Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Interview: Harper from Taking Chances by Molly McAdams

"This is it, we’re here," Jen announces as she turns off the car. "Kristie, you have the ribs right?" Lisa looks over to her as Kristie rolls her eyes. "Yes, Lisa, I didn't forget the main dish for lunch besides, these are my famous ribs." We get out of the car and head to the front door. Jen turns to everyone and says, "I brought dessert, I can't wait for you to see the cookies I baked!" "I have my fabulous potato salad. I hope she likes the food, "Lisa says, as she knocks on the door. Harper answers and greets us. Lisa extends her hand. "Harper, it’s so nice to meet you. Thanks so much for having us here. I’m Lisa and this is Jen and Kristie, we’re the Three Chicks." "I hope you’re hungry, I brought the ribs, we just need to put them on the grill for a few minutes and they’ll be ready." Harper explains Brandon has the kids with him at the gym, so we have lots of privacy. Harper leads us into her kitchen and then takes Kristie out to where the BBQ is. Within a few minutes the food is ready. Jen says, "Well, now that we have our plates made, shall we get comfy and start?" Everyone nods in agreement.

Three Chicks:  Men have been so prominent in your life, even more so than women; your father, Chase, Brandon and even your son Liam. How have these males affected the choices you have made? 

Harper:  I’m not really sure, that’s a – uh…deep? Question…haha! I’ve learned so much from each of them and take bits from all of them, but I can’t think of a particular choice I have made that has been a result of them. I just know what they’ve unknowingly taught me. Sir taught me about quiet strength, which unfortunately for me comes out as my stubbornness. Chase taught me to love fully, for as long as it lasts. Brandon has taught me how to love deeply and accept life’s lessons for what they are. And Liam…he’s taught me to enjoy everything to the fullest and never take anything for granted. I love the men in my life.

Three Chicks:  Why do you think you struggled for so long between choosing Brandon and Chase? 

Harper:  I’m not sure if there’s a correct answer for this, there’s not any perfect way to describe my feelings for either guy and I know that unless you were in the situation – you won’t understand it. Brandon is my soul mate, and to be honest I think I knew that long before Chase and I ever got together. But Chase and I had chemistry that was impossible to ignore, and it was as if our relationship was a bomb just waiting to go off. Every time we saw each other, things between us got more intense and no matter my relationship with Brandon – I couldn’t get over my attraction to Chase no matter how hard I tried.

Three Chicks:  Considering the fact that you chose Brandon at first, why did you give up your v-card to Chase? 


Harper:  For some reason, the timing never felt right for me and Brandon and I’m not sure why that was. I don’t know if it was the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about Chase too and at first it felt wrong to give him me when he didn’t know about this attraction I had for his best friend, or something else. But it was just never right, and I know that leads into if it was wrong for Brandon why wasn’t it wrong for Chase. Kind of as I was just saying, the chemistry between Chase and me continued to build and when you ignore that kind of chemistry for so long, you don’t ease into anything…it explodes. And that night with Chase was our relationship exploding. And…I can’t be sure, but I feel like if I would have given that to Brandon, I would have continued to ignore all feelings for Chase. But there had to be a reason that it never felt right with him in the beginning, and giving that to Chase did feel right. I think I was meant to have my time with Chase, no matter how short and how many of us it absolutely destroyed. Because if I’d never had that time with him, I probably would have always wondered what if…and of course I shouldn’t have cheated on Brandon. If I was going to have that time with Chase I should have gone about it the right way…but I didn’t. I’ll always hate that I did that to both of them, but I know everything happened the way it did for a reason.

Three Chicks:  It was obvious that you and Chase shared a smokin’ hot chemistry, once you had slept together and you knew how he felt about you, why didn’t you take the risk with Chase, instead of Brandon? 

Harper:  Because like I said, I knew even then that Brandon was my soul mate, and I though I loved Chase – it wasn’t the same love I had for Brandon. The way I went about my relationship with Chase was wrong, but I will never regret my time with him…that being said, I knew the man that I wanted and needed to spend the rest of my life with was Brandon.

Three Chicks:  What is one thing you loved the most about Chase? 

Harper:  There isn’t any one thing I loved most about him. But I loved his passion for what he did at the tattoo parlor, I loved the way he loved his family and the way he loved me and GB; despite everything I was always putting him through.

Three Chicks:  When you received that text from Chase you noted that he never used smiley faces, was there a moment when you thought that maybe it really wasn't him sending the text?  

Harper:  No. I was already being super paranoid that morning and that’s why I was second-guessing the smiley face. But he said he had a surprise, so I just figured he was trying to be cute about it.

