BooksChatter: ✉ Flight Risk: Assignment: Romance [4]

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Barbara Valentin and Aubrey, the main character in her latest novel Flight Risk (17 August 2016, Gemma Halliday Publishing, 233 pages), a Romantic Comedy, book four of Assignment: Romance series.

Synopsis | Teaser: KCR Preview | The Series | Character Q&A | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

A very warm welcome to Barbara Valentin and Aubrey!

Aubrey, what is your full name?

"Aubrey Michelle Thomas"

What do you do for a living?

"Travel writer for the Chicago Gazette."

How did you first meet your writer, Barbara Valentin?

"We first met in Help Wanted when Claire Mendez started working at the Gazette. While that was just a ‘hi and by’ scene, she gave me a little bit bigger role in Key Change. And, before you ask, yes, I’m the one who announced that if the next guy I fell for didn’t want to wait until we were married to have sex, I’d know he wasn’t the right guy for me."

Oh, OK. Well, I wasn’t planning on asking, but, uh, thanks for that. Care to expand on that?

"Nope. Uh-uh. No thank you."

Because clearly you didn’t wait—

"Next question, please."

Haha, yes. Moving right along…what are your favorite scenes in your book: the action, the dialog or the romance?

"The romantic action? I mean, cuz really – the action scenes, I think, are super romantic."

Did you have a hard time convincing your author to write any particular scenes for you?

"Well, getting back to your earlier question, I wasn’t really keen on her having me hop right into bed—well, a hammock, with John."

Any regrets?

"Absolutely not. I’m blushing, aren’t I? My cheeks feel like they’re on fire."

Maybe just a little. Tell me, what do you like to do when you’re not being actively read somewhere?

"Hang out with my friends (Sara, Nancy and Claire) and my nana. My hobbies include avoiding risk at every opportunity and dodging my editor who intimidates the hell out of me."

Are you happy with the genre your writer has placed you in?

"Absolutely. I guess so, although I think, deep down, I’d love to have a role in a regency romance. Men were decent and women were cherished and protected."

Huh. OK. Well, do you like the way Flight Risk ended?

"To tell you the truth, I thought it ended too soon, but the author promised she’d pick up our story in a later book, so…"

Would you be interested in a sequel, if your writer was so inclined?

"Absolutely! I mean, I have no idea what my life will be like going forward and I am not OK with that."

What is your least favorite characteristic your writer has attributed to you?

"Fear. It’s paralyzing. Forces me to make bad decisions, like sell myself short and let people walk all over me. While I understand it’s all part of the whole character arc thing, I was relieved when she finally gave me a chance to prove myself."

What is your greatest fear?

"Heights. Well, falling. John explained that I’m really afraid of falling. If he hadn’t come along and offered to help me with that, I’d so be out of a job."

What embarrasses you?

"My nana, but only when she reads the palms of my dates. I love her to death, but because she’s a psychic, she’s always looking for my soul mate. At my 13th birthday, she read my tea leaves and announced the initials she saw in my cup were his initials. Talk about embarrassing!"

What do you find most appealing in men?