Missing Deposits:
The Story Behind the Story – with giveaway
By Leeann Betts
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 came from a desire to design a brand that I could draw. A
Lazy L, in brand terms, is one that lies 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:
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
just for signing up for our quarterly newsletter.
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Thank you, Linda, for having me on your blog today.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. Sounds like a good one. Merry Christmas 🎁🎄
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