Meet Odessa Clay and Get to Know Her! #ArizonaSky #GingerSimpson

Michelle Lee - Cover Artist

Woo Hoo...I'm off on a camping vacation for a few months.  We're traveling cross country to Hot August Nights in Reno with several stops an sight-seeing along the way.  I'm scheduling recycled blogs, so I hope you don't mind.  The last time this was used on someone else's blog, the book had a different name and cover.  :)  Have a great summer, I know I will.

Title of book: Arizona Sky

Author: Ginger Simpson

Publisher: Books We Love

Format’s available:  http://www.amazon.com/author/gingersimpson

eBook: Yes

Paperback: yes

Character’s name: Odessa Clay

Brief summary of story and character’s role in it.

It’s 1886.  The wagon carrying Odessa Clay and her father overturns, killing him.  Alone and frightened, somewhere in the desert, she faces finding her way to Phoenix and Aunt Susan.  Her food and water run out, and Odessa is near death when Zach Johnson finds her. On his way to becoming a reluctant outlaw, he can’t leave such a young beauty to die.  She awakens in his arms, thinking she’s already died and gone to heaven, and for him, now not only his father’s land is at stake—he faces losing his heart, too.

Odessa's Interview:

Tell us a bit about yourself. 

  Well, I suppose you could consider me an orphan, since my Ma died some time ago, and my father recently passed in the wagon accident that started my story.  Pa wanted to move me to Phoenix so I could be around a better class of people, and after a whole lotta trials and tribulations, I finally made his dream come true.

How did you get yourself into this predicament? 

Like I said, Pa wanted to move us to Phoenix to be closer to his sister, my aunt, Susan.  Ever since Ma died, I really haven't had a woman's influence in my life, and I reckon he thought I'd have a better chance at being courted by a good man.

How do you feel about Zach Johnson? 

  Oh, Lordy.  The man is truly handsome and he makes my stomach feel kinda funny, but he's so bossy.  I keep haven' to remind him he ain't my Pa.

When did things start to go wrong? 

I suppose you mean about the trip?  Well, things were going fine.  It was hotter than Hades out there in the desert, and if it had been a tad cooler, perhaps Pa wouldn't have cracked the reins to get the horses moving enough to stir a breeze.  If the wagon wheel…*pauses and wipes her eyes*…the wagon wheel hadn't struck a rut in the trail and caused the wagon to turn over, Pa never would have gotten pinned.  *She stares into her lap.*

Have the events of the story made you a stronger person?  

You bet.  I never expected to be left alone in the middle of the desert.  I had two choices: Die with Pa or try to find my way to Phoenix.  I figured I'd just follow the trail, but I didn't get very far.  Thank the Lord, Zach came along when he did.

What have you learned? 

  I've learned I can survive just about anything.  I went from being lost in the desert to watching a man die right before my eyes in a saloon.  Then I got kidnapped, saved by a couple traveling to Phoenix in a wagon, and I found my Aunt Susan.  I'd say that was a pretty decent lesson.  Wouldn't you?

Yes, I would think what you've been through is pretty amazing. Where do you see yourself in the future? 

  I'm pretty sure Zach and I have a future together.  You know, when he found me, he was on his way to join a pretty famous outlaw's gang in order to get enough money from robbing a stage coach to save his Pa's ranch.  He took the time to get me to safety, and you'll find out when you read my story, neither of us are very good at listening to advice.  He's about as bullheaded as they come, and I can be pretty darn stubborn, too.

 Thank you so much for joining us today, Ms. Clay.  Best of luck in your new life.

The lights dim, men step from behind the cameras and where silence prevailed, voices chatter.  The man who asked the questions walks away, and Odessa is left to wonder what to do now.  Zach steps from the shadows and offers his hand.  “Time to go home, Dessie.  You did a fine job.”