RED GOLD - Sandy Nadeau - One Free Book

Welcome, Sandy. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

Probably quite a lot. At this stage of my writing, I think it’s easier to glean from what I know. Don’t tell her, but my teenage character in Red Gold came from a lot from my daughter at that age. Now my bad guys, I’m not going to name where I get their nastiness.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Stepping into a pen full of wild Mexican Gray wolves so I could learn about them and take photos up close and personal.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I started out with the typical diary as a young girl. In high school, I wrote quite a bit. A lot of those stories went to a teacher who disposed of them before I could get them home. I have journaled a lot over the years. But when my daughter was three, I did a home study course on writing. I really had a desire to be a writer. There was a lot of learning to do and it took me many years to accomplish it. I did write a newspaper column for twelve years. When that ended, I turned to novels. My grandmother did a lot of writing, and my mom writes poetry and lots of stories of her life growing up in the depression years.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I read almost every genre within the Christian market. I love historicals, contemporary, suspense, mystery, romance, adventure. I tend to stay in the Christian market because I like the clean, values-driven writing.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

Day trips of driving up to the mountains to find some adventure. We’re not far from some great destinations in this state. I love to photograph the views, the wildlife. My husband and I have to often go get our “mountain fix”. It settles me back down. God’s creation does that for me. Camping too. Just have to get away sometimes.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I torment over them quite a lot. I’ll look at magazines and pull out a name that seems to suit a character. I had a hard time naming Mr. Shonee in Red Gold, but I finally saw an ad for the restaurant by that name and that just became a fit. It was different. And I guess I’ll fess up. My two main characters Jon and Mandy are living out a dream my husband and I had of running a ranch like that, so…well…Ron and Sandy/Jon and Mandy….

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I’ve been writing for so many years. It was always a dream to have a book published. To have achieved that goal is a huge accomplishment for me. To have an outlet to share the love of God, it’s priceless. I hope the Lord will continue to bless this writing path I’m on with more books to publish.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

Living here in Colorado, I guess I would have to be a mountain goat so I could get over the next ridge easier to see what’s beyond.

What is your favorite food?

Popcorn. Dark chocolate. Does that count?

It does to me. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

B.I.C. Butt in Chair. Just sit down and write! I haven’t overcome it enough yet.

Tell us about the featured book.

Mandy Phillips loves life with her husband running an adventure ranch in the Colorado mountains, but when Mr. Shonee, their crotchety old neighbor, tries to stop them from building a kid-size old west town their dreams of expansion are crushed. 

Is Shonee just being a difficult neighbor, or is something more sinister going on? A discovery on the property of Colorado's state mineral leads to more mysteries for the ranch, and then a teenage guest finds herself thrust head first into danger. 

Mandy will have to rescue her, but who will rescue Mandy? Her faith in God is her only source to keep the guests safe, solve the mysteries surrounding her ranch, save her neighbor from himself, and discover the secrets of the Red Gold.

Please give us the first page of the book.

The stench of burning brush assaulted her.

No! Mandy ran for the porch, grabbed the wand of the triangle suspended from the roof, and clanged the warning. Dread and panic crept up. Her heart raced.

Smoke billowed over the ridge. She knew flames inched towards the dry brush that lay between them and the guest ranch. 

“Jon!” Mandy screamed for her husband as she clanged the triangle, and then dashed into the house. 

The screen door slammed shut. 

“Jon!” She grabbed the phone and ran back outside to the triangle. Visions of losing everything rose in her mind.

Barney, their black and brown Australian Shepherd, stood outside the door flinging himself into the air and barking frantically.

“What’s going on?” Jon’s thundering steps came from the house.

She dialed 911 and clanged the triangle while waiting for the operator to answer. “Fire!” she yelled to Jon. “There’s smoke coming up from over the ridge to the south.” Beads of sweat ran down her forehead.

“What’s your emergency?” The dispatcher’s voice came over the phone.

Mandy stopped clanging. “Fire to the south of High Country Safaris off County Road Five. Hurry!”

Jon sailed past her, not even touching the porch steps.

Ranch hands ran from the barn and the bunkhouse, some men still pulling on boots.
Mandy pointed to the smoke rising over the ridge.

“I see it, Miss Mandy,” Mike hollered. His boots stirred up a cloud of dust as he changed direction. “I’ll get the water truck.” He ran towards the garage with George, another ranch hand, on his heels.

Mike and George hopped in the passenger seat. They tore up the service road towards the rising smoke.

The others grabbed shovels, picks, and axes.

Mandy threw the phone onto the porch chair and headed to her old Willys Jeep.

Barney jumped off the porch ahead of her and ran in circles.

She pointed a warning finger at his spot under a tree near the porch. “Go lay down, Barney. You stay! I mean it.”

Barney whined, sat back down, but his front paws bounced side to side. He obeyed, but panted heavily and watched after the crew going into the smoke. The dog let out an occasional bark as she left.

 “Lord, please, stop this fire… please.”

A blaze could take off, especially after such a dry winter and all the dead trees from the beetle infestation. Spring rains had been sparse in the mountains of Colorado, and the sun was hot at their 7,900 foot elevation.

The vehicle bounced off every rock and pothole in the old dirt road, but she didn’t care about the jarring her body endured. Her knuckles grew white as she gripped the steering wheel.

Over the ridge, Jon and the hands were flanking the fire.

A deep chill ran up her spine, and her palms went cold.

Shovels and pick axes flew up and down with rhythmic movement as the men worked to throw dirt onto the crawling flames.

She scanned the potential route of the fire. It wasn’t that large, maybe over an acre, but as the wind picked up, it would only get worse. If the fire made it into the trees, there would be no way to stop the flames before they finished off the forest. And their ranch.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.SandyNadeau.com

www.SandyNadeau.blogspot.com  for some short stories of our adventures around Colorado.

Sandy Nadeau, author   on Facebook

@SandyNadeauCO    on Twitter

And they can email me at sandy@sandynadeau.com

Thank you, Sandy, for sharing your new book with us.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Red Gold - Christianbook.com
Red Gold - Amazon
Red Gold - Kindle

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