Montana Roots - #giveaway #NativeAmerican #Montana @ConstanceBretes

By Constance Bretes (Guest Blogger)

Before I moved to Alabama last Spring, I lived in a tiny little town called Basin, in Montana. The population was about 250 people. I made some really nice friends there, and a few of my friends became my readers who enjoyed reading my romance books. They asked me if I’d consider writing a romance centered around a small town in Montana, like Basin.

Basin sits in a small valley surrounded by mountains. Off to the north of Basin sits Boulder, Montana, and Elkhorn Mountains. Basin is also known as a miner’s town. At one point, there were three mines in operation, searching for gold and silver, and the town grew to over a thousand residents. When the mines dried up, it reduced the population, and left some empty buildings in its wake. Some of those empty buildings were at one time, considered brothels. The only things now operating in Basin, is a pizza place, a restaurant and bar, a post office, two radon mines and a grade school.

In addition to all this, there was a couple of railroad tunnels that went through Basin. It actually at one point, came from Helena and traveled down to Butte. The rail tracks are long gone, but the tunnels remain. Not too far from Basin, is a ghost town called Comet. The pictures attached are the Comet mine, and the old tunnel that is in Basin. 

 

My story, Elkhorn In The Moonlight, was generated from this information. I changed the name of the town to Mason, and I added one more business to the town, a small motel, which I situated at the same location of what is now currently called Earth Angel. Some of the characters represented are some of the residents that lives there, including my husband and I, but all the names are different. The restaurant and bar, along with the pizza place, the post office and the school are in the story, as well as the three mines. Everything was renamed so to not put anyone on the spot or violate anyone’s privacy.

I’m giving away an ebook copy of Elkhorn InThe Moonlight and an ebook from my backlist during the tour. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Remember there is a chance to enter everyday so be sure to follow the Blog Tour. You may find the tour schedule and locations here https://goo.gl/WosRX4

About Elkhorn In The Moonlight

The search for stolen Sacred Arrows leads to much more.

Marcus Blackhawk is on a mission to locate the Sacred Arrows that were stolen from the Cheyenne Nation. When he learns that someone has seen the arrows he leaves immediately to track the person down and get more information.

Nicole Lancaster ekes out a living in a small town by helping her brother run a motel and working part-time in a restaurant. Her mundane life suddenly becomes more exciting when Marcus arrives in town asking about some arrows that she came upon years ago while hiking in the Elkhorn Mountains. The gorgeous man makes her heart beat fast, but she knows he’d never be interested in a Plain Jane like herself.

When Marcus offers Nicole a large sum of cash to lead him to the cave where she saw the arrows, she takes him up on the offer. After a three-day hiking trip through the mountains they locate the cave, but then the unthinkable happens, and they find themselves trapped inside. As they wait, hopeful they’ll be rescued, they give into the passion that’s been simmering between them.

Will help arrive in time to save them? And if so, can their night of passion ever be anything more? Marcus has no interest in an actual relationship, and Nicole wants the whole nine yards.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Heat Level: Medium Hot

Excerpt

“You pass it every time you go into Mason. The other two are on the other side of the overpass. Sandpiper Mine you can see from the highway, but you have to go on Gulch Mine to get to the Elkhorn Mountains. The mountain ranges there are the highest, and there are a lot of vertical drops, so you’d have to travel where you can walk it. It’s not something where you can climb it and be there. You have to go in a roundabout way.”

“Do you have a very clear vision of where this cave is, and how to get to it?” he asked.

“Yes. I remember it clear as day now.”

“How soon can you get yourself ready for the hike?”

“What? I’m not going there. You are. I can’t just take off and leave, I have work to do. Plus, it’s way too cold to go there right now. The mountains in that area still have snow on them.”

“You think I would know where to go by the information that you provided?”

“I gave you very good information,” she said.

“Do you have the coordinates for GPS?”

“No. I don’t.”

“So, you think that I, who have never traveled these mountains before, would have no problem finding that cave?” Marcus’s eyes narrowed as he regarded her.

“I don’t have any idea how you intend to get there. Personally, I think you should wait until summer to do it. The weather in the mountains is unpredictable.”

Marcus sat thinking about the situation for a second, and then he said, “Name your price.”

“Huh?” “I said, name your price,” he repeated. “I need you to lead me to that cave, and I have to do it this week.”

“You’re not listening to me. I can’t take you there. I have work to do here. I can’t leave to go on a weeklong camping trip.”

“You can for a price,” he said grimly.

“You can’t buy me off to get what you want,” Nicole said defensively.

“Everyone is willing to do certain things for a certain price. Will thirty thousand get you interested and willing to go?”

“I…I…thirty thousand? No, I won’t be bought,” she stammered.

“Look, Nicole. Let’s quit with the games. I’m going to go there to get those Sacred Arrows, and you are the one who is going to take me there and bring me back. I’m offering you thirty thousand for a week…week and a half of work. I think your brother and his wife can handle the motel for that length of time.”

“I’m sorry.” She stopped for a few seconds. “I won’t be bullied. My answer is no.” She stood up to leave.

“Just think about this. Like I said, thirty thousand for a week and a half of work. Think what you could do with that money. Think of all the possibilities and opportunities you’d have. As for the weather, I know you have lived through worse weather right here in Mason. You know what to expect. I would not let you go up there without your GPS, your cellphone and satellite phone, your two-way radio, and letting your brother know exactly where you’re at should there ever be an emergency. I’ll give you until tomorrow at noon to tell me your decision, and if I were you, I’d think about this very seriously. I intend to have my way in this,” he said sternly. Grabbing his maps and the pictures she gave him, he walked back to the causeway and to his room.

About the Author

Constance started writing contemporary romance and contemporary romance suspense fifteen years ago.

She was born and raised in Michigan. After 38 years working for the State of Michigan, she retired. She and her husband moved to Montana and lived in the mountainside of a small town that this story, Elkhorn In The Moonlight, was based upon. After living there for three years, they moved to Alabama, with her three feline furballs who own her and her husband.

Her hobbies include basket weaving, reading romance books, and jewelry making as well as writing.

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