Behind the scenes: Wind Whisperer

Balloon pilots, dragon shifters, secret agents, and warlocks. Where did that combination come from and how do they all fit together? Read on to discover the story behind the story of Wind Whisperer and my new Spellbound in Sedona series!

THE SERIES
As fans of my Twin Moon and Blue Moon Saloon series know, I’m a huge fan of north-central Arizona, where I once worked as a teacher on a remote ranch. For years now, I’ve been planning to “go back” and write another series set in the area, and now, I’ve done it!

However, I wanted to try something new by mixing more supernatural elements: not just shifters and vampires but magic, witches, and warlocks, as well as higher doses of mystery and suspense. So, I put that overall idea together with inspiration from a recent trip to Sedona as well as two Netflix series. Let me explain…

One of my trips to Sedona came after my 50th birthday so I treated myself to a hot air balloon ride. It was amazing, and it made me want to write a heroine who is a balloon pilot. (More about that below in “on location in Sedona.”)

Meanwhile, I enjoyed watching Blown Away on Netflix and really enjoyed seeing how glass art is made. A similar series was Metal Shop Masters. My mind connected the dots, and I eventually came up with the idea of three sisters who each have magic related to fire. And thus Spellbound in Sedona was born! IMHO, this steamy romance series has it all - stunning locations, sexy shifters, strong heroines, magic, action, suspense, and passion. I hope you’ll agree after reading Wind Whisperer and the rest of the series!

THE CHARACTERS
For years now, I’ve wanted to write a heroine who is a hot air balloon pilot, and her time has finally come! That’s Erin, and she’s actually much more than “just” a pilot, though she doesn’t yet know it. She’s as smart, tough, and capable as all my heroines, and she needs to be, because the ranch she and her sisters inherited is a magnet for all kinds of evil forces.

I had to do a lot of thinking to figure out the supernatural ancestry of Erin and her sisters, Pippa and Abby. I wanted them to each have slightly different powers, so it made sense for them to be half-sisters – same mother, different fathers. The twist is that their mother was an absentee parent and each sister grew up with her own father, but all three spent summers together on their aunt’s ranch in Sedona. I think you’ll enjoy discovering what type of supernatural each of their parents is as you read through the series!

I loved giving Erin modest supernatural powers and watching them slowly emerge throughout the story. She’s barely even aware of the process herself until a life-and-death confrontation forces her to dig deep and pull out all the stops. Which she does spectacularly, thanks in part to Nash’s faith in her (as well as the help of her sisters).

On to our hero, Nash. I love me an invincible-yet-vulnerable hero, and that fits Nash perfectly. He’s an accomplished, straight-arrow dragon shifter/marine veteran who might have been a little cocky before recent events turned his life upside down. Now, he’s looking for redemption – another great device in an action-packed romance story because it gives him plenty of opportunity to own up to his mistakes and to grow throughout the story.

Of course, Erin and Nash are “just” the hero and heroine of this story. I think you’ll find Erin’s sisters equally quirky and interesting both in Wind Whisperer and in their own stories, told in Books 2 and 3 of this series. The villains were just as much fun to develop, with Harlon Greene hiding his true nature behind a slick, charismatic veneer. Meanwhile, Angelina Saint James is pure evil at first, second, and last glance. The story wouldn’t be complete without the balloon crew Erin works with – harmoniously in most, but not all cases (cough - Madden the misogynistic pilot - cough) - as well as a wry look at some of the types of visitors Sedona draws.

THE STORY

I started with the characters and certain scene locations, then put them in a mental melting pot with other supernatural elements (a vampire here, a warlock there, plus the vortexes Sedona is known for…) and stirred until a story emerged! It’s a bit more of a slow burn, building-suspense book than some of my previous works, with a healthy dose of humor and of course a happy end. No spoilers here, though!

ON LOCATION IN SEDONA Many years ago, I lived not far from Sedona, and I took every chance I could to hike, dine, and generally soak in the specialness of the place. At that time, I worked on a ranch which formed the inspiration for my Twin Moon series as well as aspects of Erin’s ranch. Since then, I’ve returned to Sedona several times for more hiking and a little swimming in Oak Creek (something that will feature in Book 2 or 3 for sure). Sedona is one of my favorite places in the world, and I’ve done my best to capture the feeling of the place and the people who pass through in these stories.

To make the ballooning scenes as realistic as possible, I not only took a hot air balloon flight over Sedona, but I also spent the next day with the ground crew. They were very friendly and patient and explained a lot of the hows/whys/whats to me. So, I did my best to get the technical details of the balloon scenes right. Big shout out to the nice folks at Red Rock Balloon Adventures!

MY FAVORITE SCENE
I love the early scenes in this story, where Erin and Nash get off on the wrong foot and the tension between them is especially high. (Poor them – I made sure there was plenty of tension in later chapters, too, because a happy end is that much sweeter when the characters have worked hard for it!). I love the mic-drop moment when Nash realizes he’s misjudged Erin’s father, too. By the way, the bonus scene plays off that, with Nash dealing directly with his new father-in-law! Make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter to get that free bonus scene, one of dozens exclusively available to subscribers, along with several free stories and free audiobooks.

Other favorites include Erin sneaking into Harlon’s office and what happens there, along with the high-action ballooning scene that takes place in a freak storm summoned by a ruthless warlock who will stop at nothing to get his hands on Erin’s ranch.

CROSS-LINKS WITH OTHER SERIES This series takes place in roughly the same neck of the woods as my Twin Moon and Blue Moon Saloon series. Wind Whisperer only makes one side reference to the wolf pack there, but Book 2 will feature direct interaction between characters in all three series. Stay tuned to revisit your old friends then!

I could say more, but I don’t want to tip you off to too much in case you haven’t read Wind Whisperer yet. So I’ll end this now and send you off to read the story with a little more background knowledge to enjoy it with! Happy reading!

PS - If you enjoyed this story and series, please remember to spread the word and post a review. Thank you!