Do not go where
the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. ~ Ralph
Waldo Emerson
I do understand what
Emerson is saying here, but I take exception to the last three words. Leave a
trail. For twenty years, I was actively involved with Girl Scouts of the USA.
One concept that was drummed into my head by my dear friend and outdoor trainer
extraordinaire, Holly, is to leave no trace. When we go into the
wilderness—state park, national forest, etc.—we pack out what we take in so
much so that no one would know we were there.
For a bit of
background on my outdoor experience prior to being a Girl Scout leader (I
wasn't a Girl Scout as a girl), Hubs used to say my idea of roughing it was a
hotel without room service. He was sort of right. As a young teen, Dad took all
of us up to the wilds (and I do mean wilds) of Canada north of the Soo. Imagine
my sister and I (12 and 14, maybe) along with three little brothers and parents
in a tent on a lake ALL BY OURSELVES. Yep, this was no KOA. Not even a state
park campground. We were the only people there. Plus not even an outhouse. Do
you understand why I wasn't crazy about camping?
But when my daughter
was in fourth grade, I bit the bullet and took the troop camping. Platform
tents and pit toilets (aka outhouses). I discovered a whole new world. Sounds
you don't hear in the city. Wildflowers. A crystal clear sky where the stars
looked so close you could almost touch them. And if you went late enough in the
fall, no bugs. Mothers have a hard time getting ten-year-olds to pick up after
themselves. After all the pre-camp meetings, the girls did exceptionally well
in the outdoors. We left the campsite better than we found it. And we all had
fun.
I probably should
touch on the beginning of Emerson's quote. Not to go with the crowd. To make
your own way. Do you remember your kids saying "but everybody was doing it"?
And you said "if everybody jumped off a bridge would you do it, too?"
We try to teach our kids to think for themselves. And, to quote Star Trek, "to go where no one has
gone before."
I've tried to follow
my own advice. After years of submitting to editors and agents with minimal
success, I decided to go the self-publishing route. Three and a half years and
six books later, I'm very happy I went my own way. Was it easy? No. I had to
learn new things, like social media (I wasn't on Facebook and had no idea how
to tweet), blogging, and how to properly format an e-book. Piece of cake
compared to formatting for a print book. But I did it. Like explorers of old, I
blazed my own trail. Along the way, I met wonderful people who were only too
happy to help. Even though I found my own path, I wasn't alone walking it.
My heroine in The
Chameleon has always done what her father asked. Now she wants to be
her own self.
Blurb
Legally Blond meets Mata Hari
Socialite Jileena Winslott has perfected the image of the
spoiled, rich, bubble-headed daughter of an industrial magnate. In reality,
she’s a smart, savvy aide to her father in social situations where she is his
eyes and ears. She yearns to be her true self and run the family business. When
her father sends her on a covert mission to the Outer Rim, she has the chance
to prove herself. Big problem. He insists she take along a fake fiancé—the man
she’s secretly loved for years.
Security Officer Laning Servary has better things to do than
babysit a spoiled rich girl on a tour of the Frontier. If he refuses, he can
kiss his career good-by. Then Jileena’s father sweetens the pot. If Laning
keeps her safe, his family will receive the land they share-crop. He can’t
refuse.
In the close quarters of her ship, Laning and Jileena
discover they aren’t who they seem. Pirates, weather, and her recklessness threaten
to derail the mission. As Laning and Jileena revise their impressions of each
other, they’ll have to make hard choices about their goals.
Excerpt
“The company
belongs in the family,” Jileena said.
“You have to
accept that your brother is dead.”
Despite her
heartache, she stood in front of her father, hands on her hips, determined to
bring this to a head. She’d danced around the subject long enough, dropping
hints that he ignored. He may have groomed her older brother to take over, but
she wasn’t going down without a fight. “I am family.”
With his
trademark stare—one that made competitors back off and employees quake—he
pinned her in place. “You don’t have what it takes to replace me.”
His remark sent
such an arrow of hurt through her she snapped, “Neither did Konner.” The moment
the words left her mouth, she wanted to retract them.
Father slumped
back in his chair. The desolation in his expression broke her heart.
Immediately,
she dropped to her knees in front of him. “I’m so sorry, Daddy. I shouldn’t
have—”
In a gesture
she remembered from childhood, he smoothed her hair away from her forehead then
tipped up her chin. “What you say is true. He had no stomach for this cutthroat
business. And neither do you, thank the Divine One.” He patted her head twice.
“You don’t have to worry about that. Now get up. We have work to do. Plans to
make.”
“Plans?”
“Baby, I’m
sending you to Galeria 7 to check out this discovery.”
“To the Outer
Rim?” Jileena’s jaw dropped. While her father had sent her on discreet missions
before, he’d never sent her that far from the Central Planets—especially since
Konner had died out on the Frontier.
“You will check
the site and do your own analysis. Put that geology degree of yours into
practice. If, indeed, it is high-grade lambidium, you will negotiate mining
rights with the local tribe.”
“M-Me?”
He’d done it
again and seemed to enjoy surprising her. He couldn’t mean it. He wasn’t
sending her. He had to be teasing.
Yet he’d never been intentionally cruel. At least, not to her.
“I certainly
can’t send Sindaro. As soon as reporters learn he left for the Rim, rumors
would fly and negotiations would fail.”
He was right
about that. If secrecy was paramount, Father had to send someone whose presence
was innocuous. Someone like his fluff-brained daughter.
“Discretion is
imperative. No one will suspect you are going out to the Rim for anything other
than a vacation.”
Hope began to
trickle through her. He’d never had her negotiate anything as important as
mining rights. He was giving her a chance. A chance to prove herself.
Diane
Burton writes romantic adventure . . . stories that take place on Earth and
beyond. She blogs here on the 8th and 30th of each month and on Mondays on her
own site: http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/
