About the Book:
A story of family, hope, and the will to survive.
Sydney likes hiking, but the idea of missing her boyfriend’s party when he has been showing interest in someone else has leadened her pack. Why can’t her family put off their vacation for a day? Now she’s stuck listening to her brother and sister whine while her mom tries to bore into her social life like a woodpecker searching for grubs. Not that Mom ever really cared. . . . Granted, cliff jumping into crystal clear pools does sound fun. But Sydney would rather stay home.
Jen misses the days when her daughter, Sydney, would listen to stories about lullabies. Now Sydney doesn’t listen at all. Maybe the family backpacking trip into the remote West Clear Creek Wilderness is exactly what the two of them need to reconnect. Still, the notion of frigid water, towering cliffs, and natural disasters make the perils of the canyon hard to ignore. But Blake, her outdoorsman husband, promises the views are worth the risk. . . . If only she could get the stories of difficult and delayed rescues out of her mind.
When disaster strikes, can Jen and Sydney find the strength to lean on each other? Find out in this women’s fiction meets family adventure novel.
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Author Interview:
1: Tell us a little about yourself and what got you in to writing?
I’m an Arizona (USA) native with four Arizona-native, mostly adult children. (We don’t let my husband of 28 years claim the title because his family moved here when he was four months old.) Music was my entire life when I was younger. The rest of my time was spent writing letters (yes, snail-mail style) to my friends who lived in Utah, Texas, and a small town in Arizona. I also journaled. So it’s fair to say that writing took up quite a bit of my time, but I don’t know that that counts as the reason I started writing. In fact, other than letters and journal entries, writing didn’t become a major part of my life until my thirties when I started blogging for a product review blog. Even then, I didn’t consider myself a very creative person. The idea of writing a book was beyond me.
It was a romance novel and a single thought that maybe I could write a romance novel of my own that spurred me forward. That night, I pulled out my computer and started writing. Five years later, I had my first book, which wasn’t a romance. The truth is, I never figured out how to write a romance novel, but I have managed to write several women’s fiction novels. I also have a sincere respect for romance authors. What they do is not easy!
2: Do you have a favourite time and place where you write?
I love to write outside surrounded by pine and aspen trees when I get the chance. But I live in the desert, so most of the time, I write at my second-hand desk that I bought for $35 from a thrift shop. It’s got plenty of space for me to spread out if I need to, and I can still hear what’s going on in the next room. Luckily, I’m far enough removed from the household chaos to fully immerse myself in whatever situation I’ve placed my characters in.
Writing in the afternoon and evening seems to work best for me. It takes time for me to settle into work, and writing late at night produces some pretty scary results.
3: Where do your ideas come from?
My first book’s plot came from a desire to write a romance novel. That didn’t pan out, but the story is unique and definitely has romantic themes.
Books two through five came about because I wanted to show some of the difficulties of raising a child with autism while making it clear that kids with autism are some of the coolest kids out there. (Joey, the autistic character, has some similarities to my son, but the series doesn’t mirror my life at all.)
My most recent book, Little Bird’s Lullaby, takes place in a canyon that my oldest son’s Boy Scout troop was rescued from. (Technically, only three were helped out of the canyon after a leader had a medical emergency. The rest made it out on their own.) My son requested that I not write that story, so instead of a group of boys, I placed a family in the canyon. The story sticks with women’s fiction themes, and I had a lot of fun creating the adventurous plot.
4: Do you have a plan in your head of where the story is going before you start writing or do you let it carry you along as you go?
My stories always start with a beginning and an end. I usually have a general idea of the middle, but not always. With Little Bird’s Lullaby, I started with a beginning and an end and had two plot points “penciled in.” I never use a written outline.
5: What genre are your books and what drew you to that genre?
My books fall into the women’s fiction genre. I like to tell stories with girth—real life stuff that can knock characters on their behinds and then forces them to crawl from the proverbial depths. Something very powerful happens when people realize who they are and what they can do. My characters go through that process. I hope to give my readers the chance to build relationships with my characters and to experience their hurts and triumphs without the physical and emotional pain that goes along with such circumstances. I want to give them the experience of growth. My books make great quick and easy reads, but if readers like books that make them think, well, mine will give them that opportunity too.
6: What dream cast would you like to see playing the characters in your latest book?
That’s a tough one. I think auditions would be a great place to start.
7: Do you read much and if so who are your favourite authors?
A good deal of my time is spent reading, especially as a copy-line editor. I also love reading different genres. Some of the most recent authors that I have enjoyed have been June B. Anderson (Christian Western romance), Jessica Marie Holt (rom-com, general fiction, and historical fiction), Jeff Wheeler and Brandon Sanderson (fantasy). An up-and-coming fantasy author Rebekah Carroll is also worth reading. Andy Weir has some great sci-fi books out there, and when we go out of town, my husband has me listening to some of the Lincoln Lawyer books by Michael Connelly.
8: What book/s are you reading at present?
Currently, I spend my reading time with Haing Ngor in his book Survival in the Killing Fields. The book was mentioned in a YouTube video that my husband and I were watching; we both jumped at the opportunity to read it. He read it first. I also have Devotion by Adam Makos qued up.
9: What is your favourite book and why?
I am incapable of picking only one. I have read the Muirwood series by Jeff Wheeler, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, and The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, several times over. As a teenager, I read Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg. I’d easily pick up either of them to read again.
10: What advice would you give for someone thinking about becoming a writer?
Don’t give up. Do perfect your talent.
11: What are the best Social Media Sites for people to find out about you and your work?
I am trying to remember to post regularly on Facebook and Instagram. Please forgive me when life gets busy. KameoMonson.com is another great place to learn about me and my books.
About the Author:
Kameo Monson grew up in Glendale, Arizona, where she picked cotton on the way to school through her kindergarten year and smelled orange blossoms on the way to church through junior high. The first time her husband, McKay, drove an hour across the Phoenix Valley to pick her up for a date, he thought she’d be surrounded by farmland. Unfortunately, most of that had been built up a decade previous.
When Kameo was still young, her parents allowed one family dog at a time, despite her begging. McKay has a harder time saying no. That’s why they house three dogs, a cat, two guinea pigs, and four lovable rats. The fish is his. Kameo and her husband reached twenty-seven years of wedded bliss in June of 2022. They have four children, who range in age from adult to mid-teen.
Though Kameo studied music for two years at the local community college (before meeting McKay), she found her place within the literary arts. With a certificate in editing, she owns and operates KMonson Editing Services, where she helps others reach their literary dreams.
Pine and aspen trees regularly call to Kameo from the Mogollon Rim, and whenever possible, she escapes to the mountains with dreams of becoming a reverse snowbird.
Reading Nook 