Happy Friday, readers, Mary Ellis here. Today Suspense Sisters welcomes author, Leann Betts, who talks about her research for her newest mystery, Missing Deposits. Stay tuned for a chance to win a free copy of her book.
The Research Behind the Story Missing Deposits by Leann Betts.
Readers—and writers, too, for that matter—often ask me why I set my stories where I do. Carly needed a road trip after her last harrowing adventure, so I chose the state I live in. Famous for its mineral deposits, I learned about Colorado mineral rights. One interesting tidbit is that ownership of oil and mineral rights doesn’t automatically transfer with the title to the land. Sometimes, unless specified, and under certain conditions, those rights stay with the previous owner. Or the government.
Then I looked for a rare, endangered animal to sweeten the pot. Something not normally found where I would put them. The details about the black-footed ferrets are mostly true. Not about the truck accident that dropped several of the critters on the western slope, but at the timing of this story, 2005, they were on the “extinct in the wild” list. Recently they were reintroduced into Colorado to control the prairie dog population.
As I do with just about every book in this series, I made up a fictional town based on a part of the state I’d recently visited and which I thought readers might like to learn more about. The Grand Mesa/Mesa Verde National Park area on the western slopes of Colorado is a world unto itself. The scenery is spectacular, the weather is iffy, but the people are warmhearted and compassionate.
I also needed a politically conservative setting, because while not exclusively so, politically conservative folks also tend to be church-goers, and I wanted both Carly and Mike to be slam-dunked into a situation where they had to re-examine their spiritual beliefs. I researched cattle brands, and chose a name for a brand I could draw. A Lazy L, in brand terms, is one that lies horizontally.
About the story Missing Deposits: Carly looks forward to a vacation when Mike is hired to assist a rancher in western Colorado catalogue his mineral rights following the discovery of several large deposits. However, Carly soon learns that the real wealth—and the real danger—aren’t below ground. Someone is out to keep a secret bigger and more profitable than gold and copper. And they’re willing to kill for it.
About the author: Leeann Betts writes contemporary romantic suspense, while her real-life persona, Donna Schlachter, pens historical romantic suspense. Missing Deposits is the 11th title in her cozy mystery series, and together she and Donna have published more than 30 novellas and full-length novels. They ghostwrite, judge writing contests, edit, facilitate a critique group, and are members of American Christian Fiction Writers, Writers on the Rock, and Sisters in Crime. Leeann travels extensively to research her stories, and is proud to be represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary LLC.
Website: www.LeeannBetts.com Receive a free ebook just for signing up for our quarterly newsletter.
Blog: www.AllBettsAreOff.wordpress.com
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Twitter: http://bit.ly/1qmqvB6
Books: Amazon http://amzn.to/2dHfgCE and Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2z5ecP8
Leave Leeann comment, and I will draw randomly for a print copy (US only) or ebook version (winner’s choice) of Missing Deposits. You must leave your email address in order to win.