by Robyn Rychards

It’s a wonderful thing to live somewhere that’s an international vacation destination because your backyard is a place that people travel from around the world to see. It also makes it a great locale for a story. Or two. The Colorado Rockies are a travel destination in the winter for skiers from around the world—think Vail and Aspen—and in the summer the national parks have global appeal. You can visit the mountains any time of the year and hear a variety of languages spoken.

Her Man From Shilo is set a couple miles outside the town of Boulder, Colorado, which boasts a view like the one in the picture here. It’s a wonderful place to grow up and has inspired a plethora of romantic story ideas in me since I was a teenager. If you enjoy nature, there are plenty of activities and landscapes to explore. But it also draws cyclists from all over the globe because the altitude and the variety of terrain make it a great place to train and hone your cycling skills. Tour de France here I come!

Her Knight in Shining Armour is set about an hour west of me in the Rocky Mountains. It starts out in Rocky Mountain National Park, but as the hero and heroine are on the run from the heroine’s abusive ex-husband, it moves on from there to the small town of Grand Lake with a quick trip to the state’s capitol, Denver, towards the end.

My two stories only touch the tip of the iceberg when it comes to places to visit and things to do in Colorado. I’m itching to do a story that revolves around skiing, with a setting someplace like Aspen, Colorado, which attracts some of Hollywood’s glitterati both as a travel destination and a place to live. Think Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russel, who live there, just to name one couple. Not only does Aspen have great skiing, it’s got some gorgeous scenery and hiking to enjoy when the weather is warm—hiking around the lake by the iconic Maroon Bells, for instance.
But Colorado isn’t the only place I write about. I took a trip to the UK and France last spring, and I’m planning on setting a story in Paris for sure. But I also have several stories set in Los Angeles that are already written and will hit the virtual shelves at some point too. Look out Hollywood, here I come! So many places to see, so many places to write about. I love travelling, whether it’s in real life or from my couch through the words of a book, and thanks to Harlequin, I’ve been able to vicariously visit an abundance of exotic places since I was a teenager. I hope you enjoyed your virtual visit to Colorado!

Passion and tension erupt as these Daimiana and Rafferty finally resolve a lifetime of love.