Today we talk to Katherine Robles, author of the “Romance in the Park” series. The first novel in the series, Whitewater Wishes, debuts June 16th.
Tell us about your hero and heroine. What makes them likeable?Bridget is a hairdresser and white water rafting guide who loves adventure and takes her relationships seriously. She’s likable because even though she has insecurities stemming from her mother abandoning the family when she was young, she’s confident and not afraid to be herself. Drew is a nurse at a hospital and more of a geek than a thrill seeker, but for Bridget he’ll try anything. On the surface he’s not her type, but she can’t resist his sweetness and inner strength.
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What makes this book special to you?Whitewater Wishes is special to me because it’s set in beautiful Ohiopyle State Park, a place I’ve been lucky enough to visit twice in my life. When I was a teenageer my family stopped at Ohiopyle on our way to Pittsburgh and had the full whitewater rafting experience. I can still remember the feel of my body bouncing up off the raft when we went over rapids, the way the toe straps hugged my feet, and the cold spray in my face. It was exhilarating. When I started writing Whitewater Wishes, I knew I wanted one of the characters to be a rafting guide. The second time I visited the park was a few years ago with my husband and four sons. We didn’t raft, but we had a blast playing on the natural water slide. A lot of those fun memories and experiences went into the scenes where Bridget and Drew visit the natural water slide. Even their date ending in disaster is based on real events from my visit.
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What is your next project?There are a LOT of parks! I would love to keep the Romance in the Park series going. My husband and I took a trip to Arizona a few years ago and the landscape there is so different from the northeast where I live. I took lots of notes and pictures and jotted down story ideas that came to me while we were hiking. I like to link the characters and plot closely to the park the book is set in so that the story couldn’t take place anywhere else. Each park is unique and deserves a unique love story to go along with in. We’ll see which park inspires a great story first.
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Do you have advice for other writers?When you don’t like a book or a movie, analyze why. Was the character inconsistent? Was the plot illogical? Was it boring because the plot didn’t move forward? I’ve learned so much about what not to do from reading some poorly written and/or boring novels.
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What would you say is the main spiritual takeaway for your reader?
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Whitewater Wishes
by Katherine RoblesRelease Date 2023-06-16
ISBN: 9781522399148
ASIN: B0BZB9C26Y
PelicanID: 1622
Genres: Fiction / Christian / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / Clean & Wholesome
Pages: 226
Bridget plans to spend her summer working as a white water rafting guide and studying for her beautician' s license exam. She isn' t looking for romance, and she isn' t impressed with nerdy nurse Drew when he steps into her raft. She' s looking for a strongman like the father she failed, but she finds it hard to resist Drew' s passion for life.
As a hospital nurse, Drew loves helping people to heal, but after one of his younger patients dies, Drew feels the need to seize the day. So, he faces his fear of open water and goes white water rafting. He' s attracted to Bridget, but meeting his dream girl couldn' t have come at a worse time. His best friend is in trouble and Drew must decide how far he' s willing to go to keep his friend' s secret.
When injury capsizes Bridget' s career, they' ll need strength beyond their own to keep their love afloat.
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