Quick Enchilada Casserole #Recipe for #MFRWauthor Blog Hop

In my novel  Counterfeits, the hero sends an enchilada casserole to the heroine and her friends for their lunch (gotta love a man who cooks). The following recipe is not traditional, but it’s my quicker and healthier version of an enchilada casserole. The directions are informal, as I cook by the “make it up as you go along” method.

Enchilada Casserole

Learn more at http://mfrw52week.blogspot.com/

Several handfuls of tortilla chips

One large onion

1 tablespoon oil for cooking

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 can (~10 oz) cream of chicken soup

1 can or jar (12-15 oz) of enchilada sauce (red or green)

1-2 cans (15 oz) pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Chopped green chile to taste

Optional: additional vegetables, such as shredded or chopped broccoli/carrots/squash, steamed spinach,  

1-2 cups shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Mexican blend cheese

• Spray oil a 9 x 13 casserole dish or rub lightly with oil.
• Scatter broken tortilla chips in the bottom of the dish. (This is a great way to use the broken chips at the bottom of the bag. It doesn’t matter what size they are or if they're stale.)
• Chop a large onion and sauté in oil.
• Add about 3 cups of chopped cooked chicken (from a rotisserie chicken, leftover cooked chicken, or frozen chicken tenders that you cook in advance)..
• Add cream of chicken soup, enchilada sauce, pinto beans, optional veggies, and green chile (or red chile powder). Mix well.
• Pour the chicken and sauce mixture over the tortilla chips. Cover with another layer of broken tortilla chips.
• Top with a layer of shredded cheddar, Jack, or Mexican cheese.
• Bake at 350° for about 45 min.

This is one of my standards, because it only takes about half an hour to put together, and it makes enough leftovers for lunches. If you try it, I hope you enjoy it! You can also vary it by using black beans or ground beef, by skipping the meat and adding vegetables, or by adding extra red chile powder or chopped green chile if you like it spicy. 

(In New Mexico, it's chile, not chili, when referring to the vegetable.)

Kris Bock lives in New Mexico, where she enjoys hiking, watching the sunset from her patio, and hanging out with her husband and their ferrets. Her home office looks out on nature, complete with distracting wildlife such as roadrunners and foxes. Her BFA in photography is used mainly to show Facebook friends how lovely the Southwest is.

Fans of Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, and Terry Odell will want to check out Kris Bock’s romantic adventures. “Counterfeits is the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed since I first read Mary Stewart’s Moonspinners.” 5 Stars – Roberta at Sensuous Reviews blog

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

A #MFRWHooks for What We Found #Romance and #Mystery

An engine started. The battered old truck stood out like a janitor at the prom. It was dark blue, splattered with mud and probably decades old, with a cap on the bed. The evening sun glared off the side window, but as I walked slowly past the front I saw a figure inside – the one-handed man. He had his hand on the wheel but his head back, eyes closed.

I paused, studying his face. I guessed he was in his twenties, with short, light brown hair and pleasant features in a mask as still as death.

He opened his eyes and looked straight into mine. 

I couldn’t move as he held my gaze. My heart thumped against my ribs. He studied me without expression, no smile, no frown, nothing in his face but weariness.

Finally I had to blink, and once the eye contact was broken, I jerked my gaze away and kept moving. I quickly turned between the next two cars, to get out of his view. I’d have to cross behind his truck to reach my car, which might look odd if he was still watching, but I didn’t care so long as I got out of there, fast.

I noticed the rusty screeching again. It was coming from his truck. I stumbled to a stop, staring at the back of the truck. What could be making that sound? The tailgate and back window on the cap were closed, hiding the sight inside, but the screech came again and again like someone – something – screaming.

The screams seemed to echo in my head. I couldn’t take any more. I turned away with a hand over my mouth to hold back my own scream and hurried to my car.

What We Found

Finding a dead body changes a person.

22-year-old Audra Needham is back in her small New Mexico hometown, ready to work hard, fit in, and help her younger brother. Going for a walk in the woods with her former crush, Jay, seems like a harmless distraction … until they stumble on a body.

Jay, who has secrets of his own to protect, insists they walk away and keep quiet. But Audra can't simply forget what she's seen. The woman needs to be found, and her story deserves to be told.

