The Great Jackalope Stampede (52 page)

The kick-butt first and second draft crew: Beth Harris, Wendy Delaney, Marcia Britton, Mary Ida Kunkle, Paul Franklin, Renelle Wilson, Sue Stone-Douglas, Marguerite Phipps, Diane Garland, Margo Taylor, and Wendy Gildersleeve.

Diane Garland for her amazingly detailed spreadsheets on all of my books in this series, including this newest book. Never has it been so easy to keep all of the series details straight. I’m so glad you like my books!

Wayne Roberts for letting me bug him out of the blue with law enforcement questions.

Jacquie Rogers, Wendy Delaney, Amber Scott, Gerri Russell, and Joleen James for being some of the best author friends I could have.

My coworkers at my day job who continue to cheer me on even now that I have quit my job and write full time. I miss you guys (but not enough to come back to work there).

My family for their never-ending love and support. I really appreciate that you actually read my books.

My Facebook and Twitter friends who lift my spirits during the hard times, crack the whip when I get lazy, help me promote new books to all of their family and friends, and cheer with me at the top of their lungs when something wonderful happens with my career. I can’t thank you all enough for being there day after day (and late night after late night). You make me want to write more stories to share with you.

Finally, my brother, Clint Taylor for never hesitating to explore a mine with me, especially the ones that would have made Mom pull out her hair if she had known we were playing around in them. We probably should have had a canary to take along during our spelunking fun. Hindsight is 20-20, right? Ha!

Ann’s Five Fun Research Facts

(Learned while writing The Great Jackalope Stampede)

Sheriff’s Posse:
Arizona is one of the few states that allows sheriffs’ offices to form semi-permanent posse units which can be operated as a reserve to the main deputized force under a variety of circumstances, as opposed to solely for fugitive retrieval as is historically associated with the term. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_sheriff#Arizona
)

* * *

Artificial Eyeballs:
Sources vary on when and where artificial eye manufacturing originated, but there is evidence that the craft can be traced to the late Renaissance when Venetian glassmakers started creating glass eyes. The art flourished primarily in France and Germany where carefully guarded fabricating secrets were handed down from one generation to the next. In the nineteenth century German ocularists began to tour the United States, making glass artificial eyes on a national circuit, setting up for several days at a time in one city after another. Glass stock eyes were also fit by mail order and out of drawers. Eye manufacture in the United States began about 1850. Eyes continued to be made of glass until the onset of World War II. German glassblowers were no longer touring the United States. Most German goods were being boycotted which compelled the development of an American technology for fabricating artificial eyes. Since World War II, plastic has become the preferred material for the artificial eye because of its durability and longevity. The plastic used in eye making is a high optical quality acrylic (Methacrylate resin), similar to the material used to make dentures. Although it is a common misconception that artificial eyes are made from glass, most artificial eyes produced in the United States are fitted and fabricated by ocularists from Methyl Methacrylate plastic. (Source:
http://www.artificialeye.net/history.htm
)

* * *

Sonoran Desert Cacti:
The Sonoran Desert’s eastern border is Arizona’s Route 191, which runs right through the middle of my fictional town, Jackrabbit Junction. This desert is one of the largest and hottest deserts in North America, with an area of 120,000 square miles. It is an incredibly beautiful place with the greatest diversity of vegetative growth of any desert in the world, including 60 mammal species, 350 bird species, 20 amphibian species, over 100 reptile species, 30 native fish species, and more than 2,000 native plant species. (Source:
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sonoran_Desert
)

