When Stories Collide

by Elizabeth Noble

I had the idea for Jewel Cave, along with the title, probably a good year before I wrote Run for the Roses, book 1 of Circles. I’d originally intended to write them as separate, unrelated stories. However, as often happens to me, Wyatt and Val had another story in them to tell. A Barlow Lens (book #2) is actually two books in one, and Wyatt and Val are one set of MCs.

When I was planning out A Barlow Lens I thought having a series of mystery/suspense books would be fun and interesting. At first I thought to keep Wyatt and Val as the main characters. I wrote Griff and Clint in as minor characters. They appear together in one scene. Griff is in a second scene and has phone conversations with Wyatt.

As I was kicking around ideas for the series I decided to have different main characters/different couples in each book. Some of the books are a who-done-it murder mystery type of story. Other stories, such as Jewel Cave, are suspense and the crimes are not murder.

What links all the books in the series is one of the main characters is in some branch of law enforcement. In the United States and Canada there are hundreds to choose from! I realized I could introduce characters as minor players in one book, and then write their story in the following book.

I already have series with the same main characters book to book. I wanted to write a series that would feature different main characters, but had a common theme. I may at some point circle back to some of the characters. That is an option I’m keeping open.

In Jewel Cave we briefly meet Mason Arquette, who is a United States National Park Services Ranger. I was surprised at the varied duties of rangers and Mason will be a main character in book #4, Gone Away.

Another feature of the series in general is they are all romances, but the type of romance varies from book to book. In Run for the Roses it’s a budding romance between Wyatt and Val. Their love affair is further developed in A Barlow Lens, and the second set of main characters meet and fall in love. The story of Philip and Tom is told in A Barlow Lens. In Jewel Cave, Griff and Clint have been together for ten years, so their romance/relationship is well established. The romance part of that story is the two of them remembering why they fell in love in the first place and how deeply they know one another. In Gone Away, the couple know one another, had a brief fling previously and then rekindle their romance.

The final thing that ties all the books in the series are the titles. Each one of the titles tells us something about the book. A common nickname for the Kentucky Derby is ‘run for the roses’, a Barlow lens is a piece of telescope equipment that enhances viewing and in doing so lets us look back in time. Jewel Cave National Monument is a real cave system in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

About Jewel Cave

Through ten wonderful years Griff Diamond and Clint Bishop weathered good times and bad together. Lately they haven’t spent as much time together as they’d like, and their physical relationship is suffering. Then Clint loses his job at the steel mill. Instead of worrying, he sees it as an opportunity to lean on his steady partner, start his writing career, and rekindle the passion they’ve lost.

But a friendly relationship with another author turns to obsession, putting Clint’s life in danger. Taken against his will to the Jewel Cave system in South Dakota, Clint must rely on the skills he’s learned from Griff to survive.

Fearing the worst, Griff tracks Clint across the country. As a US Marshal, Griff’s always been the man who keeps everyone safe, but he doesn’t know how he and Clint will survive this.

Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon

About Elizabeth Noble

Elizabeth Noble started telling stories before she actually knew how to write, and her family was very happy when she learned to put words on a page. Those words turned into fan fiction that turned into a genuine love of M/M romance fiction. Being able to share her works with Dreamspinner is really a dream come true. She has a real love for a good mystery complete with murder and twisty plots as well as all things sci-fi, futuristic, and supernatural and a bit of an unnatural interest in a super-volcano in Wyoming.

Elizabeth has three grown children and is now happily owned by an adorable mixed breed canine princess named Rosie, and two cats, Murphy and Yeti. She lives in her native northeast Ohio, the perfect place for gardening, winter and summer sports (go Tribe!). When she’s not writing she’s working as a veterinary nurse, so don’t be surprised to see her men with a pet or three who are a very big part of their lives.

Two of Elizabeth’s books have received Honorable Mentions in the Rainbow Awards.

Find out more about Elizabeth on her Website, Facebook, Tsu, Google+ or Twitter.

As part of this blog tour, Elizabeth is giving away an eBook copy of Jewel Cave!! To enter, just click the link below!

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Please be aware that the only way to enter the giveaway is to click the Rafflecopter link above. Any comments on this post will not count towards entering the giveaway unless otherwise stated but are still welcome anyway.

Don’t forget to check out Nikyta’s review of Jewel Cave to see what she thought of it!

Good luck!