, which is not easy to do.
My husband loves brownies. I only like them with frosting on top. I’m a pie person myself.
Tori had a really rough life. I love writing characters like her–finding what will break them and what can help them heal.
I’m with you, Brittany. I love brownies! Chocolate-y, fudgy, gooey brownies.
Okay, Johnnie. Gooey is another story. Brownies with fudge or caramel inside. Anything gooey is awesome.
Now I want a brownie.
My favorite comfort food … my mom’s chocolate chip cowboy cookies!
I’ve never heard of those, Merry. What makes them cowboy cookies? That sounds like something that might need to go in one of my books.
Oatmeal! Crunchy outside and soft inside. 🙂
You wouldn’t want to give me the recipe, would you, Merry? Just a thought. But if it’s a family secret, no worries.
Sure, I’ll send it to your e-mail. 🙂
I’ve never heard of those either, but they sound yummy. Would you mind if we posted the recipe? If you’re interested, please send me an email at johnniealexander at icloud dot com. So glad you stopped by. Thank you!
Hello Johnnie, I enjoyed your post. I am a follower of Shannon’s. I will also subscriibe to your newsletter. You are new to me. Would love to win Shannon’s book. Thanks for the chance. Maxie > mac262(at)me(dot)com <
Awesome Merry. Just in case you need my e-mail, stvauthor at yahoo dot com.
I forgot to name my comfort food. Snicker bar. Otherwise Chicken Nuggets and gravy from Dairy Queen or WhataBurger. Delish. Sometimes I feel like I could survive on Cheddars onion rings. The best I’ve ever had. (and a lot). Maxie
Hey Maxie,
Snickers is my favorite candy bar. Yum. Have you ever had a Snickers Ice Cream bar. REALLY YUM!
Hi, Maxie. I’m so glad you hopped over and thanks for subscribing. I’m still working on my first newsletter, but hope to have it out by the end of the month. (Now I’ll have to!)
Now you have me thinking of non-sweet comfort foods. I was on a jalapeno poppers kick for awhile, then fried pickles. Now–and this is so crazy–Kroger’s large oyster crackers. Strange, I know. But I love ’em.
Yum Johnnie. Y’all are making me hungry. I love jalapeno poppers, fried pickles and oyster crackers. Mozarella sticks are awesome too.
My favorite comfort food is ice cream!
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net
You can never go wrong with ice cream, Beth. My fave is chocolate chip. My older cousins used to take me to Baskin Robbins when I was a kid. They’d have jillions of flavors and they’d try something different every time. I always got chocolate chip. They thought that was terribly boring.
I like pretty much anything with chocolate swirls and chunks or pecans and caramel too.
Ice cream! Especially creamy homemade vanilla with strawberries. That’s my fave though I also like mint chocolate chip. Yum!
My favorite food is homemade noodles. We ate them a lot during my childhood, and I made them for my children/grandchildren. Alas, now they’re off-limits for me= gluten. BUMMER!
In one of my historical women’s fiction books, an 1860’s heroine delights in making noodles, once she gets some chickens/eggs.
I’ve never had homemade noodles, Gail. Sorry about the gluten thing. That is a bummer.
Yes! I love homemade noodles by themselves and also on top of mashed potatoes. My mom makes the best. I tried making them for the first time a couple of months ago . . . and they were perfect! I’m afraid to try again.
Gail, I love that you are passing your love for homemade noodles to your children and your grands.
I enjoyed talking about food this week. And I’m trying to eat healthier. This certainly didn’t help 🙂