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Meet the Characters in Rocky Mountain Sunrise : Mari & Joe

She rolled onto her back. “Mari Rhodes,” she said with deliberation. She smiled, and her eyes sparkled. “I like it.”

Joe turned on his side, pulling his arm out from under her and propping up on an elbow. “Don’t tell me you haven’t tried it out before now.”

“Nope,” she answered without a pause, but her eyes were full of mischief.

“Is that right?” He ran a finger lightly up her side, and Mari shivered. “You know, I think I now have a pretty good mental map of all your ticklish spots.”

She squirmed as his fingertips pressed into the curve of her waist ever so slightly. “Joe, that’s not fair!”

He grinned. “All’s fair in love and war, sweetheart.”

She jumped and giggled as he dug his fingertips in a bit more. “That is actually a misquote.”

“Oh, really?” He started to walk his fingers up her rib cage.

She laughed and twisted away from him, but he caught her around the waist and hauled her against him. “You’d better set me straight. I wouldn’t want to go around misquoting somebody.”

“John Lyly,” she giggled, grabbing his hand. “Stop tickling me, and I’ll tell you the real quote.”

His hand stilled, and Mari took a breath. “The actual quote is, ‘The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war.'”

“Hmm, seems a bit wordy to me.”

“Well, wordy or not, that’s what Lyly wrote, and anyway, is tickling love or war?”

“Definitely love,” Joe growled behind her ear.

“Funny, it feels like war to me.”

Don’t miss the Holiday Expo!

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The Colorado Springs Holiday Expo will take place Nov. 22 at the Hotel Elegante, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be a variety of vendors for the holiday shopper to peruse. I will personally have all my books and the tie tops and vests that I create along with decorative headbands. Come on out and see me and get that Christmas shopping done at the same time!

When you stop by, look through my art portfolio, then commission your own pet portrait for the animal lover in your life.

Clean Indie Reads Fall Sale

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Looking for some new reading material? Look no further! Clean Indie Reads is having a fall sale Oct 5-11.

Who or what is Clean Indie Reads, you ask? Well, I’ll tell ya!

Clean Indie Reads is a group of independent authors who write clean fiction. But clean doesn’t mean sappy! There are all genres represented from kids’ books to romance to paranormal and everything in between! The “clean” simply means that there is no graphic sex on the pages of our books.

All of my romances are on this sale–either free or .99, and there are a lot of other books at free or cheap prices! Don’t miss them!

http://arcaniarts.com/index.php/fall-clean-book-sale

Character Blog Tour

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Thank you, Ariella Moon, for inviting me to be a part of this tour!

About Ariella Moon

Ariella Moon is the author of the Teen Wytche Saga, a sweet Young Adult paranormal series. Ariella writes about magic, friendship, high school, secrets, and love in Spell Check, Spell Struck, and Spell Fire from Astraea Press.

Ariella spent her childhood searching for a magical wardrobe that would transport her to Narnia. Extreme math anxiety, and taller students who mistook her for a leaning post, marred her youth. Despite these horrors, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at Davis. Ariella is a Reiki Master, author, and shaman. She lives a nearly normal life with her extraordinary daughter, two shamelessly spoiled dogs, and an enormous dragon.

Ariella loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at http://www.AriellaMoon.com or visit her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ariellamoon.author

Connect with Ariella Moon

http://www.ariellamoon.com

http://www.ariellamoon.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/ariellamoon.author

http://www.goodreads.com/AuthorAriellaMoon

http://www.pinterest.com/ariellamoon/

My name is Jodi Bowersox and I have six books published to date. Two are Children’s picture books under the pen name J. B. Stockings, and four are romance novels under my own name. I’m also a watercolor artist, specializing in pet portraits. Take a look around my website for the full scoop on what keeps me busy!

Now to tell you about my character!

1) What is the name of your character?

Joe Rhodes is the name, and he is fictional, although he is also a little bit historical. I can’t say more without spoilers.

2) When & where is the story set?

Contemporary Colorado Springs

3) What should we know about him?

This is how the heroine, Mari, described him the first time she saw him:

Mari spun to see the object of Eli’s scorn approaching with a crowbar in hand. His lips turned up in a friendly smile, and Mari’s insides turned to butter. If the first two Rhodes brothers had been molded from heaven’s light, this one was surely spun from God’s glory, himself. He was sandy-headed like Ben with dimples like Eli, yet taller, broader, with eyes like blue smoke. His hair was longer than Eli’s, but well-groomed and styled with a bit of a swoop to one side, one wisp of which had parted company with the rest and pointed toward his right eye.

Joe spoke, and the deep timbre had that butter swirling.

4) What is the main conflict?

Joe is all set to marry the love of his life when the ground underneath him starts to shift. From his business to his mother’s illness to Mari’s stalker, and issues of trust and fidelity, everything seems to come crashing down around him.

5) What is the personal goal of the character?

To find the truth and protect Mari.

6)Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?

This is a sequel to Rocky Mountain Angels, and I believe the title will be Rocky Mountain Miracle.

