Prizes include:

* A Murder Among Friends, The Face of Deceit, and The Taking of Carly Bradford, autographed
* Field of Danger, autographed
* New Hampshire: A Living Landscape, Peter E. Randall
* Assorted teas in a gift basket
* Assorted chocolates

Just email me at ramona@ramonarichards.com with CONTEST in the subject. Everyone who has already done so will be entered.

Thanks!

In the meantime, I want to talk a bit about Caralinda, Tennessee. Like most writers, I base places and people on locations and folks that I know well. Most heroes are blends of this, that, and the other guy that I know. Likewise, Caralinda is a combination of several small towns in northern Middle Tennessee.

Specifically, April’s cottage is based on a real home. Corn fields really do run right up to the edge of the yard, and a field road cuts through the middle of them, so that the first thing you hear in the morning is the clanking of farm machinery on the way to work. I’ve walked the corn fields, felt the cut of the blades.

The idea for the book also came from a couple of real experiences, which I can’t share here (it would give away the ending!). But the general inspiration for Field lies in the people, small towns, and farms of Robertson and Sumner counties, here in Tennessee.

Writers don’t have to look far for ideas. Usually they’re cropping up all around, even right next door.

Please check it out.

I’ll be back shortly. Friday.

Promise.

The book is set in Caralinda, Tennessee, in the fictional Bell County where Ray Taylor is sheriff and our Hero, Daniel Rivers is one of his deputies. Geographically, the county is located between Robertson and Sumner counties – although in reality those two counties are adjacent.

I have friends in the area, and I became fascinated with the lay of the land. Unlike some farming areas, the country here is not flat. Instead, it pitches and undulates like an endless green sea. In this photo, a tobacco barn sits in the valley of one of those waves, smoke seeping from every seam.

I knew I had to set a story here . . .

—————

Giving in, Daniel cleared his throat and turned back to Aunt Suke. “I have to take y’all to the station to take your statements. If Ray agrees, we’ll secure the house–” The radio on his belt interrupted them as Martha’s sharp drawl spat out words that made them all go pale.

“All units respond. Shots fired. I repeated, shots fired.” She rattled off the address, then added, “Get the lead out, folks. He’s got them penned down.”

April’s voice cracked, and Daniel sprang for the car, ordering her to stay with Aunt Suke. The two other officers guarding the house raced to their cruiser, ready to pull out behind him. Daniel slammed the car door, barely hearing April’s last words.

“That’s my house.”

In December, Field of Danger launches. Set in northern Middle Tennessee, Field begins what I hope is a new trio of books set in the same location with some of the same characters. The series continues in July with House of Secrets.

Every Friday, I’ll post a new excerpt from the book. If you like what you see, I hope you’ll tune back in for the next glimpse, then buy the book in December to get the rest of the tale. This one was fun to write, and I look forward to hearing people’s responses to it. I’ve already posted one clip, but this is from the very opening, and I hope it catches your attention.

More later.

——–
Chapter 1

When the shotgun went off, April Presley dropped her thermos and screamed.

Hearing her own scream scared her almost as much as the man with the gun did, and April clamped both hands over her mouth as she watched her next door neighbor, Levon Rivers, crumple in the middle of his newly plowed section of the field. Levon and his killer were almost 50 yards away, but even at that distance, April could see the blossom of red on Levon’s chest and a cold brace of fear flooded through her.

Then another screech burst around her tightly clamped hands as the killer swung around to face her, his face a blurry mask of rage. Without hesitation, he lifted the gun and fired again.

April ran.
. . . . . . . .

“I’m not hiding out somewhere, Daniel.”

He watched her closely, understanding her defiance, but also seeing the quiver in her fingertips and the uncertainty in her eyes. He reached for one of her hands, which was frigid, despite the heat of the day. He wrapped it in the warmth of both of his. “I know you want everything to just go back to the way it was. But that’s not going to happen.”

When she started to protest, he tightened his grip and kept talking. “Listen to me! No, don’t just listen. April, I need you to hear me.” Daniel took a deep breath, pressing back the grief that hovered over his heart. “You saw my father get shot. Whether or not you recognized the shooter, he obviously saw you. I don’t think he’ll just trust that the threat he left on your window will keep you quiet.”

“But I didn’t see–”

“He doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know what you’ll tell us, what kind of person you are. He doesn’t know if you’ll be terrified to speak or angry enough to tell us everything.”

Her eyes widened as the truth really began to set in. “You really do think he’ll come after me. Try to kill me.”

Daniel nodded. “I know he will. He confronted my father at the very time and place when no one should have been around. He didn’t know you’d be there with lemonade. He didn’t expect to be seen.”

