Welcome to my stop on the Just Romance me blog hop. Hop back on the tour by clicking here.
Earth Day reminds me of what I like about living close to an urban forest with an ability to leave the sprawl of Los Angeles and be in the mountains hiking within 45 minutes to an hour, surrounded by sights that look more like the beauty of the Rocky Mountains than the dryness of Southern California.
Two of my books, Getaway and Riding Shotgun, feature the mountains prominently.
Here’s an excerpt from Getaway, where the heroine, Marcie finds joy skinny dipping in a mountain stream:
Discovering unexpected love when seeking solitude.
Marcie removed her hiking shoes and rolled off her socks, then dipped her toes in the water, recoiling from the icy grip racing up her ankles and legs—and then holding her breath, exhaling little by little until she grew acclimated.
She kicked across the surface of the water—
and then twirled with her arms spread wide; basking in her freedom to splash with no one present to judge what might have been called childish actions.
A hawk overhead caught a draft of wind through
the canyon on its feathery wings, and flew through the branches before soaring above the trees. The sun warmed her so thoroughly that she stripped off her hiking T-shirt.
Her bikini top held her breasts firmly in place; though small, they created enough cleavage to catch a man’s fancy—if any had been around. Alone in nature, public modesty could be tossed aside like a rag.
Getaway is available at Amazon, All Romance eBooks, and Breathless Press the publisher.
DD Symms, Romance Author 
“Public modesty could be tossed aside like a rag.” Love this!! I think I need to read your book….
Thanks, Sheri. I love the local mountains. I see you’re in Central California. We really like going to Avila Beach.
Wow, thanks for sharing the interesting snippet… 🙂
TBR list added.
BeckeyWhiteATgmailDOTcom
Thank you, Beckey!
thank you for sharing .
Happy Green Day
Hi Melissa,
Am glad to and I appreciate you stopping by.
I love the great outdoors, thanks for sharing your blurb. Carin
mawmom at gmail dot com
You’re welcome! Yep, the mountains above LA really are amazing for being so close to a huge city and the ocean.
What a great excerpt. I’m fond of the Sierra Nevada mountains, they’re what I grew up with.
smurfettev AT gmail DOT com
Hi SheriV,
What area did you grow up in? My short story Riding Shotgun “occurs” along Highway 395 in the town of “Sky” Pines 🙂 … I think 395 is fascinating because of the Sierras to the immediate west and the brown, dry Alabama Hills on the east.
Nice excerpt. Thanks for sharing a little snippet with us. And thanks for the chance to win.
reneebennett35 (at) yahoo (dot) com
You’re welcome. Good luck!
Very nice excerpt
Great excerpt!
Thanks for sharing =D And happy Earth Day
I’ll admit I’ve SEEN the mountains, but I’ve never been IN them. I’m not very outdoorsy, but I like when books can take me places I normally wouldn’t experience.
sasha(at)sashadevlin(dot)com
Very nice knowing that you love the mountains. I love them too. Being here in Seattle we are surrounded by them. They are beautiful to see. Thanks for the short summary!
Thanks for the opportunity
Belinda G
belgre AT comcast DOT net
great post! 🙂
mygirls01(@)yahoo.com
Love the outdoors, Parents live in the country in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, We live in NC but are 2 hours from the beach and 6 hours from the little slice of heaven we visit every spring in the mountains.
j.m.platt83@gmail.dom
thanks for the comment, jeannie. I appreciate you stopping by. Yeah, there’s something wonderfully nice about being able to go up high.
Absolutely love the excerpt !Cant wait to read Getaway 🙂
thank you so much, Hannah.
I can use my imagination to figure out what happened next but rather not, need to read the book lol thanks for sharing!
leanne109[at]hotmail[dot]com
wink, wink … appreciate that.
The mountains are definitely beautiful! Thanks for sharing a snippet from your story, DD!
f dot chen at comcast dot net
Am glad to share. I love trying to capture the beauty and sensuality of nature.
Makes me wish for hot summer sun and cool private water.
“private” water? Oh, I can understand why.
Skinny dipping in a mountain stream sounds very romantic…especially with the guy on your cover.
Yeah, the cover is … hmm, hot … or cool? LOL!
Great excerpt! Sounds like a terrific story. I love your descriptions, put me right in the scene.
Thanks, Jean.
I love being able to go from city to country in just a little time too.
Michelle Bledsoe
koonie2888 at yahoo dot com
Yeah, it is a privilege. What city do you live in or near?
Great excerpt! I love the idea of “the mountains”, but having grown up in them, they don’t have the same appeal to me. They are beautiful, but I prefer running water and a toilet that flushes. 😉
Thanks for sharing.
trb0917 at gmail.com
That’s funny but I also understand! Yes, they can be fun to “get away” for a little bit. But modern conveniences are so convenient!
Love the excerpt! Tell me, when she tosses her modesty aside, does a handsome man walk up? lol Thank you for sharing! Definitely adding to my want list. Thanks!
shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com
Ah, yes that certainly occurs. Well, he doesn’t walk up to her … he … well, let’s say the first meeting is unexpected for both of them.
Ahhh .. those were the days 😀 Camping and living rough. Unfortunately Hubby (believe it or not) likes his modern conveniences 😀 So I’ll just have to make do with reading about it. Lovely excerpt!
Cheers!
Lyn,
Thx … yes there are ways to make us soft and sometimes rougher is nicer.