Three Chicks:  We are just going to come out and ask the question everyone wants to ask but is afraid to, if Chase hadn’t died-where would that have left Brandon? Has Brandon ever asked you if you would have stayed with Chase instead of him? 


Harper:  Uh…ha. That’s a difficult one to answer. No, Brandon hasn’t asked. He knows that I loved Chase too, and you know I’m not sure he would even want to know the answer. But I honestly don’t know what would have happened. I know my feelings, and that’s all I can go off of. Even when I was with Chase, it killed me to think of Brandon because I knew I’d ruined something that perfect. I loved Chase, but to be honest, the more Chase brought up marriage – the more I pushed against the idea. Because in my mind, that’s where I was supposed to have gone with Brandon, and I just never saw a forever with Chase. Now would I have done to Chase what he and I originally did to Brandon? No. And that’s why I don’t know what would have happened. It was an incredibly hard situation to be in, but I knew it was a direct result of my actions and I had put myself there.

Three Chicks:  Why didn’t you name your son after Chase-why Brandon’s dad? 

Harper:  Because it’s what felt right when I thought of Gummy Bear. When I thought of him, I didn’t see him as a Chase, but I needed Chase in there. Brandon and I had already talked about his dad before everything had happened and when I finally put Liam Chase together in that order, it was this overwhelming feeling of that’s our baby. That’s his name.

Three Chicks:  Chase's family was so amazing and so supportive after his death.  Do you think that you NEEDED their blessing and support in order to move on with Brandon? 

Harper:  I guess, yeah I did need that. I’m not saying that Brandon and I wouldn’t have eventually come back together regardless, but that was incredibly important to me especially with it only being a few months after Chase’s death. I needed to know that it was okay.

Three Chicks:  How did you manage afterward, did you have any guilt about arguing with Chase that night? 

Harper:  I will always regret not telling him that I loved him before he left. I will always wish we would have had another conversation that didn’t go the way that one did. But I can’t change how those events were. It was a huge life lesson to everyone –especially me– to always tell family and friends that you love them. To never leave during a fight, and to never go to sleep angry. I’m not saying I’ve been perfect with that –I mean, come on, I disappeared during Brandon’s last fight– but for the most part it’s something we try to live by. A life can be taken from you too fast, and you don’t want your last moment with that person to be a bad one. 

Three Chicks:  Have you been able to forgive Trish for her part in what happened to Chase? (Lisa shouts out, “Because I would never be able to forgive that no good..” Jen puts her hand over Lisa’s mouth. Jen says, “Sorry about that Harper, go ahead.”) 

Harper:  You’re supposed to forgive people. And I would love to say that I forgave her, but haven’t forgotten what she did…but I’m not sure if that would be the truth. I will never forget what she did. She wasn’t the reason Chase died, but her actions were what led to the numerous events leading up to his death. So I don’t blame her for his actual death, but I can’t help but harbor some form of resentment toward her for how my time with Chase ended.

Three Chicks:  How did you not know that Carter was obsessive about you? How are he and Kate doing? 

Harper:  Because he was my best friend. And none of the guys saw me as anything other than their sister or friend. Just the same that I didn’t see any of them as anything more. When we were in North Carolina, he never treated me as any type of romantic interest, and I know now that was simply because Sir wouldn’t have allowed it. He was acting weird when he got transferred to Camp Pendleton, and I talked to Brandon about that all the time while it was happening…but I kept excusing it as him having a hard time with the fact that I now had a life outside of him and the other marines. So I really hadn’t known. He and Kate…haha they’re just fine. Still fighting all the time and completely in love with each other.

Three Chicks:  If you could go back in time, is there any one thing you would do differently? 

Harper:  There isn’t one, there’s two. I wouldn’t have cheated on Brandon…I would have been fair to him before giving into anything with Chase. And I would have told Chase I loved him and made him stay at his parents house the night of the accident.

Three Chicks:  How is married life with two kids?  How old are Liam and Kristi now? Do you and Brandon get any alone time? 

Harper:  It’s a lot of fun, sometimes crazy and stressful, but fun. Liam is six and Kristi is about to turn five and Brandon and I are still holding on to our Thursday night “date-nights”.

Three Chicks:  What is the most romantic thing Brandon has done for you?

Harper:  I can’t think of any one thing that stands out more than the rest, Brandon is always doing some type of sweet or romantic gesture. He’s just an amazing man.

 Three Chicks:  How is your relationship with Sir?  Is he still seeing Veronica? 

