The story behind Forsaken Canyon
I had so much fun writing Forsaken Canyon, and yet it was a hard book to write. Suspense stories with a strong mystery have to be carefully mapped out. You have to put just the right red herrings in but also keep the pace moving.
I chose to write about the Lost City of Gold (and I had sold this book before National Treasure II came out). I went to that movie to see how similar our stories were, and they weren’t except the hero and heroine were both looking for the lost city. My heroine, a historian, had a theory she wanted to prove right. She needed the hero to guide her to the maze of canyons where she thought the city was hidden. Having his own reason not to go, he didn’t jump at the chance, but circumstances and the heroine persuaded him to comply although reluctantly.
Again I turned to my husband who has extensively read about the Indians in the Southwest (he’d helped me with Buried Secrets—Forsaken Canyon is its sequel). He has a lot of research books on the subject and a few went into the Spanish presence in the area. I love New Mexico (the whole Southwest) and have been on many trips to the area. My husband and I have explored a lot of Indian ruins and canyons. So as my two set off on an adventure that tested them spiritually and physically, I could picture in my mind what it all looked like.
Most legends have some kind of basis for them and that was the premise I went on. I do think there is a Lost City of Gold out there somewhere. It may not be in the form we have pictured, but there is something that prompted the legend. The Spanish certainly believed it and spent time searching for it in their quest for riches. Kit didn’t want the riches. She needed it for her academic career that was floundering.
The area is riddled with caves so my imagination had fun with coming up with my own cavern system. Again I found my characters thrust in an underground world where darkness ruled. Oh, what fun! At least as a suspense writer, I thought so. Of course, if I was ever stuck in a cave in total darkness, I would…I can’t even imagine what I would do. I never want to find out either. The things I can put my hero and heroine through are great, but I don’t want to experience many of the things firsthand. I’ll use my imagination instead and live the experience through my characters. That isn’t to say I haven’t been in a variety of caves. I have and enjoyed exploring them. But that is as far as I want to go.
If you read Forsaken Canyon, I hope you enjoy the roller coaster ride I put my characters through. It is a story with many elements—romance, suspense, mystery, adventure and inspiration.
If you leave a comment with your email address or email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com, I will enter you in a drawing for Forsaken Canyon. The drawing will end next Tuesday night.