As I get closer to publication, I’ll keep fans posted on my facebook page: www.facebook.com/jodibowersoxartistry

7) When can we expect the book to be published?

Hopefully before Christmas!

Buy Links for Romance:

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.audible.com

Buy Link for Children’s Books:

http://www.amazon.com

And now, presenting a few other authors you will want to check out!

Annette Lyon is a Whitney Award winner, a two-time recipient of Utah’s Best of State medal for fiction, and a three-time publication award winner from the League of Utah Writers, most recently, the Silver Quill in 2013. She’s the author of more than a dozen novels plus a cookbook, many novellas, a grammar guide, and over 120 magazine articles. Annette is a cum laude graduate from BYU with a degree in English. When she’s not writing, editing, knitting, or eating chocolate, she can be found mothering and avoiding the spots on the kitchen floor. Find her online at blog.annettelyon.com and on Twitter: @AnnetteLyon

Blog link:

http://blog.annettelyon.com

Buy link:

http://www.amazon.com

Darlene Panzera is a multi-published author of sweet, fun-loving romance. Her career launched with the publication of THE BET, included in NY Times best-selling author Debbie Macomber’s FAMILY AFFAIR, and her current series, THE CUPCAKE DIARIES, hit the retailers top 100 in digital sales. Darlene says, “I love writing stories that help inspire people to laugh, value relationships, and pursue their dreams.” www.darlenepanzera.com

Link to my blog: www.darlenepanzera.blogspot.com

Link to book: http://www.amazon.com

Cinnamon Girl Explains It All

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Four years after the tragic loss of her family, newspaper reporter C.G. Harrellson is still a splintered soul. Blaming herself, she denies herself any opinions save the syndicated opinion column she anonymously writes as a release valve: Cinnamon Girl Explains It All.Even though Detective Wolf Hunter is in the midst of trying to track down a serial killer, he can’t help being intrigued by the strange little reporter who has been assigned to meet with him weekly to write a crime report.

Despite C.G.’s initial fear of the brown eyes that remind her of her late husband and the tender touches that make her feel not just new love but old pain, Wolf patiently pulls her out of her numb, emotionless existence to start again.

Meanwhile Wolf’s partner notices similarities between the Cinnamon Girl column and the murder scenes, sending Wolf in search of the elusive Cinnamon Girl, herself.

Little does he realize, she’s as close as a kiss.

A detective, a reporter, her best friend, a cheating husband, a serial killer,
Bingo

Cinnamon Girl Explains It All
A new novel by Jodi Bowersox

Coming Summer 2013

The Best Laid Plans

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I’ve always been a romantic, so when it came to planning our honeymoon in the summer of 1983, I thought a cabin on top of Grand Mesa Mountain in Colorado would be ideal.The cabins in the brochure looked nice enough from the outside, and the description boasted a shower and a kitchenette. A week of canoing, hiking and seclusion seemed perfect

The first thing we noticed when we arrived, however, was that several of these “nice” cabins were collapsed. That ought to have been a clue, but we proceeded into the office cabin and laid down $400–the whole week’s rent minus what I had already sent them as a deposit. THEN we looked at the cabin that was supposed to be our little love nest for the week.The shower seemed to be a metal box off the bedroom, and the kitchenette was a hot plate with a small sink. There were mosquitoes smashed all over the walls.

I’m not that much into roughing it. This was not okay.

Just a few minutes in, we were ready to leave. The only problem was, I had just given the proprietor nearly all of our honeymoon money. If we couldn’t get that back, there would be no honeymoon elsewhere.

What were the chances that she’d just hand it back? We didn’t feel inclined to chance it, so we put our theatre degrees to work. I faked a call home from the phone in the office to find out that the uncle that had been feeling ill at our wedding (this part was true) had taken a turn for the worse (this part not so much). Then we told the lady behind the counter that we had to leave because my dear uncle was near death. And we, of course, would have to have our money back.

I doubt she believed us, but she did give us back our $400. And I suppose we should feel guilty, but those cabins were totally misrepresented in their brochures. (This was before the days of internet and ratings, bad reviews, etc.) So what next? We suddenly had no plans whatsoever for a week. For a big time planner like I am, this was a challenge, but what else could we do but come up with a new plan?

The first order of business was going back down the mountain. This treacherous mountain road was called Lands End Road and took us close to Grand Junction where we found a room for the night.
Did I mention we drove this road as it was getting dark? Somehow it didn’t glow like this picture.

The next day was spent searching for the Colorado National Monument somewhere on a mountain. Eventually we figured out that the MOUNTAIN was the monument.

We crossed The Royal Gorge back when you didn’t have to take out a loan to be able to afford it

and toured the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo at Colorado Springs before heading north to Denver where we saw a terrible 3-D movie on our last stop before heading home.

It wasn’t ANYTHING like I’d planned, but romance isn’t found in a place, it’s found in a person. That one special person that I’ve been driving around with for 30 years, and in many ways, we’re still making it up as we go along.And as long as he’s with me, I’m okay with that.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

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Interiors by Design

Back when I was in college, my father asked me more than once what I was going to do with a theatre degree. I’d always say, “I don’t know, Dad, but acting is all I want to do.”

