While Steve and our son Ty went roping down at San Simeon, I spent the weekend with our daughter, Lindsey, and her husband, Mattley.  Mattley marked and branded calves while Lindsey and I spent some serious down time watching gratuitous violence on TV in the form of Lockdown. Watching this show was my first venture into the dark world of depraved predators and criminals as their daily lives are portrayed in prisons across the United States and Mexico, with the prisons in Mexico being the worst.  Trust me, you do not want to go to prison in Mexico.

The program brought me back to my book, “Road to the Innocent”.  Lockdown reveals the atrocities man commits against man; race doesn’t matter.  In my book, the vile criminal, Chaco Gonzales perpetrates pre-meditated and horrific crimes against his own people.  The story parallels with the current issues of illegal immigration and human trafficking.

It still amazes me how “Road to the Innocent” came to be.  Steve and I had just returned from a long trip culminating in a very special stay in Arizona.  With strong family ties and previous trips to the beautiful state, we spent four days exploring Lake Powell by boat and driving into the desert wilds surrounding Page.

At the time, I was so crippled with arthritis I could barely walk.  On returning home, depression pulled me down and daily pity parties were becoming routine.  As another long day loomed ahead, it was as if a hand pulled me up and gave me a shove.  I hobbled to the study, sat down at my computer and the story poured out.  Day after day I wrote.  My brain wouldn’t stop and voila!  “Road to the Innocent” was born.