Vacations should be fun and relaxing. Sometimes…they aren’t.
When I was four and my sister was two, our parents took us camping in Sequoia National Forest in California. We had fun at first, feeding deer, and expressing awe and amazement at the sight of the enormous towering trees. Then we saw a dog, its muzzle completely covered by porcupine quills. We raced after dog, wanting to help. Fortunately for us, our parents called us back and let the dog take its anguish to its owner.
Fast forward to bedtime. Mom had forgotten to pack blankets. There were patches of snow outside our tent and the inside temperature plummeted after dark. Simply put, we were freezing. My sister cried incessantly, and I think I probably cried along with her. When we finally got to sleep, we were awakened by horrified screaming. A bear was licking my father’s feet. We left at daylight the next morning.
Later, when we were older and had been joined by the rest of our siblings, our vacations transferred to Florida in the summertime with mosquitoes and sunburn, terrifying lightening storms, flooded tents, alligators—and even a car wreck.
Remembering those vacation calamities inspired me to write my newest book, a cozy Christian mystery-romance-suspense set in Scotland. Scotland has been voted the most beautiful country in the world and vacations in Scotland should be fun and relaxing. But are they? The answer to that is in “Lamps of Doom.”
Childhood vacations for landscape artist Nicky Randall were traumatic enough. But she returns as an adult to face valuable antique lamps disappearing from a locked house and a skull in the garden. Her attempt to solve the 12-year-old mystery faces her with dangers—both to her life and to her heart.
Clever you! What a great build up to presenting your new book, Stephanie! I shall have to nip over to Amazon and buy this now! You are so prolific!!
Thanks, Val. You are so wonderful at encouraging others when you are such a brilliant and talented writer yourself. I am blessed by your friendship and support.
Love the photos and the book sounds great! Just got a copy 😉
Oh, thanks so much! Both for your comment about the photos, and for getting the book. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Have a great rest of the week. God bless.
I loved your book! So fun and suspenseful, loved the Scottish dialogue so much. Felt like a mini vacation. Will check out your other books 😉
Thanks so much! I’m honored and humbled. So thankful you enjoyed it and the Scottish setting. Most of mine are set in the Texas Hill Country, but one of the Miz Mike books ends in the Nevada desert and two others are set in Scotland. God has gifted us with a wonderful, beautiful world to enjoy.