Q&A
Q&A: Crystal Jordan of GATLINBURG GETAWAY
Guess who has a Romance blog, several cups of tea, and a Q&A with the amazing Crystal Jordan? Us! We’re excited for so many reasons. Check out our Q&A below and don’t miss out on Gatlinburg Getaway, out right now!
FAVORITE MOVIES
What are your five favorite movies with romance or romantic elements?
The Fifth Element
Sweet Home Alabama
The Princess Bride
Pride and Prejudice (2005 film)
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Describe your favorite scene from each one (you can include a Youtube clip if you want as well).
The Fifth Element: Diva Song/fight scene:
Sweet Home Alabama: The argument scene when Mel and Jake see each other for the first time in years:
The Princess Bride: Is this a kissing book?
Pride and Prejudice: The sunrise scene where he tells her he loves her:
Four Weddings and a Funeral: The funeral scene. I sob like a baby every time I get to that part in the movie:
Did you have any of these scenes in mind when writing scenes from your latest release?
The Sourthernisms from Sweet Home Alabama definitely played into Gatlinburg Getaway. The hero, Dalton Wakefield, has deep Southern roots and a pretty good sense of humor about what it means to be Southern. His family was a so much fun to write.
FIVE BOOKS
If you could only read five books for the rest of your life, what five books would they be, and why?
Oh, dang. I can’t answer this one. I’d totally cheat and pick those mega-omnibus books that have an entire series of novels in them. Like the one with the first trilogy from the Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey and the first two books from the Mackenzie series by Linda Howard.
BOOK BOYFRIENDS
Who are your book boyfriends? (list a maximum of five) What do you like about them? What characteristics do they share with the hero from your latest release?
Joe Mackenzie from Mackenzie’s Mission by Linda Howard. He’s hot, smart, and alpha. I’d say Dalton is less alpha—hey, he’s not a colonel in the Air Force the way Joe is—but definitely hot and smart.
Eli Holmes from Deliver Me by Farrah Rochon. I love how he loosens up the heroine in his book, which is something the hero in Gatlinburg Getaway also does. Plus, they’re both doctors. Though Eli is an Ob-Gyn and Dalton is an optometrist—slightly different specialties there.
Everyone has a favorite couple (an “OTP” in ‘shipping terms) in romance, whether in a romance book, movie, or television series. Who is your favorite couple, and why?
I love Castle and Beckett, because they’re polar opposites but they respect each other’s strengths, which helps them become fantastic partners (in and out of bed).
FIRST ROMANCE (AKA My First Time)
What was the first romance novel you read?
The Gamble by LaVyrle Spencer.
What do you remember about it?
Temperance-campaigning milliner meets her match with in a sweet-talking Southern bar owner.
What did you like most about it?
The plantation featured in the last part of the book. So Antebellum!
What did you like least about it?
I thought the ghost of the hero’s daughter was an odd addition when there’s no other paranormal aspects to the book.
Have you ever reread it? If you did, how do you feel about it now?
I’ve reread it many time, but not since I started writing. I’m not sure if it would be as awesome as it was then, so I may leave it be. I love the memory of falling in love with the romance genre to tarnish that.
SNAPPY CHAT
Darcy or Wentworth?
(bonus: who’s your favorite Darcy or Wentworth on screen?)
Oh, that’s tough. I have to go with Captain Wentworth, but I don’t have a favorite actor who played him. My favorite Mr. Darcy was Matthew Macfadyen. I love his shy-guy take on the character.
Rochester or Heathcliff?
Rochester, but only because I like Jane more than Catherine. Hey, the heroines matter too!
Spock or Kirk?
Spock! I love a good intellectual. Hey, smart is sexy.
Sunrise or sunset?
Sunrise. I like the way it starts the day fresh and new.
Angst or humor?
Both. I try to make sure there’s both in all my books.
Tea or coffee?
Tea, no question. I can’t stand coffee at all.
Wine or beer?
Meh. I don’t love either. I lean slightly toward a nice dessert wine, but other than that? Meh.
Cake or pie?
I’ll take a slice of each, thanks!
Scruff, beard, or clean-shaven?
I love the look of the scruff, but it can be like rubbing sandpaper on your face when you’re kissing, so I’ll take a clean-shaven guy any day in real life.
Blue-collar or white collar?
White collar. I love a good intellectual, remember? J
Jeans or a suit?
Khakis.
Car or motorcycle?
Convertible. You get the wind in your hair, but not quite the danger of a motorcycle ride.
About Gatlinburg Getaway
Clearly they’ve lost their minds. Or their hearts. Or both.
Destination: Desire, Book 7
When Camille Kirby breaks her glasses—and forgets her spare pair—while out of town at an engineering conference, it’s a major disaster. She’s half-blind without her specs. She needs an optometrist fast.
Though the office is technically closed for a holiday weekend, Dr. Dalton Wakefield can’t resist a damsel in distress. Especially one with freckles, an unruly mop of red hair, and a mind as sharp as a tack. He quickly realizes theirs is more than just instant attraction. Of course, just his luck, she’s only in Gatlinburg for a week.
Camille’s first impression is a blur of tall and nicely shaped, with a melted-chocolate Southern drawl. When her new contacts go in? Oh, my. Jackpot.
Coffee turns into multiple dates, then spending every free second together. But soon the tough, no-nonsense Camille, who was all for a quick, no-strings affair, has to admit she’s falling for him. And Dalton is groping for a way to keep Camille from walking out of his life at the end of the week.
Warning: Outdoor adventures that lead to major allergy attacks. A near-sighted heroine who stumbles into the hero’s line of sight, and an optometrist who’s got a prescription for her every need. Whether it’s glasses, massages, or really naughty mattress mambos.
Crystal Jordan began writing romance after she finished graduate school and needed something to fill the hours that used to be eaten away by coursework. She spent far too many years in school and now has degrees in History and Library Science…but swears that both of them help enormously with her writing and research.
Her family sprawls from Texas to Illinois and from California to the United Kingdom. She has three brothers, several rather adorable nieces and nephews, an indispensable best friend codenamed the Mad Madam M, and her very own hero, the Professor Moriarty (who codenamed himself after Sherlock Holmes’s arch-nemesis. Who wouldn’t love a man who loves a good villain?). She credits a funny conversation with her quirky grandmother for giving her the push to start writing in the first place (and she’s sure Grams is still grinning down from heaven over instigating the naughty novel career).
Never one to stay in one place very long, Crystal has lived and worked all over the United States. Currently, she serves as a librarian at a university in California.
Crystal also write sassy, sexy contemporary romance as C. Jordan.
Crystal can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and CrystalJordan.com.