More than one person isn't happy about Audra bringing a crime to life. The dead woman was murdered, and Audra could be next on the vengeful killer's list. She’ll have to stand up for herself in order to stand up for the murder victim. It’s a risk, and so is reaching out to the mysterious young man who works with deadly birds of prey. With her 12-year-old brother determined to play detective, and romance budding in the last place she expected, Audra learns that some risks are worth taking – no matter the danger, to her body or her heart.

Reader Reviews for What We Found:

“Another action-packed suspense novel by Kris Bock, perhaps her best to-date. The author weaves an intriguing tale with appealing characters. Watching Audra, the main character, evolve into an emotionally-mature and independent young woman is gratifying.”

“This book had me guessing to the end who was the murderer. Well written characters drive the story. Good romance. Exceptional and believable plot twists and turns. I loved it! I recommend this book highly.”

“This is a nonstop suspense. Love the characters and how real they seem with every episode played out. This is a love story and suspense all in one.”

Learn about the true experience that inspired What We Found.

Sample or buy What We Found on Amazon.

Kris Bock lives in New Mexico, where she enjoys hiking, watching the sunset from her patio, and hanging out with her husband and their ferrets. Her home office looks out on nature, complete with distracting wildlife such as roadrunners and foxes. Her BFA in photography is used mainly to show Facebook friends how lovely the Southwest is.

Kris writes novels of suspense and romance with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. In The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, sparks fly when reader favorites Camie and Tiger help a mysterious man track down his missing uncle.

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

Amazing #NewMexico Skies

Today I wanted to share more of the amazing scenery we've had with evening clouds. No other commentary necessary!

Kris Bock lives in New Mexico, where she enjoys hiking, watching the sunset from her patio, and hanging out with her husband and their ferrets. Her BFA in photography is used mainly to show Facebook friends how lovely New Mexico is.

Kris writes novels of suspense and romance in dramatic Southwestern landscapes. In The Mad Monk’s Treasure, friends hunt for a lost treasure in the desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, relatives compete to find a buried treasure. In The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, reader favorites Camie and the cat Tiger help track down a missing man.

Whispers in the Dark brings romance and suspense to an archaeology dig among ancient Southwest ruins. In the romantic mystery What We Found, a young woman uncovers a murder. In Counterfeits, stolen paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico mountain town.

Fans of Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, and Terry Odell should try Kris Bock’s romantic adventures. “Counterfeits is the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed since I first read Mary Stewart’s Moonspinners.” 5 Stars – Roberta at Sensuous Reviews blog

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

New Mexico #Hiking North Baldy Trail

A couple of weeks ago, my hiking partners and I wanted a good trail without too much heat. The elevation of our part of central New Mexico (around 4800 feet) keeps it cooler than, say, Phoenix. But it's still pretty hot to hike in the summer.

Water Canyon, in central New Mexico between Socorro and Magdalena, has dozens of trails. The trail starting start at the bottom of the mountains can be good for cooler weather. Most of them head up the mountain, so they're an amazing workout. On hot summer days, hikers can start at the top of the mountains. It's about 20 degrees cooler up there, at around 10,000 feet, making it possible to hike even in July and August – but with such thin air, but use sunscreen!

To get to the North Baldy Trail, drive up the long, winding road from the campground. (Signs still claim this road is not good for passenger vehicles, but in recent years it has typically been fine. In summer you should have no problem even in a low-clearance car.) It takes about half an hour to drive up the road from the campground to the top. This is the view from the trailhead, looking away from the trail. Note the observatory in the upper right.

The Timber Ridge Trail also starts near here. North Baldy Trail, No. 8 as the sign indicates,  starts on the north side of the road. The trail takes you from South Baldy to North Baldy Peak, with views of Sierra Blanca, Mt. Taylor, the Sandias, Manzano, and Jemez Mountains. This trail starts in the forest, on a narrow, single file track. Soon it comes out onto the ridge. 

For much of the hike you can get amazing panoramic views in both directions (roughly east and west – the center of this picture is roughly north.)

We had some questions about this loose rubble. It looks like it must have fallen down from a higher peak, but this is the highest peak! We described it to my geologist husband, who suggested that these rocks collapsed on each other as the surrounding earth eroded away. A reminder that even the tallest mountain today might have been much taller in the past.

