GRANT ME THE MOON WON!

What a great week! I received a surprise email from the Independent Digital Award Contest held by Oklahoma Romance Writers.  My book GRANT ME THE MOON won first place in short contemporary. 

The idea for this book occurred to me as Hero and I drove from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to Lubbock, Texas to visit family. Our route took us through Post in Garza County, just below the Caprock escarpment. A fork of the Brazos River runs through the county that is mostly ranch land. There are also wind farms.

View of the Caprock in the distance

Evidences of early man found in Garza County include Clovis spearheads. In 1934, archaeologists also discovered the sixteen-foot-long tusk of a prehistoric imperial mammoth. A type of arrow point used by hunters before A. D. 1500 was uncovered in the county during the 1960s and named the Garza point. The archaeological site is called, what else, the Garza Site. That's on private land and not available to us for a tour.

A Clovis spearhead

Nevertheless, Hero and I always wished we could visit the Garza Site. We’ve enjoyed visiting places like Chaco Canyon, Hovenweep, and Mesa Verde. Since we couldn’t visit the Garza Site, I invented one on a nearby ranch. 

Writing fiction is so great!

Allow me to share some of GRANT ME THE MOON. Here’s the blurb:

All Tory Fraser intended was to show her high school history club students a local archaeology dig. How could she know the excursion would involve a murder? Or that one of her students would be suspected as the killer? And she had no idea she would meet the man of her dreams.

Grant Grayson has taken over management of Grayson Ranch near Post, Texas to give his grandfather a less arduous schedule. A flash flood washed away an old talus slope on the ranch to reveal a prehistoric cave that is a Clovis site. Being a good citizen, he invited the nearest large university archaeology department to excavate the cave. When a gorgeous blonde high school teacher asks his permission to take her students to the site, how can he deny her? Especially when he's instantly attracted to her.

Tory and Grant are drawn into the investigation to clear her student but unintentionally make themselves a target. They must ferret out the murderer before they’re killed.

Now I’ll share an excerpt from GRANT ME THE MOON:

He guided her inside [the restaurant] and they were shown to a table.

After they’d placed their orders, he asked, “Your grandmother, is she all right?”

“Grandpa died last spring. She’s not ill, just frail and deeply in mourning. I was lucky there was an opening in the school.”

“Where did you teach before?”

She offered a wry smile, almost as if embarrassed. “Assistant professor at Texas A&M.” She shrugged and tilted her head. “I realize it appears I took a backwards step, but I was the one who could rearrange my life to move here. Fortunately, I genuinely enjoy teaching high school history.”

“So your grandmother is sad rather than ill. Does she get around well?”

She raised her eyebrows and nodded. “In fact, she can keep up with me. After Grandpa passed away, she was so heartbroken that we were afraid her health was deteriorating. Actually, it was. She wasn’t eating properly and not sleeping well. Or, she was staying up most of the night and sleeping most of the day. With me here, she keeps regular hours and we have breakfast and supper together.”

He reached across the table and laced his fingers with hers. “But not tonight.”

She met his gaze and smiled before she slid her hand to her lap. Disappointment claimed him at the loss of her touch.

“I stopped by the store on my way home and bought her a chicken pot pie in a brand that’s healthy. I only hope she’s doing as I asked and having that and a salad for dinner.”

After they’d eaten, he drove under the speed limit on the way back to Post. Her company fascinated him and he wished he could prolong the evening. When they reached the edge of the Caprock above Post, he pulled over at a wide space on the shoulder and opened the sunroof.

“I love this spot. You can see the lights of our little town below and the stars above.”

She relaxed against the seat and head rest. “The almost full moon tonight obscures many of the stars. This is a beautiful vantage point, though. As if we’re divine and are hanging above the world. I could almost reach out and touch the moon.”

He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers “Should I grab it for you?”

She offered a whimsical smile. “Let’s leave it there so everyone can enjoy the moonlight.”

You can purchase this book for only $2.99 at these sites: 

Amazon: http://a.co/iy1DX2X

Amazon UK: http://amzn.eu/g1QwOmL

Amazon Canada: http://a.co/5cBYOeQ