ROMANCE AUTHOR LYZ KELLEY CREATES A FICTIONAL TOWN FOR HER CHARACTERS

Elkridge Spreadsheet

Lyz Kelley describes herself as a total disaster in the kitchen, a compulsive neat freak, a tea snob, and someone who adores writing about and falling in love with everyday heroes. A healing love is at the heart of all her books. Learn more about Lyz and her books at her website. 

Readers often ask me where I get my story ideas or how I create my fictional worlds.  

I’ll let you in on a secret…

I stole many of the features of my small fictional town from my childhood and places I visited around Colorado. Elkridge is pieced together with all the Colorado elements I love. 

I started with the main street in Estes Park. It's a charming town nestled in the Rocky Mountains. Then I continued by adding my favorite family-owned restaurant from Idaho Springs. When walking in the door of this café, the first thing you smell is the buttery cinnamon rolls and freshly brewed coffee. Yum. The local pub I added from Evergreen. It has a lively crowd most nights of the week, karaoke on Tuesdays, and local bands on Saturdays. If you want to find anyone from the mayor to the beauty shop stylist, go there. From Denver, I combined a special little flower store and the art gallery next door that exists just on the fringe of the city. Next, I added a post office, schools, parks and government buildings. The streets I named in alphabetical order after trees: Ash, Birch, Cherry, and so on. 

I kept on adding all the features a picturesque mountain town needs in an Excel spreadsheet to make sure if my character turned left, they were heading in the correct direction. 

Once I had the place in my mind, I created Maggie, the cafe owner, and Jake, who runs the bar, and Mara, the blind flower shop owner. Mara is the heroine in the first book of this award-winning series. 

Of course, I’m following the same process for my Silver Fox, over forty series set in beautiful coastal California. (Look for the new series this fall.). 

The feel of these stories is different because the culture and setting and themes are different, but all of my books are filled with hope, happiness, and everyday heroes. 

The Elkridge Series are available as individual books or in two box set that include bonus material as well as through Kindle Unlimited. 

Elkridge Series 1

BlindedMara’s lost everything: her parents, her sister, her sight. Now, someone’s stalking her.
She can feel him taunting her. He must be the one who killed the sheriff. She’s afraid, but who can she trust? Joey. He’s stable as a rock and too good looking to ignore. But she must guard her heart. He’s only here for his brother’s funeral. The mayor is saying the sheriff’s death was an accident. Thankfully, her old high school crush has returned from the big city back to her small town. Will Joey, the high-profile detective, believe a poacher shot his brother or can she convince him there’s more to it? She must convince him the mayor is lying. Her life depends on it.

AbandonedHe’s a smokin’ hot, hard-body Marine. The type Ashley’s sworn to avoid.
Wartime heroes put service to country before family, and she wants to avoid setting herself up for another heartbreak. Besides, she’s got bigger problems to worry about. Her mom’s dead and she has less than thirty-days to figure out her life. She’s homeless, penniless, and a woman who hasn’t had sex in years. She’ll figure things out and just needs time. Time she doesn't have. Unfortunately, the Marine, the one person she want to go away, wants to help.

OrphanedJenna’s on a mission to find her missing sister. 
She’s all the family Jenna has left. Unfortunately, she’s falling for the guy who last saw her sister. Caitlyn is still alive.  If she were here, she’d scold Jenna for allowing Grant into her life.  Yet, she need to stay close to him. Her  instincts tell her Grant holds the clues to her sister’s disappearance. Besides, the rich lawyer is fascinating and beguiling. It’s not his fault he was born into the wrong family. She’s doing her best to avoid his persistent advances and easygoing charms. He’s making me forget why she moved to this small town. She needs a reminder: Grant’s the enemy.

RescuedKyle swore never speak to the hot-headed, uber sexy guy again. Even if he was her first.
But she can’t refuse her brother anything. She promised to check on Thad even though he left town without a word. Ten years she’s waited for him to tell me why he just disappeared. He owes her an explanation. Heck, he owes her period. Maybe, he’ll train a couple of the dogs in her kennel so she can pay the rent.   Then again, if he ever finds out her secret, He’ll never speak to her again. Maybe that can of worms needs to remain sealed.

Plus Two Bonus Books: Spurned and Exposed 

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