Release Day!

by Kristen James

It’s here!   The Montlake Romance edition of Point Hope is live on Amazon.

I’ve had an amazing journey with this novel. The story came together so easily, and I wrote the first draft in two months. Some stories I can see clearly while others take more effort to bring into focus, and this one just pulled together like magic. (I think that happens when the plot has inherent conflict and I have a good feel for each character and what they want.) I spent another month going through the story before sending it to my editor. Editing takes about a month as well. I was so excited to share the story with my readers, and I published the book in June. Then Montlake Romance emailed in early August, and here we are on the Montlake Romance release day!

I received my author copies a few weeks ago, and I found myself flipping through and reading the story. After going through the publishing process twice this year, you’d think I’d be tired of it. Instead, it’s just the opposite. I can fall into the story just by opening the paperback or the Kindle version. (I got both just to see them.)

And in case you’re wondering, or waiting for my next book, I’m still writing! I’m finishing the first draft of Costa Rica and working on a newer project called In a Field of Oranges. I’ll share more about those in the next few months.

POINT HOPE

Preview/ Order on Amazon

After his Navy career came to an end, Trey became an EMT in his hometown of Coos Bay, Oregon. He struggles with PTSD, which affects his ability to do his job and connect with his family. His wife seems to be living life without him.

Rosette can’t figure out what happened to her marriage, or to Trey—the man she once loved so desperately. It feels like she’ll lose everything along with him. Meanwhile, he’s enclosed in his own world without her.

Their marriage is on its last legs when their family is faced with two deaths and an orphan. They’re already raising two young children and Trey’s teenage brother, Alex. Trey and Rosette make a shaky agreement to play “family” for now so they can take care of Trey’s recently orphaned niece. But can faking it ever be enough?

It’s make-it or break-it time. If they split apart, who will raise Hope?

Just Masquerading Around

by Kristen James

I went on a different kind of adventure this last weekend. My husband Lem and I took a concrete ping pong table and chess table to San Francisco Beautiful’s 2013 Masquerade Soiree at the Metreon’s City View Event Space. The event helps to fund San Francisco Beautiful and then projects around the city. They were the group that saved the cable cars some years ago.

I love delivering tables with Lem and watching the reaction. People are always amazed at the quality and beauty of the tables, and they can’t wait to play.  The event also had music, food and lots of fun indoors, and people were dressed in some fanciful masks and dresses too. I wanted to share a few photos with you.

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(If you want info on the tennis tables or chess tables, see www.concretetabletennis.com)

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I’m not a photographer (as you can see!) but this gives you an idea of how the table looked at night.

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I hadn’t been down past the Redwoods in California for a while, so it was fun to see olive trees, palm trees and the big city.  It was also nice to go have fun and keep busy this weekend, and take my mind off of the release day tomorrow for Point Hope. Although, it seems okay to start counting hours now that it’s under a day away!!

Falltime in Oregon

by Kristen James

The rainy season started recently and we drove up in the mountains in search of mushrooms the last two weekends. The good news? On the first trip, we found at least 30 different varieties in reds, whites, oranges and browns.

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I thought this one looked like a flower. It’s not on our list of edible mushrooms that we know well, so I didn’t look up the name.

 

 

 

The bad news? None were what we were looking for: Chanterelles. But we found three kinds that were probably edible, so we brought some home to check them against our mushroom guide. It turned out one kind wasn’t edible, and the other two were okay to eat but not that great.

 

 

 

 

 

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The trip wasn’t a loss, however. I love getting out into the mountains and exploring. There’s so many breathtaking sights to see and wonderful forest smells to breathe in. It just takes warm boots, a waterproof jacket and pants.

We followed a small, mossy creek up the hillside. I have a weird habit of thinking I’ll find treasure in places like this, and I guess I do if you count mushrooms, berries and serenity. I should also count the special time spent with my husband or entire family, depending on the trip.

These photos are from the first hike.

