Guest Post | Escaping the Wilderness
Welcome to the JustRead Blog Tour for …
Escaping the Wilderness
Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Escaping the Wilderness by Carrie Stuart Parks, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About Escaping the Wilderness
On the run through the mountains—
with only each other to trust.
Amanda Cotton’s privileged life takes a harrowing turn when her grandfather’s dying wish places a target firmly on her back and she’s attacked by unknown assailants. Rescue comes in the form of widowed outdoorsman Boone McGregor, but the threat is just beginning. Unable to trust local law enforcement, they flee across the rugged Montana mountains. As they evade deadly enemies and navigate harsh terrain, they must put aside their differences to survive. But when a family secret is exposed, danger is closer than they imagined and more than just their lives is at stake…
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About Carrie Stuart Parks
Carrie Stuart Parks is an internationally known forensic artist and law enforcement instructor, working on major criminal cases nationwide. She trains law enforcement professionals such as the FBI, Secret Service, NCIS, Federal Marshals, RCMP, Texas Rangers, and local and regional officers. She was nominated for Law Enforcement Trainer of the Year offered by the Federal Law Enforcement Academy at Glynco, Georgia. Her career highlights also include winning Woman of the Year for the Spirit of the American Woman and the first Educator of the Year by the Lewis Clark Alumni.Her bestselling mystery/suspense novels have won numerous awards including two Christys and four Carols. She was mentored by her friend Frank Peretti for eight years before launching her fiction writing career. Before that, she wrote and illustrated best-selling art books for North Light Publishers. As a professional fine artist, her paintings hang in many corporate and private collections.
Connect with Carrie by visiting stuartparks.com/carrie-stuart-parks-home-page to follow her on social media and subscribe to email updates.
Guest Post by Carrie Stuart Parks
This is my first Love Inspired Suspense book and it was a learning experience! I’d written nine previous novels under the Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins Christian imprint, but LIS is very specific in what they wanted. One challenge was they didn’t want the reader to know much about the “bad guy.” The characters needed to be in constant danger. And I couldn’t shoot the bear!
LOL. Let me back up. I placed this story in a fictional town of Wolf’s Lair, Montana. I figured I could write about Montana because I was born there and raised in neighboring Idaho. Wolf’s Lair is a town not too far removed from the small mining and logging towns I grew up in. I also grew up on horseback because we had (and still have) a ranch in Idaho. The dog I chose was similar to my own Great Pyrenees (Bernese Mountain Dog) with similar temperaments. As for the bear…well, originally I had a grizzly, but grizzlies don’t exactly run away when you shoot at them. They just get mad. When they said I couldn’t kill the bear (about to eat the hero and heroine,) I had to change it to a black bear which is more likely to run from gunfire.
Generally I try to weave art or forensic art into my stories—my “day job” is a forensic artist and law enforcement instructor. This book, with the shorter format, didn’t really have a place to put that particular thread. I was also writing romance, which has always been just a small thread in past books (so small that it’s missing in many!) I didn’t want to write the male point of view the way a woman would want a man to think and act, but more accurately the way a man would respond to the danger and attraction in the story.
I hope readers enjoy this first Love Inspired book. I have a second one coming out in May.
Blessings,
Carrie
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JustRead Tour Giveaway
(1) winner will receive a small, original watercolor by author & professional fine artist Carrie Stuart Parks!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 6, 2025 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 13, 2025. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
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Until next time, may your reading bring both light and encouragement.
Happy reading!
~ Danielle.
I look forward to reading Carrie Stuart Parks‘ first LIS book. It sounds action-packed.
I agree!
It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.
You’re very welcome!
I can’t wait to read this novel!!
Me too!!