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Featured Author -
January 2006
Twist Phelan |
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Featured Author -
January 2006
Twist Phelan |
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Researching SPURRED AMBITION
Writers often go to great lengths for research—at least that’s the excuse I used when the Fire Department rescued me from a cliff last summer.
In my legal-themed Pinnacle Peak mysteries, each book features a different sport. For authenticity, I try them all firsthand. For HEIR APPARENT, I saddled up and gave team roping a go. To research FAMILY CLAIMS, I rode my bike from the Pacific to the Atlantic Coast in less than a month.
As part of my research, I also had a go at traditional climbing. Once, a rope snarled during a descent, and I found myself hanging upside down trying to untangle it. After a few minutes, so much blood had rushed to my head that I passed out. When I came to, I was lying on a gurney surrounded by firefighters and a sheriff’s deputy. Apparently I had created quite a traffic jam on the nearby road as I dangled lifelessly five stories off the ground. One of the firefighters told me a hawk had taken a few "investigatory" passes. ("Hey, look! Dinner!") Worse, I had been caught on film by the local news channel helicopter. A clip of me being lowered from the cliff with the voiceover “Climber saved—see the dramatic rescue tonight at six o’clock” was the teaser for that evening’s broadcast.
I’m now at work on the fourth book in the series. I haven’t yet decided on the sport. Right now, something that doesn’t require leaving the ground sounds rather appealing. Maybe Pilates. Or yoga. Surely nothing could go wrong at an ashram in India ... right?
Learn more about Twist Phelan and her books at www.twistphelan.com
Mugshot Archives
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Rock climbing was the perfect fit for the plot of my third book, SPURRED AMBITION (Poisoned Pen Press, January 2006). More specifically, bouldering—climbing without special gear, except for a chalk bag and climbing shoes. For safety's sake, a crash pad is left on the ground below. Even so, it was a somewhat daunting challenge for me, because I am afraid of heights.