“Yellowstone Yondering” by Kristen Joy Wilks … and a GIVEAWAY!

Posted March 31, 2020 by Leslie in Reviews by Leslie / 2 Comments

 

Kristen is here to share a bit about her latest release, Yellowstone Yondering.  She has offered to give away an electronic copy of the book. You can enter by using the Rafflecopter link at the end of the post. (Giveaway ends April 7, 2020 If you are the randomly chosen winner, I’ll contact you.)  

 

Our trip to Yellowstone…

Our family went on Vacation to Yellowstone when my sons were 12, 10, and 8. We left our dog behind, but saw lots of ways she could have gotten into trouble while there. The rules for taking pets into the park are quite strict and for good reason. A loose pet does indeed attract wildlife. Just like the family that briefly appeared in the book, we drove to Yellowstone in an old van with the windows stuck half down, no AC, and Weird Al music blaring. At least two nights we were so busy soaking up God’s glorious creation that we forgot to eat dinner and then realized that all the restaurants were closed. So we subsisted on Oreo cookies dipped in peanut butter. We enjoyed driving all the way through the park to the Buffalo Bill museum in Cody Wyoming (A 4-hour drive) and then back (Guess what, another 4 hours!) in one day. This proved too much for our free van. (yes, the Lord provided this amazing vehicle when I told Him about how I longed to take my widowed mother along on our adventure. But that is another story) But it was such a blessing from God that the van broke down right as we pulled into the parking spot beside our Yurt. With a poof of steam, it refused to move further, but we’d made it! We didn’t break down beside the grizzly bear we saw along the road, or the wildfire that was slowing traffic, or the herd of unpredictable and powerful bison. Nope, we broke down in our parking spot near our supply of peanut butter and Oreos!

The warning signs at Yellowstone inspired some of this story. They are very exciting and show a drawing of the same little boy being in various perils all over the park. My husband named him “Jimmy” and there was a sign with “Jimmy” running from a bear waving a bag of marshmallows, being tossed in the air by a bison, and succumbing to burns in a thermal zone. Now, I’m not criticizing because these drawings are helpful for parkgoers who do not read English! But I knew that if a I had a “rules-optional” character, that she could get into a whole lot of trouble in Yellowstone. Plus, a rules conscious ranger would clash with her admirably. Thus, my heroine and hero were born out of the terrifying warning signs of Yellowstone National Park.

I watched YouTube videos of bears breaking into cars before penning that scene in the book. Bears are actually quite good at this in case you were wondering!

Grandparents’ Bear Stories…

My paternal grandmother actually did have a bear bluff charge her just like in the story. It was a black bear near our house, but grizzlies will do the same thing. She was out on a walk in the wood alone and came upon a bear suddenly. The bear was enjoying gnawing on an elk head and did not want to share his snack with Grandma Autumn! He charged her, but stopped just a foot or two in front of her, pounding his front paws on the ground and letting out a stern huff. The message was clear, “Don’t you dare take my snack!” Being an experienced outdoors woman, Grandma Autumn simply backed away slowly and then stepped to the side until she was behind a tree. The bear considered this sufficient and went on his way.

When my mother was a girl, and it was legal to feed bears. She once watched her father feeding marshmallows to a bear (the park used to encourage this). When her dad decided that the bear had had enough treats, the bear disagreed. It chased him around and around the campfire while his wife and children hid in the camper laughing at him. The bear won. Grandpa Dick finally tossed the bag of marshmallows over his shoulder and made a run for their vehicle. The scene with the grizzly, the marshmallows, and the campfire was inspired by this true family story.

 

Why I Wrote This Yellowstone Yondering

In Pure Amore titles, one character must have chosen sexual abstinence. With their Pure Amore line, Pelican wishes to “Emphasize the beauty in chastity.” For this book, I made that character the guy. As a mother of three sons and a camp director’s wife who sees heartbroken girls who feel like chastity is something that the church only wants to see from young women, I felt that it was important to show this choice from the other side. God tells both men and women to wait for their marriage partner after all. I actually discovered that it is far harder to write a guy virgin than a girl virgin. It stretched me as a writer as my critique partner pointed out how difficult it was to believe that he had made this choice and explained that my readers would need a reason that my girl didn’t wait. It’s not fair, but she was right. For some reason, our culture emphasizes chastity for girls and not boys. God is not so biased and I hope that my heroine who overcomes her difficult past to become a new creation in Christ and my hero who uses his strength and honor to choose sexual purity will inspire readers that yes, God loves them so so much regardless of their mistakes and yes, He can give them the strength to choose Him in every aspect of their lives!

