A main theme in SPEAKING OF LOVE has to do with communication, and how so often we want to say what’s on our minds but, for whatever reason, don’t. Mackenzie is a speech teacher and Rick is a journalist…two careers that are all about communicating. So, I thought it might be fun (and delightfully painful) to put these two people in situations where they can’t talk to each other about their feelings; can’t share. It makes for some delicious sexual tension!
I pulled a lot of Mac’s vocation from my real life. I’m not a speech teacher, but I took all the speech and communication classes in high school and was even on the traveling speech competition team. Yeah, talking was kind of my thing…
I was pretty big in the Expository Speaking world, always scoring high grades on my in-class speeches. On the road, however, I never placed higher than 4th at any competition, which meant I never landed a damn trophy! I might still be bitter about that.
Some of the speeches I competed with were a demonstration speech on how to play the piano (complete with a hugeass cardboard keyboard and a miniature grand piano that played Fur Elise), a persuasive speech on why we should listen to classical music during finals (that went over well with the judges, but with the hard rockers—not so much), and an informative speech about pirates. This was probably my favorite. In standard Expository fashion, I began the speech by giving a little monologue in pirate talk. That’s right. I even had a stuffed parrot on one shoulder and a homemade treasure map tucked in my bra, which I pulled out with a flourish at the perfect time. (The map, not my bra.)
Alas, after completing the required Public Speaking 101 course in college, I hung up my forensic league vocal chords, but found a happier (though no less stressful) home in the world of novel writing. Though I never lost my love of gabbing.
Oh, and I love Pacey.
Picture by Gage Skidmore
What was your favorite class in high school?
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Ophelia London was born and raised among the redwood trees in beautiful northern California. Once she was fully educated, she decided to settle in Florida, but her car broke down in Texas and she’s lived in Dallas ever since. A cupcake and treadmill aficionado (obviously those things are connected), she spends her time watching arthouse movies and impossibly trashy TV, while living vicariously through the characters in the books she writes. Ophelia is the author of DEFINITELY, MAYBE IN LOVE, ABBY ROAD, the Perfect Kisses series including: PLAYING AT LOVE and SPEAKING OF LOVE. Visit her at www.ophelialondon.com. But don’t call when The Vampire Diaries is on.
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