Round Robin Blog, May 24, 2014, SETTINGS

What is the most inspiring, romantic, or dangerous setting you ever read or written?

Round Robin Blog with Connie - #RndRbn May 24, 2014

Welcome to another Round Robin Blog event, held 

once a month and hosted by Rhobin Lee Courtright.  

This month's topic:

What is the most inspiring, romantic or 

dangerous setting you ever came across 

while reading or imagined while writing?  

Do you have a preference for a certain time 

and place for a story?

Rhobin comes up with some great topics for

discussion, and this one gave me pause (hence

my posting on Saturday morning rather than late, 

late on Friday night).  While my current two series are westerns (historical YA andcontemporary 

 romance), I do write in multiple genres, and with a wide range of settings. 

Book 2 of my Rodeo Romance Series (Brede) is romantic suspense, set in New Mexico.  

When I have an idea for a new story, it begins with with dialogue.  The only way to explain this is 

to say, "It is like someone is including you in a private conversation".  Not a whisper, exactly, 

more of a casual 'coffee shop' conversation.  When a close fried places her hand on your 

shoulder to give you a clue in on what's going on around you. Even though my characters 

drive my stories, I am a pragmatic writer. 

I write a backstory, outline and include chapter summaries, motivation, and the computer 

equivalent of 3 x 5 cards to to develop my scenes.  My research is time consuming :-), 

I interview, I read the local newspapers, I vacation in the area (umm, sounds a bit like stalking) 

and I post photos in my office, cook regional foods and listen to the music my characters 

would have save to his/her iPhone.

 The result of my 'dangerous' setting(s).  My YA histoical novel Whisper upon the Water delves 

into one dark area of American history.  The treatment of Native Americans, and that of their

children, after the Indian Wars.  The setting is dangerous for my heroine, and many of the children 

who lived with their tribes/bands and were forcibly relocated to government run 

boarding schools. All across the western plains (especially in the Dakotas) is still place, 

on and off of the reservations, where life is. . .often unsafe . . .

Brede, Rodeo Romance Book 2, is a suspense novel.  I was visiting a descrated ruin in 

New Mexico when I was involved in the Title 9 program and serving on PAC committees 

involving Native American Affairs.  The times were troubling and often deadly.  

This became the driving force for this current release.

I don't wish for my readers to think my novels are filled with 'darkness'.  

Lynx, Rodeo Romance Book 1, is filled with humor, rodeo action, and smoking hot cowboys!

My education series (YA and children's short-stories)  Medicine and Magic in Ancient Egypt 

and A Candle in the Dark, are informative and draw children into, and, help children experience 

'every day life' hundreds, if not thousands of years ago.

Fall of this year will provide my readers with new adventures:

My Cajun Anthology, My Zombie (think "War Bodies" minus chomping), novella, 

and hopefully, Book 3 of my Rodeo Romance (with a ChickLit slant) titled, Rand.

My current releases are available on Amazon. 

Next on the Round Robin Circuit is:

Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/

This is the line-up of authors participating in today's Blog Event!
* Lynn Crain at http://lynncrain.blogspot.co.at/
* Anne Stenhouse athttp://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com
* Diane Bator at http://dbator.blogspot.ca
* Geeta Kakade at http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/
* Connie Vines at http://connievines.blogspot.com/
* Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/
* Beverley Bateman at http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
* Ginger Simpson at http://mizging.blogspot.com
* Margaret Fieland at http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog 
* Fiona McGier at http://www.fionamcgier.com
* Rhobin Courtright at http://rhobinleecourtright.com

Heidi Thomas at I http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com/