About the Book
Book: Dial V for Valentine
Author: Linda Shenton Matchett
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 14, 2022
Valentine’s Day is perfect for a wedding. If only the bride will agree.
Being part of the military is not just a job for Fergus Rafferty, it’s a calling. He’s worked his way up the ranks and doing what he loves best: flying Apache helicopters. The only thing that will make his life complete is marrying Celeste. After he transfers to a unit scheduled to deploy in three months, he’s thrilled at the idea of marrying before he leaves so they can start their new life. Except Celeste wants to wait until he returns. Can he convince her to wed before he leaves?
Celeste Hardwicke has just opened her law practice when she finally accepts Fergus’s marriage proposal. Not to worry. She has plenty of time to set a date, then plan the wedding. Until she doesn’t. But a quickie wedding isn’t what she has in mind. Besides, why get married when the groom will ship out after the ceremony? When she stumbles on her great-grandmother’s diary from World War II, she discovers the two of them share the same predicament.
At an impasse, Celeste and Fergus agree to call into WDES’s program No Errin’ for Love. Will DJ Erin Orberg’s advice solve their dilemma or create a bigger divide? One they’ll both regret.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII and a former trustee for her local public library. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state and immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.
More from Linda
My mom was born on February 14th, so when I was growing up, Valentine’s Day wasn’t about romance and falling in love. Instead, it was a celebration of my mother. When I was asked to participate in the multi-author project, You are on the Air, I was hesitant to accept because of having little connection to the holiday and the books in the series are contemporary romance. I primarily write historical romance. But I loved the concept: the stories revolve around couples who call into a Christian radio station for relationship advice. I spent about two weeks mulling over (and discarding) ideas, then I realized the plot was right in front of me.
I had just finished putting together an exhibit with the curator at the museum where I volunteer. One of the display items was a wedding gown made from a parachute. Included with the dress was a photograph of the couple, and their names and wedding date, but nothing else. The lack of information got my mind going, and I wondered about their story. Why did they wait until the end of the war to marry? Why not wed before the groom shipped out? Did they regret waiting? I realized that members of today’s armed forces might deal with the same situation and decided to combine the two plot lines. (See? I can’t leave my historical roots behind!)
In Dial V for Valentine, Celeste and Fergus struggle with the sacrifice that comes with true love. Not the you-can-have-the-last-cookie kind of love, but a love that puts another’s needs and wants above one’s own. What they learn is that we can only love successfully when we understand that love comes from God. We are capable of loving (mates, significant others, friends and the unlovely) because “He first loved us.” Love is an emotion, but it is also an act of obedience.
Interview with the Author
How do you select the names of your characters?
Selecting my characters’ names is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. Most of my books are set during WWII or the mid- to later 1800s, and I select names that are popular for the era as well as heritage specific. For example, I have two books in which the male protagonists are Norwegian. I have used websites to find names associated with countries outside the U.S. For other characters’ names, I have visited cemeteries. Many of the names of my WWII characters come from the six high school and college yearbooks I have that were published between 1940 and 1947. I take the first name of one person and the surname from another.
What is your favorite childhood book?
I don’t know if it’s the illustrations or the storyline, but my favorite story when I was in early elementary school was P.D. Eastman’s Are You My Mother? As a young adult, I discovered Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and read it numerous times. Her book is what inspired me to want to be an author. The story greatly affected me, and I wanted to share stories that would impact others like that.
If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
I would have continued writing. I wrote lots of stories while in elementary school, up until I was about twelve years old. Then the challenging years of junior high and high school came, and my writing fell by the wayside. The more you practice writing, the better one becomes, and I lost those years.
What comes first, the plot or characters?
Most often my characters come first. My goal as a writer is to shine the light on ordinary women who did extraordinary things in the past, whether it was to leave everything they knew to become a mail-order bride or join the SOE to become a spy. I decide who I want to highlight, then determine the backstory and plotline.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I live in the beautiful state of New Hampshire, so I try to get outside as much as possible. I hike and kayak during the warm months, and snow shoe during the winter. Winter also tends to be the time when we work puzzles.
Blog Stops
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 14
Texas Book-aholic, February 15
Simple Harvest Reads, February 16 (Author Interview)
She Lives To Read, February 17
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 18
Artistic Nobody, February 19 (Author Interview)
The Lofty Pages, February 19
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 20
For Him and My Family, February 21
Fiction Book Lover, February 22 (Author Interview)
Holly’s Book Corner, February 23
Back Porch Reads, February 24 (Author Interview)
Karen Baney Reviews, February 24
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 25
Where Crisis & Christ Collide, February 26 (Author Interview)
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, February 27 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Linda is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Visa Gift Card and signed copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/29db9/dial-v-for-valentine-celebration-tour-giveaway