Making Isabella an Anthropologist specializing in Native
American people, I could give nod to my other Native American stories. It also
allowed me to keep my branding of western and Native American stories.
The real push into the genre was complaining about a book
dubbed an Action Adventure that fell short for me. It came down to I complained
to one person too many and they dared me to come up with an Action Adventure.
I knew I wanted the story to be in another country,
specifically one with drug trafficking problems. After all, how else was I to
have my naïve, genius anthropologist come across a sexy Latin DEA agent if I didn’t
have drug trafficking to bring them together? ;)
When I was forced to set my mind to thinking about an Action
Adventure, I became more and more excited as the characters came to me. I did research
and came up with Guatemala as the country to set the first story in. Again, I
wanted the danger to not just be the drug traffickers but the environment and,
in the case of Isabella, her own people.
Anyone who has seen an Indiana Jones’ movie knows the action
is almost continuous and the bad guys come from all directions. That was what I
tried to do with my story. The difference between my story and Indiana Jones,
is he only fools around with a woman once during a movie, my two main
characters have a magnetic attraction to one another. They should be polar opposites,
and do try to use that excuse to keep apart, but their bodies have other ideas.
I enjoyed learning more about Guatemala and Mexico City for
the two books, even though my husband wouldn’t allow me to travel there. I used
books, maps, people who traveled there, the internet, YouTube, and local people
I contacted to get authentic information. Merging all the sources helped me feel like I
was in the hot humid jungle or the exhaust filled air of Mexico City.
Researching the Maya and Aztec was also fun. I didn’t go in depth because that wasn’t
necessary for the books, but I did learn a lot more than I put in the books.
The best part of writing the books was finding a bit of the
history of the Maya and the Aztec and using those as the catalyst for the
villains’ actions. It is very satisfying
when research can be used as a subplot.
The third book will be on American soil, but I assure you
there will be plenty of action with human trafficking, contraband, and burial
grounds.
Both books in the series were fun to write and I’m looking
forward to writing the third book. I
would have to say, I wrote Action Adventure for the adventure of it!
You can purchase Secrets of a Mayan Moon this month
in a box set of nine books with nine other authors for $.99 at Kindle.
Or you can purchase it or Secrets of an Aztec Temple
at all ebook venues.
Blurb for Secrets of a Mayan Moon:
What happens when a brilliant anthropologist is lured to the
jungle to be used as a human sacrifice?
Child prodigy and now Doctor of Anthropology,
Isabella Mumphrey, is about to lose her job at the university. In the world of
publish or perish, her mentor’s request for her assistance on a dig is just the
opportunity she’s been seeking. If she can decipher an ancient stone table—and
she can—she’ll keep her department. She heads to Guatemala, but drug
trafficking bad guys, artifact thieves, and her infatuation for her handsome
guide wreak havoc on her scholarly intentions.
DEA agent Tino Kosta, is out to avenge the
deaths of his family. He’s deep undercover as a jaguar tracker and sometimes
jungle guide, but the appearance of a beautiful, brainy anthropologist heats
his Latin blood taking him on a dangerous detour that could leave them both
casualties of the jungle.
Blurb for Secrets of an Aztec Temple:
Revenge is not always sweet…
Isabella Mumphrey can’t leave a puzzle alone. This time she
attempts to use her anthropology knowledge to uncover who is stealing priceless
artifacts from an Aztec Temple in Mexico City. She believes the discovery will
prove her worth to the World Intelligence Agency.
Tino Constantine is also in Mexico City. He has infiltrated a drug
lord’s organization to find enough evidence to not only prove the man’s illegal
activities, but to bring him down for numerous deaths. Namely those of Tino’s
family.
But when the love of his life, Isabella, strolls into his enemy’s
home, Tino is challenged with the choice of saving her or fulfilling his
revenge.
Paty Jager
Photos: Purchased from Dreamstime.