 

 

 

 

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This is an elk rub; the branches were worn off up to ten feet high. I’ve wanted to see one for some time. It even had elk hair on it still.  (By the way, you can click these photos to enlarge them.)

I actually did get to see elk on a hike about four years ago. We went up to the top of the North Umpqua River (a spring) very early one spring when there were still spots of snow on the ground.  We watched a herd of elk graze and saw another herd come over a hill above us. I looked up at the elk and even saw the whites of their eyes. It looked like their eyes rolled as they reeled back and took off in the other direction. They were pretty surprised to see me too. I guess I also see the herd on the way to the coast once or twice a year–they come right up to the elk viewing area. But this was the first elk rub I’ve seen.

So back to the mushroom finding…It rained a lot during the week, and continued on the second weekend, but we knew that meant more mushrooms would be popping up. We went to a different spot this time where we’ve found Chanterelles before. It can be tricky to find the right road, but as we explored, I spotted an orange spot in the moss. A Chanterelle! We stopped and looked around to find quite a few more. So this time, we came home happy with plenty of mushrooms for cream of mushroom soup.  I have a hot bowl of soup next to me right now, thanks to my wonderful husband.

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I also have the rest of the Chanterelles spread out on the table so they’ll stay dry. Even if you brush them off out in the woods, it’s impossible to get rid of all the pine needles, bits of moss and some dirt.  I actually don’t mind because it smells like the deep woods right here. It’s that mossy, earthy, evergreen smell.

If you’re not able to get out in the woods, you can actually buy Chanterelle mushrooms in some stories this time of year, sans the moss and pine needles.

 

 

I’ll leave you with this picture of the sunset behind my house from the other night. I was home with my 9-year-old son and we watched a storm roll in.  I spend a lot of time looking at this view, when I should be writing!

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Harvest Time!

by Kristen James

I absolutely love late summer and early fall – the air is cooler, apples, blackberries and garden veggies are ripe, and the local wildlife is out and about. This morning, a doe, two fawns and a spike mozzied through my yard and snacked on the moss on a branch that fell out of a tree. Then the neighborhood peacock hen came through–not sure where that one came from, but she’s pretty.

Growing a vegetable garden is a healthy hobby, but I never thought of it as entertaining until now. This year’s garden grew like crazy so I have little watermelons hanging out of the bush beans, butternut squash growing throughout the entire space including the strawberries, and both the butternut and acorn squash climbing the fences.

Can you believe this crazy squash? I didn’t expect it to make it to maturity without falling off the vine, but I picked and cooked it last night.

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There’s squash, tomatoes, zucchini, melon and peppers taking over my kitchen counters. I’m not complaining – I’ve been eating fresh vegetables every day.

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I’m hooked on baked tomatoes right now.  Of course I like them fresh too, and I also started baking them sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. These are stuffed tomatoes, green peppers and mushrooms that I made for dinner.

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I am wondering what else I can make with zucchini besides grilled zucchini, bread, stuffed zucchini and spaghetti sauce, but it’s still been fun.  I wonder if you can carve giant zucchinis for Halloween???

Summer Adventures

by Kristen James

Sunset over the wilderness from a hiking trail

I love having a blog so I can share not just writing news, but pictures and stories from my different trips. This blog is full of photos from around Oregon that bring back great memories for me. I recently took the above picture while hiking on a wildlife reserve path near my home. The trail starts uphill right from the gravel parking lot and winds up into the hills. There’s several places to pause and look out over the valley on one side and the ridges of hills trailing off to the sunset on the other.

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It’s fun to travel far from home, but it’s also really nice to have places I enjoy so much close by too. It takes me just a few minutes to drive to the wildlife refuge, and I can also drive up the river to several different trails and waterfalls, and even farther to explore mountain lakes.  It’s all still in a day’s drive, and most of the hiking is kid friendly. My kids love to go hiking–it’s a tradition that started with my parents when I was young.