Lucas
Rockworth—a hard-driving force of nature has been ordered by his
doctor to take some time off and get his blood pressure under
control. You would think buying a cabin in the natural splendor known
as Gray Horse Lake, Idaho, would do the trick. All that mountain
greenery, crystal blue lakes and rivers, and nature-run-amok had to
be exactly what the doctor had ordered.
Enter
Sarah Burke… The innocently enticing young entrepreneur who’s
opening an equestrian camp for children with handicaps.
Her
initial impression of him is clearly wrong. For some reason, known to
the reader but unknown to him, Sarah mistakenly believes that Lucas
Rockworth is a shy, sensitive man. After having to deal a lifetime
with a dominating older brother and controlling father, she finds
these traits very appealing.
Her
recent breakup with someone who could best be described as a bully
has Sarah longing for a kinder, gentler man in her life.
Lucas
tells himself that, since he makes his living as a general
contractor, he has the hands-on experience to make himself into
anything Miss Sarah Burke is looking for.
It
shouldn’t be that great a stretch to become a modern, sensitive
kind of guy, should it? She wants Mr. Rogers… Well, darn, he can
manage that for the short time he’s in Idaho.
How
hard can it be to tame his darker, more cynical side?
As
for Sarah Burke? She thinks she’s met a real life version of Mr.
Rogers. But, the reader knows its Rambo who’s come
a’courting.
Would
the real Lucas Rockworth care to step forward?
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Do your characters hijack the story, or do
you have full reigns of the story?
Since my books revolve around my characters,
I don’t consider them changing the direction of my intended plots to be a form
of hijacking. My characters live in my
novels, and my writing really is all about them. During the course of writing a
book, I grow to really care for them.
Sometimes they get in the way of finding their own happiness, but they
never get in the way of the story. My characters are my story.
Do the characters all come to you at the
same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
In the beginning of a novel, I have an
impression of who my lead characters are.
I usually choose two or three strong character traits and motivations
that form the core of their characterization.
As their story develops so does my knowledge of who they are and what
they want. Sometimes they shock me, but that’s when I know that they’re
becoming their own people.
Do you believe in writer’s block?
It always comes down to a matter of
definition. Some people who don’t
believe in writer’s block base that opinion on the fact that one can always
write—just start typing and you’re writing.
But, if you’re referring to taking dictation from your subconscious
brain, then I do believe in writer’s block. The thing is we always have the
capacity to sit down and begin typing even when the creative flow is cut
off. It can be really painful, but it
can be done. But, what’s the quality of the writing that’s being put on the page?
Some writers say that the reader can’t tell the difference between when an
author’s writing while “in-the-zone” from when he/she is “gutting” out his/her
story by pure determination. Personally,
I think I can tell the difference.
I went through a severe depression that
lasted for years. When it first hit me,
I couldn’t even read a novel because my brain would not allow me to go to that
place where reading fiction lives. I did
not write during that period of time. I was focused on staying alive. I’m very
grateful that this period has passed. I’m definitely writing again. And, the sheer act of doing so makes me feel
as if I’ve reclaimed a lost part of myself, of who I am.
Still, there are some days that I’m
definitely not in-the-zone. On those
days, I do editing, work on character development, plotting, and research. I’ve found an effective way to start my next
day of writing is to stop in the middle of a sentence. I avoid ending a writing session on a
completed paragraph or chapter.
Do you have a favorite movie?
My “favorite movie” changes from time to
time. I really enjoy ironic science
fiction, but I have a PG13 sensibility.
This means that when I watched “Shawn of the Dead”, “Tremors”, or “Lake
Placid” on network television, I loved them.
However, when I bought the DVD’s, I just couldn’t get past the language.
You can add “Big-Assed Spiders” to that list.
As for television series, it’s no surprise
that I record and watch “The Orville.”
“Once Upon a Time”, “Contagion”--and my all-time favorite--“Longmire”
top that list of favorites.
River
Ames spent the first eighteen years of her life in Southern
California. Here is a partial list of some of the cities in which she
lived: Pasadena, South Pasadena, Duarte, El Monte, Arcadia La Puente,
Lomita, West Covina, Pacifica, Santa Monica, Palmdale, and Hacienda
Heights. In some of those cities, she lived at six different
addresses. In the city of La Puente, River's family lived in four
different houses on the same street. The non-glamorous reason for all
the moves was habitual eviction necessitated for non-payment of rent.
It was an interesting way to grow up.
River
attended twenty-six different elementary schools, two different
junior high schools and four different high schools. In one
elementary school, she was a student for only three days.
Perhaps,
because she was so frequently identified as the "new girl,"
the pattern of River being an observer instead of a participant in
the interactions going on around her seemed a logical fit for her
personality.
When
she was thirteen, River read "Gone with the Wind." She
skipped three days of school in order to finish the book in one
sitting. Disappointed in Rhett for "not giving a damn,"
River wrote her own sequel--in long hand, on three-hole punch,
notebook paper. The opening line? "Tomorrow dawned bright and
fair." In less than fifty pages, Scarlett had been transformed
into Jane Eyre and Rhett had fallen in love with her all over again.
After
Southern California, River has spent the next part of her life living
in the semi-rural town of Idaho Falls, Idaho. She is a graduate of
Idaho State University, majoring in Health Education Sciences and
Addiction Counseling. She's worked the past ten years at a Behavioral
Health Center where she assisted children, teenagers, and adults
committed in a 24/7 secured facility because of mental health
challenges they are experiencing.
River's
books celebrate the good-natured humor that lays at the heart of most
of our human predicaments. The conflicts are significant, yet it is
her characters and their quirky (yet somehow universally relatable)
thoughts, words, and choices that reflect a light-hearted peek into a
world we wish was real. The amazing thing is that these worlds are
real to readers for the time they visit there.
Readers
have said: "In a River Ames book, one minute I'm laughing out
loud, and the next I have a lump in my throat."
River
is currently readying a historical novel, "Gideon's Justice."
This three-part novel is Book I in a three volume western series set
in the Colorado Territory.
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
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