An Interview with Author Ruth J. Hartman

Good morning Bloggers! We're kicking off the first author interview at Unwritten today! Please welcome Ruth J. Hartman, author of "My Life in Mental Chains" (available at Amazon), "Pillow Talk" (available at Class Act Books) , and "Flossophy of Grace"(available at Melange Books).


Thanks for visiting, Ruth. Now, let's start with a little bit about yourself. When you're not writing, what do you do? What do you like to do?


My husband and I are homebodies. We like to hang out at home and read, watch movies, or use our computers. And our two cats are always there with us, too.



Where do you get the inspiration for your stories? Any funny tales to tell about that?


Since most of my romances have to do with dentistry in some way, I’ve gotten several of my ideas for books from my experiences as a hygienist. For “Pillow Talk” about a tooth fairy who falls in love with her dentist, I got some funny stuff from a little girl who said she had actually seen the tooth fairy in her room the night before. I looked at her mom who was trying really hard not to laugh out loud. Obviously, Mom had been a little noisy trying to carry out her tooth fairy duties.


Tell us about your latest release, "Flossophy of Grace". I'm itchin' to read it.


It’s about a dental hygienist (gee, I wonder where that idea came from?) who falls in love with her patient. When her mean boss finds out, he threatens her with losing her job if he finds out she’s still seeing the patient. Grace and Bruce, the two main characters, sneak around to try to see each other, but when that isn’t working out so great, they come up with a plan to see each other right under her boss’ nose. Bruce makes all kinds of appointments with Grace at the office for stuff he doesn’t need, just so they can spend time together.


How about a little bit about your next story idea or work in progress?


The one I’m working on now revolves around two dentists who compete for all the dental patients in their small town. But they can’t seem to fight their growing attraction for each other. 


Finally, a question off the beaten path:  If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?


 Sandra Bullock, no question. She’s my favorite actress.


And to whet our appetites, Ms. Hartman, would you post a short excerpt from one of your published stories or even a work in progress?


Here’s an excerpt from “Flossophy of Grace”


Grace loved kids. She really did. They were funny and sweet, and loud and annoying. They asked the most interesting, offbeat questions. And she normally looked forward to doing their prophies (cleanings) since their tiny mouths had less square footage than most adults’ gunky ones. But sometimes the little people tended to tell her way too many intimate details about their parents she’d rather not know. Ever. And they all seemed intensely hyper today. The hooligans who weren’t bouncing like pogo sticks were playing trampoline on the waiting room chairs. Had their parents given them all ultra doses of Mountain Dew before their appointments? That would be wrong on so many levels. She’d had enough of the little guys for today. It was usually a nice reprieve from a day full of adults, but enough was enough. They had worn her down to a frazzled nubbin. 


She looked at her yellow cat-face clock on the wall. It was almost time. In forty-five blessed minutes, she’d be finished with her last patient of the day. Thank goodness! It couldn’t come soon enough. Whoever it was, she wanted them done and scooted out the door, toothbrush in hand, as soon as possible. The only thing she knew about her next patient was that it was a man, and that he was fairly new to town. Other than that, she had no clue what to expect. Grace desperately hoped he wasn’t one of those men who thought he was good-looking in his plaid pants, white belt, and bad toupee. She always had a hard time holding back a snicker in those situations. She grabbed the last, lonely chart from the pink plastic holder on the wall and wearily called out the name. 


“Bruce Gardener?”


As Grace looked up to greet her new patient, the sight that entertained her eyes nearly knocked her on her size-twelve backside. Good grief, he was gorgeous.






Many, many thanks to you, Ruth, and I do hope we will be seeing much more of you in the future!