Interview with Sweet Romance Author Karey White

Karey grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist. Karey enjoys a good love story, so her second novel, For What It's Worth, is a wonderful read. She loves to travel, read, cook, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four talented and wonderful children. Find out more about Karey at www.kareywhite.com.

Welcome back to my blog, Karey. Please tell us about your new sweet romance.

After being dragged to the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice by her mother, sixteen-year-old Elizabeth’s life changes when Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy appears on the screen. Lizzie falls hard and makes a promise to herself that she will settle for nothing less than her own Mr. Darcy. This ill-advised pledge threatens to ruin any chance of finding true love. During the six intervening years, she has refused to give any interested suitors a chance. They weren’t Mr. Darcy enough.

Coerced by her roommate, Elizabeth agrees to give the next interested guy ten dates before she dumps him. That guy is Chad, a kind and thoughtful science teacher and swim coach. While she’s dating Chad, her dream comes true in the form of a wealthy bookstore owner named Matt Dawson, who looks and acts like her Mr. Darcy. Of course she has to follow her dream. But as Elizabeth simultaneously dates a regular guy and the dazzling Mr. Dawson, she’s forced to re-evaluate what it was she loved about Mr. Darcy in the first place.

Wow! I love this concept of “re-evaluating” what she loved about Darcy. Where did you get your inspiration for this novel?

The best inspiration there is--Mr. Darcy. My daughters and I love watching Pride and Prejudice. Sometimes we’ll watch the whole thing. Sometimes we may forward through to our favorite parts. And of course, sometimes we just fast forward to the meadow scene and watch Mr. Darcy walk across the meadow and profess his love.

I know exactly what you’re talking about. I have six daughters and we just love watching that movie with Colin Firth. And yes! That meadow scene is awesome. What kind of research did you do for this book?

First of all, I watched the movie a few times as I was writing. I wanted to use allusions to the movie whenever I could. Second, I visited Portland, the city where Lizzie, Matt and Chad live. We ate at Pok Pok and Salt and Straw and found inspiration for Meg’s high-rise apartment and the Pink Salamander. There was also a fair amount of research online.

You love to write clean sweet romances. What intrigues you most about writing love stories?

In the book, Lizzie has to defend her love of romance books and movies in this conversation:

“I love classics like old Audrey Hepburn movies and I like period pieces like Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.”

“Ah, romances.” Did he have to sound so patronizing?

“There’s nothing wrong with romances.”

Matt held up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t say there was,” he said, but his mouth was pulling into that little smirk I was starting to recognize as condescending.

“But you think there is, don’t you?”

“I just think there are more important things to think about than whether a man and woman are going to end up together.”

“I happen to think it’s one of the most important questions in the world.”

“Do you mean that?” Matt asked.

“If men and women don’t end up together, it will mean the end of civilization.”

I agree with her. And honestly, love and romance are interesting and exciting.

Very true! Love and romance are part of life. And it's very exciting to read a clean romantic love story. Thank you, Karey, for this great interview.