Fifty Authors from Fifty States

May 19, 2013

Arizona – I know about the Grand Canyon!

Rico Austin is my name, living and writing in Arizona is my game. I was born and raised in Southwest Idaho, along the banks of the Snake River and couldn’t wait to find my own way and independence. I have lived in California, Hawaii, South Carolina, the United Kingdom and in Lithuania for a short time; but, Arizona is where I felt comfortable, from the very first saguaro cactus of which my eyes savored, to the last scorpion I witnessed crossing my path this afternoon. My very, first visit was through the entire state of Arizona in 1986, during a Spring Break trip gone heavily awry. This trip on an old, school bus was the basis for the award winning, bestselling novel, “My Bad Tequila.” My favorite line from the book is, “You’ll see the true reflection of me when the tequila bottle is empty,” I shouted out to the wind as I tossed the sad, angry, bottle-shaped mirror to the sea.

“Arizona Is Where I Live,” is not only a statement of which I announce with pride, it is now a Children’s book that is a masterful, learning display of the Sonoran Desert, the mountains, the lakes, the Grand Canyon and of the animals that make Arizona one of the most unique and interesting states in the union.

Arizona has been touted as the state that has everything, except an ocean. Whoa, there pardner! We do have an ocean, the world’s smallest, which is located in Biosphere 2, which is a world-renowned environmental and ecological research site operated by the University of Arizona about 30 miles northwest of Tucson. The Biosphere Ocean houses 676,000 gallons of seawater and has a coral reef. Also, if a couple of early surveyors wouldn’t have been so lazy about 125 years ago, Arizona would border the northeast part of the Sea of Cortez; but, these surveyors figured Arizona was large enough, wanted to get home to their families and decided to cut through the territory leaving a bit extra for our amigos and amigas in Mexico, near the Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) area.

There is more adventure and mystery in Arizona’s many towns and cities than in some countries combined. When tourists and visitors arrive in our great Copper State, most congregate to either the Phoenix / Scottsdale area, Tucson or up north to Flagstaff, which all areas are great, fun, artistic destinations, with plenty of interesting things to keep them entertained.

My advice is, if in Flagstaff, take time to head south about 30 miles to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon on Highway 89, then continue south a bit farther to visit Jerome, the mining town of past, now an artist mecca, that is built on the side of a mountain. Sedona, with it’s red rock mountains and majestic canyons is where Mr. Walt Disney would bring his illustrators to capture with their brushes, the many hues of reds, browns and oranges blended with the many shades of greens, blues and purples.

If, your vacation plans have your arrival into Tucson, then by all means visit Tombstone, “The town too tough to die,” and see firsthand, the OK Corral, made famous by the gunfight of lawmen Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers, (the good guys) versus the (bad guys), outlaw cowboys, the Clanton Brothers, the McLaury Brothers, and Billy Claiborne. Also, former mining towns, Bisbee and Douglas should receive your visited attention just north of the border.

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Now, in regards to relaxation and sun soaking in the Phoenix or Scottsdale area, the cowboy town of Cave Creek, just north of Scottsdale by 15 miles is a must visit. It is here in this western town that I had the chance meeting of the legitimate, illegitimate son of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and have written his true story that intertwines with mine, “In the Shadow of ELVIS, Perils of a Ghostwriter.” Some of the restaurants still have hitching posts to tie up the ponies as cowgirls and cowboys go in for a quick bite or to whet their whistle.

Arizona is the Wild West; the wild west, where I dreamed of living when growing up, playing cowboys and Indians with my four younger brothers and numerous cousins. I longed to live in a time and place where if you had a fast gun and a fast horse your chances of survival were greatly increased. I am living the dream; where cowboys, horses, saloons and tequila abound.

When my time on earth is no more, I want to be buried in my boots, six feet under, covered with Arizona soil.

Rico Austin is giving away (1) copy of each of his three books mentioned, based on comments made about Arizona at this blog. Be sure to include your email with your post to be entered to win.

Visit Rico Austin here: www.mybadtequila.com and http://amazon.com/author/rico.austin

or at any of these links:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_8?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=my+bad+tequila&sprefix=my+bad+t%2Caps%2C425

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/my-bad-tequila?csrfToken=AUaxEAv4D5EDNE9Cq8oChiLl02to3Gvo&store=allproducts&keyword=my+bad+tequila

http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/AdvancedSearch/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=Arizona%20is%20where%20I%20live

(Photos provided by author)

May 12, 2013

Lynda Frazier’s Arkansas Home and History

Arkansas is where I have called home for eleven years now. When I was told I was being transferred out of Texas the first thing I asked was where was Arkansas? I did some research and found stories of the backwoods history and colorful hillbilly culture though Arkansas has more to offer.

The Mountains and outdoor activities have truly made it the most wonderful place to live. I grew up in Pennsylvania and missed the hills and four seasons when I moved to Texas. Arkansas gave me a little piece of what I grew up with, without the eight months on snow. We have a cold winter here, but the snow melts pretty fast.

Here’s a small history lesson on Arkansas:

Arkansas, part of the land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, became a separate territory in 1819 and achieved statehood in 1836. A slave state, Arkansas became the ninth state to secede from the union and join the Confederate States of America. The name Arkansas was used by early French explorers to refer to the Quapaw people, a prominent indigenous group in the area, and the river along which they settled. The term was likely a corruption of akansea, the word applied to the Quapaw by another local indigenous community, the Illinois. Little Rock, the state capital, is located in the central part of the state. In 1957, Little Rock Central High School became the focus of national attention when federal troops were deployed to the campus to enforce integration.