As a round-trip out and back, the hike is just over 10 miles. Of course, you can always turn around sooner!

Information on this and other local trails from Magdalena.

Kris lives in New Mexico, where she enjoys hiking, watching the sunset from her patio, and hanging out with her husband and their ferrets. Her home office looks out on nature, complete with distracting wildlife such as roadrunners and foxes. Her BFA in photography is used mainly to show Facebook friends how lovely the Southwest is.

Fans of Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, and Terry Odell will love Kris Bock’s romantic adventures. “Counterfeits is the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed since I first read Mary Stewart’s Moonspinners.” 5 Stars – Roberta at Sensuous Reviews blog

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

A #Suspense and #Romance #MFRWHooks from @Kris_Bock

Whispers in the Dark

by Kris Bock

Chapter 1 excerpt:

What had I gotten myself into?

I closed my eyes. Yes, I was driving, but a moment of distraction seemed safe enough, since I hadn’t seen another car in half an hour. Even the jackrabbits and rattlesnakes were hiding in the shade, leaving the road clear of everything but rocks and ruts.

I was starting an adventure. I had to remind myself of that—an adventure. I wanted to be here. I wanted to get away from the city, the classroom and office, the people. You couldn’t get much farther away than this, a tiny cluster of seven-hundred-year-old ruins in the Four Corners area of the Southwest. I had found the middle of nowhere.

As I had wanted, I reminded myself.

The car bumped into a pothole and my head smacked back on the headrest. Maybe I needed to pay more attention to the road after all. I had almost gotten used to the constant vibration from the rough dirt track, but I still got an occasional surprise from potholes as big as wading pools and ridges the size of speed bumps.

The vast landscape drew my attention, the open space leaving me a bit breathless, a reverse of claustrophobia. At a glance the scene lacked color, a wash of parched tan that spoke of emptiness, drought, death. I clenched the steering wheel and breathed deeply through my nose to filter out the dust pouring through the open window. I’d shut off the air-conditioning hours ago to keep my wreck from overheating.

Creative Commons license

It wasn’t like I’d have to live in this dusty wasteland forever. I wanted to test myself in unfamiliar terrain, face life head-on, and prove I had healed. Then I could go back to normal life, stronger and ready to face more ordinary challenges. I didn’t have to love it here; I only had to survive.

But my eyes, adapted to New England’s green trees and grass, slowly started to appreciate this different palette. A painter probably could have named a dozen shades of brown, along with the soft reds—gentle shades of pink and orange and rust and purple—from the sandstone mesas. The scant vegetation added muted, dusty green. The rare patch of yellow wildflowers looked shockingly bright. And above it all lay the vast sky, incredibly blue and so bright it hurt my eyes to look up, even with sunglasses.

I gave a low whistle. “You’re not in Boston anymore.”

I saw a bump on the horizon, a tan cube that stood out against the undulating mesas only because of its straight lines and sharp angles. I took a quick breath and felt my heart rate speed. Almost there. I turned on the car radio, hoping for some distraction. The “seek” button scanned for five seconds before finally settling on a crackly voice. It sounded like a news program, something on tourists being careful about carjackings.

I had to smile. This, a bad neighborhood? Maybe for the mice.

I glanced around at the empty landscape. A black speck in the distant sky caught my eye, a hawk soaring in lazy circles. I shivered. I knew what it was like to be the mouse, helpless in a predator’s claws.

But not here. I refused to be the mouse out here.

Whispers in the Dark

Young archeologist Kylie Hafford heads to the remote Puebloan ruins of Lost Valley, Colorado, to excavate. Her first exploration of the crumbling ruins ends in a confrontation with a gorgeous, angry man who looks like a warrior from the Pueblo’s ancient past. If only Danesh weren’t so aggravating… and fascinating. Then she literally stumbles across Sean, a charming, playful tourist. His attentions feel safer, until she glimpses secrets he’d rather keep hidden.

The summer heats up as two sexy men pursue her. She finds mysteries – and surprising friendships – among the other campground residents. Could the wide-eyed woman and her silent children be in the kind of danger all too familiar to Kylie?