Harper:  Yep! He and Veronica are still together and our relationship is completely different than it was when I was growing up. He and I communicate a lot more and it’s almost as if he’s trying to make up for lost time. Nothing can bring back those years growing up with him…but we’re just focusing on the now. The kids love him as their Papa and he’s great with them. He and Veronica get along well with Mom and Dad and Carrie and Bruce.

Three Chicks:  Name one important thing that you love about Brandon? 

Harper:  His forgiveness. It’s…mind blowing how he is so quick to forgive others, and he’s usually the one helping me keep that in mind. I know I need more of it, especially since I still have my issues with what Trish did…but he’s slowly rubbing off on me.

Three Chicks:  Do you think Chase would be happy with the way your life turned out? 

Harper:  A few years ago, I don’t know if I would have been able to answer that. But now? I’d say yes. With the situation that I originally put us all in and then was handed to us later, I think he would be happy with how happy Liam and I am, how well Brandon takes care of us, and how we’re always doing something to keep his memory alive.

Three Chicks:  Do you still have the annual night with Chase’s family to celebrate his life? (Kristie says, “what a wonderful tradition to carry on *sighs*) 

Harper:  Yes we do. We’re always remembering him in one way or another, it isn’t like we push away the memories of him until that day. But that day is always special, always a little hard, and always beautiful.

Three Chicks:  You have been loved by two wonderful men, what has that taught you about life? 

Harper:  That it’s amazing and something to be lived and enjoyed. There’s so much that life has to offer you, you just need to be willing to ride out the roller coasters to see it all.

Three Chicks:  Any plans to enlarge the family? 

Harper:  Ah, no. Haha, we’re happy with the four of us. The kids are wanting a puppy so we’ve been talking about that, but for now, it will just be us.

"I don't think I can move, OMG the food was amazing," Lisa says holding her stomach. Harper, Jen and Kristie nod in satisfied agreement. "Well, we made plenty so Harper you will have left overs for your family." Jen gets up and takes the dishes over to the sink to start washing. Lisa and Kristie start clearing the table. "Harper, thanks for talking with us today and hosting the BBQ." After we clean-up we head towards the door. We give Harper a hug goodbye and head to the car.




Our 5 star review

What an amazing book! I will first tell yothat after reading all the spoilers I put this book aside for a while because I was too afraid to read it. And now I cannot believe it took me so long.  Harper has lived with her father who is a Marine, her whole life, but now it is time to move and live on her own. she is off to college to be free and live the college life and find out who she is. 

Harper and her roommate Bree have an instant connection. She attends a party thrown at Bree's brother's house and soon finds out living on a marine base is a lot different than college life. For some reason she can't stop thinking of her roommate's brother Chase, even knowing that he is the type to go from one girl to the other and is all wrong for her.  Those thoughts of Chase are temporarily on hold when she meets Chase's friend and roommate Brandon. The problem that Harper is faced with is that she loves Brandon but begins to see a different side of Chase and wonders how she can be so in love with Brandon and love Chase as well. 

You will fall in love with both Chase and Brandon, which for me is usually rare to fall for both guys in a love triangle. But the author did a great job with both characters. I don't want to give too much away but something happens in the book that is quite a shocker, but I completely understand why it was written that way. The events that take place after this tragedy are what makes this such a great story. 

This book is about forgiving, understanding, love and taking chances and giving second chances as well. How loving someone so much can enable you to forgive and move on from the past and the hurt and give someone a second chance, because people make mistakes. Brandon will absolutely melt your heart in the choices he makes and how he takes care of Harper, despite everything that has happened. The other characters in the book play an important role as well. How remarkable it is to see Bree and her parents accept Harper and understand her mistakes and decisions, and yet they still treat her as their own family. The evolution of the relationship with Harper's father and her best friend from back home takes many twists and turns of its own.

The author did an amazing job telling this story.  You feel every emotion that the characters feel and while it is an emotional ride and trust me you will ugly cry (maybe even sob like I did), every emotion is worth it. So don't let the crying scare you, read this book, you will love it. I still have a book hangover from this one.













4 comments:

  1. The interview was perfect even got me a little teary eyed this book was so amazing and yes there was the ugly crying going on but I can't wait to read Chase's book

    ReplyDelete
  2. Did molly mcadams write as harpers point of you? I dont agree with the things she said about chase. But if molly wrote it its fine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All of the answers to our character interviews are written by the authors.

      Delete
  3. What a wonderful interview!! Can't wait for "Stealing Harper"....Loved this book..

    ReplyDelete

How to Configure Numbered Page Navigation After installing, you might want to change these default settings: