Melissa Roos presents her captivating novel, *Truth Lies at the Edge*, a standalone sweet mystery romance that intertwines emotional depth with suspense and adventure. This episode delves into the intricate layers of her narrative, which unfolds against the backdrop of the Grand Canyon, a setting that becomes a character in its own right. The discussion illuminates the poignant themes of resilience and the courage required to confront one’s choices, inviting listeners to reflect on their own journeys. Roos articulates her intention for readers to visualize the breathtaking landscapes and emotional landscapes that permeate her work, whether they have visited the Grand Canyon or not. As we explore her creative process and the inspiration behind her writing, we gain insight into the powerful connection between setting and storytelling that defines her literary voice. In this engaging episode, Rich Bennett and Melissa Roos delve into the intricacies of her novel 'Truth Lies at the Edge', which seamlessly merges elements of romance with a compelling mystery. Roos provides an insightful overview of her book, describing it as a narrative filled with high stakes and emotional depth, set against the striking backdrop of the Grand Canyon. The protagonist, Lexi Archer, embodies the struggles of self-discovery and the courage required to confront one's past choices. Roos articulates that the novel caters to readers who appreciate a slow-burning romance enveloped in suspense and adventure. She emphasizes the importance of her characters, who are depicted with authentic flaws, making them relatable and engaging. The excerpt she shares serves to illustrate the profound connection between the characters and the landscape, enhancing the thematic exploration of resilience and personal growth. The dialogue between Bennett and Roos is enriched by their shared passion for storytelling, as they discuss the inspirations behind Roos's writing and her aspirations for reader engagement. This episode not only highlights the creative process behind 'Truth Lies at the Edge' but also serves as a testament to the transformative nature of literature. The episode commences with an introduction to Freedom Federal Credit Union, emphasizing their local, member-focused approach aimed at enhancing community welfare. The host, Rich Bennett, introduces the podcast's unique format, wherein authors from various backgrounds present pitches for their literary creations. The discussion centers on Melissa Roos, the author of 'Truth Lies at the Edge', as she articulates her narrative, blending elements of mystery and romance. This novel is characterized as a standalone piece that intertwines emotional depth with suspense, set against a vividly described backdrop that enhances the storytelling experience. Roos elucidates the significance of her work, noting its appeal to readers who enjoy intricate character development and atmospheric settings. She articulates the essence of her protagonist, Lexi Archer, a multifaceted character reflecting the struggles of personal resilience and the complexities of human relationships. As the conversation unfolds, Roos reads an excerpt that transports the audience to the Grand Canyon, vividly portraying the landscape and the emotional turmoil of her characters, thereby capturing the listeners' attention and inviting them into the world she has created. Through her narrative, Roos addresses themes of vulnerability, the human condition, and the transformative power of love, all while maintaining a sense of suspense that propels the story forward.

Takeaways:

• The podcast episode features an engaging dialogue with author Melissa Roos regarding her novel entitled 'Truth Lies at the Edge', which is characterized as a sweet mystery romance.
• Roos elaborates on the profound themes of her book, particularly the exploration of courage required to recognize and admit one's missteps in life.
• The narrative of 'Truth Lies at the Edge' is described as a blend of emotional depth, suspense, and high stakes adventure, set against vividly depicted landscapes.
• Listeners are introduced to the protagonist Lexi Archer, a character who embodies resilience while navigating personal challenges and the complexities of human relationships.
• The podcast highlights the importance of setting in Roos's writing, as the Grand Canyon serves not only as a backdrop but as a character in its own right, enriching the narrative.
• Roos shares insights into her creative process, revealing that her experiences and personal adventures significantly influence her storytelling.

Links referenced in this episode:

• freedomfcu.org
• bookstock.org
• bethanybeachbooks.com
• shenanigansbooks.com
• cupboardbakerbooks.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Freedom Federal Credit Union
• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• Bethany Beach Books
• Shenanigans
• Cupboard Baker Books

This episode is brought to you by Freedom Federal Credit Union. They're local member owned and focused on doing what's best for our community.

What if discovering your next great read only took a few minutes welcome to the Author Pitch, the short form podcast where writers from around the world deliver a powerful pitch for their book and read a standout excerpt in their own voice. I'm Rich Bennett, this is the Author Pitch and your next great reading starts here.

Welcome to the Author Pitch where writers from around the world deliver a powerful pitch for their book and read a short excerpt in their own voice. I'm your host, Rich Bennett and today's guest is Melissa Roos, author of the Truth Lies at the Edge. How you doing, Melissa?

