TRAVEL WITH SERENA--GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK

We’re joined today by guest author and nature enthusiast Julie Korzenko, here to tell us about Grand Teton National Park. Julie’s fervent desire to "save the animals" feeds her stories as well as her ability to fall prey to half a dozen canines that rule her life.  The Fifth Season is Julie’s third book. Angel Falls, sequel to Devil’s Gold, will be released in February of 2013. Learn more about Julie and her books at her website.  

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The above picture was shot on Elk Island, Jackson Lake. In the summer of 2001, I experienced a vacation of a lifetime. The beauty of Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park touched my soul in such a manner that I seem incapable of NOT writing about this gorgeous area of our country every few books. The town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming is full of heart-stopping galleries and craftsmanship that make me yearn to revisit on a yearly basis. The artists of Jackson Hole have an inane ability to capture nature’s magic by stroke of brush and edge of knife that leaves me speechless – a feat not often accomplished.

My debut novel Devil’s Gold focused on the plight of the grey wolf and encompassed the beauty of Yellowstone National Park. Although my characters tended not to see the lighter side of their environment as they were often under gunfire, drowning in rapids, and dissecting disgustingly mutated wolves, it was heartwarming for me to revisit Yellowstone and grace the pages of Devil’s Gold with a hint of the magic that lies within this volcanic crater.

In The Fifth Season, I lightened the drama and focused on the splendor of the world within which my character’s lived. While on vacation in Jackson Hole, we stayed at Rancho Alegre. This breath-taking home is the inspiration and heart of The Fifth Season. Days spent at Rancho Alegre encompassed knuckle-clenching hot air balloon rides, bone chilling white water rapid adventures, and a hike around Jenny Lake that ended with a broken ankle. Pain aside, I persevered and managed to spend an afternoon on horseback, hours wandering the galleries and, never to be forgotten, the main focus of the trip for me and my sister: creeping on Harrison Ford.

The Fifth Season

Brought to Jackson, Wyoming under cover of darkness and with a past never to be revealed, resort manager, Emma O’Malley needs only one thing from Stone Connor: River Run.

The luxury five-star resort has been willed to Stone with the condition that he must spend four seasons within the property or else it reverts to his father…a man he passionately hates, a surrogate parent Emma dearly loves.

Struggling to emotionally recover from a disastrous covert operation, Stone is less than thrilled about River Run. The puzzle that is Emma O’Malley, however, adds a beacon of light to his darkness. As the nightmares of Emma’s childhood surface to reality, survival forces Emma to join forces with Stone. Desire and danger dance a fine line between love and war.

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