Mysterious lights, murmuring voices, and equipment gone missing plague her dig. A midnight encounter sends Kylie  plummeting into a deep canyon. She’ll need all her strength and wits to survive. Everything becomes clear – if she wants to save the man she’s come to love and see the villains brought to justice, she must face her demons and fight.

Whispers in the Dark, romantic suspense set in the Four Corners region of the Southwest, will appeal to fans of Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, and Terry Odell. This title stands alone and is not part of a series.

“This book kept me turning pages until the end. The plot was full of twists and turns, always keeping the reader rooting for the heroine. Excellent read!” Reader Suzanne B.

Visit all the Book Hooks author blogs. You might find your next great read!

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town.

The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. In The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, sparks fly when reader favorites Camie and Tiger help a mysterious man track down his missing uncle.

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

Amazing #NewMexico Skies

Today I wanted to share some of the amazing scenery we've had with evening storms. No other commentary necessary!

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance set in Southwestern landscapes. In The Mad Monk’s Treasure, two friends hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, relatives follow a series of challenging clues to compete for a buried treasure. In The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, sparks fly when reader favorites Camie and the cat Tiger help a mysterious man track down his missing uncle.

Whispers in the Dark brings romantic suspense to an archaeology dig among ancient Southwest ruins. In the romantic mystery What We Found, a young woman finds a murder victim in the woods. In Counterfeits, stolen paintings bring danger to a small town in the New Mexico mountains. “Counterfeits is the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed since I first read Mary Stewart’s Moonspinners.” 5 Stars – Roberta at Sensuous Reviews blog 

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

Check out #MFRWHooks for The Skeleton Canyon Treasure: #Romance and #Suspense

When Camille Dagneau surprises a strange man in the college machine shop she runs, she is ready for battle. Ryan MacAllister seems equally suspicious of her, but he insists he’s merely looking for his missing uncle, who has disappeared while hunting for a lost treasure. He believes Camie is the key to finding the treasure, and his uncle. But Camie – beautiful, brilliant, and prickly – isn’t about to trust this oversized geologist, or the attraction she feels.

Following the clues in the missing man’s journal will take Camie, Ryan, and the cat Tiger on a trail through New Mexico and Arizona. They’ll visit the Tombstone graveyard at night, uncover clues in museums, and ultimately wind up in Skeleton Canyon, where rumor says nineteenth-century cowboy bandits secreted their treasure in a cave. To rescue Ryan’s uncle, they’ll face steep cliffs, twisty tunnels, and worse dangers in human form, but trusting each other may be the biggest challenge. And they’re running out of time ….

If you love suspense and romance, don’t miss this gripping adventure! The Southwest Treasure Hunters novels include The Mad Monk’s Treasure and The Dead Man’s Treasure. Each novel stands alone in this series mixing action and adventure with light romance.

Praise:

“The Skeleton Canyon Treasure is a light, breezy action/adventure/romance that's perfect for summer reading.”

"A great mystery, love story, and search for a treasure.”

Chapter One

The Skeleton Canyon Treasure
takes readers on an adventure
through the southwestern desert

Camie let herself into the darkened building, reveling in the silence. At 10 PM on a Friday, the engineering department was abandoned, exactly the way she liked it. A few hours of work without distractions and she’d get her invention running.

A faint light shone in the darkened hallway. The glow spilled through the small square of glass in her door, a warning beacon coming from inside her machine shop. She hesitated. Had she forgotten to turn off the light when she left for dinner? Plausible but unlikely. Slapping the light switch on the way out was habit, and she’d been extra careful since the break-in a few nights earlier.

A few other people had keys to the college machine shop, but the cleaning staff would be long gone, and her student interns spent Friday nights at the bar. Camie returned after hours to work on her own projects because inspiration required solitude. So why was her light on?

She crept forward, as silent as the sleeping building around her. The ten-inch window was cloudy with age and threaded with wire mesh, but it didn’t completely hide the sight within. A large man stood on the far side of the room, hunched over one of her workbenches. She didn’t recognize him. Easily several inches over six feet and a good 220 pounds of mostly muscle, he would stand out in any crowd. Among the young geniuses of a science and engineering college, he was a mountain lion among prairie dogs.

Her eyes narrowed and she gave a low growl. What was he doing here, in her machine shop, messing with her equipment? He had to be connected to the earlier theft. Why would he come back when he already had her invention? He couldn’t know she’d already started rebuilding it. Maybe he wanted to steal her notes and the provisional patent application forms. Without them, she’d have a much harder time proving she’d been the original inventor.

