While coming up with the characters
for my action adventure romance I wanted a hero who was a complete opposite of
my heroine. I’d been visiting with a
woman who had married a Venezuelan and had lived there for several years.
Hearing about her life as an outsider and the way the men of Venezuela treated
a woman, I thought that nationality would make my hero an interesting contrast to my
genius, privately schooled heroine.
What I didn’t realize that while
building Tino’s background I would throw in government turmoil (in Venezuela)
his family fleeing that country and his teen and adult years being spent in the
United States. With this as his background, I could give him the macho
attitudes of the Latin men but also have him more tolerant of the heroine’s
independence because he had lived in the states. His Latin machismo comes out
when he is fighting his attraction to the skinny, brainy woman he wouldn't
usually look at twice. He soon realizes it is her heart, genius, and innocence
that embeds her in his heart.
Some of the culture things I found
interesting about Venezuela dealt with how the men treated the women. From my
friend’s account the women were treated like children. Given money for
groceries and shopping and told when they could do things. The men refrained
from vulgar language while around the women.
I used the language bit with Tino.
He uses stronger curse words in his head and when Isabella isn’t around and a
milder one when she is with him. While she grew up secluded and pampered, he
faced many harsh realities in life and knows the seedy side as well as the
affluent side. This both in his home land of Venezuela and in the states.
Talking with someone who knows a culture well whether they are from that culture or has lived with them
is what helps me make my characters believable.
Blurb for Secrets of a Mayan Moon:
Child prodigy and now Doctor of Anthropology,
Isabella Mumphrey, is about to lose her job at the university. In the world of
publish or perish, her mentor’s request for her assistance on a dig is just the
opportunity she’s been seeking. If she can decipher an ancient stone table—and
she can—she’ll keep her department. She heads to Guatemala, but drug
trafficking bad guys, artifact thieves, and her infatuation for her handsome
guide wreak havoc on her scholarly intentions.
DEA agent Tino Kosta, is out to avenge the
deaths of his family. He’s deep undercover as a jaguar tracker and sometimes
jungle guide, but the appearance of a beautiful, brainy anthropologist heats
his Latin blood taking him on a dangerous detour that could leave them both
casualties of the jungle.
Excerpt:
Tino
pulled the truck over and stepped out. He’d have to be more careful around the
doctor. For all her gullibility, she had a mind that deducted and researched.
Keeping his true identity a secret from her would be a challenge. He retrieved
a can of Gallo and a canteen. He slid under the steering wheel, handed her the
canteen, and popped the top on the beer.
She
frowned. “You aren’t going to drink and drive? It isn’t even noon.”
Her
attitude reminded him of his initial perspective of her, when he only knew her
name. Sour and bossy. “Yes, this is my beverage of choice since the water
around here is unsuitable to drink.” It wasn’t his drink of choice. He only
used it as a prop to reinforce his cover of a bum who could only get a job as a
guide.
“But
beer? You could purchase juice or soda.” She narrowed her eyes. “What happens
if you get drunk and can’t find your way to the dig? We’ll end up stranded in
the jungle.”
“I
have never become drunk. I drink only when I am thirsty.” The gall of her to
imply he didn’t know his way around the jungle. He sneaked a peek at the
Government Issue watch with GPS strapped to his left wrist.
“I
still think you could make a better choice. Alcohol has a drying effect on the
body.”
Tino
stabbed her with a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding stare. “What is sticking your
clothes to you?” A sheen of perspiration glistened her skin, adding more
definition to her collarbone and high cheek bones. His blood heated at the
sight. He tamped the sensation down. Doctor Mumphrey wasn’t his type, she was
out of his league, and he didn’t make attachments. In his line of work all he
could enjoy were one nighters, and she wasn’t the one night type.
Isabella
didn’t blush, but the indignant set to her jaw slackened. Her slender fingers
unscrewed the lid on the canteen. Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back,
and raised the vessel to her lips. Contentment transformed her features to the
childlike innocence he’d noticed the night before. She slowly drank, savoring
each mouthful and swallowing in slow motion. The effect more erotic than
anything he’d seen before.
¡Coño! Tino stared out
the window. The sooner he got her to the dig the better. His protective
instincts had kicked in. Not good. Once he dropped her off it was adios intriguing señorita.
Secrets
of a Mayan Moon
is available at Windtree
Press / Kindle /
Nook / Kobo / Apple.
