Not Your Greenhorn's Arizona

Although I’ve lived in other places, my heart resides in the west. Born and raised in Arizona, I have a love for the rural and small-town atmosphere from the southern desert to the northern high country. 

Although most will conjure cactus and desert when they think of Arizona, there are snowy ski slopes and beautiful prairies too. This is the country of the Wild Horse Peaks novels. 

Scene setting is one of my favorite parts of creating a story. I’ve chosen to write most of my stories in Arizona, a setting I know well. But keep in mind, Arizona is as varied a landscape as you can

imagine. A couple of years ago, we had a friend visit from the Midwest. He’d never been to Arizona. We picked him up at the airport in Phoenix: hot, low elevation desert covered with cacti and creosote bushes. In my humble-born-in-Phoenix opinion—boring and unattractive. We drove to the small farm where we lived at the time, two hours north. The drive took us through the Sonoran desert with our saguaro cacti, rugged mountains and scrub pine as well as forested areas to an elevation of 5,300 feet. We then dropped down to 4,400 feet and encountered golden

prairie where the antelope roam. The following day, we drove him east through more mountains heavy with a history of mining. From Jerome, hanging on the side of Cleopatra Hill, we looked out on the Verde (green) Valley to the red rock beauty of Sedona. He was speechless. His comment was how amazing to pass through so many kinds of landscapes in only a few hours. 

The varied landscapes and western flavor are some of the reasons I’m drawn to setting my stories in Arizona. If you’re unfamiliar with this part of the country, I hope my stories entrench you in a new experience.

One more note about setting the scene. If you are familiar with Arizona, you might recognize some of my cities and places but by a different name. I like to sculpt my world using the inspiration of a real place and then mold it into the world of my characters.

Find all of my books here: AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

My latest series, Wild Horse Peaks, is available here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BNC7LT9J