Where in blazes did I get the idea of a supermodel and a cowboy?

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A combination of things really—my ideas never come from dreams that I know of. I simply don’t recall dreams very often. However, for my day job, I’m an RN. Nurses are up close and personal with people from all walks of life in their darkest and most precious moments. Echoes of those emotions find their way into my stories. I suspect Gorgeous Scars' roots go back to my earliest days in healthcare. Some patients stay with you forever.

 

A woman came to us gravely injured from a gunshot wound. Her husband would later be convicted of trying to kill her for insurance money. Over the years, she still comes to mind now and then. I’d always wanted her to have the happy ending that fate denied her. She is without question the inspiration for Harper Inez. 

 

Inevitably, I would wonder what it would take to overcome such a devastating betrayal. Lifelong changes in her physical function would remind her every minute of every day of what he’d done—of what she’d lost. Possibly, a soulmate’s love could heal some of the emotional wounds and bring her joy. I can only hope my prayers were answered, and she found her own HEA.

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Fast forward to the present day. My friend Lizzie Starr had a great idea for her Aspen Gold character Ryder Barlow to fulfill his lifelong dream of opening a hippotherapy camp. Conveniently, she placed an equine hospital on the same property. Because of other commitments, I hadn’t planned to write an Aspen Gold story. Then one morning around five a.m., these two storylines—Lizzie’s camp and my former patient— entwined in my head.

 

I mean, where else would a supermodel meet a cowboy?