The Book
"Gloriously suspenseful...magnificent reading...Martin is superb." --RT Book Reviews
ALASKA
In America's last wilderness there are no limits to what a man can do.
In America's last wilderness there are no limits to what a man can do.
For
detective Nick Brodie, that means keeping the perps off the streets of
Anchorage 24/7. Nick has never backed down from danger, but after the
horrors he's seen, he's definitely in need of a break.
Samantha
Hollis never thought she'd meet anyone like Nick, especially in a place
like Las Vegas. But after one reckless, passionate night, she discovers
the charismatic stranger is everything she wants in a man. But can he
ever be anything more than a one-night stand?
When Nick
invites her to Alaska, Samantha decides to find out, never guessing the
depths she'll discover in him or the tangle of murder, kidnapping, and
danger about to engulf them both. . .
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What Makes a Good Setting
for a Story?
by Kat Martin
 |
| Photo Credit: DCSL via photopin cc |
On
January 27th, the second book in my Brodies of Alaska trilogy,
AGAINST THE SKY, stories about the rugged Brodie brothers, is being
released.
Though
I usually start with either the plot or the characters, with these stories, the
setting was an essential element, part of the plot before the novel was even
conceived.
It
all began with a month-long trip my husband and I recently took to Alaska. It was the second such trip, both of which
involved traveling cross-country, staying in a tiny pickup camper.
Every
day spent out in the wide open spaces filled my
head with story ideas. By the
time we got back, I had the rough outlines for the Brodie brothers, Dylan,
Nick, and Rafe, hot, rugged, outdoor hunks, and the women who tame them.
In
AGAINST THE SKY, Nick Brodie is a former
Anchorage homicide detective with a serious case of burnout. He wants a new life, something that doesn't
include blood and death. Unfortunately
when his neighbor, twelve-year-old Jimmy Evans, comes to him beaten and
battered, claiming his father was murdered, Nick has no choice but to help him.
To make matters worse, Nick has a
lady friend visiting from San Francisco.
Samantha Hollis, owner of the Perfect Pup pet grooming parlor, isn't cut
out for the harsh life in Alaska.
Unwillingly swept into Jimmy's problems, she finds herself on a wild
ride with Nick that leads them into passion and terrible danger.
Since
I live in Montana, I was familiar with the mountain setting and much of the
wildlife, but there is no place on earth like Alaska. The beauty of the landscape filled my senses
and the people I met along the way gave me ideas for some of the interesting
characters who appear in the books.
To
help orient myself to different locales, I use Google Maps extensively. They have street maps, street cameras,
satellite views, and still photos, all of which help me remember what certain
places look like or help me see areas I haven't seen before. Pretty amazing stuff.
Actually
going there, of course, is the best way to chose a setting. For me, there are places I couldn't write
about without actually going there.
Alaska was one of them.
We
spent a couple of days in Anchorage, where Nick worked as a cop, and visited
the areas around it. Nick's small house
at Fish Lake was based on an area called Big Lake about an hour away from the
city.
I
do my best to choose a setting that fits my characters. I try to pick fun, interesting spots so the
readers will have fun with the story.
A Reader's Opinion
Samantha is great, or at least was after I had a few chapters to truly appreciate her. As a woman, I couldn't quite agree with everything she did in regards to Nick, but in the end, I was rooting for her. She's tough when she toughness was needed. She cooks and she likes dogs, both of which make her a pretty cool person in my book. The chemistry between Nick and Samantha was great, and though I thought it started out too fast, it quickly became apparent why, and the storyline was a nice addition.
The suspense built up at a nice and steady climb, and just when you thought there was a lull, you get another dose of hang-onto-your-seats excitement. Now I'm most definitely looking forward to book three. For those who don't mind super-steamy books, I recommend this action-packed Alaskan romantic thriller.
Sexual Content: The only thing that kept this from being a re-read for me were the excessive number of sex scenes. Although the first book had a few scenes, this one had a lot more. It became distracting because I tend to skip those pages, which meant I had to do a lot of skipping.
Also check out Against the Wild, Brodies of Alaska, Book #1
ALASKA – Where men are as bold and untamed as America’s last wilderness.
It’s been three years since Lane Bishop tragically lost her fiancée,
and she is finally ready to risk her heart on someone else. The hot look
in Dylan Brodie’s eyes says he’s going to be that man.
But when Lane flies to the remote 1930’s fishing lodge to help him
renovate, she discovers a little girl who won’t speak, eerie legends and
strange sounds in the night. And when she investigates the history of
the lodge, she uncovers a legacy of injustice and murder.
As danger stalks his daughter and the woman he is coming to love, Dylan must risk everything to uncover the shocking truth.
About Kat Martin
For New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin, a career
in real estate led her down the road to romance.
Through real estate, Kat found her own perfect match--her husband, Western
author Larry Jay Martin.
"We were on opposing sides of a transaction--I represented the seller and
he represented the buyer," Kat recalls.
A short time after the two became acquainted, Larry asked her to read an
unpublished manuscript of an historical western he'd written. Kat fell in love
with both the book and the author!
"It was quite a romantic story," she admits. "I'd still like to
see it get published." Then, after doing some editing for her future
husband, she thought she'd try her own hand at writing.
Kat moved on to become the bestselling author of over fifty historical and
contemporary romance novels. To date, 15 million copies of her books are in
print, and she's been published around the globe, including Germany, Norway,
Sweden, China, Korea, Bulgaria, Russia, England, Estonia, Lithuania, South
Africa, Italy, Poland, Thailand, Portugal, Turkey, The Slovak Republic, Spain,
Argentina, Estonia, Czech Republic and Greece.
When she's not writing, Kat also enjoys skiing and traveling,
particularly to Europe. Currently, she's busy writing her next book.
