Friday, May 3, 2019

#Fearless Friday's Only Child and #Adventurous by Dee S. Knight #romance


FEARLESS FRIDAY


Please join me in welcoming Dee S. Knight with some fearless fun. Remember that first fearless adventure you had? Dee shares hers with us. So read on and enjoy. You'll find out her heroine is fearless too.

When I was just shy of my 18th birthday, I hugged my mom and dad goodbye in Orlando, Florida and stepped onto the train that would take me to Fredericksburg, Virginia for my first day of college. I’d never been away from home before—except for hospitals where I’d had surgery due to polio. I’d never traveled alone before, never been on a train or in a taxi. I’d never visited or even seen the school I was going to attend or ever been in Fredericksburg. I didn’t know anyone else going to my school. I'd never been separated from the familiar.

Still, I was fearless.

I was bound for adventure and new sights, new friends, new freedoms. With the typical selfishness of youth, I didn’t give very much thought to the fact that my parents had just sent their only child thousands of miles away and how they might feel. I knew I would miss them and that they would miss me, but I was consumed with excitement and looking forward to discovering the unknown.

As an only child I wasn’t especially attuned to adventure. I’d led a very sheltered life. My dad was in the Navy. We had moved to Orlando the summer between my junior and senior year, so I didn’t feel a strong kinship with the city, my high school, or any friends I’d made in that one year. The separation from lifelong friends and a city I loved had taken place the previous summer, when we left Virginia Beach.

The train trip was interesting. I was able to sit back and watch the scenery change from Florida, to Georgia. Through the Carolinas, and then into Virginia. As soon as we crossed the Virginia line my heart lightened. Not only was I going to the school of my choice—Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia (now Mary Washington University—no longer an all-girls’ college and now separate from UVA)—but I was once again in the same state with my sweetheart, Jack. Going back to Virginia for school had nothing to do with the fact that Jack was also going to school there (in Lexington, hours from Fredericksburg, but in the same state, at least). Nothing. But it didn’t hurt. 😉

Fredericksburg, when I first saw it from the train station and then from a taxi, had that old-ish, brick, historic patina. I had no idea what to expect. The most I knew about the college or the town was what I had seen in the college catalogue. But it didn’t matter. I was fearless, remember? As it turned out, the campus was exactly as I’d imagined a college campus should look. My dorm was just what I would have wanted. I made friends right away (one of whom is still my best friend), and I was perfectly right to be fearless in my move into adulthood.

Going away from home wasn’t the only fearless thing I’ve done, just the first. I jumped into truck driving when I had no knowledge of or experience in the field. I left trucking for a new, unexplored field a few years later, and eventually dove into writing when I had no idea what I was doing. Sometimes being fearless is only a form of naiveté or stupidity. But for me, being fearless has led to a fun and exciting life.

In my book Only a Good Man Will Do, Daniel Goodman has always taken the safe route. He knew what he wanted, he plotted a path to get there, and he stuck to it. Eve Star on the other hand, took leaps of faith. She faced life fearlessly—and eventually won! But the trip wasn’t always easy.

Only a Good Man Will Do
Book 1 of the Good Man Series

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Blurb:
Daniel Goodman is a man on a mission. He aims to become headmaster of Westover Academy. For that he needs a particular, special woman to help him set high standards. Into his cut and dried life of moral and upright behavior, comes Eve Star, formerly one of Europe's foremost exotic dancers. Her life is anything but cut and dried, black and white. Daniel is drawn to her like a kid to chocolate. Nothing good can come of this attraction. Or can it? He is after all, a good man.
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11 comments:

  1. Good morning, Brenda! Thank you for having me!

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  2. All those exciting new firsts, eh! :D

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    1. I guess everyone has a lot of firsts, right? Jack and I just didn't do most of the ones our friends did. Thanks for commenting, Patricia! (Love your "eh"!)

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  3. Dee,
    I love that you were and are fearless. Neat that you went to an all female college too. I went to Russell Sage College and loved it there and again Sage is no longer all women either. I also made wonderful friends at Sage including the ones in my Risking Love series.

    Yes, Daniel didn't take chances but one of his two brothers sure did.
    A little risk in fun! Another great novel, Dee. Nice job.
    Callie

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    1. Callie, thanks so much for commenting! I definitely wanted to go to an all girl school and I loved it. And I loved Mary Washington--such a pretty campus and interesting town. What a hoot that you met your Risking Love friends at school!

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  4. Wow Dee you really are adventurous! The most adventurous thing I ever did was move from France to the UK - not quite in the same league! I loved Daniel's story, I like stories where the heroes have to get out of their comfort zone and make tough choices to find happiness.

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    1. In all honesty, Alice, if I'd been older and more worldly wise I might have been less fearless! ;) Thank you for the comment!

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  5. What a great blog post. I am a big fan of Dee's stories. Only a Good Man Will Do, is a great story, I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I also loved the three stories that made up the book Naval Maneuvers.

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  6. Truck driving! Wow! What a fun job. I bet you have some interesting RL stories to tell, you're so adventurous - I cannot but wonder if any of these adventures have made it into your books! Great post!

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