Alvarado Gold
Victoria
first attempted writing twenty years ago when she published a small article in
an adoptive parent magazine. Then her super-mom gene took over and she
enjoyed the events surrounding her daughters' lives: school, sports,
music, dance and cheer.
When her
oldest left for college and the empty nest syndrome set in, Victoria began
researching her family genealogy. After several years of investigation,
she felt some of the family stories needed to be told. From one of them, her first novel began to
take shape.
Alvarado
Gold is an
inspirational novel with a mixture of adventure, intrigue and romance. The
heroine, Addie Brown, reconnects with her cousins at her grandfather's funeral,
but there’s one cousin missing, Donnie. Is it by choice or does he have some
other motive? As she's researching family documents, one of which refers to
gold buried near the small Texas town of Alvarado, she meets Gary Wright, who
touches her empty heart. Gary insists on
helping Addie and her cousins with their quest, but then strange occurrences
and threatening notes lead her to believe Gary is working with Donnie. Addie
tries to unravel the family secrets, be the first to reach the gold and deal
with her own indecision. Should she trust Gary? If she does, she’ll need to
tell him the secret she’s kept hidden in her heart.
Other than
writing, Victoria enjoys reading, craft work, and collectibles. She is
also an exotic gemstone collector and a HAM radio operator.
Blurb:
As the hot,
oppressive Texas heat takes the breath from her lungs, Addie Brown stands at
her grandfather's grave. Deep within her, she senses her anchor to family is
gone. She looks across the freshly dug chasm at three of her four cousins.
Nothing more than smiling faces on Christmas cards and vacation photos, she
remembers once when they were close but something happened.
Snapping her back to reality, the minister reads, To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. She wonders when will be my time? But Addie has bargained with God and lost and she feels she can never share her secret with anyone. But through an unusual turn of events, she realizes there is a truth and meaning to the passage from Ecclesiastes that begins to drive her life.
Excerpt:
Mollie wrapped her leash around
my legs. When my neighbor, Mrs. Nicholson’s, white Persian came into view, I
knew I was in trouble. I dropped the leash but not before Mollie’s chase spun
me around. I twisted around like a rangy ballerina attempting her first
pirouette, landing next to the back tire, unharmed and embarrassed. So much for
a light-footed first impression.
When Gary realized I wasn’t hurt,
he tried hard not to laugh at me, “Are you okay?”
“I will be as soon as we get
Mollie corralled. Let’s go.”
From the heat I felt on my
cheeks, I knew they were the same color as the car. How graceful could I be?
I couldn’t even stand on my own two feet. Gary offered me his hand. I
couldn’t help but catch his infectious laugh. He pulled me up. I swung in closer
to him than I’d intended and for one brief moment, we stood toe-to-toe. I
looked up at him and my blush grew deeper. Stepping back, I made room for him
to reach the door handle. He placed his other hand on my waist. Opening the
door, he guided me into my seat. He reached over and buckled the belt, turned
and whistled for Mollie.
Lifting Mollie into the back
seat, he brushed his lips across my forehead. “There, all tucked in.”
I touched his arm. He came
closer, I closed my eyes and he kissed me full on the mouth. It was a long,
passionate kiss leaving me hoping for more.
I heard the little voice, Be
careful, Addie. Don’t go too fast. Silly little voice.
I'm sold. "Alvarado Gold" has to go on my list of gotta read books. "Cairo", too! Carlene
ReplyDeleteThank you Kim, for letting me visit your blog. I hope you like Alvarado Gold, Carlene. The book gives a little background to the characters in Cairo
ReplyDeleteI read "Alvarado Gold" and felt lots of adventure along with romance. I loved the major point, too, about the relative importance of different things in our lives--family and friends vs wealth.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bonnie. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete