BOOK GROUPIE: Colorado's Stover and Randall
April Book Groupie columns are featuring Colorado-based authors. There is an amazing variety of authors in the area, covering genres of all sorts.
Deb Stover, who has lived elsewhere but for whom Colorado will always be the “home of her heart,” is a great go-to romance author. The Pikes Peak Public Library District carries many of her books, and they are inexpensively available from booksellers, too.
My favorite Stover book is “A Matter of Trust.” It features Taylor Bowen and Gordon Lane.
Taylor returns to her small Colorado hometown to set up a medical clinic. Her office building isn’t ready, and she’s forced to start the clinic in the town’s veterinary office. The only vet in town is Gordon, Taylor’s former boyfriend.
Years before, when the two were in high school, a series of misunderstandings tore their romance apart. In the book the couple examine their past and their future in a fun, sexy way.
Stover’s 2009 book, “The Gift,” also looks promising. It’s one part romance and one part mystery, with a dash of the paranormal thrown in. It’s definitely on my reading list.
In the young adult genre, poet Jessy Randall is a Colorado author with a lot of talent. Her first novel, “The Wandora Unit,” is a high school tale about kids in the poetry crowd. At the group’s center are two girls, Wanda and Dora, who think they’ll be friends forever. But as the girls grow up, they also grow apart.
“The Wandora Unit” is chock-full of great poetry. It is appropriate for older teens and adults.
I’m a long way from reading every Colorado author, but I’m establishing quite a to-read list. If you’ve already read from my list and found a jewel, please let me know.
Laura DiSilverio’s “Tressed to Kill” is the first in a series of mysteries following five women who work in a Georgia beauty parlor.
Cindy Hirschfeld’s “Canine Colorado” explores dog-friendly recreation throughout the state.
Landon Mayer’s “How to Catch the Biggest Trout of Your Life”divulges innovative techniques for landing trophy trout.
Nancy Atherton’s Aunt Dimity mystery series begins with “Aunt Dimity’s Death,”named one of the best mysteries of the century by Independent Mystery Booksellers Association, and follows Aunt Dimity “Down Under.”
The main character of Madge Walls’ “Paying the Price” is a real estate agent in Maui, Hawaii. While surrounded by paradise, the character’s life is sometimes hellish.
Connie Willis’ novel, “Blackout,” examines ordinary people shaping history.
In Stephen Coonts’“The Disciple,” main characters fight to stop a nuclear nightmare.
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Miller welcomes book suggestions. Read her blog at www.anitalaydonmiller.blogspot.com or e-mail anita.l.miller@worldnet.att.net.
