Guest blogger Margaret Daley

Captain’s Log, Stardate 01.08.2007

Today I have the wonderful Margaret Daley guest blogging! Margaret has always encouraged me in my writing, even when she first met me on the Steeple Hill discussion boards and I was just starting out on my first manuscript (the bad book).

Margaret's latest romantic suspense novel is Heart of the Amazon

THE JUNGLE SOUGHT TO CLAIM HER. ASSASSINS MEANT TO SILENCE HER.

There was no way her brother was dead. Officials claimed the biochemist had been murdered in the Brazilian rainforest, his body fallen prey to the mists of the jungle. But Kate Collier knew Zach and couldn't leave it at that; Zach was all she had left.

Tall, dark and mysterious, A. C. Slader had a past that was as turbulent as the Amazon River. Yet he was the only one who could guide her on a journey from which many never returned. A journey that would stretch the limits of their faith in God and each other…


And now, here’s Margaret!

Heart of the Amazon is a book of my heart. I have always been fascinated with the jungle. I have read book after book about the rain forest, and then I got an opportunity to go to a jungle-first in Belize and later in Costa Rico. When I write a book, I like to be authentic and know what I'm writing about. I like to visit the country or town I locate my book in. If I can, I immerse myself in a place.

So that is the reason I found myself staying at a national park in Costa Rico on the Caribbean side of the country. Now when I go on a vacation, I like at least a three star hotel. The place I stayed in was maybe a one star hotel-and I use hotel loosely here. I felt like I was camping out in the wilds and I don't do camping well. The cabin had no air-conditioning and it was hot. Worse I ended up taking a shower with a lizard. I freaked out! I'm sure the people in the cabins nearby heard my scream.

The next morning my husband and I were awakened by a chorus of birds chirping happily in the trees outside our cabin. There was one particular bird that I think made it his mission to drive me crazy. If he slept, it was when I was gone. He probably watched me leave, took a nap or whatever birds do, then when he saw me return, he started in again with his unusual call. No doubt a lonely male looking for a mate. If I were a female bird, I would have been staying away from that one.

When I went to breakfast that first morning, what did I see on the way? A boa in the tree near the path! At that moment I didn't care that it was a baby one. A snake is a snake is a snake.

After the first day I was wondering what I had found fascinating about a jungle. There are scary animals in jungles. You sweat buckets and it is HOT! These are all things I don't like, but a writer does so many unpleasant things for the sake of authenticity in her book.

Despite my excursions into the jungle, I'm still enthralled with the rain forest. There is a beauty only God could have made. Our jungles are a vital area on this planet. There are still undiscovered plants and animals, I'm sure, in the rain forest around the world. Stepping into the jungle is like opening a treasure chest of the Lord's wonders.

I hope you enjoy my journey into God's treasure trove in Heart of the Amazon. You can read the first chapter on my web site.

Margaret Daley

Camy here: Thanks, Margaret!

I’ll be posting a review of this book sometime this week!