* * *

The Devil’s Highway:
The Arizona section of U.S. Route 191 (which cuts through Jackrabbit Junction in my story) used to be U.S. Route 666 just a decade or so ago. The road earned its nickname, The Devil’s Highway, due to more than four hundred curves in the 90 mile stretch between Alpine and Clifton. It is listed as a National Scenic Byway and is now called the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway, as it approximates the path taken by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado between 1540 and 1542. Travel writer James T. Yenckel, in an article in
The Washington Post
on December 29, 1991, commented: No structural evidence of Coronado's passing remains, but the verdant countryside, abloom in summer wildflowers, is largely untouched, and it must look now as it did when he struggled through. An almost empty highway to nowhere, U.S. 666 climbs to above 9,000 feet along the Coronado Trail in a cliff-hanging series of twists and turns so sharp the speed limit often drops to only 10 miles per hour. The reward for this little test of nerves is a picture-postcard panorama of pine-draped ridges leap-frogging across the horizon. (Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_191
and
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/us666.cfm
)

* * *

The Fusee
(in relation to Pocket Watches): The fusee is a cone with a spiral groove in its surface that accommodates a cord or a chain, attached at one end to the barrel containing the spring and at the other end to the cone. As the power of the spring decreases, the cord on the fusee unwinds, engaging the fusee at a point of greater diameter and thus evening out the force transmitted. This invention probably had its origins in about 1400 in the technology for winding crossbows. By 1600, most timepieces made by watchmakers outside the boundaries of German-speaking Europe employed the spring-and-fusee device for watches. It would be the preferred mechanism for a long time to come. (Source:
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/watc/hd_watc.htm
)

Also by Ann Charles

(Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks and Kobo)

The Jackrabbit Junction Mystery Series

Dance of the Winnebagos

(Book 1)

Bestseller in Women Sleuth Mystery and Romantic Suspense!

“Ann Charles delivers laugh-out-loud dialogue, unforgettable characters, and pulse-pounding suspense.”

~
Vicki Lewis Thompson
, New York Times
Bestselling Author

“…two thumbs up and a standing ovation for laughs, sighs, thrills, and an excellently crafted mystery.”

~
Maxwell Cynn
, Thrillers Rock Twitter Reviews and Author of
The Collective

Overview…

When Claire's grandfather and his army buddies converge in the Arizona desert to find new wives, it's her thankless job to keep them out of trouble with the opposite sex.

But when she finds a human leg bone and partners with a reluctant geotechnician to dig up secrets from the past, trouble finds her. If she doesn't stop digging, she could end up dead.

Jackrabbit Junction Jitters

(Book 2)

Bestseller in Women Sleuth Mystery and Romantic Suspense!

“We’re not in Deadwood anymore, but fans of Ann Charles’s Deadwood series will still recognize her keenly crafted sense of place in her Jackrabbit Junction series. For readers who enjoy the fast-paced dialogue that propels them through her romantic mysteries, Jackrabbit Junction Jitters will not leave you jilted.”

~
C.M. Wendelboe
, Author of
Death Along the Spirit Road
and
Death Where the Bad Rocks Live

“Ann Charles does it again with Jackrabbit Junction Jitters. This book has all my favorite things—sassy, real characters, laugh out loud dialogue, a twisty, compelling mystery, and sizzling romantic chemistry. Can’t wait for the next installment.”

~
Terri L. Austin
, author of
Diners, Dives and Dead Ends

Overview…

Claire is back, raining trouble throughout Jackrabbit Junction in another fast-paced, fun, sexy suspense.

A burglar is on the loose! Claire wastes no time forming suspicions, but she's sidetracked by a treasure hunt.

Even with help from her boyfriend, Claire is swirling in a whirlpool of chaos. Throw her crazy sister into the torrent, along with an angst-ridden teen, a jittery bride, and some randy old men, and Claire struggles just to keep a toehold in the current.

Then her mother arrives …

Books in the Deadwood Mystery Series

Nearly Departed in Deadwood

(Book 1)

WINNER of the 2010 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense

WINNER of the 2011 Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart Award for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements

“Full of thrills and chills, a fun rollercoaster ride of a book!”

~
Susan Andersen
, New York Times Bestselling Author of
Burning Up

“Ann Charles has written an intriguing mystery laced with a wicked sense of humor. Watch out Stephanie Plum, because Violet Parker is coming your way.”