GUEST POST + GIVEAWAY: Author Sarah Latchaw

Please welcome talented Sarah Latchaw, author of my favourite contemporary romance of 2013 -  Hydraulic Level Five (you can read my 5 stars review HERE) and Skygods (relase date August 26th 2014). Sarah Latchaw graciously agreed to share some interesting information about her Hydraulic series and I hope you will enjoy this article. 

Moreover, do not forget to find the info about the giveaway at the bottom if this post!

The Places of the Hydraulic Series by Sarah Latchaw

We read to be transported. We vacation to be transported. And when a book draws us in with sights, sounds, and smells, we are drawn in to a place we’ve never set foot upon, but our hearts swear we’ve been there. That is what a strong sense of place gives us. And when it’s vibrant, it’s as alive as the characters we love.

Giving a scene a sense of place is what breathes life into a story. Strong characters are important, as is a good plot and conflict. But sometimes a character’s environment is skimmed and short-changed to get to the “good stuff.” In my opinion, the “good stuff” is the sights and sounds that surround a character, and thus, a reader.

Here are some of the places that inspire Hydraulic Level Five and Skygods.

St Vrain Creek, Lyons, Sarah Latchaw

  “Two children, pale and dark, slight and tall, stand in silent battle over the fairy tales woven through the waters of Bear Creek, swollen cold with melted Rockies snow.” –Hydraulic Level Five

Colorado River, Glenwood Canyon, Sarah Latchaw

 “We’d tried to surf that “damned play park” every single rafting trip for the past six years, since we first tackled the Shoshone stretch of the Colorado River. Each April, we immersed ourselves in the beautiful, white-capped Rockies to hit the rapids in their prime — when snow slid down the mountains into the river, making for wild whitewater.” –Hydraulic Level Five

Steamboat Mountain, Lyons, Sarah Latchaw

 “We plowed down the tar-patched Main Street fenced by tall ev­ergreens and a smattering of small businesses, including The Garden Market (where Dad worked) and Paddler’s, past Planet Bluegrass, which dwelled in the shadow of Steamboat Mountain.” –Hydraulic Level Five

Pearl Street, Boulder , Brylie Oxley

 “The sun sank below the row of brick storefronts and would soon be gone, leaving us in a world of violet. Throwing away our trash from the ice cream, we left the green space and wandered up Pearl Street, gazes bouncing over the mountains that shadowed the city.” –Hydraulic Level Five

Boulder Books, Huffington Post

 “We were smack dab in the middle of a three-ring circus — local media trucks, cameramen covered in plastic ponchos, cars fighting for parking spaces, honking horns, hundreds of fans with brightly-colored um­brellas standing in lines out the door, just to get their book signed. Nerves shot through my body and settled in my stomach. I had no idea the signing would be this big.” –Hydraulic Level Five

 

Mapleton Hill Victorian, Boulder, CarolAnnie

 “Buying and renovating the dilapidated Victorian to house TrilbyJones was the only occasion I’d ever spent a dime of Samuel’s alimony. Our offices were downstairs. Upstairs was my apartment, lovingly decorated by Sofia Cabral — Samuel’s tender mother. She insisted I needed a beautiful home of my own, something brand new for my fresh start. I’d cried in Sofia’s plump arms for an entire afternoon.”  –Hydraulic Level Five

Button Rock Reservoir, Rocky Mountain National Forest, Protrails

 “This late in the afternoon, the reservoir was nearly devoid of people, the last of them trickling home for supper. Samuel and I used to come here occasionally on clear evenings, because the low sun peeking between the mountain range cast the entire lake in orange. Rock and scatters of bleached timber stretched beyond us as we made our way along the coastline.” –Hydraulic Level Five

Lyons Church, Sarah Latchaw

 “As it turned out, I didn’t need a Xanax to get me through the wedding rehearsal (though Molly’s stepmother was more than will­ing to oblige). Our friends kept it light, helping us to forget another wedding which took place in this tiny community church eight years ago.” –Hydraulic Level Five

Hollywood Roosevelt, LA, Gary Minnaert

 “The Hollywood Roosevelt? My inner Molly squealed with glee. Any classic movie buff knew the Roosevelt had been the playground of the stars for eighty years. I pictured Samuel and me sauntering arm and arm through hallways a la Clark Gable and Carole Lombard.” –Skygods

Santa Monica Pier, Pop Culture Geek

 “Did you know the Santa Monica Pier is celebrating its one-hun­dredth anniversary?” I read from my tour book as we sauntered along wooden planks crusted with sea salt, past caricature artists and whimsi­cal amusement rides.

