When I finished writing “The Vancouver Rendezvous” Lind and Peter returned to their
respective homes with a plan to meet again prior to this year’s deer hunt. Therefore I had
to create a story around that.
Why did you choose the title This Time I’ll Stay?
If you go back to the story line in “A Salesman’s Guide to Hunting” Linda abandoned
him. This time she stayed.
Does this story fit the Christian Fiction Romance genre?
You have to read the book to judge for yourself if it does, but from my point of view it
does. It reveals Peter’s history and why he developed the moral outlook that he had
throughout his life.
Linda had returned to become an active member in her church. And the actions of
the people we meet are those we find in a. Christian society. He must fit into Linda’s
world.
What are the challenges Peter faces to fit into Linda’s world?
He must meet Linda in a natural setting in a normal manner for the society where she
lives. He must be accepted by her friends. To do this they must be seen together in
public places, like their meeting at Thresherman’s Park and going to church. He must
also fit in again with the deer hunters he met last year In “A salesman’s Guide to
Hunting. He must be accepted by her children. He has Linda’s love and finally he has to
win Linda’s trust.
What guided you in writing the story line in this book?
The story could have gone many ways. I could have written it to an outline I had made.
But again, I lived the life of each of the characters and I wrote it as it would make sense
for that character to do. I even had Jennifer, his first wife, come back to be with him.
That happened to someone I knew.
Were deer hunting accidents common in Wisconsin during that time?
When I was growing up every few years someone would get wounded during deer
hunting season. That area of Wisconsin is very flat and not very wooded. My dad
wouldn’t even drive the tractor in the fields during daylight hours during deer hunting
week. No, accidents weren’t common because the people that were hunting and the
farmers in whose fields they were hunting in were very careful during deer hunting
season
You had Peter in the hospital. Where did you get the hospital experience for this?
My wife, before she retired was a RN for thirty years at a hospital. She was a big help in
determining what he would have gone through. And I had personal experiences as a
patient in several hospitals. I just imagined what Peter would have gone through.
What points were you trying to make in “This Time I’ll Stay”?
Each of my characters, both Linda and Peter had gone through a divorce. Peter had not
been able to provide Jennifer with the companionship and the family she needed. Linda’s
husband had not given Linda the love, honor and loyalty she deserved. Peter learned just
what it would take to make a marriage work.
Do you have anything else to say about “This Time I’ll Stay”?
I think this third book wraps up the “Deer/Dear Hunt” trilogy rather nicely.