fuonlyknew

Before I knew what Contemporary Women’s Fiction was (a teenager), I wouldn’t give a book like Running Against Traffic a second glance.

Now that I’ve read many of this genre, I can’t resist them.

Like Lifetime Movie Network, the scenarios are the “It could happen to you” kind.

That’s why I get into them so much. I can picture it happening to me and really connect with the characters and feel what they feel.

Running Against Traffic has me wondering how I would do if I stepped into Paige’s shoes.

Check out my character interview with Paige, get to know more about her, and remember to enter Gaelen VanDenbergh’s awesome giveaway.

You could win a Kindle Paperwhite!

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Running Against Traffic

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My Character interview with Paige Scott….

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I’ve heard that running can be great therapy. I was wondering if you listen to music while you’re running and if so, what do you listen to?

I don’t listen to music while running. I might start to, but when I first started running, I was so focused on the physical aspect of it, how my body was handling this new exertion…Then when I got more used to that, I noticed I was waking up, in every way. I started to enjoy the mental calm and pay attention to the world around me and how different I was feeling about living. Music just wasn’t needed.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”  Would you say that’s true for you?

Coming from a place where it could have killed me, I would say yes. A very emphatic yes! I think if you find yourself alone, and you’ve just been sinking lower and lower your whole life, fading away into anonymity and a mental state of just not caring, a dramatic act like what happened to me – David literally throwing me away when I was inches from rock bottom anyway – that act can either finish you off or force you to make the decision to change your life. Even if it takes a while, and some serious fumbling and bumbling, that decision that you make is the first step to coming back to life in a new, much stronger state. I still don’t feel like a strong person, but I’m here, and my life feels real to me, now. I’ll never go back to where I was when I first arrived in WellsLake.

After such a traumatic lifestyle change, what strength emerged that surprised you?

I spent my life so self absorbed, so focused on myself. I learned early in life that I’m all I have, and I need to look out for my interests and well being only. Healthy? No. Self-preserving. When Bryce needed me, I had no idea how to care for someone in such a dire state, but the strength emerged to do so, and it wasn’t a choice. That shocked the hell out of me.

I watched a movie where a woman was left standing at the altar. She asked her friends this question, “When will I laugh again?” One friend replied, “When something is really, really funny.” Can you recall the first thing that made you laugh again?

Yes, I can tell you exactly when that first genuine, warm, belly laugh happened, after so many years. On Thanksgiving, my first holiday in WellsLake, Al and I…We had a surprising encounter that led to an argument. We met up later and worked it out, and he made a comment about his brother’s wardrobe, when I thought he was thinking about us, the way I was thinking about us. I started to giggle. Then I started to laugh. Al being Al made me laugh. And sometimes that’s what’s needed the most.

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Gaelen VanDenbergh is a writer, runner, and compulsive list-maker who lives in Philadelphia with her family, a fat cat, and several fish. Her debut novel Running Against Traffic, was a Global Ebook Award nominee, a semifinalist in the The Kindle Book Review’s 2013 Best Indie Book Awards, a semifinalist in the Readers’ Favorite 2013 International Book Award Contest, Indie Book of the Day, June 30, 2013, a 2013 Beach Book Festival Award nominee, and has received a four star review in InD’tale Magazine. When not writing, Gaelen enjoys reading, running races for charities, and spending as much time in Key West and the Adirondacks as she can.

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A Kindle Paperwhite

Click on the rafflecopter below to enter the giveaway.

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