“Uh, yeah. If you’d get your head out of that book and actually look at the pier, you’d see banners all over the place that say ‘100 Years of Summer Fun.’” –Skygods

Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO

 “I don’t know if it’s possible to explain how fanatical Samuel and I were about Planet Bluegrass. We came of age under the shadow of Lyons’ folk rock scene. We embraced its guitars like old friends. And as old friends, we paid homage beneath Steamboat Mountain, swaying to music, shimmying and shouting lyrics.” –Skygods

Bertelsmann Building, NYC, Jorge Lascar

 “‘Do you see that black, glossy building with the stripes?’ Samuel said. I followed his finger. ‘That’s the Bertelsmann Building, where my publishing house is located. If we have time, I can show you their offices, introduce you around.’” –Skygods

Fort Tryon Park, NYC, Eric Sorenson

 “Some brilliant city planner made wondrous use of the naturally hilly terrain, and what emerged was a fairy-tale blend of stone arches and shady foliage. As we climbed higher into the Fort Tryon Park, I caught a glimpse of the Hudson River far below, gray and hazy.” –Skygods

The Met Cloisters, NYC

 “We spent the morning exploring the Cloisters, an annex of the Met which housed Medieval art. The Cloisters had been plucked from monasteries in Southern France and reassembled right in the middle of Fort Tryon Park, on a hill overlooking the Hudson.” –Skygods

The Boom Boom Room, The Standard Hotel, NYC, Laura Biegler

 “A funky boom-shaka-laka-laka pounding down the hallway warned of what awaited in the Boom Boom Room, moments before we stepped past an anorexic-looking doorwoman and into its seventies decadence.

Oh sweet superfly. It was Mick Jagger’s living room.” –Skygods

Boston Back Bay

 “I nodded, my eyes widening at the foreignness of the choppy Boston Harbor as we sped along the turnpike and into the city. I squinted against the midday sun, glinting against the downtown skyline. Traffic was heavy. All inbound lanes crawled to a stop, crept along, then stopped again. ‘Some sort of delay,’ said the cabbie. ‘Typical weekday. We’re heading into the Back Bay Fens.’” –Skygods

Fenway Park, Boston, In Sappho We Trust

 “We pushed through the crowds around Fenway Park, much lighter now that the game had started. Organ music pumped over the brick walls and along Yawkey Street, gearing the fans up for what sounded like a Sox up-to-bat.” –Skygods

Capitol Hill, Denver, Allen K

The Broncos were home, so everything was booked, save for this shabby bit of history in Capitol Hill. Its radiator heat hissed half the night and its old-fashioned door chains conjured up bad horror films from the fifties. But a soak in my room’s claw-foot tub made up for the creep factor. –Skygods

Longs Peak, Colorado, Sally Pearce

The whole sweep of the Rockies lay before them in feathered greens and blacks, light and shadow, each mountain peak climb­ing into the clouds. The sky is a fanciful blue, so like Caulfield’s eyes. The encroaching range is still all crackled ice. Just beyond it is the crown jewel — Longs Peak. Even now, at the end of summer, patches of snow furiously cling to its rocky zenith.

Aspen breathes in air touched by pine and ice. ‘I’ve circled Longs my entire life, and I’ve never set foot on it. Not once. How is that possible?’” –Skygods

About Author:

Sarah Latchaw was raised in eastern Iowa and appreciates beauty in mud-splattered gravel roads and fields. She also loves to explore far-away places, thanks to countless family minivan trips across the States. This passion for finding stories led to college adventures in many different countries, and each place’s story rests in the back of her mind and in her photo albums.

Sarah received her BA from Wartburg College in public relations and media, and entered the workforce, ready to climb the ladder. However, when researching MBA applications evoked feelings of dread, with the loving support of her husband, she pursued a career in creative writing and was awarded her MA from Iowa State University.

These days, Sarah wakes every morning thrilled to cuddle her small children, show them the world, then capture that world and shape it into stories on paper. She is not thrilled when she wakes to her cats smothering her face. She and her family reside in Des Moines, Iowa—one of the best places to live and work.

CONNECT WITH SARAH LATCHAW:

 Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

 

Giveaway:

For a chance to win kindle copy of Hydraulic Level Five,
visit my Facebook page and read THIS pinned post.
I will pick the winner on friday August 22th so hurry up :)