Monday, February 13, 2012
Evening Star
All of my books are love stories, but some are more clearly that than others. I chose to get Evening Star out just before Valentine's Day because it is one of the latter. Except for deadly danger, it's a story about love, the complexities, the rewards, and the risks.
It is a good example of the kind of book where you have one almost mythic character connecting with a more or less average person. In this case, Randy is the mythic hero as cowboy and cop. Marla is the stand-in for the rest of us as she falls in love with such a person and tries to find a way to get past her own fears to be worthy of that love. We see their story totally through her eyes.
Generally in a romance you switch points of view between hero and heroine to give the reader the full experience of both. This one had to show everything Randy felt through Marla's eyes. Lucky she was a lawyer and observative of everybody-- except herself, of course.
There was one exception to points of view and that was to give the reader also the villain's perspective now and then. I sometimes really like to write through a villain's eyes, and Gus Torrintino was one such example. Villains can be fun especially those who ruthlessly break all of mankind's laws with no second thoughts.
The last thing Marla Jamison wants is a risk taking, handsome as sin, younger than her, police officer to love. Sometimes the last thing we want is the one thing we need.
Marla, a deputy prosecutor in Portland's DA's office has been a woman without a star but a very satisfactory and sensible path. When the unexpected lands on that path, it diverts her and challenges all of her expectations.
Randy O’Brian has come to Portland to be part of the thin blue line but carrying a secret with him. Raised on a ranch, he’s as much cowboy as cop. For Randy, when you want something, you go after it, and he wants Marla.
Their story is one of love between very different people. It is set in Oregon moving between two worlds—the big city to the ranching community. It involves the investigation and apprehension of a dangerous crime boss.
Marla must discover if Randy is who she wants to believe he is, her own evening star, or the most dangerous distraction of her life.