Pop in on me anytime after college, and the chance that you’d find me acting in a production of any kind was pretty slim. I was in a local commercial or two, some in-house videos, an occasional church skit, and a couple of community theatre productions, but my love for acting had to take a back seat to raising my kids.

Then I started writing books, and I found that thing that was as fun and exciting as acting. I was hooked, obsessed. I wrote four novels in two and a half years (And they get good reviews, too!)

Over the last year, I have been recording my first book, Interiors By Design, for release with Audible, and I feel like my two great loves of theatre and writing have come together.

Here it is, Dad, this is what I’m going to do with my theatre degree. Now I only need to sell about 2000 audiobooks to pay back the tuition. You can help me feel good about my college choices! Just press this Self Esteem Button Now.

Colorado Authors League at Mile High

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If you live in the Denver area, come on out to the Mile High Holiday Mart at the Marriott Tech Center Fri., Nov. 22- Sun. Nov. 23. I’ll be there signing books with the Colorado Authors League booth. I’ll be signing from 2-3:30 on Fri., 10:30-noon on Sat., and 11-noon on Sunday. Come on by and say Hi and get some great books for Christmas! (It’s legal to stuff your own stocking!)

Dating Adventures

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My husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary this year on Aug. 14, although he insists our real anniversary was our first date which was on Oct. 31, 1982.

After eating out somewhere (I really don’t remember where), we decided that since it was Halloween, we should go meandering in a cemetery. I had always found old headstones fascinating, but I’m not sure what we could really see after dark. We didn’t get far, however, before a policeman tracked us down and sent us packing. Evidently cemeteries are off-limits after dark. Who knew? Certainly not two stupid college students.

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We tried several other dating adventures that year–most of which should have been avoided. Back then I lived close to the Harlan Co. Reservoir in S. central Nebraska, and I had a big, green, inflatable chair. We went down to the beach one fairly windy evening to do a bit of floating.

We had no idea just how much floating we were going to do before the evening was over.

We got just a little bit over the swimming area ropes and due to the strong wind could not get back with both of us paddling. Before we knew it, we were far from shore. Oh yeah, did I mention that we could hear air hissing from somewhere on our luxurious floating device. Thankfully, there was at least one boat on the lake that evening, who rescued us far from either side.

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You’d think that after that one, we would have stayed away from water, but one boring evening, we decided to go tubing down the river. I’d done it before, but this particular evening, the river was flowing really, really slowly. As it was getting dark, and we could see shapes along the edge and hear things splashing in, I started to get a bit apprehensive. Okay, I was more than apprehensive, I was freakin” scared out of my skin! And if it got so dark that we couldn’t see the landmark to get out, we’d miss where our car was parked, and who knew where we might end up. Eventually, we did see the marker we were looking for and hauled our behinds out of the river, vowing to never, ever do that again.

Maybe these early dating disasters are why we hardly do anything more exciting than a bit of hiking now…in a populated area…in the middle of the afternoon…with a compass, water, and extra clothes.

Okay, we’ve never actually taken extra clothes, but it might be a good idea.

The Bra Fitting

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4516824_orig There are certain moments in every person’s life when they feel as if they have slipped into The Twilight Zone–when reality tilts on its axis just a tad.

For me, one such moment happened when I was lured inside The Jockey Store by a SALE sign. We all know how expensive the small scraps of fabric are that we wear underneath it all, so anytime I can get “foundational garments” cheap, I’m there.

As it so happens, I was shopping with my mother, and she struck up a conversation with the rather loud lady running the store while I perused the bras. I’m pretty darn picky about these things and evidently the opposite of most other females–I’m not into excessive padding, lace, or underwires, so I was surprised to find something that fit the bill AND was in my size. I picked up one in white and one in black and headed to the check-out counter.

I never made it there, however, as I was intercepted by the employee, who checked the size on my near purchases, and declared rather loudly that I should probably try one on, because she didn’t think I looked like I could fill it out. Embarrassed, I looked to my mother, who seemed to be wearing an expression of agreement. Okay, I thought, I’ll go try it on.

And here is where my world shifted.

The discretion challenged sales clerk said, “Be sure to ring the bell when you’ve got it on, and I’ll come in and make sure it fits.”

What? I had been wearing a bra for, I don’t know, thirty plus years at this point. Is it possible I’ve never known if they fit or not? Does this woman have some degree in bra fitting I’ve never heard of? Can one be an expert in the proper fit of bras?

So I tried it on, and I thought it fit pretty darn good, and I was somewhat reluctant to ring the bell and have this stranger flounce into my dressing room to inspect my cup size. But then again, who was I to make that decision? I mean, my degree was in theatre so maybe I had just been acting like my bras fit all these years.

I hesitantly pushed the button and waited. She appeared, declared it a good fit and left. And that’s when I knew that if all else failed, I might have another calling.

Bra fitter.

Sometimes it takes a stroll through The Twilight Zone to illuminate these things.