Following the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which outlawed segregation in public education, Little Rock’s Central High School became a battleground in the fight for civil rights when the Arkansas National Guard denied nine African-American students entry in 1957. Weeks later, on September 25th, the students attended their first full day of school under federal troop escort ordered by President Dwight Eisenhower.

Established by President Theodore Roosevelt, Ouachita National Forest reigns as the oldest national forest in the South. The Ouachita Mountains are unusual in that their ridges run east to west as opposed to north to south.

There are some amazing things to see in this state. The Petit Jean Mountain and Mount Magazine are two famous ones to climb with amazing waterfalls to view.

Arkansas is home to a wide array of natural resources including petroleum, natural gas, bromine and silica stone. Throughout the 20th century, the state was responsible for providing roughly 90 percent of all domestic Bauxite, from which aluminum is made.

Arkansas is the nation’s leading producer of rice and poultry and grows nearly every crop produced in the United States with the exception of citrus fruits.

A place that my family goes to in the summer is the Crater of Diamonds State park. This is the only place where you can mine for diamonds and keep whatever gems you find that day. It has a camping site and activities for the children, a lot of fun for the whole family.

But as you can see from the chart, the New Madrid fault line has shown a large increase in activity over the years. Don’t let that deter you from visiting this amazing state. It is where I discovered my writing ability and where my first novel came to be.

Rescued from the Dark, published through Black Opal Books was released February 2013. It doesn’t take place in the state of Arkansas but the descriptions and rugged terrain ideas rose from my walks through the hills of this fine state.

FBI agent, Jason Michaels goes undercover with the Irish Mob to get information on their gun smuggling ring. While on assignment he realizes they have joined forces with a known terrorist group manufacturing drugs. He searches for information to tie the two together when he finds they have kidnapped a fellow agent and the only girl he has ever loved. Jason soon realizes their using Mercy to perfect their dosage and that his cover has been blown. He knows he has to save her so takes off a journey that will take him up against his enemies, peers and the Agency that he loves, but willing to give up to bring Mercy back to him.

Here’s a short blurb of Rescued from the Dark:

She has no memory of their love...

Kidnapped by terrorists and sent into a drug-induced coma, FBI intern Mercedes Kingsley awakes with no memory of her ordeal—or the intimate interlude that left her pregnant. Convinced her child was fathered by her ex-fiancé, she walks away from the only man she has ever loved, determined to make things work with her ex, a man the FBI suspects is implicated in her abduction.

He knows the truth, but no one will listen...

FBI undercover agent Jason Michaels remembers what Mercy can’t and those memories are breaking his heart. Forced to keep his distance from his lover and their unborn child, Jason risks his life to protect Mercy from a cell of international terrorists who have vowed to get the secrets locked in her memory, no matter the cost. Can Jason convince Mercy to trust him until she remembers their past, or will he lose her to a man who will trap her in a nightmare world of darkness from which there is no escape?

Purchase here plus many other online sites:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFYANMK B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rescued-from-the-dark-lynda-kaye-frazier

/1114500674?ean=2940016369129

Lynda Kaye Frazier is an avid reader of romantic suspense and started her writing career with a dream. A cliche, but it's true. She works full time at a Cardiology clinic, while writing her own novels at night. She grew up in Pennsylvania, but now lives in Arkansas where she enjoys the four seasons without a long, cold winter. She has five children and three grandchildren that she adores. Other than spending time with her family, her favorite things to do are writing, reading and listening to music, but her most favorite is going to the beach. Surf, sand and a good book, her stress relief.
For More information, visit her website, www.lyndakayefrazier.com
and take time to check out her interesting blog, http://lyndafrazier.blogspot.com

(pictures provided by author)

May 5, 2013

If Heaven Exists…This Is It and Californian, Tina Donahue Brings It Here

While much of the county shivered through a snowy winter and spring, I was lucky enough to bask in eighty-degree weather in Palm Springs, California—the city I’ve adopted as home. Yes, we do have snow in the local mountains; however, it’s definitely optional and a short ride away. Like say on Christmas or New Year’s when the white stuff seems appropriate.

When I first came to California from the Midwest I had no idea the desert areas were so awesome. I expected sand dunes (we do have those in Blythe).

However, the populated parts of the low desert (Palm Springs, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage) are to die for. Emerald green golf courses, slender-trunked palm trees swaying in the warm, gentle breeze, stucco architecture that reminds one of missions from long ago.

Wow. Although I’ve used California as a setting for many of my novels—San Francisco for Adored and In His Arms, Northern California for Take Me Away, Los Angeles/Beverly Hills for Lush Velvet Nights and a California rancho for O’Toole’s Promise, I’ve yet to use Palm Springs.

Maybe it’s because I want to keep it all to myself for a little while longer.

After a brutal week at

work—yes, I do have an Evil Day Job (EDJ) in addition to penning my novels, I want to bask in the beauty of a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Driving down the 111 (our main highway through the area), gazing at the snow-capped mountains in the distance, while scarlet bougainvillea and other flowers in every imaginable color scent the air. Febreze, eat your heart out.

As I pass The River (an outdoor shopping center with pools of water and gurgling fountains) and glance at the gentle hills surrounding our valley, I see cars from every state and note the wonder in the visitors’ faces. I can almost hear them thinking, “Wish I lived here.”

It’s my dream come true, the same as being able to pen my novels. I have two new releases scheduled this year. Shameless Desire, Book Three in my erotic paranormal series Outlawed Realm, came out April 23 from Samhain. June 25^th, Deep Within Me, Book Two in my erotic paranormal series The Prophecy, also releases from Samhain.

To celebrate these new releases, I’m offering a contest – To one lucky commenter, I’ll send one of my back list e-books from this list: