Author
Barbara Phinney returns today to tell us about her recent trip to Israel and
Jordan. Learn more
about Barbara and her books at her website.
Hi, it's Barbara Phinney here. Thank you, Lois, for hosting
me, especially when I get to blog about traveling. I had originally planned to 'speak'
about Bolivia, because my book, Hard
Target, is set there, and I have visited the country twice.
Perhaps Lois will host me again, so I might share my experiences with you.
But today's blog will feature another exciting place. I
recently visited Israel and Jordan, and those two wonderful countries still
linger in my mind. And when I talk about it, the most frequently asked question
is, "Did you feel safe?"
Very much so, I'm happy to say. Both are incredibly safe
countries, despite the doom and gloom of our news broadcasters. In fact, you
couldn't walk into our hotels in Jordan without going through airport styled
security! But, to be honest, I was with a large tour group and the most
dangerous thing my husband and I did was walk down to the Old City wall the
evening we first arrived in Jerusalem. Which, by the way, was spectacular, even
at night. I recommend a tour of Israel to everyone. You may not go to church,
or your faith may be far different than mine, but one thing no one can deny is
that the countries of Jordan and Israel have influenced history for thousands
of years, and they continue to do so to this day. While every tour highlights
Holy Sites, we also visited a diamond factory, a UN observation post, a Dead
Sea resort, Petra, the Holocaust Museum and even a kibbutz. Not to mention seeing
a bit of interesting wildlife. Why, at the kibbutz one night, we heard hyenas!
So, while I have no novel set in the Holy Land, yet, I do have a writer's mind. You can
be sure that something of what I've seen and visited will come bubbling to the
surface in one or two of my future novels. And like my gracious hostess, I'm a
blogger, too and thus 'journaled' about my trip. So if you're interested, you
can find my experience (a little something for later reference, if you will)
here.
I encourage everyone to travel. The world is diverse and
interesting, and like many places, the Holy Land is steeped in history. My hope
for you is that wherever you go, you'll take along a good book (I suggest one
of the books to the right of this blog) and enjoy yourself. Bon Voyage!
Hard
Target
Military policewoman, Sgt. Dawna Atkinson, is
trained to keep her South American embassy safe, but when a bomb is detonated
out front one morning, her home unit sends her old instructor, Tay Hastings, to
assist with the investigation.
Tay is the one person who can ruin all she's
worked so hard for. He's also her one weakness, thanks to a night of shared
indiscretion that still haunts her dreams.
Tay wants to tell
her how he fought to take the blame for that night, and how she makes him feel,
but circumstances prevent that. As the investigation heats up, they find that
it's one thing to guard the embassy, but another, much harder thing to guard
their own hearts.
4 comments:
Thank you so much for allowing me to tell you about my trip. Even now, two months later, I dream of that great adventure. We had awesome people, guides and bus drivers. A trip of a lifetime!
You probably got some great ideas for a novel, too.
Angela, that's what a little old lady I know said, but when we got home, we watched Dig and now my ideas are all mixed up. It might take a few years to pull them out.
My daughter went to Israel last summer, during the war - eeek! I was one worried mama but she had made the plans months before and after much waffling, decided to go. I want my kids to be adventurous so...She's been to a lot of places and she loved Israel. She actually had to be flown home by El Al (I think that's the name) because her commercial flight bowed out. Then my sister went in Sept. At least the war was over. She also loved it and they both want to go back.
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