Above is the Grouse Mountain cable car that plays a key role in the final showdown with the Triad in THE HEART OF A RENEGADE. Last summer I investigated and took photos to make sure Luke’s dramatic actions were do-able. You can see where he climbed the ladder up top, and dropped down onto the roof while the car was still in the dock. You can also make out the glass operator’s booth up top.

And below — thar she goes up into the clouds … for more pics check out the Renegade Photo Tour in previous blog posts.

I was delighted to see that THE HEART OF A RENEGADE comes out in Australia in May ‘08, paired with Catherine Mann’s OUT OF UNIFORM

I’m sure my Aussie bodyguard hero Luke Stone will be pleased — he hails from Perth

My Path: 1 hour run/walk, on softening ski trails — slip sliding away, as much backwards as forwards, I think. Sorta like running in sand dunes. But worse. Because I have holes in my runners that shoveled in the snow — my feet turned into numb stumps, and then about 20 mins into the run my toes started to thaw … and hurt like hell. But it was worth it once that old Zen-with-the-world feeling kicked in.

My Beat Never Surrender …

RENEGADE photo-tour:

‘Twas a hazy/blurry day last summer, but I wanted to make sure the CIA chopper would have a good place to land in Pemberton, and that the Lillooet River (below) was easily accessible via snowmobile from the airstrip. Of course the river was frozen when Luke and Jessica barreled over it in their sled. But the setting works . (Guess I shouldn’t try and shoot while driving though, eh? (the camera, that is)

My Path: 40 mins run/walk.
My Beat: Just Can’t Get Enough — Depeche Mode. That one was a recommendation from a friend, and is a new and welcome addition to my playlist. I’m always looking for new tunes with a nice joggy beat … any ideas, please fire them my way!! Doesn’t matter the period, or the style, it just needs an energetic number of beats per minute (imagine running to it), and it needs to fire the soul

I can post again — sort of. Pardon the break in the

RENEGADE photo-tour, but my site was migrated to a new server recently and the gremlins are causing problems.

Above is one of the places my RENEGADE hero, Luke Stone, loves to visit solo — the Whistler backcountry. This pic was shot last weekend, and it’s the sort of place Luke goes to take his own photos. It’s also where you will find my dh as often as he can help it

I hope to get back to regularly scheduled programming soon …

RENEGADE photo-tour: Above is a photo taken of Mount Currie from inside a Pemberton farm barn.  Again, it was shot last summer, and not in winter, the season in which THE HEART OF A RENEGADE unfolds, but it’s the place that served, in part, as inspiration for the barn from which Luke ‘liberates’ a flatbed truck and takes a pooch along for the ride.

Below is the same farm. Sunflower time, with Mount Currie as the backdrop.

And on the farm they had little yellow ducklings, two of which could fit into the palm of one hand.

RENEGADE photo-tour: Mount Currie above, looms majestic and haunting over the small farming community of Pemberton north of Whistler. This is where Luke and Jessica come to lay low for the night, and their motel was inspired, in part, by the Pemberton Hotel, below (shot on a research trip last summer)

A Mount Currie local makes an incredible array of bird sounds on the stairs of the hotel off-sales

RENEGADE photo-tour:  A bird’s-eye view of Squamish in summer. This is the town where Luke and Jessica stop for a welcome bite of breakfast after surviving the police roadblock. They, however, are here in winter, when the mountains lie under thick snow and it all looks vastly different. To the left of the image, snaking through the greenery along the water into the distance, you can see the Sea to Sky highway on which they fled from Vancouver. The city of Vancouver itself lies hidden from view just beyond that horizon, further down the Howe Sound.

My Path today: A sunny 45 min aerobic walk. Breathless Those are the Blackcomb ski runs you can see above, viewed over the River of Golden dreams which is now hosting majestic trumpeter swans.

My Music: Just the song of spring. And yes, it is spring. In spite of the snow. Along with the swans and returning honk of Canada geese, small bright yellow candles of Skunk Cabbage are piercing through the melting detritus in the swampland. It’s a first food for bears emerging from hibernation. Any day now.

RENEGADE photo-tour: Another shot of my home town, Whistler — the place Jessica and Luke take a short and risky detour while on the run from the Triad. Above is the path I ran myself today. And below is the Upper Village shot earlier in the season. There really was a photo shop in the same spot the book describes (in the Upper Village), but it has since moved. It was to the right of those orange pylons in the photo. And behind the white cloud in the backdrop hides the Whistler Mountain ski hills.

My Path today: The Rainbow trail above, until it got too smooshy and my toes too wet and frostbitten. 40 mins run/walk.

My Music: You Can Get If You Really Want It – Desmond Dekker.

RENEGADE photo-tour: This is Whistler Village, where Luke and Jessica go to develop the film the Triad is prepared to kill for. It’s a side trip Luke never intended taking, and it marks a key turning point in the HEART OF A RENEGADE.

It’s also my home

***

As an aside, I’ve been inspired by  Cole to lace up the old running shoes again, and aim for another marathon in the Fall. And I couldn’t feel happier for the decision. I met Cole through my books, my blog, her blog, and the blogs of others, and have come to consider her my friend (Hope you don’t object, Nicole!). And recently I have been infected by the energy and way she has tackled some things in life, and once again am reminded how setting — and achieving – physical goals can help everything else — including writing — fit into place.

It gives you control, it gives you power, it makes you feel strong, and everything else seems to hum back into harmony. I know, it sounds sappy. But believe me, it works. And I sure missed not having the bookend of a Fall marathon last year.
I felt lost.

I meandered into winter, not as sharply focused. I worked hard. I got my books done. But something was missing. Some verve. Some spring in my step.

But I’m back! I didn’t train last year because of a problem knee — but if it plays up again, I will walk that marathon. With poles  if I can. And as fast as I can . Already my days have fresh focus. And there’s that feeling of laughter in my step. Thanks, Cole. And happy running ……

My Path: 40 minutes run/walk. Round Whistler Golf Course. Cold with flecks of snow. Air heavy and beautiful.

RENEGADE photo-tour: While beautiful, the Sea to Sky highway that snakes up from Vancouver to Whistler can be deadly to drive. This is the road Luke and Jessica must navigate in their snowy night flight from the city. And above is a scene I shot while driving it this winter.

And in other book news — I was delighted to learn this past weekend SEDUCING THE MERCENARY has won the 2007 Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for best Silhouette Romantic Suspense!