She considered her options, calling campus security or the police being the most obvious. Campus security would be faster, but the police would have guns. Problem was, she’d left her phone inside the machine shop. She’d have to leave to find another phone, and he might escape in the meantime, with her notes, and the new version of her device. She didn’t trust the authorities to track him down once he got out of the building. More likely they’d take a report and do nothing. And she did not want to start over from scratch yet again.

And then the man actually reached out and picked up her baby, her new version of the invention, only partway rebuilt. All thought of options and smart choices vanished.

She barreled through the door.

The man spun around, still holding her machine. At least he didn’t drop it, and his hands were occupied so he couldn’t easily go for a weapon. But if he tried to get past her, she’d have to risk damaging her invention in order to stop him.

He gaped at her, several expressions flitting across his face as if unsure which one belonged. Finally he settled into a cocky grin. It didn’t make him good looking. But despite his size and her own keyed-up nerves, she didn’t get a sense of threat. She was usually good at reading people that way.

Still, she didn’t relax. “Well?”

He looked momentarily startled. What kind of greeting had he expected, a warm welcome?

Visit all the Book Hooks from #MFRWHooks - You might find your next great read!

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town.

The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. In The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, sparks fly when reader favorites Camie and Tiger help a mysterious man track down his missing uncle.

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

#Hiking Deer Trap Mesa Trail, Los Alamos, New Mexico

It's time for another visit to Los Alamos, New Mexico. While most famous as the birthplace of the atomic bomb, Los Alamos is also a hiking paradise, with hundreds of trails near town. This is Deer Trap Mesa Trail, which starts from a trailhead at the edge of town. At the start, signs talk about homesteading in the area. Then you head down a steep, narrow stairway cut into the stone. The stairway is hundreds of years old.

At the bottom of the stairway is the deer trap (bottom of picture). It's a shallow pit designed to trap game driven from Barrancas Canyon. It's not deep now, but perhaps it would be deeper with the debris cleared out. 

From there the trail flattens out. There is very little shade, and hiking on top of the mesa would not be pleasant in heavy wind. This would be a great trail for sunny fall afternoons or mild spring days. While most of the trail is pretty flat, the beginning is steep and a bit tricky. The views are great the entire time. I don't know this officially, but we're guessing the early people of the region lived in some of the mini caves in the next mesa (the dark spots dotting the cliff wall).

Officially the trail is three miles, but my GPS tracked us at about four miles. If you want to stick to three miles, be sure to carefully read the trail instructions. Otherwise there are several side trails and viewpoints. 

Info on Deer Trap Mesa Trails, including a map, from the city of Los Alamos.

More on the trail from The Los Alamos Nature Center.

A more detailed map.

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town.

The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. In The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, sparks fly when reader favorites Camie and Tiger help a mysterious man track down his missing uncle.

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

What We Really Found: The Murder That Inspired a Novel

hiking in the Southwest

I like to say that for a writer, everything is research. That attitude can help when things are bad. For example, when I had a car accident that left me with a fat lip from the airbag, I thought, Well, now I know what it feels like to be punched in the face.

You never know when experiences like these might be useful in writing a novel. Or in some cases, an experience might inspire the whole story. That happened a few years ago, on what started out as an ordinary day....

What We Found

Two friends and I were exploring the mountains, looking for some suitable gravel to try gold panning (because, why not?). We found a likely spot and were about to take a sample when the guys smelled something horrible. A glance in the right direction showed them a dead body hidden just out of sight of the path. 

The next hour passed in a surreal blur. None of us had a phone on us. We got back to our vehicles, where the phones were, and then had to find a place with reception. We called 911, waited for the police, and led them to the body. Later that night we were interviewed by detectives. By the following day, they had identified the body as a woman who had been missing. Seeing her picture on TV and learning about her family made the situation real in a new way. We wanted justice for someone we’d never met. Fortunately, they already had a suspect. Having an actual body instead of merely suspicions let them proceed with his arrest, but it took nearly a year to resolve the case.