April closed her eyes a moment, and pressed her other hand on top of his. Her voice was so low and hoarse that he could barely hear her over the noise of the cruiser. “I haven’t taken him lemonade in the past few weeks, since he wasn’t working the field as much. With the lack of rain, the corn hasn’t been doing well.”

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, focusing on Daniel again. “He told me last Wednesday at church that he planned to plow under half of that field, try an experimental wheat hybrid that’s supposed to be drought resistant. I asked if it wasn’t too late to plant something new and he said he had nothing to lose.”

April’s eyes brightened, as much with anger as tears of grief. “Why wouldn’t anyone kill your father? He was the kindest man on the planet!”

Daniel’s jaw tightened. “I don’t know. But like with you and your house, this is someone who knew my father, just not everything. He knew when Dad would be in the field, but not that you carried him a thermos of lemonade every day when he was.”

“So he’s definitely local.”

Daniel didn’t like saying it, but he had to. “Yes. This is someone close, someone we may even see in church on Sunday.”

April paled even more. “You think he’ll kill me the first time he finds me alone.”

He nodded. “I think that’s a real possibility. And since it’s someone you may have seen around Caralinda, you won’t even know who to be wary of. You can’t trust anyone.”

Her lips became a fine line. “Even you.”

It was a challenge, but he met her stare squarely. “Even me.”

Polly has been gone for awhile, but now she has a new role. In my December book, Field of Danger, I give Polly a place of honor. She belongs to Aunt Suke, who is my heroine’s mentor. Below are two excerpts. The first comes as Aunt Suke volunteers her antebellum home as a safe house for the heroine. At first, the hero, Daniel, is reluctant, but Aunt Suke—and Polly—make a good case.

In the second, the guard outside the house has been pulled away on an emergency, and Aunt Suke goes into a lockdown on the house.

I hope you enjoy these samples. And a small look at a companion who was an important part of my family’s life.

——————

Silence. April looked at Daniel, who shook his head, even though he knew arguing with Aunt Suke had always been a losing battle. “No, Aunt Suke. You could be in danger as well. We can’t guarantee your safety in a house this big, this open.” He gestured around at the rolling fields that surrounded the house.

As if she understood, Polly tilted her head to look at Daniel, then Aunt Suke, whose spine stiffened. “I am in awe of only God. Humans can’t compare. I’ve not been afraid of any man since I was a nurse in Korea in 1951. If enemy artillery didn’t frighten me, a coward with a shotgun is not even in the running.”

“The sheriff won’t–”

“Ray Taylor will listen to reason even if you won’t. This big old house is safer than any old chintzy motel out on the interstate, even with you sitting in front of the door. Lots of hiding places, and that’s providing he gets in and Polly doesn’t get him. You know what she can do.”

Daniel ignored April’s questioning look at Polly. He’d leave it to Aunt Suke to explain the presence of a former K-9 unit dog in her home, one who had been retired from service after she had killed the villain who’d shot her partner. The placid-looking white shepherd had taken out a man carrying two pistols and a combat knife, walking away with only one scar on her shoulder. No one messed with Polly.

Or Aunt Suke, for that matter.

Arms on hips, Aunt Suke braced for battle, her white hair swirling in a sudden breeze. “I have Polly. I have a house with an alarm system and a lot of hiding places. I’m sure April has a cell phone. And that’s before you put a deputy in my drive.”

* * *

Aunt Suke reached for April’s elbow. “It could also be a diversionary tactic. Let’s get inside.” She spoke to the shadowing white shepherd as they reached the porch. “Rounds, Polly.”

Without missing a step, the dog turned and headed for the edge of the yard.

“Where’s she going?”

Aunt Suke guided April inside, then closed and bolted the door. “She’ll circle the yard to see if anything is out of place. Polly will sound an alert if she finds something.”

“That’s handy.”

A wry smile crossed Aunt Suke’s face as she went into the parlor, checked the locks on the windows, and released the heavy drapes from their tiebacks. The room sank into a soft, almost comforting darkness as she spoke. “I’ve lived alone a long time, girl. A smart, well-trained dog is a better investment than mutual funds.”

“What did you mean when you said, ‘You know what she can do’?”

Aunt Suke checked the lock on the front door again, then the window locks and drapes in the music room opposite the parlor. “Polly used to be part of a K-9 unit. Her human partner was shot and killed in the line of duty, and Polly responded more viciously than the dogs are trained to do.”

“She killed the shooter.

Aunt Suke paused, then nodded. “Afterwards, they couldn’t get her to reattach to another officer.”

“But she bonded with you.”

Aunt Suke returned to the foyer, and motioned for April to follow her to the kitchen. “No explaining it. Maybe it was different because I was a woman. But they brought her here for me to take a look-see, and Polly got out of the car, circled the yard once, then came to stand by my side.”

