A Conversation with Bonny Bryant

Come join me for a conversation with Bonny Bryant, a lady I’ve become very fond of over the last few years. If you’ve read Land of My Dreams, you’ve met Bonny. If you haven’t, it’s high time you did. Even if you’ve read the book, you may not know everything that makes her tick. So help yourself to a cup of tea and a scone, and let’s get acquainted!

 

 

Fabulous Fridays

I’m excited to have this conversation with Bonny Bryant today! Welcome, Bonny! Tell me a little about yourself.

I’m excited to meet everyone and tell them about my story! I’m an only child, and grew up in the mountains of central New Mexico outside of Albuquerque. My parents were only children, also, so following their deaths, I was alone except for my best friends Dan MacDowell, Kari Anderson, and my fiancé, Adam Lawson. I’ve been told I’m just like my Scottish grandmother with my fair skin, red hair and green eyes. Like her, I’m only 5’2″, and because of my size, most people think that I’m delicate, but they’ve got that wrong. I can hike, ride, and shoot with the best of them, and I’m never happier than in my dad’s 1967 Land Cruiser or on horseback in the mountains.

I have doctorates in both American History and American Literature from the University of New Mexico, or “University Near Mom, as it’s affectionately known. I began teaching there before I was 30 years old. My father was also a historian and my dearest friend. We co-wrote a course before he died, combining American history with the literature about and from  important periods in our nation’s history.

I love teaching, but my real goal is to be a wife and mother. My ex-fiancé, Adam, destroyed that dream, so I’m hoping there’s someone out there for me, but I’m not ready for that yet. Right now, I just want to escape this big, lonely house and my life, filled with echoes of the people I love and everything I hoped to have.

What are your favorite activities when you’re not teaching?

I have horses, and one of my favorite pastimes is riding. I enjoy hiking, camping, and fly-fishing, anything to do with mountains and the outdoors. I ski, sing, play the piano, and write poetry. I am never bored.

I’m an avid reader of both American and English literature, and prefer the classics that everyone hated in school, Dickens, the Brontë sisters, Louisa May Alcott, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. I love Charles Dickens’ incredible description of characters and setting. My all-time favorite is Jane Eyre. There is nothing like a good romance. I identify with Jane because she was alone also. Of course, Mr. Rochester was not nearly as handsome as Kieran MacDonell but he’s a romantic figure with a past that haunts him the way some things in Kieran’s life haunt him. I just hope we have a happy ending someday.

What is your favorite color?

Green, probably because everyone says it brings out the color of my eyes. I also love pink, though most redheads don’t feel they wear it well.

What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite?

I’m a real snob when it comes to New Mexican food, notice I didn’t say Mexican food. New Mexico is famous for our traditional foods, and nothing else compares. Green chile, red chile, or both together, which we call “Christmas”, with breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sopapillas and Tres Leches cake are like ambrosia to me. I am enjoying teaching my Scottish boyfriend, Kieran, to love my favorite foods, the way I’m learning to love his. I brought a lot of chile with me when I moved to Scotland, packed on dry ice.

New Mexico is a great place to live. We have strong traditions from the large Native American and Hispanic populations. Our multi-cultural setting makes things so much more interesting. Chile means home, special times, and comfort.

What are your passions?

If you took me out of the mountains for long, I think I would curl up and die. One thing that attracted me to Scotland was the mountains and I haven’t been disappointed. They are spectacular. Scotland and New Mexico are about as similar as water and dust, and the change has been good for me.

I love Celtic music and bagpipes. Who would have thought I’d meet a piper! Of course, I’m into anything historical, and I miss sharing that with my dad. It’s difficult teaching the course we were to teach together all alone. I could read all day every day if I didn’t have to work.

What is it about your former fiancé that irks you the most, and why?

Adam Lawson is so full of himself. He always treated me like more of a possession than a person, but I miss him. I thought it would be romantic to marry my first love, but he ruined that. Even though he almost destroyed my world, I still dream of him. Kieran is amazing, but sometimes I wonder if I could deal with New Mexico never being home again.

Irritating things about Adam. Where do I begin? He’s is too competitive and career oriented, with strong political ambitions. Life with him would never be simple, but a place in my heart seems reserved for him, no matter what. He makes me angry, but he gets this look in those chocolate-brown eyes of his, and I melt every time. I thought moving to Scotland would remove him from my life, but he keeps finding ways to intrude, in spite of the fact that he’s the one who ruined everything.

