Shannon here: Sara L. Jameson won a publishing contract from the first annual Scrivenings Press Get Pubbed Contest for Cruise to Death. Today, she’s sharing her inspiration for her debut Romantic Suspense. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for a copy. Deadline: June 12th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Sara:
The story was inspired by a Moselle/Rhine riverboat cruise my parents treated our family to in 2007 or thereabouts. The book replicates our cruise stops. While on the trip, it occurred to me this was a ripe setting for a romantic suspense novel about potential terrorist activities on riverboat cruises and their ports of call.
The heroine, Riley Williams, was inspired by a friend’s four-year-old granddaughter. I used to wonder what that spunky, fearless, vivacious child would grow up to be like. Clearly a beauty with a saucy grin, even at the age of four. I decided to honor her by naming the protagonist in Cruise to Death after her.
Riley’s career as a young American singer, in European concert and opera houses, was drawn from my own life decades ago. Including her nightmare experiences with dance. As budding artists, we were assured if 5% of all our auditions yielded a contract, our career was advancing well. However, those lean weeks between gigs were fertile soil for learning to trust God as my provider. I can truthfully say He never let me down. He always provided a gig in the nick of time.
While that life lesson could easily have been what Riley learns about herself during the cruise, events in the story force her to deal with other issues: is she living the life God called her to live? Have the vows and promises she’s made been His will for her? Is her refusal to let the love of a godly man into her life God’s plan for her?
A true romantic at heart, Texas-born Jacob Coulter works in Brussels, Belgium as an anti-terrorist intel analyst for Interpol. A trait Jacob and I share is a passion for injustices to be righted.
After terrorists murder his best friend, an undercover agent for Interpol, Jacob is reluctant to pursue a serious relationship with a woman. Like his friend, he’s fearful he’d leave her a widow and a single mom. And Riley, with her quirky but courageous and compassionate nature, is off-the-charts different from any woman he’s known. Besides, her relationship with her former boyfriend makes her the No. 1 suspect among possible terrorists onboard. That, coupled with Jacob’s unhealed wounds from his past, have left him reluctant to trust again.
Like other European river-boat cruise routes, a Rhine/Moselle cruise oozes with romantic settings. Hillsides dotted with castles and terraced vineyards, medieval villages with night-lit Gothic church spires, fabulous meals onboard, and a relaxed pace are all ingredients for a romantic vacation. Or a memorable way to celebrate a wedding anniversary.
And a lovely place for Riley and Jacob to meet and fall in love.
About Sara: Sara L. Jameson makes her home in the desert southwest. When she isn’t working on a new novel, she enjoys swimming, cooking, reading, and gardening. She writes romantic suspense and historical suspense with a romantic thread, often set just prior to or during WWII.
Sara’s Website (under construction) Sara’s E-mail Sara’s Twitter
About the book – Cruise to Death:
Winner of the 2020 Scrivenings Press Get Pubbed Contest!
When opera singer Riley Williams agrees to sub as a musical-theater performer on a luxury Rhine/Moselle River boat cruise, she gets more than she bargained for. Not only does she have to come up with 250 Broadway songs, she must dance with the male passengers. Dance—the subject she nearly failed in her conservatory courses, and the cause of her recent flop in an opera house. To make matters worse, she overhears two terrorists at a café in Antwerp, Belgium, discussing the transfer of deadly Agent X to the highest bioterrorist bidders.
Interpol Agent Jacob Coulter, an anti-terrorism desk analyst in Brussels, Belgium, insists on serving as an undercover agent after his best friend Noel is murdered by terrorists from the cell he infiltrated in Brussels. Shortly before Noel dies, he manages to tell Jacob snippets of the terrorists’ plans. Plans that seem to involve the same river boat cruise Riley is on.
When Interpol learns of Riley’s encounter with terrorists at the café, Jacob’s supervisor insists he work with her to identify the terrorists and retrieve Agent X. But their relationship is fraught with distrust because of Riley’s suspicious past and a romantic attraction neither of them wants.
Can’t wait for the drawing? Worried you won’t win? Get your copy now!
Cruise to Death – Scrivenings Press
Question for Readers: Have you ever been on a cruise? If so, where did you go? If not, would you like to go on a cruise? If not, why? If so, where?
Come back June 4th for Leeann Betts!
Cruise to Death by Sara L. Jameson sounds wonderful with all those exciting settings and an interesting plot. No wonder it won a contest. I want to read it, and sure hope I win.
This book sure sounds interesting. I went on a cruise about 10 yrs ago to Mexico. We visited several islands. Cancun, Cozumel & Playa del Carmen. We had a great cruise.
Hi Molly,
Thank you so much for your kind words! My computer decided to play difficult yesterday so I am only now able to respond to your comments.
Hi Brenda,
Please forgive the delay in responding. I tried to, all day yesterday, but email and websites weren’t cooperating. A cruise to Mexico sounds fabulous! I know I would love the colors of the water there.
Hi Molly,
Thank you so much for your kind words! My computer decided to play difficult yesterday so I am only now able to respond to your comments.
I went with my husband on a cruise to Jamaica. So amazing what all you can do on a cruise and, oh my, the food! I would definitely do another cruise if I could. On one of the cruise stops we even got to visit the lovely restaurant that we had been to on our Honeymoon. Can’t wait to read this book – sounds like all the elements for a winner.
Hi Margaret Anne,
Your cruise sounds fantastic! Jamaica would be such a lovely honeymoon destination, too. Thank you so much for posting.
I’ve known Sara quite a few years now and am thrilled she listened when I urged her to enter the Scrivenings Contest and WON! I can’t wait to own and read this book. I wish Sara many more writing accomplishments beyond this. I didn’t think I would enjoy cruises I’ve been on three organized by the literary agency I’m signed with and find I do enjoy. All three have been to general Caribbean destinations including Bahamas, Grand Caymans, Mexico–I would like to go again 🙂
Hi Delores,
Thank you so much for posting, and again, for your encouragement to enter Scrivenings Press’s Get Pubbed contest.
Cruises organized by your literary agency sound like a lot of fun, and especially the destinations you’ve visited. One of the things I love about cruises is the unpack-once benefit.
How special it is to know that Cruise to Murder is now hot off the press and will soon be in the hands of many! My imagination goes wild as I think of the characters and the hints the Sara has given! I can’t wait to read the book and already have great expectations seeing the novel featured in book store windows and hearing reviews at literary clubs in my city. And, wouldn’t it be lovely to have the book on the deck of a cruise ship floating somewhere in the faraway wonderful world? The closest to a real cruise was a fabulous slow riverboat between the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River before the dam was created. My wonderful husband was showing me China, the land of his birth, many years before to America parents, gave me that joyful experience.
Hi Peggy,
Thank you so much for posting. Your riverboat cruise in China sounds breathtaking and deeply moving, visiting the land of your husband’s birth.
Thank you for sharing your marketing ideas, too!
Have you ever been on a cruise? Yes! I love cruising.
If so, where did you go? Caribbean and Mexico
I have a winner! Margaret Lindstrom won the drawing. I appreciate Sara for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.