If you happened to see my last blog post about the making of Her One and Only’s cover, then you know that the couple on the cover are a real life husband and wife.
Their names are Aaron and Melissa and they very kindly allowed me to interview them! Thank you so much, Aaron and Melissa. I’m honored to have the two of you on my novel’s cover. It was a treat to get to know you via these questions….
How did you meet? We met in college, Aaron was the senior that was assigned to show me around campus freshman year. It’s fun because we always remember the day we met because it was my first day there!
What kind of work do you both do? Aaron is an engineer and I am a recruiter.
What are your hobbies? We both love skiing. Aaron loves running and golf and I love horseback riding.
Here’s Melissa, competing on horseback! Notice Aaron on the side of the frame, supporting her. 🙂
How did it come about that you two (non-models, right?) found yourselves modeling for the cover of Her One and Only? Our friend Raela set it up for us! She thought we matched the characters’ descriptions. [Becky here. Raela Schoenherr is my editor at Bethany House. Friends of hers also posed for the cover of Undeniably Yours. You have such cute friends, Raela! They grace two of my four Porter novels. The Porter covers wouldn’t have been the same without them.]
How long have you been married? 7 years!
When you think back to the day of the cover shoot, what memories stick out? It was a beautiful day out and so nice to be outside! Everyone we met was so nice and made the day great!
How did it feel to spend an afternoon as models? It was such a fun day! As a mom it was so wonderful to have someone else do my hair and make-up! It was really fun and challenging at the same time to try and get into character!
Ahhhhh! This picture is so gorgeous I can’t even handle it. Meet Aaron and Melissa’s adorable little son Caleb.
What do you think of the finished cover? We love it, it turned out so cute!
Okay, Aaron… let’s see how similar you are to Gray Fowler, the hero of Her One and Only.
- Did you grow up playing football? Yes, but not in high school (I played tennis and basketball).
- Have you ever set foot in Texas? Yes, last year my wife’s brother got married there!
- Are you prone to betting on things against your buddies? Not really…but maybe I should.
- Do you drive a Denali and/or a Ferrari? I wish!
- Have you ever had a pesky stalker who sends you threatening letters? Yes, but we ended up getting married so it is all worked out now 😉
Your turn, Melissa! How similar are you to Dru Porter?
- Do you have three older brothers? No, I’m actually the oldest! I have two younger sisters and a younger brother — love them.
- How about a golden retriever? Do you have one of those? No, we have a very hyper yellow lab who has kept us on our toes, but I have always loved golden retrievers!
- Are you outstanding at pistol shooting? I am absolutely mediocre at shooting! My dad and brother are big hunters and I did actually grow up shooting quite a bit! I went through gun safety and have done some trap shooting, but I am certainly not outstanding!
- Do you eat a lot of Pop Tarts? No, I don’t think I have had one since I was a kid. I am more of a cheeze-it kind of person.
- Did you ever consider a career as a female bodyguard? I can honestly say not once, haha!
What would you say if a friend asked you to pose on a book cover? Do you have any similarities to Gray or Dru?
Becky Wade
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Great interview! Aaron & Melissa and team at Bethany House, love this cover! The last bit of comparison to the characters of the book was fun! Thanks Becky!
You’re welcome, Annie! Thanks for stopping by.
I love these interviews you do with the cover models. It is so fun. I have absolutely nothing in common with Dru, except the Pop Tarts. I love a chocolate pop tart on occasion!!
Before I was gluten free, I enjoyed the occasional strawberry pop tart with butter melted on top and a sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon. I’ve never tried the chocolate ones! Maybe I need to revoke my chocoholic status…. 😉
Thank you for introducing this great couple to us. Beautiful cover! I enjoy shooting, football season is an exciting time, and pop tarts are yummy!
It’s great to see some women who shoot here! Dru would be proud!
This is the sweetest. Is it so goofy that I choked up? I just know how special and fun this is for you, Becky. And what an adorable couple. Perfect. Congratulations.
Thank you, friend! I’m a fan of romance, so I love learning about other people’s real life romances… especially when those people are on the cover of one of my books.
Such a fun post! Thanks for sharing, Becky!
My pleasure!
Great interview! Thanks for doing it! If asked to pose on a cover, I probably would as long as I had someone to tell me what to do! 🙂 As far as things things in common with characters from the book, I’m from TEXAS, and I think that’s about it. :-S
Wow! What an awesome question. I really do not know. The question has stumped me. I believe if you would have asked me over ten years ago I would have loved the idea but right now I am in a place in my life where I would definitely had to say no. But what a fun idea and a great chance.
What a great interview. Thanks for the interview and the giveaway.
I would consider being on a book cover. Just not sure I would ever be asked.
I have been using guns since I was fairly young. In face, I was on the 4-H Rifle team when I was in jr. high and high school.
I think it would be kinda cool to be on a book cover
This is absolutely just fun! Thanks for sharing. Made me smile. I had no idea they were a real couple!
I would definitely ask only a good friend because I would be self-conscious about it!!
And I’m like Dru in that I have a big dog, but mine is a German Shepherd; I have only 1 older brother, and I’ve been shooting pistols since I was a kid!
I would be self-conscious about posing for a book cover. The only thing I have in common is with Dru and liking pop tarts.
This was pretty cool!
What a fun interview and I love the cover. I am not like Dru. I did have a golden retriever/lab mix at one time, and I did eat pop tarts when I was little and still do on a rare occasion.
As far as being on a cover, at my age, doubtful, but it they had hair and makeup people it would go far better, lol.
Fabulous interview with Becky! I love that the cover models are actual couples. I enjoy the behind the scenes look into the making of these covers. Like Dru, I did have a Golden Retriever, Happy. I also love the Labradors!
I would say no. I do not photo well. And I have nothing in common with the characters. I think it’s cool that this is an actual couple.
I would have to hide behind a grand baby IF I were asked to be a model…Thanks for using “real” people as your models!
This was really a neat behind the scenes I would never do a cover of me for many reasons but mostly I am disabled. There aren’t many on the cover that are but thanks for using regular people as your models!