Wow! You have been through a lot of change. Who is the most important person in your life now?

Kieran MacDonell is my dream guy in so many ways. The ten year age difference doesn’t bother me at all. I can’t begin to describe my feelings when he walks into the room. I could swim in the blue pools of his eyes in forever. I shiver just thinking about him. The sheer size of him is overwhelming. His hands are so huge he can almost encircle my waist, and his hand on my back or holding my hand is irresistible. Of course, the accent and the kilt could sweep any woman off her feet, add in the bagpipes and his incredible home on Loch Garry—how could any woman resist?

The butterflies in my stomach haven’t stopped fluttering since the first time I saw him at a faculty meeting–and watching him compete in the Highland Games–wow! When we met, it was as if a magnet was drawing our souls together. He is sweet, thoughtful, self-sacrificing, gentle—my wild, romantic dream in every way. The adventure of being loved by him is priceless. Most of the time, I believe I could change my entire life—give up everything I’ve ever known to be with him.

We understand the immensity of each other’s loss, and doubt that God has any part to play in our personal lives. Most of my friends don’t understand that and lecture me. Kieran knows because he’s been there, but sometimes I wonder if he’s is ready to move on with his life.

What would you like readers to know about you that isn’t spelled out in the book?

I come across as being so sure of myself and brave, but I’m just a scared little girl on the inside. I act as if I am in control because I’m afraid that if people see how weak I really am they won’t want to be with me. The brave things I do are really just ways of running from things that hurt.

If you could tell the writer of your story anything that might change the direction of the plot, what would it be?

Make my life simpler. Let me be a wife and mother. I only went for all those degrees because Adam didn’t want to marry until his law career was on the upswing. He thinks marriage to the right woman—an educated, professional woman, would help his political ambitions. If you could make his character more straightforward and honest, it would simplify my life. I want to trust him and feel as if what I want matters to him.

Kieran is so exciting and such a hunk, but he isn’t perfect either. I don’t want to end up being second to the memory of his first wife, Bronwyn. It’s tough to be hung up on two such handsome, but very different men. Couldn’t you have made one of them Mr. Perfect?

What would you like to say to people who have not read your story?

My story is everyone’s story. We all have something that drives us. In my case, it’s love the loss of people I love. Something entirely different might motivate you, but the cool thing is that we can relate because everyone’s life is tough in some way. I know we’ll be great friends because we can connect over the challenges life presents and the search to find happiness and fulfillment in the midst of the mess. I love two awesome men and I know someday the decision between them will become clear. I am blessed to call two of the most beautiful places on earth my home. I have a job I love and great friends in both places. I had no idea that running away from the loss and pain at home would bring such adventure into my life. Come visit me in Scotland and escape for a while!

Back of Book Blurb:

Alone and betrayed, American professor, Bonny Bryant longs for a haven of peace. She accepts a position at a small Christian college in Fort William, Scotland, craving escape from her painful past. The passionate love which develops when she meets fellow professor and sheep farmer, Kieran MacDonell, is something she never anticipated.

Kieran harbors a deep anger toward God in the face of his own devastating grief. When Bonny’s former fiancé reenters her life, Kieran’s loneliness draws him to a former student.

How will Bonny decide between her rivals? Can they set aside the past to make way for a future, or will it drive them apart?

Land of My Dreams spans the distance between New Mexico’s high desert mountains and the misty Scottish Highlands with a timeless story of overwhelming grief, undying love, and compelling faith.

About the author:

Norma Gail is the author of the contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and the New Mexico Christian Novelists. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 40 years. They have two adult children.

Connect with Norma:

Website: www.normagail.org

Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Norma-Gail/e/B00ILHXBAK/

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbZIoC_JSE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNormaGail

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NormaGailwrites

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/normagailth/boards/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7874459

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Norma_Gail

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/norma-gail-thurston-holtman/42/71a/3b2

Book Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail/dp/1941103170

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas Bookstore: http:// lpcbooks.com/product/land-of-my-dreams/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/land-of-my-dreams-norma-gail/1119606864?ean=9781941103173