THE RACHEL HAUCK LOVE STORY

"The Rachel Hauck Love Story"

I'm pleased to interview my author friend Rachel Hauck, pictured on the left with her husband Tony.

Rachel's newest book is entitled Lost in NashVegas (Thomas Nelson Publishers). It's about a small town girl who moves to Nashville to become a songwriter. Diva NashVegas will be out April, 2007.

The interview, below, covers Rachel's love story with Tony--how they met, etc., even what their first kiss was like!

But first, a bio of her.

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Rachel's Bio: I'm a forty-something who graduated from Ohio State University (Go Buckeyes!) with a degree in journalism. After graduation, I hired on at Harris Publishing as a software trainer. I traveled to Ireland, Spain, Venezuela, Mexico, Australia, Canada, and the U.S. from California to Maine. My husband Tony has been a pastor for 20 years. I've worked with him 18 of those 20. Our heart is to see teens and adults passionate, radical, and whole hearted for Jesus. We don't have any children of our own, but have lots of kids-in-the-Lord, and we love them all. However, we do have two very spoiled dogs, and an even more spoiled cat.

I've always wanted to be a writer. My dad used to tell me, "You're a writer." I have letters he wrote me post college, exhorting me to write. In this, I believe he had the heart of God. In '93, I started an epic WW2 novel with two plots. It was well rejected. After that ordeal, I took a break and put my efforts into my job. But I missed writing and in late ' 99, I took up the craft again. With a little help from my friends, my first book was published in ' 04, a romance novel. I love writing chick lit and romance. I love writing. What an honor.

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"The Rachel Hauck Love Story"

Kristy: If you were a Christian before you met him, were you praying for a husband? (as opposed to just trusting God with your entire future?)

Rachel: I prayed for my husband off and on from the time I was a kid. Tony didn’t give his life to the Lord until he was 22, so I think I helped pray him home.

Kristy: How did you meet him?

Rachel: We met at church. Go figure. He was the youth and singles pastor.

Kristy: Was it love at first sight, or did love come softly?

Rachel: Not love at first sight. Not love coming softly. Love coming through trial and tribulation. God had fun with our relationship.

Kristy: How long did you date before marriage?

Rachel: We met and liked each other right away and dated once or twice, but I traveled a lot so we didn’t hang out too much. I was one of those weird girls, and I don’t recommend this, who heard the Lord say, “This guy is the one.” Do you know how many single girls hear from God the cute single pastor is their husband?

Kristy: This sounds like the foundation of a good romance novel, Rachel! :)

Rachel: (Nodding her head and smiling): God kept telling me this. Meanwhile, Tony felt the Lord was telling him, “Just be friends.” What an ordeal.

Kristy: That's a lot of "conflict" (problems)--the basis of a great novel!

Rachel: The good news is, we genuinely liked each other. We became best friends. We hung out all the time when I wasn’t on the road. We were honest about our feelings and what we thought God was saying, and we agreed to disagree, and ordered pizza.

Kristy: You. Are. A. Scream. Rachel. Love that--"we agreed to disagree, and ordered pizza." Soooo wise! To me, that's basically saying, "God, You've spoken to me, and I have confidence that You'll bring it about."

Rachel: That's the way I felt.

Kristy: (Optional) How long did you date before you kissed?

Rachel: We kissed probably on our first date. But then we had all those years as just friends where we never kissed or even held hands. It was good actually. God caused us to build a very solid foundation. Tony’s still my best friend.

Kristy: Tell us about that first kiss…where were you?...what was it like?

Rachel: It was in the doorway of the house I was living in, and I think I giggled.

Kristy: Tell us about the time/occasion you told him you loved him.

Rachel: For about six months, I knew I’d marry him, but I also knew I didn’t love-love him. Then one night, after talking for hours and hours, I drove home, and suddenly I knew I loved him. I didn’t tell him, but as our friendship progressed I told him I loved him.

Kristy: Tell us about the proposal.

Rachel: By now, three-and-a-half years have gone by. The whole church is watching. Tony’s a pastor, I’m on the worship team… We went to see friends in Connecticut, and he wanted to ask me there, but the ring didn’t arrive from the jeweler in time. And boy, is there a big story to all of that.

So, when we came home, we were running errands, my hair was in a pony tail, ratty shorts. He pulls over by this little pond where he once told me we probably wouldn’t get married. And there, he asked me to marry him. I wouldn’t say yes until I saw the ring. (Lots of laughter.)

Kristy: Tell us (in a few sentences) about your wedding? How many bridesmaids? Flowers you and they carried? Colors?

Rachel: I love weddings, but I wasn’t hyper about it. I was very laid back. We had seven attendants, and my flowers were mutli-colored. We had a ballet dancer dance to He Is Exalted before the ceremony started. It was beautiful.

Kristy: Did you buy, borrow, or make your wedding gown? What was it like? (brief description)

Rachel: A friend’s mother made it, and it was beautiful. Can’t remember what it was like, though. Just yummy.

Kristy: Did he smash the cake in your mouth, or was he a gentleman and gently put it in?

Rachel: No smashing!

Kristy: (Optional) How long have you been married?

Rachel: We’ll be married 15 years in March, 2007. We were married four years and one day after our first date. Thanks, Kristy! Fun questions! Rachel

Kristy: Thank you, Rachel!