Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Where's the Suspense in the National Parks? by Rolynn Anderson

Happy Day-After-Halloween.  Hope you didn't wake up groggy from massive amounts of chocolate!  Dose with many cups of coffee.

On to serious matters.

Many of you know the setting for my next novel will be somewhere in the National Park system.  Mystery and mayhem in the parks?  Of course!

Poaching is a year round issue in our National Parks.  We hear about hunters shooting and extracting their kill illegally, with park officials hot after them.  Bear paws are an Asian delicacy/aphrodisiac.  Unlawful grazing on Federal land is a continual problem.

But I’d like to consider: gem, fossil, or veggie poaching.  Yup, I said veggie poaching.  Truffles and ginseng.  Did you know ginseng goes for $400 a pound in some markets?  (Here's a parsnip pretending to be a hot piece of ginseng...I know...it's a stretch)



So I ask you, which topic would interest you more in a suspense/mystery/romance?
-rooting out truffles and/or ginseng
-illegal gem extraction
-poaching ancient fossils and/or thousand year old cultural artifacts



Any of you have contacts with Park Rangers or Bureau of Land Management folk?


Thanks for your insight, friends!  On November 10th, a peek at my new cover!


Six Suspense Novels Spiked with Romance


  

12 comments:

Margo Hoornstra said...

First off, I vote the ginseng angle. So many more mysterious and aphrodisiac related possibilities than gems and fossils. That picture is breath taking! So much beauty in the parks. The way I write, my book would be stuffed full of flowery description. Not good, I'm told, in romantic suspense. Love your sexy parsnip. Who knew? No immediate parks contacts, sorry, though I may have a distant cousin type you could use.

Leah St. James said...

That parsnip photo is too funny! :-) My gut reaction was to vote for gems, but then I like bling. After thinking for a moment, you can have some real fun with the truffles/ginseng angle! And thank you for the glorious photo. Sigh...

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Hey, at my age I'm for anything that makes my gens sing. Hey, you threw the line out there, I'm only picking up the ball and running with it. So I say go with the ginseng. Think how different it'll be?

Rolynn Anderson said...

Margo, thanks for the ginseng vote. I wonder myself if I could build a good suspenseful plot when the scenery is too pretty for words. Maybe I'll have to make a chase scene in the dark :-)

Rolynn Anderson said...

Leah, I think you've hit upon something. If I pick vegetable poachers, the tone could imply more light suspense. This pic is one of my favorites...it looks like a water color to me!

Rolynn Anderson said...

Vonnie you made me laugh out loud this a.m. 'Anything to make my gens sing." I should have known you'd pick up that ball. And you probably have a story for me by the end of the day, whereas I'll be lucky to have her done in six months! Thanks for sharing a line I could definitely use!

Jannine Gallant said...

It depends on which Park you want to use. Fossils wouldn't work in the same Park as ginseng, so I'd go at it from that angle. Choose the Park that speaks to you then build the suspense angle around the location. I've used Yellowstone and the Badlands in previous books. Yosemite is my all-time favorite, and I'm actually using it for this year's Christmas story, but not in all its glory. I still may set a novel there in the future.

Rolynn Anderson said...

Good point, Jannine. I'm a sucker for a certain setting. I've learned not all the parks have 'stealable' stuff. One Ranger I talked to opined that the Parks are where they are BECAUSE they had nothing precious to mine out of them (at least back when they were established)...interesting idea, huh?

Brenda Whiteside said...

Parsnip photo cracked me up. I vote food. Maybe some maniac chef is on the loose. But all sounds good. I know you'll come up with a good twist.

Rolynn Anderson said...

Thanks for the encouragement, Brenda. I love the vision of a maniac chef obsessed over truffles!

Diane Burton said...

LOL at the parsnip posing. Jannine's got a good point about picking the N.P. that speaks to you. If you want action/adventure, I'd go for fossil poachers. Think Indiana Jones.

Alicia Dean said...

Wow, I love the idea of truffles and ginseng, mainly because it's unique and could be lots of fun. Excellent concept...gorgeous pic!