Welcome to Day 2 of Denied Origin's book dive! Location was so important to the crafting of this story. To help dive further into DO, here's the book trailer and an exlusive excerpt!
Denied Origin takes the characters across the globe in a matter of days, starting in Brazil then fleeing to the coast of Greece. From there, they go to Rome, Egypt and more! Mark and Valentina are shuffled from location to location. Why not include really exciting places like Copacabana Beach, Vatican City, and the Taj Mahal? The research was fascinating!
One of my goals was to add a tidbit of trivia about every location embedded in the text. This way, I hope readers learn more about each location, too. Also each locale had a mood of its own that added a flavor to the story. Meshed together, all the different cultures made DO a story not quite like any other. The only location that doesn't acutally exist is the final destination, which is one of the story's secrets. Not even the characters know until the last minute where or what it is. They learn as the reader does.
This was the one book that I did fly by the seat of my pants while plotting. All I knew was each location and the characters. And I didn't do research ahead of time. As the characters traveled, so did I through my research to make the travelling all that more realistic:
As the train pulled into the station, Valentina stirred. It was midmorning and the sun was out, bright and full. She squinted out the window at Agra. “Are we getting off?”
Mark nodded distractedly as he rose to get their luggage. He threw the duffel over his shoulder before helping her to her feet. He tucked an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t leave my side,” he whispered as they wandered into the station.
He kept his eyes sharp. A sniper could be perched just out of view, a knife could be held just out of sight, a suicide bomber could be waiting to jump forth. His eyes passed over every face, studied them, judged them. He checked over his shoulder many times to make sure no one was following them. “We’ll go straight there.”
“Good,” she muttered. He knew she was also watching the crowd nervously. “The sooner we leave this place the better.”
He didn’t relax, but slowly began to take in the sights as they walked quickly through the city streets. They walked through a large bazaar where the smell of spices was so strong he could almost feel them filtering through his lungs as he breathed deep to admit them. There
weren’t many cars. There was the occasional elephant, more than a few horse-drawn carts, and various bicyclists.
All the people were tan with exotic eyes and peasant dress though they had a carefree air, a sense of peace and gratification. They’d been walking for some time when they came to a crowded iron bridge.
“Are we close?” She pressed close to Mark’s side as they squeezed into the traffic on the bridge.
He nodded, his eyes darting every which way, searching for the glare of a weapon. “This is the Yamuna River. The Taj is just across the bridge.”
After wriggling their way through the suffocating crowd, they broke out into the sunlight again. As soon as she saw the monument in the distance, she let out a surprised gasp. “Oh, Mark…”
He couldn’t help but grin at her surprise. “It’s even better up close and personal, huh?”
Her gasp melded fluidly into an awestruck sigh. “Oh, it’s gorgeous—more than I imagined.”
“We have to go through the south entrance,” Mark advised, guiding her onward. “Not much further.”
They passed through a red sandstone gate into the spacious gardens. Facing south at the northern tip of the gardens in the very center stood the magnificent temple. Its white marble structure was situated perfectly on a red sandstone platform.
In the morning light, the monument was as white and elegant as a bride. Though light fog had descended into the lower parts of the garden, the Taj speared through it, boasting its feminine majesty to the world.
Scroll down and find out more about Mark and Valentina. Denied Origin is on sale now from The Wild Rose Press in ebook and paperback!
Tomorrow we're diving into historical romance Forever Amore! Don't miss out!
Denied Origin takes the characters across the globe in a matter of days, starting in Brazil then fleeing to the coast of Greece. From there, they go to Rome, Egypt and more! Mark and Valentina are shuffled from location to location. Why not include really exciting places like Copacabana Beach, Vatican City, and the Taj Mahal? The research was fascinating!
One of my goals was to add a tidbit of trivia about every location embedded in the text. This way, I hope readers learn more about each location, too. Also each locale had a mood of its own that added a flavor to the story. Meshed together, all the different cultures made DO a story not quite like any other. The only location that doesn't acutally exist is the final destination, which is one of the story's secrets. Not even the characters know until the last minute where or what it is. They learn as the reader does.
This was the one book that I did fly by the seat of my pants while plotting. All I knew was each location and the characters. And I didn't do research ahead of time. As the characters traveled, so did I through my research to make the travelling all that more realistic:
As the train pulled into the station, Valentina stirred. It was midmorning and the sun was out, bright and full. She squinted out the window at Agra. “Are we getting off?”
Mark nodded distractedly as he rose to get their luggage. He threw the duffel over his shoulder before helping her to her feet. He tucked an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t leave my side,” he whispered as they wandered into the station.
He kept his eyes sharp. A sniper could be perched just out of view, a knife could be held just out of sight, a suicide bomber could be waiting to jump forth. His eyes passed over every face, studied them, judged them. He checked over his shoulder many times to make sure no one was following them. “We’ll go straight there.”
“Good,” she muttered. He knew she was also watching the crowd nervously. “The sooner we leave this place the better.”
He didn’t relax, but slowly began to take in the sights as they walked quickly through the city streets. They walked through a large bazaar where the smell of spices was so strong he could almost feel them filtering through his lungs as he breathed deep to admit them. There
weren’t many cars. There was the occasional elephant, more than a few horse-drawn carts, and various bicyclists.
All the people were tan with exotic eyes and peasant dress though they had a carefree air, a sense of peace and gratification. They’d been walking for some time when they came to a crowded iron bridge.
“Are we close?” She pressed close to Mark’s side as they squeezed into the traffic on the bridge.
He nodded, his eyes darting every which way, searching for the glare of a weapon. “This is the Yamuna River. The Taj is just across the bridge.”
After wriggling their way through the suffocating crowd, they broke out into the sunlight again. As soon as she saw the monument in the distance, she let out a surprised gasp. “Oh, Mark…”
He couldn’t help but grin at her surprise. “It’s even better up close and personal, huh?”
Her gasp melded fluidly into an awestruck sigh. “Oh, it’s gorgeous—more than I imagined.”
“We have to go through the south entrance,” Mark advised, guiding her onward. “Not much further.”
They passed through a red sandstone gate into the spacious gardens. Facing south at the northern tip of the gardens in the very center stood the magnificent temple. Its white marble structure was situated perfectly on a red sandstone platform.
In the morning light, the monument was as white and elegant as a bride. Though light fog had descended into the lower parts of the garden, the Taj speared through it, boasting its feminine majesty to the world.
Scroll down and find out more about Mark and Valentina. Denied Origin is on sale now from The Wild Rose Press in ebook and paperback!
Tomorrow we're diving into historical romance Forever Amore! Don't miss out!
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