The Kissing Stars (33 page)

Dear Readers,

I’m often asked what I like best about being a writer. Depending on my mood, I have different answers to that question—going to work in sweats and fuzzy house shoes always ranks right up there.

Of late, making research trips has been one of the perks of my job that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I always visit the places I write about and since I’ve always set my stories in my home state, I’m usually revisiting a place I’ve already been. However, for all the traveling I’ve done across Texas, before I wrote The Kissing Stars, I had never made it to Marfa.

Growing up in Texas I’d heard the legend of the Marfa Mystery Lights, unexplained balls of light that supposedly appeared hovering over the desert of far West Texas with some frequency. Then while researching one of my other books, I came across a reference to ghost lights dating back to the late 1800s. The idea that ranchers saw the lights before electricity or automobile headlights could explain away their existence intrigued me and sparked the idea for this book.

During the week between Christmas and New Year’s in 1997, my husband and I loaded our children into our car for the long drive across West Texas to the Davis Mountain area. I had been told the lights appeared in the desert near Marfa shortly after sunset some two hundred days out of every year. Now, I’m not much of a believer in the paranormal, and I certainly never expected to see any strange phenomenon as we drove to the marked viewing area on a bitter cold December night. My purpose was to get a feel for the land where my story would take place. Imagine my surprise when minutes after the sun sank below the horizon, seven balls of light appeared in the distance.

We watched the Marfa Mystery Lights for the better part of three hours. They blinked on and blinked off. They moved together and separately, falling into lines at times and at others moving in no apparent pattern. We saw as few as two and as many as fourteen shining at the same time.

What were they? I’m certain there must be a scientific explanation, but after those magic hours in the West Texas desert, I honestly don’t want to know what it is.

The memory of that evening and the fun my family had together while watching those intriguing lights dance across the sky is something I’ll always treasure. I’ll never forget the sound of my ten-year-old daughter’s voice saying, “Look, Mom and Dad. The stars are kissing.”

My fifteen-year-old answered, “That’s ‘cause they’re trying to keep warm. Let’s go, please? I’m freezing. Next time, Mom, set a book in Hawaii, would you?”

Happy reading!

GERALYN DAWSON

Don’t miss any of Geralyn Dawson’s historical romances now available in digital format.

THE BAD LUCK WEDDING SERIES in order:

THE BAD LUCK WEDDING DRESS

THE BAD LUCK WEDDING CAKE

SIMMER ALL NIGHT (Bad Luck Abroad trilogy #1)

SIZZLE ALL DAY (Bad Luck Abroad trilogy #2)

THE BAD LUCK WEDDING NIGHT (Bad Luck Abroad trilogy #3)

HER BODYGUARD (Bad Luck Brides trilogy #1)

HER SCOUNDREL (Bad Luck Brides trilogy #2)

HER OUTLAW (Bad Luck Brides trilogy #3)

Other historical romance titles available in digital format:

THE WEDDING RANSOM

THE KISSING STARS

Coming soon:

THE TEXAN’S BRIDE

CAPTURE THE NIGHT

TEMPTING MORALITY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Geralyn Dawson is a
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of over twenty-five novels written in a variety of sub-genres including historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and women's fiction. She is a three-time Finalist for Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA award and a recipient of Romantic Times magazine's Career Achievement Award. Her novel THE WEDDING RANSOM was named one of Romance Writers of America's Top Ten Favorite Novels of the Year.

Geralyn is currently writing romantic women's fiction for Ballantine Books under the pseudonym Emily March. The first novel of March's Eternity Springs series, ANGEL'S REST, was named a Top 100 Book of 2011 by
Publishers Weekly
magazine. It, along with the next two books in the series, HUMMINGBIRD LAKE, and HEARTACHE FALLS each earned coveted starred reviews from
Publishers Weekly
magazine. The fourth book of the series, LOVER'S LEAP will be published December 27th, 2011 with NIGHTINGALE WAY to follow in Fall 2012.

Visit her website:
www.emilymarch.com

Join her on Facebook:
facebook.com/emilymarchbooks

Follow her on Twitter @geralyndawson and @emilymarchbooks

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