Why I Ventured into the Jungle
Marilyn, Thank you for allowing
me to bring my blog tour to you today! I’m giving away a $5 egift card to a
commenter today and will give a bag full of goodies to the person who follows
me to the most blogs and a gift to the host who gets the most commenters. You
can find the blog tour hosts at my blog: http://www.patyjager.blogspot.com
or my website: http://www.patyjager.net
It
was a mixture of things that prompted me to write Secrets of a Mayan Moon. First I’d read a book that was dubbed “action
adventure” and I was less than impressed. Second, I mentioned this to a writer
friend on the way to a writer’s retreat.
She then asked, “How would you write an action adventure?”
And
we spent the rest of the drive over and back brainstorming the characters, the
setting, and the tone. But I have to admit the tone ended up darker than I’d
first imagined. Once the characters started to develop and show their inner
demons and wants to me, I could no longer write the heroine in the comedic way
I’d first portrayed her in my brainstorming.
This
is the beginning of the conversation between my friend and I when this book
started forming in my head.
Julie:
Why don’t you write one?
Me:
I can’t write action adventure and I’ve
worked hard at branding myself. I write western or Native American.
Julie:
So make the heroine have something to do
with Native American studies.
Me: I guess that would work. (here my brain
started kicking into overdrive)
Julie:
Where would you set this story?
Me:
South or Central America.
Julie:
Why?
Me:
I could use the heroine’s studies of
Native American Indians as her reason for traveling to countries with drug
problems.
Julie:
Why?
Me:
Because the hero would be with the DEA.
Julie: What kind of heroine will she be?
Me: Scholarly…genius level having graduated
with her doctorate at 20 or22.(a light bulb clicked in my head as a slender
girl with glasses wearing a long broomstick skirt, tank top, and sandals formed
in my mind) Her name is Isabella
Mumphrey.
Julie:
(laughing) That’s a great name! Tell me
more about her.
I
went on to describe Isabella and as soon as I returned home, I began gathering
the information and doing the research to write her book.
Blurb:
Child
prodigy and now Doctor of Anthropology, Isabella Mumphrey, is about to lose her
job at the university. In the world of publish or perish, her mentor’s request
for her assistance on a dig is just the opportunity she’s been seeking. If she
can decipher an ancient stone table—and she can—she’ll keep her department. She
heads to Guatemala, but drug trafficking bad guys, artifact thieves, and her
infatuation for her handsome guide wreak havoc on her scholarly intentions.
Excerpt
Isabella
climbed out of the boat, keeping as much distance between her and Tino as
possible. He’d humiliated her, and she couldn’t get away from him. They were
stuck together tonight and all of tomorrow until he delivered her to the dig.
His taunting her with a kiss and then drawing away as if she were some vile
creature hurt as deeply as the things Darrell Rutley had said to her face in
grad school.
She
walked into the forest, hunting for a place to have a few moments to herself.
“Do
not go far,” Tino called in his seductive Latin accent.
She
cursed her reaction to his voice, raised a hand acknowledging his order, and
tromped deeper into the trees. The murmur of the river faded away in the steady
drone of mosquitoes. She slapped at the leaves on the plants and wandered
deeper. Rustling in the underbrush shot her heart into her throat. Jaguars were nocturnal weren’t they? A
small, furry, pig-like animal trotted across her path, followed by five smaller
versions.
She
giggled at her jumpy nerves and the animals’ comical parade as she watched the
last one disappear through the greenery. The waning light enlarged the shadows.
Reluctance played war with her logical self. She should return to the boat
before darkness descended and she couldn’t find her way back. But her pride,
something she usually didn’t consider, wouldn’t let her face Tino.
Not
yet.
It
was stupid to believe he wanted to kiss her. Tino was handsome, virile, and so
unlike any of the men she’d met during her college days or professionally. Exactly the type who toy with women like me.
His chivalry and her attraction to him made her feel attractive, something she
rarely experienced. But the way he brushed her off after he’d initiated the
kiss... He’d only proved he could kiss her and not that he wanted her. She
mentally slapped herself at her stupidity and virginal cravings.
The
walk hadn’t settled her anger. Reliving the event only escalated her rage.
How
could one be a genius yet stupid about life lessons?
She
pulled out what she now considered her knife and hacked at the plants along the
way. With each swing she lopped off something of Tino’s. Blue penetrating eyes.
Devastating smile. A hand, so good at soothing her. The other hand. Her smile
grew, and her frustration turned to the healthy exhaustion of an extensive
taekwondo class.
Isabella
wiped a sleeve across her sweaty brow and heaved a sigh of contentment. The
vigorous exercise worked wonders on her disposition.
A
fierce roar vibrated through the trees.
Secrets of a Mayan Moon is available at
Kindle,
Nook,
and Smashwords
Paty Jager and friend |
Bio:
Wife,
mother, grandmother, and the one who cleans pens and delivers the hay; award
winning author Paty Jager and her husband currently ranch 350 acres when not
dashing around visiting their children and grandchildren. She not only writes
the western lifestyle, she lives it.
Her
contemporary Western, Perfectly Good Nanny
won the 2008 Eppie for Best Contemporary Romance, Spirit of the Mountain, a historical paranormal set among the Nez
Perce, garnered 1st place in the paranormal category of the Lories
Best Published Book Contest, and Spirit of the Lake, the second book of
the spirit trilogy, was a finalist in
the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.
You
can learn more about Paty at her blog; www.patyjager.blogspot.com her website; http://www.patyjager.net or on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/#!/paty.jager
and twitter; @patyjag.
Comments
Thanks to Marilyn for hosting!
Laurel N
Hi Laurel! I'm glad you enjoyed the story and my posts.
Hi Caroline, I think by taking on hew things it makes my writing fresher and I'm more excited about the story and project.
Meredith, Thanks! I hope if you read it you are gentle on me. I've never been an anthropologist but I used what I could garner from reading to hopefully make her realistic.
bidelia78@yahoo.com