Virtual Book Tour - Meet Amy Craig, Author of The Starlight Motel

 

THE STARLIGHT MOTEL

By

Amy Craig 

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GENRE - Contemporary Romance 

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Experienced muralist Kada took charge of her family's Palm Springs motel to give her mother time to grieve. As a grant deadline approaches, Kada must convince her mother to manage the motel so she can return to her art. Late in December, Kada encounters a horseman approaching the property. Dane, the reserved son of a local farming family, is a loyal workaholic with limited spare time or experience outside the valley. When lightning startles his horse, he lingers at the motel and stirs up Kada's emotions about leaving the desert oasis. Wary of mixing business with pleasure, she struggles with her attraction. As New Year's Eve approaches, will the cowboy convince her to chart a new course? 

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“I’m Dane Palmer,” the man on the chestnut horse said. “My family owns the land next door.”

 

“Oh, thank goodness.” She shaded her gaze. “I’ve heard about you.”

 

For as long as her family owned the motel, the Palmer family owned the surrounding farmland. Once or twice, the Palmer patriarch offered to buy the Starlight Motel, but Pops resisted and counted the family as friends. They produced the area’s top vegetable crops, cultivated table grapes, and managed fields of fruit trees. Every once in a while, Dane’s mother, Mariah, came by the motel to visit and give her business advice, but Dane and his younger brother remained enigmas. She exhaled. “I’ve met your mother.”

 

“I’m sure,” Dane said. “She gets around.”

 

The second man laughed like a rusted pail swinging in the wind.

 

Dane glanced at the seated cowboy. “This is Walter. He’s the farm’s crew manager.”

 

Tipping his hat, Walter nodded.

 

She tented her gaze. “Could you two get down? Between the horses and the low sun, I can’t see you to save my life.”

 

Hanging his hat on the saddle horn, Dane handed his horse’s reins to Walter. He threw his leg over the horse’s saddle and slid down its side with an easy, athletic grace.

 

Amy Craig, Romance Author

Amy Craig lives in Louisiana with her family and a small menagerie of pets. She writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense featuring intelligent heroines. In her spare time, she plays tennis and expands her husband’s honey-do list. Before writing, she worked as an oilfield engineer, project manager, and incompetent waitress. For more information and giveaways, visit www.amy-craig.com or follow her on social media channels.

Butterflies, Muralists, and Happily Ever After by Amy Craig 

I live in Louisiana, but I’m a California girl at heart. I read Bay Area online news sites for restaurant trends, wildfire updates, and changes to the cities where I lived. Maybe I’ll go back one day for more than a visit!

A few years ago, a news story about a San Francisco mural caught my eye. The 455 Hyde Street murals, collectively known as Le Papillon, tell the story of San Francisco’s urban beauties. Monarchs fly toward the California Poppy, and the artistic process behind creating the mural captured my attention.

As I learned more about the work, Kada, the main character in THE STARLIGHT MOTEL, also came into focus. When crowd-funding fails to lead her toward her next installation, she helps her family run a Palm Springs motel. The question is, why does she love it?

Fictional muralists often undergo significant personal growth ("The Murals" by William Bayer, "The Lacuna" by Barbara Kingsolver, or "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older). As they create their murals, they confront personal challenges, heal from past traumas, or discover new facets of themselves. Unfortunately, this process is too long for contemporary romances. Baby, we’re falling in love in a week!

However, muralists are also more than artists. They are storytellers, activists, and community builders. They bring color and complexity to narratives, just like they bring art to public spaces. Those butterflies on the San Francisco building? One of the most beautiful is the Xerces blue butterfly. It might be the first butterfly species in the United States to go extinct due to human development and habitat loss.

Sometimes, I wonder if Palm Spring might go extinct, too. It’s an agricultural resource, but it’s a man-made wonder. So is art. So, whether you value butterflies, winter lettuce, or vibrant paintings, support the things in your community that make sense.

Me? Every summer, I feed caterpillars to atone for the one I accidently squished! THE STARLIGHT MOTEL has nothing on "A Sound of Thunder," by Ray Bradbury, but it’s a light-hearted romp between a talented artist and a stubborn cowboy. I hope you love it!

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a Rafflecopter Giveaway

Amy Craig will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.