As a writer, I knew I was getting rare first-hand experience into something powerful. I took pages of notes during that first week, even though I didn’t know how or when I might use them. I was fortunate to be with two men who talked openly about their experiences: the nightmares, the guilt over violence against women, the anxiety that came from now wondering what you might see in the bushes. 

Life Lessons

Three things struck me most strongly. First, we all felt deeply invested in the case, even though we’d never met the woman in life and didn’t know anyone else involved. We followed the news stories, and when the murderer was finally sentenced … well, I wouldn’t say we celebrated; more like we relaxed. This isn’t an experience I would wish on anyone, but we’re glad we helped bring a crime to light and a murderer to justice.

Second, it affected every aspect of our lives for weeks. Even though the likelihood of finding another body, or even witnessing a different crime, was extremely slim, we were on high alert at all times. It was a struggle to put it behind us while still honoring the memory of the victim and holding on to what we had learned.

And finally, we heard from someone in law enforcement that often people don’t report crime scenes like these. How could someone walk away from that? I started thinking about all the reasons someone might want to cover up their discovery, even if they had nothing to do with the crime. And that inspired my romantic mystery What We Found.

Several years passed before I felt distant enough from the experience to fictionalize it, but I still had all those notes and memories to draw on. Some elements of What We Found, mainly the emotional ones, are taken directly from that experience. Most character and plot elements are completely fictional.

A Better Experience

A personal experience does not have to be negative in order to inspire story ideas. I combined the murder plot in What We Found with something much more enjoyable. Through a friend of a friend, I met a man who raises hawks and falcons. My husband and I went on a couple of hunts with him, and I visited his home and got to meet both baby and adult birds. (Learn more about these experiences in a series of posts that starts here.) In What We Found, the heroine meets a mysterious young man who helps his grandmother raised birds of prey.

My other romantic suspense novels all have some personal angle to them. The Mad Monk’s Treasure and The Dead Man’s Treasure involve treasure hunting in New Mexico and draw on personal experiences of hiking in the desert and visiting the various spots that turn up in the books. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins and was inspired by a visit to Hovenweep National Monument some years ago. Counterfeits is set near Jemez Springs, in northwestern New Mexico, at a children's art camp. I've attended many writing retreats at a similar camp. (Learn more at www.krisbock.com or my Amazon page.) 

All of these stories are fictional, but the real-life experiences help them feel real. After all, one benefit to being a writer is that everything – good or bad – is research. 

Kris lives in New Mexico, where she enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and watching the sunset from her patio. Her home office looks out on nature, complete with distracting wildlife such as roadrunners and foxes. Her BFA in photography is used mainly to show Facebook friends how lovely the Southwest is.

Fans of Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, and Terry Odell will want to check out Kris Bock’s romantic adventures. “Counterfeits is the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed since I first read Mary Stewart’s Moonspinners.” 5 Stars – Roberta at Sensuous Reviews blog

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

Hiking the Frijoles Canyon Trail, Bandelier New Mexico

My husband and I recently made a trip to Los Alamos, New Mexico, to visit a friend. While there we hiked Frijoles Canyon Trail. We started at the Ponderosa Campground, which was almost empty even on a Saturday in July. You can do the trail as a 13-mile loop, or hike eight miles one way and end up at the Bandelier National Monument Visitor Center. We made a seven-mile out and back hike.

The 2011 Las Conchas fire destroyed many of the larger trees and allow for subsequent flooding. However, smaller vegetation is coming back with a vengeance, and the lack of trees provides clearer views of the lovely cliff faces. 

The stream is at risk of flooding during heavy summer rains, but during our visit it was easy to cross and pleasant for taking a break to cool the feet.

Wildflowers grew in abundance, and we saw birds, a deer while we were up on the plateau, and a variety of interesting insect life.

This boulder, which must have fallen from the cliffs years (or centuries) previously, appeared to have holes cut into it like a ladder. We were, after all, close to Bandelier, where the Ancestral Pueblo people lived from approximately 1150 CE to 1550 CE.

As we did the hike, it started out fairly flat, then headed down a steep trail to the valley. After hiking along the river for a couple of miles, we turned back and had to do the steep trail again. This hike not only provided great exercise, but also excellent views and a variety of nature!

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town.

The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. In The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, sparks fly when reader favorites Camie and Tiger help a mysterious man track down his missing uncle.

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.