This is a great day to answer some of the questions y’all had for me!! 🙂 I posted Nathan’s seven-month post below as well.

How important are looks? Don’t you have to feel some sort of attraction and spark?

I think looks are extremely important and not important at all. 🙂 I do think it’s important to be physically attracted to someone – after all, typically the first thing you notice about someone is a physical quality. The first time I saw Jon I thought he had really pretty eyes and – glory be to God! – he was TALL.

Much appreciated when you are tall as well. I like wearing heels without worrying about towering over my date. 🙂 Likewise, the first things he noticed about me were physical attributes.

Now, that does NOT mean that everything needs to revolve around looks. Most people, I’ve noticed, tend to get either better looking or worse when you get to know them more. Have you noticed that?? Their personality starts to come through and you start to see them for the whole person instead of just the outside.

So, I guess my answer would be no, you don’t have to feel some attraction or spark, but USUALLY you will. And if you don’t, ask yourself why? Could it be that you are trying to force a relationship to happen when you really shouldn’t be?

What book were you writing when you met Jon?

I was working on the edits for Match Point when we met. We started dating a week or so before Miss Match was released. So, I had completely finished the actual writing of the entire Lauren Holbrook series before we met. I wrote Lauren and Ryan’s story with the prayer of someday meeting someone who would be such a perfect fit for me.

Such a sweet surprise then to realize that God was already orchestrating that story!! And, I totally believe that God has a sense of humor – Jon’s middle name is Ryan. 🙂

How long was your engagement?

We got engaged the middle of November and were married the middle of March. Almost four months exactly. I totally, completely, 100 zillion percent recommend SHORT engagements. If you are convinced enough to marry this guy, then the engagement time needs to be short. Prepare for your marriage, prepare for your wedding and then just do it. Engagements are SO hard. It’s a time of so many conflicting emotions and the temptations are HUGE. Seriously.

When is your next series coming out?

The first in my next series is coming out in May!! I’m so excited about it! 🙂 I’m going to do a post on that soon!

Are there any elements of Lauren and Ryan’s relationship or Jack and Maya’s relationship that are similar to yours?

A few things! Like I said, I wrote Lauren’s story before Jon and I even met. So a lot of that was just hopes for what could be. And Jon delivered on ALL of those hopes – he brought me coffee and chocolate, he always had sweet things to say about how I looked (even when I was running 104 degree fever), and he loved me for me – even with all of my faults and shortcomings.

I only knew him for two months before we started dating but even while we were falling in love with each other we were also building that friendship. Jon is my best friend and I love being with him more than anyone else. And that is HUGE in a marriage – you’ve got to be friends as well as romantic.

When was your first kiss?

When we got engaged. I promise I write the whole engagement story down soon!!! 🙂

What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?

Well. Since our little Nater Tot is here, our Valentine’s Days will probably look a little different!! 🙂 I think we’re planning on a candlelit picnic in the living room after Nathan goes down for the night. 🙂 We’ve done these periodically throughout our marriage and I cannot wait for tonight!!

What did you do on Valentine’s Day when you didn’t have anyone?

I was asking my sister about this earlier because honestly, I don’t remember Valentine’s Day being a big deal growing up. I never really felt like I was missing out or anything. My mom did a great job of making Valentine’s Day more of a family thing – she would make a heart-shaped strawberry cake that was TO DIE FOR and give us all chocolates and Valentine’s cards and fun socks at the dinner table. 🙂

Did you like the wedding planning process?

In a word, NO. I am not a detail-oriented person and it killed me to have to think of all kinds of details. If I had to do it over again, I think I’d do a destination wedding and have someone plan the whole thing for me.

What was your wedding song that you danced to?

Our first dance was to “Amazed” by Lonestar. It was the first song we danced to at another friend’s wedding – Jon held me close and sang the whole song to me in my ear while we danced there. So it was the obvious choice for our wedding! We are not good dancers by any stretch of the imagination, so I wanted a nice slow song.

How did Jon propose?

Like I said, I’ll write a proper post about that soon!!

Did you ever feel really really really depressed on Valentine’s Day?

No, because like I said, we celebrated it differently. Valentine’s Day doesn’t need to be just a celebration of romantic love – my bet is most of you out there have parents, siblings, grandparents or friends who love you tremendously. Celebrate that today!! Don’t forget what God has already blessed you with in the absence of what you think is His best for you. I am SO thankful that God protected me from lots of pointless relationships before I met Jon. He has amazing plans for your future – remember and thank God for that today!!

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