Tessa Woodward
Assistant Editor
Avon Romance

Vital Stats
Hometown: I’m a Brooklyn girl (although people never believe me! Apparently, I’m not scary enough.)

Favorite food: Pickles. The really, really, really sour kind. And Junior Mints. But not together.

Favorite TV show: I love all the medical shows (ER, Grey’s Anatomy, House)
Guilty Pleasure: Watching Charmed, may it rest in peace. Which means I’m in need of a new guilty pleasure… any suggestions?

Favorite baseball player: Bubba Crosby. Not only does he have the best name ever, but he’s also a great fielder!

First celebrity crush: Magnum PI

Where would you like to live?
“Pemberly” from the A&E Pride and Prejudice or Buckingham Palace (and if Prince William just happened to be there I certainly wouldn’t complain…)

Who are your favorite characters in history?
Catullus
His poetry falls into three categories: completely and delightfully snarky, incredibly and amazingly romantic, or very, very dirty. What’s not to love?

Eleanor of Aquitaine
When I was studying abroad in Spain I picked up a Spanish translation of a historical novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine (or Leonora de Aquitania as they called her). I’ve been hooked ever since.

Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
Rilla Blythe (Anne of Green Gables’ youngest daughter)
I have this Anne of Green Gables addiction. I think I might have to join a group (LMMA – L. M. Montgomeryaholics Anonymous?) Rilla is just as wonderful as Anne. I love her spirit and courage. She’s so honest and funny (and it doesn’t hurt that Kenneth Ford sounds gorgeous…)

Hester Prynne
My 7th grade English teacher told me I reminded her of Hester Prynne. To this day, I have no idea why (or whether I should be offended…) but I’ve always had a special place in my heart for her.

Mrs. Jefferies
Mrs. Jefferies is the heroine of Emily Brightwell’s cozy historical mystery series. She’s a housekeeper to one of Scotland Yard’s best inspectors. They have a Penny/ Inspector Gadget relationship. Basically she and the rest of the staff secretly help the inspector solve all of his cases. She’s completely unflappable and I want to be just like her when I’m “of a certain age.”

Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
This is easy. Mr. Darcy. Even before Colin Firth made him the single most desirable man ever to exist Fitzwilliam Darcy was my ideal.
And, obviously, Gilbert Blythe. (See above) But not the Gilbert from the movies. He’s NOT at all how I picture Gilbert. (Don’t you hate it when that happens?)

Who would you have liked to be?
Ginger Rogers. I can’t dance. At all. Really, it’s depressing. There’s very little I wouldn’t give to be able to move like Ginger Rogers. There’s one scene at the end of The Gay Divorcée when she and Fred Astaire are dancing on a table and on the way down her foot never touches the chair. It makes my stomach flip every time I see it. And I assure you, I’ve seen it many, many times.