Click here for the book trailer

Excerpt from Yellowstone Yondering…

    Gusts snaked through the meadow grass around their feet and tumbled Kayla’s hair, drying her sweat in a gritty paste to her skin. The ranger’s perfect hair was plastered with perspiration and dirt and bits of plant life. Good, he deserved that and more.
          “Your careless rescue has probably just sentenced my dog to death.” She snarled through gritted teeth, waiting for his face to blanch in horror at his deed. Surely, he would let her go and issue a formal apology.
          “I’ll not let you kill yourself right before my eyes. It is my job to prevent such stupidity. You can thank me later after you’ve calmed down.”
          Kayla gasped at his audacity. She couldn’t even wrap her mind around a name she could use for this man that would be vile enough.
          “You’re blaming me? If you had just held onto Ainsley like I asked, no one would be in danger.”
          “If you had stayed twenty-five yards from the bison as park regulations demand, none of this would have happened.”
           “The bison came to me. They were two feet away, for goodness sakes. What was I supposed to do, honk my horn and throw a bagel at them to make them back up?”
          “No. You stay in your vehicle, such as it was.”
          “Not without my dog. You are the one who tossed him to the wolves and bison and marmots and all manner of carnivorous wild things.”
          “Marmots aren’t carnivorous.” Ranger Brandt must have caught the dangerous glint in her eye because he hastened to move the conversation away from that bit of charming trivia. “We have to go. Will you return to your vehicle of your own free will or do I need to call in one of the law enforcement rangers to remove you from the park?”
          Kayla dug her bare feet into the meadow grass and met his gaze with iron of her own.
          His voice lowered to a gentle whisper. “You will not be welcome back if I do.”
          She looked over her shoulder at the edge of the forest where Ainsley had disappeared. She couldn’t be banned from the park. Ainsley needed her to find him, and soon. She gave the ranger a stiff nod and crunched through the dry grass back toward the road.

 

My review…

This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I found it to be a charming read. I’ve never been to Yellowstone Park, but I feel like I have after reading this book.

Kayla is planning a quick trip to Yellowstone, along with her Scottie dog , to do a photo shoot. While there, she encounters a by-the-book park ranger, Alexander Brandt. Could it be true that opposites attract?

This is an engaging, quick, and fun read. Characters are well drawn and likeable. Scenes are vividly drawn, making the reader feel like they’re right there partaking in the action. I look forward to checking out Wilks’s future books.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy, but I wasn’t required to leave a positive review.

About the author…

Kristen Joy Wilks lives in the beautiful Cascade Mountains with her camp director husband, three fierce sons, and a large and slobbery Newfoundland dog. She has blow-dried a chicken, fought epic Nerf battles instead of washing dishes, transported a gallon bag of cooked bacon inside her purse, and discovered a smuggled gardener snake in her sons’ bubble bath. Her stories, devotionals, and articles have appeared in Nature Friend, Clubhouse, Thriving Family, Keys for Kids, The Christian Journal, Splickety, Spark, and Havok. She writes romantic comedies for Pelican Book Group, including Copenhagen Cozenage, The Volk Advent, Athens Ambuscade, Spider Gap, and Yellowstone Yondering. Kristen loves to write about the humor and Grace that can be found amidst the detritus of life. Much like the shiny quarter one member of their household swallowed and then found in the pot four days later. If God is good enough to grant us these gems, she figures that someone should be putting them to the page. Kristen can be found tucked under a tattered quilt in an overstuffed chair at 4:00am writing a wide variety of implausible tales, or at www.kristenjoywilks.com. If you would rather enjoy photos of charging bison, Newfoundland dogs, and attacking squid then by all means visit her “What I’m Writing About” board on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/kristenjwilks7/what-im-writing-about/

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2 responses to ““Yellowstone Yondering” by Kristen Joy Wilks … and a GIVEAWAY!

  1. Thank you so much, Leslie, for having me on your wonderful blog! You made the interview so fun! I hope you will get the chance to visit Yellowstone National Park someday and see the amazing thermal features, wild animals, and terrifying warning signs for yourself!

    • You’re welcome 🙂 I hope I get to go there one day, as well!

      Best of luck with your book! Stay safe.