AT LOVE'S BIDDING ~ Character Interview with Regina Jennings

I'm so excited to have Regina Jennings on the blog today! She has a gift for storytelling, especially for writing fully developed characters that take me by surprise. The first time I read a blog interview featuring Regina, she referred to herself as a "redneck bluestocking," and that instant I knew we were kindred spirits. :)

Before we get into the interview, here's a little bit about the book:

After helping her grandfather at their Boston auction house, Miranda Wimplegate discovers she's accidentally sold a powerful family's prized portrait to an anonymous bidder. Desperate to appease the people who could ruin them forever, they track it to the Missouri Ozarks and make an outlandish offer to buy the local auction house and all its holdings before the painting can move again.

Upon crossing the country, however, Miranda and her grandfather discover their new auction house doesn't deal in fine antiques, but in livestock. And its frustratingly handsome manager, Wyatt Ballentine, is annoyed to discover his fussy new bosses don't know a thing about the business he's single-handedly kept afloat. Faced with more heads of cattle than they can count--but no mysterious painting--Miranda and Wyatt form an unlikely but charged partnership to try and prevent a bad situation from getting worse.

Interview with Miranda Wimplegate from At Love’s Bidding:

Has anything significant happened in your life in the past two weeks?

I’m breathless just thinking about all that has happened. My grandfather accidentally lost an heirloom belonging to the LeBlanc family, and believe me, that’s the last family you’d want to cross. To recover the painting and save our auction house, I’ve traveled with Grandfather to the Missouri Ozarks, but nothing here is what we expected. And there’s no sign of the painting at all.

Your most embarrassing moment?

That would be when I was attacked by the headless chicken. Unfortunately, the newspaper man witnessed the event and that newspaper is his best-selling edition.

What is your first reaction when you meet a handsome gentleman? Blush? Stutter? Run? Flirt? Engage them in intelligent or witty conversation? Start an argument to see them flustered? Offer a helping hand? Ask a friend about them?

My first reaction would be to hide. I hate drawing attention to myself. Then, the one time I decide to be brave and accuse a handsome man of being a thief, I ended up making a fool of myself. Sometimes I wish I was invisible.

Are there any children or pets in your life? What do you love about them?

Back home in Boston I love to spoil the street kids who sell papers outside of our auction house. Here in Pine Gap there’s only little Betsy Huckabee, and she’s as ornery as they come. Still I love her spirit and her bravery. Sometimes I wish I had her spunk.

What happened the last time you spoke to a large group of people?

I would never speak in front of a large group of people.

What are your hobbies?

Going to museums and discussing art and antiques with my Grandfather. He says I have a good eye for beauty and value.

Do you have any grandparent figures in your life? How have they influenced you?

As you can tell, I’m close to my Grandfather, but lately he’s been behaving strangely. Selling that painting was a big mistake—one that he would’ve never made had he been paying attention. I fear that something is affecting his mental capacity.

Any current romantic interests?

I wish you hadn’t asked, but I’m intended for my cousin Cornelius. I guess it’ll be best for the family, but I don’t think you could call it a romantic interest. More of a disinterested interest.

Then there’s Wyatt. Not that I am interested in him, of course. He would be completely at a loss in a place like Boston, but he seems to be a good man. He’d make someone a fine husband…someone simple, with modest tastes and low-expectations.

What is your dearest dream?

To work undisturbed with the rare objects of art in our back warehouse. Peace for me and my family. That’s all I’m asking for.

What stands between you and your dream?

This ridiculous painting went missing and I can’t find it anywhere. To make matters worse, Grandfather has not been himself. The only person I can rely on is a coarse, backwoods stranger, Wyatt Ballentine, but can I really trust him? Sometimes I think he knows more than he’s admitting to.

Regina Jennings graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University with a degree in English and a history minor, and has been reading historicals ever since. Among her acclaimed romances are A Most Inconvenient Marriage, winner of the National Readers’ Choice Award for Best Inspirational Novel of 2014, as well as the novella An Unforeseen Match, finalist for the Award of Excellent, the NRCA Award and the Golden Quill. Regina has worked at the Mustang News and First Baptist Church of Mustang, along with time at the Oklahoma National Stockyards and various livestock shows. She makes her home outside Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with her husband and four children.

Her latest release is At Love’s Bidding. She loves to hear from readers at her website - www.reginajennings.com and on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

Comment fodder:
-- Have you ever been to a cattle auction? How about an antique or art auction?
-- What sticks in your memory about the event?
-- Have you ever lost something precious to you? Or someone else? What was the outcome?


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