Muse Monday
My guest today, J. Arlene Culiner, makes a great point. Through a book, you can travel the world!
Armchair travel? Nothing like it. No last-minute panic while
getting out to the airport; no check-in, or security check; no obnoxious seat
partner on the plane; no screaming babies; no lost baggage; no lousy exchange
rate; no pickpockets; no struggle, no bad weather. But, snuggled into your
favorite chair, or propped against your pillow, you open your book (or e-reader)
and are immediately transported into another world. Not only that: unlike a
real tourist, you get to see what’s happening behind the scenes.
Which brings us to Blake’s Folly,
Nevada, the setting for my latest romance, Desert
Rose, and the soon-to-be released All About Charming Alice (release date
February 26). Blake’s Folly is a semi-ghost town in Nevada, a backwoods
community of abandoned clapboard shacks, endless wind, and
scraggly vegetation
with strange local names like snatch-it shrub and sticky snakeweed. Back in the
late 1800s, Blake’s Folly boasted three mining companies, a railway line to
Reno, a lot of money, many saloons, and quite a few brothels, but the glory
didn’t last. It was soon clear that the silver was running out, and those sane
enough to do so, pulled up stakes and left town.
But even half-abandoned, rusty
trailer, semi-ghost towns can have great charm, and my hero, geologist Jonah
Livingstone, takes great pleasure in sighting the other inhabitants of this
flatland: mule deer, bobcats, mountain beaver, spotted bats, desert tortoises,
sidewinders, rattlers, chukar partridges, and little gray lizards. Of course,
there’s another attraction too: the lovely Rose Badger. But how does Rose see
Jonah? She doesn’t seem to favor any one man…
Do you want to know more? Why
don’t we go visit Blake’s Folly right now, do it via Armchair Travel, and this
excerpt from Desert Rose:
Rose
looked up. “You pass by Blake’s Folly from time to time? Whatever for? This is
the end of the world.”
“The
world has several ends, and I work in all of them. I’m a geologist.”
“Ah,
I see. Well, that explains it.”
“That
explains some of it,” he said, taking her in from head to toe with undisguised
curiosity. “If this place is the end of the world, how did you get here?”
“The
easiest way possible. I was born here.” Rose glanced out of the window at the
early evening light touching up a bleak, empty landscape that would never
interest a city slicker; at the gentle snowflakes drifting lazily, as though
they had no intention of ever reaching the ground.
“And
you stayed?”
He
was looking even more curious now — if that were possible. She couldn’t blame
him. “I did leave Blake’s Folly when I was young. I stayed away for years and
was absolutely certain I’d never return, that this place was the absolute pits.
It’s funny: there’s nothing going on here. The greatest social event of the
year is the Blake’s Folly Get-Together — and that’s just bad music, awkward
dancing, and gossip mongering. There’s no cinema within reasonable distance, no
shopping outside of Reno — and that’s a very long, boring drive away. Yet, this
place has a strange pulling power. So I came back, decided to settle.”
“Your
husband is from Blake’s Folly too?”
Rose’s
eyes flicked back to his. Ah ha. So, he was interested and checking out the
territory. “No husband.”
He
looked surprised. “An unmarried woman in such an out-of-the-way place?”
What
was he asking? If she was lonely? Desperate for male company?
Rose
laughed outright. “Oh, there are plenty of men around, believe me.” There were.
They were out on the ranches, or climbing over the hills, or looking for gold,
or photographing, or pounding along the history trail, or doing research, or
taking care of animals, or looking for fossils, or stopping at the Mizpah Hotel
and Restaurant for a drink, a chat, a meal, and a little human warmth out here
on the lonely flatland. She’d always had her share of admirers too, although
none lived in Blake’s Folly — they’d have to be half-mad to do something like that.
This place was a rusty trailer, scrapyard, abandoned car, clapboard shack,
sagging old house community: a dead end if there ever was one.
He
took the little gift-wrapped packet she held out, slipped it into the pocket of
his leather jacket. Turned, looked out at the night, but didn’t move towards
the door. Rose watched him, wondered why he was hesitating. Because he wanted
to stay? Talk to her? Get to know her? Because he too acknowledged the buzz
that was still hovering in the air around them, and he wanted to explore it,
see where it would go?
Then
he shook his head, turned back to her, the smile still playing softly around
his lips.
“Well,
I’d better be on my way. Looks like the snow isn’t letting up.”
“No,”
Rose agreed. “There have been blizzard warnings all day.”
“Yes.”
His eyes held hers. Warm eyes. Intimate eyes. Eyes that, in certain
circumstances, could create havoc with a woman’s senses. “Nice talking to you.”
“Nice
talking to you too.” She meant it.
He
still wasn’t heading toward the door. “My name is Jonah. Jonah Livingstone.”
“I’m
Rose Badger.”
He
nodded. “Until next time, Rose.”
“See
you then.”
He
stepped out into the night, half-turned, just briefly, his hand raised in a
half-wave, half-salute. Then, vanished into the falling snow and dusky evening.
Rose
shrugged. Next time, he’d said? What sort of next time? This was Blake’s Folly.
People always said they’d be back, but they rarely were. Why return to a pile
of clapboard shacks and abandoned trailers? This was nowhere. This was the end
of the line, socially speaking. This was a has-been. This was home.
Blurb
Men love Rose Badger, and if the other inhabitants of
dead-end Blake’s Folly, Nevada, don’t approve, she couldn’t care less. With a
disastrous marriage far behind her, settling down is the last thing she intends
to do. Isn’t life for fun? Doesn’t a stable relationship always mean
predictability and boredom? Well… perhaps things might be different with Jonah
Livingstone, but he is off limits for anything other than friendship. Even
though, secretly, she’s deeply attracted to him, she knows he’s still entangled
in a complicated past relationship. Besides, Rose has another secret life—one
that she’ll never give up for any man.
The last person geologist Jonah Livingstone expected to meet in a semi-ghost
town is Rose Badger. She’s easy-going, delightfully spontaneous, and Jonah is
certain their attraction is mutual. But Rose is always surrounded by a crowd of
admirers and doesn’t seem inclined to choose a favorite. Though Jonah has also
suffered a failed marriage, he can’t help being drawn to Rose—and he dares to
hope she may feel the same for him. But is Jonah too independent to settle into
a permanent relationship again? He’s leading his own very private life, as well…and
secrets are an excellent protection against love. Will he do what it takes to
hold on to his Desert Rose?
