MISSING DEPOSITS -- The Story Behind the Story --with Giveaway.
By Leeann Betts
Readers—and writers, too, for
that matter—often ask me where I get the ideas for my stories. Well, in this
case, I wanted to set my story in Colorado so I could enter several state-based
writing contests that require a Colorado setting.
As I do with just about every
book in this series, I made up a fictional town based on a part of the state
I’d recently visited and which I thought readers might like to learn more
about. The Grand Mesa/Mesa Verde National Park area on the western slopes of
Colorado is a world unto itself. The scenery is spectacular, the weather is
iffy, but the people are warm-hearted and compassionate.
Well, most of the people.
Not the villain in my tale, of
course. He—or she—is anything but warm and compassionate. Think the Grinch when
his heart was three sizes too small. Yet, like every villain, this one has some
good qualities. He or she knows how to show love. He or she is ferocious about
what they believe in. And he or she isn’t a sociopath or a psychopath. They
know right from wrong. They simply don’t like being backed into a corner.
I also wanted a politically
conservative setting, because while not exclusively so, politically
conservative folks also tend to be church-goers, and I wanted both Carly and
Mike to be slam-dunked into a situation where they had to re-examine their
spiritual beliefs. Throughout this series, a little here and a little there,
Carly and her husband have been introduced to the Christian faith.
I don’t think that most folks
make a huge decision about their spiritual journey the first time options are
presented to them. It didn’t happen to me that way, either. So I’m using the
entire series to take them along that path to deciding where they stand
regarding their faith. And no, I haven’t decided what that is, yet, either. I’m
hoping Carly will show me in the next book, which will come out in June 2020, Risk Management. If you want to know the
answer, you’ll need to read that one.
The couple who hosts Carly and
Mike on their working vacation are named after very good friends—first names,
only. Their last name was drawn from a desire to design a brand that I could
draw. A Lazy L, in brand terms, is one that lays horizontally.
The details about the
black-footed ferrets are mostly true. Not about the truck accident that dropped
several of the critters on the western slope, but they were transported down
I-25 into Arizona and New Mexico. At the timing of this story, 2005, they were
on the “extinct in the wild” list, although they have since recovered are now
on the “endangered” watch list.
Leave a comment, and I will draw
randomly for a print copy (US only) or ebook version (winner’s choice) of Missing Deposits.
About Missing Deposits:
Carly looks forward to a vacation
when Mike is hired to assist an association of ranchers in western Colorado
catalogue their various mineral rights following the discovery of several large
deposits. However, Carly soon learns that the real wealth—and the real danger—aren’t
below ground. Someone is out to keep a secret bigger and more profitable than
gold and copper. And they’re willing to kill for it.
About Leeann:
Leeann Betts writes contemporary romantic
suspense, while her real-life persona, Donna Schlachter, pens historical romantic
suspense. In the Money is the tenth title
in her cozy mystery series, and together she and Donna have published more than
30 novellas and full-length novels. They ghostwrite, judge writing contests,
edit, facilitate a critique group, and are members of American Christian
Fiction Writers, Writers on the Rock, and Sisters in Crime. Leeann travels
extensively to research her stories, and is proud to be represented by Terrie
Wolf of AKA Literary LLC.
Website: www.LeeannBetts.com Receive a free ebook
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