Sierraby Taylor Dean
Paperback, 342 pages
Published June 13th 2012 by create space
Premise:
Alyssa Fontaine's life, loved ones--everything familiar and dear--are brutally taken from her. Taken captive by two men, she endures a horrific nightmare. A new life is forced upon her and even a new name. Just when it appears that no hope is in sight, she is saved by an unlikely twist of fate. Trapped in the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains, life will open its arms to her again and she will embrace it. She will find love such as she never knew existed.
Sierra is a heart-wrenching story of the power of the human spirit to survive amidst impossible circumstances and severe losses. It is a story of survival . . . and hope.
I have thoroughly enjoyed hosting Taylor Dean on Colorimetry... starting back when I interviewed her for Lancaster House. This has been a fun week posting three separate times... all spoiler-free, so read away and discover a fun, HEA-committed author! Lol. I can't rave enough about this mountain cabin. It's addicting. :-)
Part I - Read an EXCERPT of Sierra on Colorimetry!!
Part II - See my REVIEW of Sierra!!!
When you thought of Sierra... what came to you first: the bad guys? or the mountain cabin?
To answer this question, I need to give you a little background. I received my inspiration for Sierra from the true story of the abduction of Olympic medalist, Kari Swenson. As I watched the 1987 TV movie of her ordeal, entitled Abduction, it sparked a "what if" story in me. What if the kidnapping had been successful? What if she was taken deep into the woods? What if she was rescued there? What if she had to stay with her rescuer through the winter? What if they fell in love?
To truly appreciate the good in life, we sometimes must experience the bad. Once we've tasted the bitter, the sweet is 'oh so good.' The concept that ‘happiness awaits’ after enduring trials in our lives intrigued me and sent me on my way towards writing Sierra.
That being said, my answer would be that I thought of the bad guys first. However, on the heels of that thought came the question, “how could this scenario end happily?” Alex and his mountain retreat immediately came to mind. One thought followed the other. I love happy endings. My books will always have the ‘happily ever after’ ending. (It’s the middle where you better be prepared for drama!) While writing this book, I always kept the big picture in mind. I always knew ‘great happiness’ awaited Alyssa. This made the experience of writing the book more hopeful, than disheartening.
Actually... I felt that!! I felt myself starting to depend on your love of happy endings because, otherwise, this story... well, it wouldn't have been so very sweet, that's for sure!!
I love, LOVE the mountain cabin. I wish I could live there!! Is this place real? It seems so very real.
Unfortunately, it’s not real. But, a mountain cabin is my dream home—just not so remote! There’s something about a snowbound cabin, a roaring fire, and a handsome hero that just seems like the epitome of romance. After my sister read Sierra, she announced to me that she couldn't stop dreaming about Alex and a snowbound cabin.
I know! This story hounded me for at least sixteen years, till I finally sat down and wrote it! Now I’m free!
And... now we're all trapped in your amazing cabin. Lol.
What is your favorite scene?
This is a really hard question because Sierra is my personal favorite of all of my novels, hence I love many aspects of the story. However, there is one particular scene that I adore. It is the scene when Alyssa first arrives at Alex’s cabin, broken and beaten, and having endured cruelty unlike anything she’s ever experienced before. Suddenly she’s faced with Alex, a man who bestows kindness and compassion upon her. I love the way he cleans her up, tends to her wounds, and helps to erase her pain. I love the stark difference between Alyssa’s experiences with Adam and Pa, and then with Alex. It touches my heart. The song that ran through my mind as I wrote this scene is from the musical, Jekyll and Hyde, entitled, “Sympathy, Tenderness.” Read the scene and listen to the song, and you’ll see what I mean!
Yes!! (I know what you mean - this scene is so pivotal!!) I posted a snippet of it on Monday. This is quite the scene! Quite the song...
What are you writing now?
I plan to write a military romance and a futuristic romance next. Meanwhile, I’m slowly releasing all six of my completed novels over the next year and that’s been taking up all of my time! Here’s my release schedule:
June 2012 Lancaster House
June 2012 Sierra
Sept. 2012 I Have People
Dec. 2012 The Middle Aisle (sequel to Lancaster House)
March 2013 Joshua’s Folly
June 2013 For Nick
Ah... so you have a recent release... intriguing!!
by Taylor Dean
Holly Sinclair is happily married to the love of her life, Gabriel. Young and in love, Holly hopes to have their first child soon. Of course, Gabriel wants to wait till Holly’s health is restored, much to Holly’s dismay. She feels perfectly fine. So what if she just woke up from an eight-month coma? So what if some of her memories are missing? She remembers Gabe and that’s all that matters, right?
That is, until HE enters her life again . . . she forgot about HIM.
More about the Author:
Taylor Dean lives in Texas and is the mother of four grown children. Upon finding herself with an empty nest, she began to write the stories that were always wandering around in her head, quickly finding that she had a passion for writing, specifically romance. Whether it's paranormal, contemporary, or suspense-you'll find all sub-genres of romance in her line-up.
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Catch the ABG Reads Tour!!
Sept 24 For The Love of Films & Books Review/ExcerptSept 25 Mary Ellen Quigley Guest Post/Excerpt
Sept 26 Whoopeeyoo! :D Excerpt/Guest Post
Sept 27 Amy's Booket List Review
Sept 28 Kindle & Me Excerpt
Sept 30 Amy's Booket List Guest Post
Oct 1 Batty For Books Review
Oct 2 Fictional Candy Guest Post/Excerpt
Oct 3 My Devotional Thoughts Review
Oct 4 My Cozy Corner Review
Oct 6 Mrs. Mommy Book Nerd Author Interview
Oct 7 My Devotional Thoughts Guest Post
Oct 8 Colorimetry Excerpt
Giveaway:
Enter to WIN... 1 signed print copy of Sierra & 1 eCopy. Must be 13 to enter. See all my rules under the About tab. This is an international giveaway.
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