THE PLOT
Allison Alexander, home in California on a brief vacation from her work at the United Nations, is shot at and pursued by mysterious intruders who have taken over the estate on which she and her mother have lived as caretakers since Allison was a child. Thus begins a terror-filled week during which she discovers that nearly everyone she loves is involved in some way with an international espionage ring – but are they the good guys or the bad guys?
Is Bart, the man she has loved since they played together as children, a secret government agent – or does he answer to an underworld crime boss? If she doesn’t go along with his unbelievable scheme, will it cost them their lives? Does he really love her, or is he just using her? One by one, Allison uncovers a host of mysterious secrets – and just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, there’s another surprise to keep you guessing.
This is a book to read when you’ve got all night, because you won’t want to put it down. Heart-stopping entertainment for anyone who enjoys a great romantic thriller.
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
Emeralds was born on a golf course in the Tehachapi Mountains that held all the physical elements for a great story – a huge old oak tree where all the lower branches joined that was perfect for snuggling down so no one could find you. It had lovely green rolling hills and huge boulders, a fairy circle of stones surrounding a single tall tree (unlike the other twisted oak trees on the property), a waterfall, misty mornings and a slab of rock balanced across a boulder with a lightning struck tree behind them that looked for all the world like a sacrificial altar. I moved the whole thing to the California coast and envisioned a mansion worthy of a fabulously wealthy film star. (You can tell I was really concentrating on my golf game while I was envisioning all of this!)
Add a few secret tunnels, stolen gems, the kidnapped royal grandchildren from Thailand, a race to the Greek Islands to rescue Allison’s mother, a staged wedding – one crisis after another and the story told itself.
I had really finished the book at the wedding when I was watching the fires in Malibu consume these incredibly huge mansions. I thought - "Wow! That would make an exciting finale!" So I burned the mansion. My nephew said, “I can’t believe you destroyed that beautiful home!” I didn’t really – only the bedroom wing which they rebuilt.
THE PLOT
Allison and Bart, married less than a week, return to their Hawaiian honeymoon suite to find the room ransacked. Thousands of miles from home, they’re being followed. But why, and by whom? What dark secret do they hold that makes them prime targets for murder by a sinister madman bent on revenge?
It’s a heart-stopping game of cat and mouse, with Allison caught in a demonic web. How could she have guess that on her honeymoon she would be abducted by a pair of thugs, fall into a volcano, find herself imprisoned on a remote island, and befriend a huge jungle cat? And that is only the beginning . . . .
Added to the intrigue and danger is . . . well, this matter of religion. Along their path of adventure, Bart and Allison have some tender brushes with Mormonism. They begin to see the gospel’s impact on new friends and the power of prayer in their own lives – leading them to vow that if they get out of this mess alive, they’ll look into it further. If they get out alive . . .
You’ll be spellbound until the last word of the masterful novel. Mystery, danger, intrigue, romance – all this and much more!
THE STORY BEHIND
THE STORY
Pearls began as a short story entitled The Island where the heroine wins the vacation of her dreams in that incredible island hideaway. Then when I began writing Pearls, it was only logical to incorporate that short story into the larger book.
When I began, I created this sleek, gorgeous female tiger as one of the characters. For some reason it just wasn’t working the way I’d anticipated. It wasn’t flowing. I guess I had envisioned an exotic Queen of Sheba type scene, but Kat didn’t want to be a female tiger. When I finally got past that initial scene, I figured out that Kat wanted to be a male lion. Now having a male lion lounging around this lovely island paradise I’d created in my mind (and on paper) wasn’t the picture I wanted my readers to visualize as they read the book. But as the story unfolded, I could see why it actually was going to be better for Kat to be a male lion. Your characters will frequently lead you where they want to go.
A 90 year old man has read all of my books and comes to my signings. He said, “I can see where everything you write can actually happen, but that volcano scene in Pearls was too unbelievable.” He was amazed when I told him that actually did happen to a film crew when their helicopter malfunctioned and crashed into the volcano. I took the Reader’s Digest Drama in True Life article and used their descriptions of the sulfur smell, the cinder and ashes and just put Allison in their place.
The pearl in the story began as a tear drop necklace, but while in San Francisco researching Diamonds, I discovered an incredible biwa pearl ring. My husband bought it for me and I went back through the manuscript and changed it to reflect this beautiful piece of jewelry which originally cost $800. (We only paid a fraction of that!)
