Arizona - Location Location Location

This photo shows the diversity of water and cactus.  Behind me are snow covered mountains!       In January I represented Arizona on Annette Synder's Blog Tour of the U.S. Fifty Authors from Fifty States. Here's a slightly different version of that post.
     Clear dry high desert air, canyons, cactus, casinos, cowboys and 360 degree mountain views. Arizona's open spaces opened up a mountain of creativity for me. Before Arizona, as a librarian, I only wrote bibliographies and computer manuals.
      Like many Western states, Arizona is filled with folks from other places. And that alone offers the seeds for fascinating stories. I've lived in eight states and each had its own character. For me, new places always changed my life story and it works the same for my characters.
      On a deep visceral level, I love to drive down a straight road in sunshine with high mountains on both sides. My special spiritual place is a spot at the base of Bell Rock in Sedona where I know I've lived before. Can you tell why I write fantasy?
      In my stories, I bring interesting characters to Arizona, set them in a foreign environment, and see what happens. Just like a time travel fantasy.

      My first novel, Romancing Rebecca places a New York intellectual property attorney on a plane and sends her to Sedona. This no-nonsense black suited lawyer is called the most unromantic woman in the world by her romance author clients. Only in Sedona could this fish out of water change in a few weeks. Wearing long goddess dresses, eating Godiva chocolates, and crying at romantic movies, she falls in love with a sexy trance channeler and one of his dark entities.(Picture of my hangar)          This photo shows the building where I rented a tiny office (complete with ghost) to write during my house renovation.How close to home do I get? Flying Free is set in my own Arizona neighborhood. This residential airpark is one of 500 in the U.S. and we live a lifestyle not well known to many people. To this aviation addicted community I bring a Texas advertising woman who must learn to fly in order to restart her life financially and emotionally. My meddling neighbors (actually their fictional clones) aren't about to let her take care of business and go on her way. Neither is a vegetarian pilot who falls for this meat industry advertising exec.
   This photo shows my neighbors at the Flying Free book launch party in the hangar attached to my home
Arizona has a little of everything and a lot of mountains and open spaces. And I get to wear cowboy hats and boots to the grocery store (The real cowboys and Indians don't' give me a second glance.)
       I feel truly blessed to live in this grand state. Thanks Annette, for letting me represent Arizona!  To find out more about my books, in and out of Arizona, visit my website.         Follow authors from other states at Annette Snyder's blog This week stars GEORGIA!