NOVEL PASTIMES: Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.
DOROTHY: Thanks for inviting me. Others, including my sister-in-law Evelyn, have told me how much fun it is to chat with you.
NOVEL PASTIMES: She had quite a story. When I talked to her, she and Polly were living in the apartment you now call home. I was surprised when I learned that you’re living there alone.
DOROTHY: You’re not the only one who was surprised. My mother wasn’t thrilled by the idea of my leaving the ranch and moving into the apartment, but with Evelyn and Wyatt gone, someone had to keep the restaurant running. Oh, I see the questions in your eyes. You know that Evelyn’s the owner of the restaurant, but you may not know that she recently married my brother Wyatt and that they’re in East Texas taking care of some business.
NOVEL PASTIMES: I hadn’t heard that congratulations were in order, but I’m not too surprised. When Evelyn and I talked, I thought there was a special man in her life. But back to you. You must be a wonderful cook if Evelyn left you in charge of her restaurant.
DOROTHY: You’ve obviously never tasted my cooking. Fortunately, my best friend Laura is an accomplished chef. I just help her.
NOVEL PASTIMES: If cooking isn’t your passion, what is?
DOROTHY: Writing. I don’t know whether you’ve read Uncle Tom’s Cabin – after all, it’s banned here in the South – but more than anything, I want to write something that will change people’s lives the way Mrs. Stowe’s book did.
NOVEL PASTIMES: That’s certainly a worthy goal. Why haven’t you done it?
DOROTHY: I could say it’s because I’ve been too busy, but the truth is, I haven’t had a single idea that’s important enough to be turned into a book. The only writing I’ve done was an article to help my brother publicize his first horse sale.
NOVEL PASTIMES: That sounds interesting. Did it bring more people to Mesquite Springs?
DOROTHY: It did.
NOVEL PASTIMES: Then maybe you should write more articles.
DOROTHY: Are you a mind reader? I’ve been thinking about that ever since Brandon Holloway came to town. Laura’s convinced he’s the man she’s going to marry, but what attracts me is the fact that he’s starting a newspaper here.
NOVEL PASTIMES: So you don’t find him attractive?
DOROTHY: I didn’t say that. Brandon’s handsome, but more than that, he’s kind and thoughtful and doing something important. Mesquite Springs needed a newspaper, and he’s giving us one.
NOVEL PASTIMES: That makes him sound like the perfect man for you. Would you consider marrying him if Laura weren’t interested in him?
DOROTHY: No! I won’t ever marry.
NOVEL PASTIMES: Oh, Dorothy. You surprised me before, but now you’ve shocked me. I can see you believe it, but I don’t understand. Why won’t you marry?
DOROTHY: I can’t.
NOVEL PASTIMES: You can’t? Why would you believe you can’t marry?
DOROTHY: It’s more than believing. I know I can’t. Please don’t ask me to say anything more, because it’s not something I talk about to anyone, not even my family.
NOVEL PASTIMES: And nothing would change your mind?
DOROTHY: No. It’s too great a risk.
Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of Out of the Embers, as well as the Cimarron
Creek Trilogy and the Texas Crossroads, Texas Dreams, and Westward Winds series.
Her books have been finalists for the ACFW Carol Awards, the HOLT Medallion, and
the Booksellers’ Best. She lives in Wyoming. Learn more at www.amandacabot.com.
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