April tried to look at a few of the expensive antique furnishings that lined the way from the front parlor to the kitchen. A hallway tapestry, an ancient vase on a Queen Anne table. Aunt Suke paid them no mind. “Maybe she knew you needed her.”

The older woman stopped and turned, her eyes glinting with humor. “Maybe she did at that. Never looked at it that way.”

“At some level, we all want to be needed.”

Aunt Suke’s look turned somber as she appraised April a moment. “We do indeed. A wise statement from one so young.”

“I’m thirty-two.”

“And you won’t realize until you’re my age exactly how young thirty-two really is.”

]]> http://www.ramonarichards.com/index.php/a-new-role/feed/ 4 http://www.ramonarichards.com/index.php/%e2%80%9ccast-a-hero%e2%80%9d-winners-and-a-bit-more/ http://www.ramonarichards.com/index.php/%e2%80%9ccast-a-hero%e2%80%9d-winners-and-a-bit-more/#comments Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:32:07 +0000 Ramona http://www.bemispromotions.com/rr/blog/?p=321 Thanks to everyone who offered up suggestions for casting my next hero. I REALLY appreciate the help. Later this week, we’ll be casting the heroine, June, so stay tuned.

I have to admit I was a little blown away by how many people (here and via email) pitched Jeffrey Donovan. I had no idea Burn Notice had reached the level of popularity it has. Very cool for a show that has (IMHO) excellent scripts and casting. I can’t believe how often my TV is turned to USA these days.

Now for the winners of those five books, drawn from my names bowl by the truly impartial two year old who’s hanging out in my daughter’s bedroom. (He actually didn’t say “NO!” for once…).

Kaye
Audry
Jordan
Carol
Lori

Congrats!

I’ll be giving away another five with June’s casting, so stay tuned.

If the winners will email me their mailing address (ramona01@ramonarichards.com), I’ll make sure you get a copy of FIELD OF DANGER in October. The books have to be claimed by July 15th.

Finally, I’ll be blogging tomorrow (July 7th) at the Love Inspired Authors site. Please check it out!

Which he gets in a proposal I’m sending to Steeple Hill, working title The Murder Next Door.

I wasn’t really surprised that Ray tried to take charge of the first book. That’s the kind of guy he is—smart, people savvy, and probably the most alpha male I’ve ever created. Even the way he moves is precise, not an ounce of wasted energy.

What did surprise me is how fast I started to crush on him. THIS is a necessary element for me to complete any romantic story. For one thing, if SH buys it, it’ll make the book much easier, and faster, to write. I am already “hungry” for the next scene with him.

Now…to cast him. Ray is late 30s/early 40s. His look and actions still reveal that he was once a Marine, although he hasn’t been in the service for about 10 years. Short hair, dark to salt-and-pepper. Think a much younger Mark Harmon as NCIS’s Gibbs.

For some reason, WordPress no longer lets me post photos, so you can go here to see three ideas that I had—but I cheated on one, in that he’s a “morph”—a combination of two actors. The others are actors Campbell Scott and Jeffrey Donovan.

But I’m open to suggestions. If you were casting him, who would you pick?

There’s a reward involved here. Post or email me your ideas before July 6th, and I’ll send five folks (drawn at random) a signed copy of Field of Danger.

So . . . who would be your ideal Ray?

Thanks, too, to the folks who’ve continually supported this blog with comments and emails. YES, the contest is still active. My winner of the first contest never responded, so Eva’s book is still up for grabs. The second contest will be up on the website soon.

Now…the “next show” is Field of Danger, coming in December 2009. The page is already up on CBD and Amazon, although there’s no description yet. So just for my blog readers, here’s the preview.
—————–
“Who killed my father?”

Eyewitness to a murder, April Presley wants to answer the deputy sheriff’s harrowing question. But she can’t. She barely caught a glimpse of the crime through the deep Tennessee cornfield, and cannot recall anything to help the investigation. Or can she? Daniel Rivers is certain that April remembers more of his father’s death than she realizes. And the killer agrees.

In the race to uncover April’s missing memory before the killer finds her, Daniel is the only one she can trust to keep her safe. Yet will he stay by her side when the shocking truth is unveiled?
——————
I’ll be sending out influencer copies in October, so if you’re willing to feature the book on your blog or post reviews on the book-buying sites, please let me know so I can get you on the list.

Thanks, again. Y’all are awesome!

Next week, I’m off to Shreveport to the Written in the Stars conference, and I’m starting my promo work on CARLY as well. And I’m open to new ideas.

For instance, in CARLY, my hero and heroine, Dee and Tyler, have lunch at Portsmouth’s Cafe Nostimo. This is a real restaurant, which is run by two friends of mine, Dean and Nancy Zottos. Nancy and I are working on some ideas to promote both the restaurant and the book, so if you’re in the Portsmouth area, stay tuned for that.

That’s it for now. Life is complex. Rejoice in it.