I'm good. How are you?

Well, if I could get your name right on the first try. I'm doing good. No, I'm. I'm doing good. All right, so let's start with your pitch. Give listeners a tight, high impact overview.

Okay.

What the book is, who it's for, why it matters, and what makes it unique.

Okay, so the Truth Lies at the Edge is a standalone, sweet mystery romance that blends emotional depth with suspense, high stakes adventure, and a setting so vivid it comes up a character in its own right. Who it's for this novel is for readers who love a slow burning romance woven through a compelling mystery.

It's for those who crave atmospheric settings, layered characters with real flaws, and stories where love unfolds against a backdrop of danger, secrets and breathtaking landscapes. Why It Matters at its heart, the story explores the courage it takes to admit when you've chosen the wrong path.

Like real people, the characters are imperfect. They make decisions out of fear, longing, or survival. Lexi Archer is tough. She's a hard worker and she's independent. But she's just plain tired.

Tired of her circumstances and her life. I feel like we can all relate to that at some point in our lives or another.

And just for once, she wants someone to sweep in and take care of everything for her. But sometimes we need to be careful what we actually wish for.

Lexi's journey is about resilience, about learning that the easy choice isn't always the right one. And that walking away from the wrong future can be the bravest act of all.

This. You got me hooked already. You haven't even read the excerpt yet. All right, so now let's hear the excerpt you brought for us today.

Go ahead, take your time, settle in, read it at your natural pace.

Okay.

And I'll actually give you a moment and then you can begin whenever you're ready.

Okay, so this is further in the book. It's chapter 36, and it's from Ty Brandt's point of view.

And so my book does have several different points of view, and he's an outfitter that Lexi and her husband have hired to take them to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Okay, so from Yaqui Point, the canyon opened wide to the east.

The fading light of the sunset cast a golden glow over the Grand Canyon's layers, drawing out vivid reds, deep blues, and dusty browns and quiet greens where hearty pines clung to the rock.

Some stood proud and tall, defying the wind and time, while others were no more than scraggly tufts, like God had tossed a handful of toothpicks and they had landed where they pleased, stuck at odd angles across the stone.

The scene unfolded before him like a painter's dream, ribbons of sandstone, lime, and shale stacked in seamless layers, each a stroke of testament to time and patience. It was a masterpiece, created not by man but by the very hand of God. The horizon stretched jagged and unbroken.

Valleys, canyons, and hidden crannies were lit and shadowed in turn, each one etched by the sands of time. Ty had been here in this spot at least a hundred times, seen the sunset over the rim, at least a thousand more, but he never tired of it.

He made his way to the outcropping of rock to watch the sun's rays change the view. The crowd that sometimes gathered in this area was sparse. The overcast, chilly day had kept the tourists away.

Ty almost didn't see her, she sat so still and blended in, feet dangling beyond the edge.

If the wind hadn't stirred at that moment, he might have walked right past her, but as it was, a long strand of hair whipped out from her ponytail, wanting to be wild and free and not restrained like the rest. Her hair in the sunshine was the same color as the rich brown layers of sediment at the base of the canyon where the Colorado snaked through.

Her clothes were basic and warm, earth tones that didn't call out but were subtle and subdued, much like the woman. Gone was the princess who had accompanied her husband to the bar. He hesitated and glanced around for her other half, but was nowhere to be seen.

Positive that she was alone, Ty was still unsure whether he should say hello or skirt past unnoticed, but something in her posture tugged at his heart. Before he knew it, he was stepping forward toward the edge and her. He stood for a moment, silent, but curiosity got the better of him.

Quite the view, wouldn't you agree? He asked, keeping five feet between them. She jumped. Sorry. Ty chuckled. I didn't mean to frighten you. Especially when you're so close to the edge.

You didn't, she responded. He lifted an eyebrow. Okay, you did. I wasn't expecting to know anyone or to talk to anyone here. No worries. I'll just pick another spot to sit.

Don't be ridiculous. Of course you can sit here. Much obliged, Alexandria. He eased down beside her, careful to leave a respectful space between them.

I don't mean to sound offensive, but you don't look like an Alexandria. Oh? She tilted her head and glanced at him. Well, that's the name my mother gave me. But what name do I look like?

Alexandria is too formal, which I guess fits when you're with him. But out here There was a beat of silence. But out here? She prompted. What were you going to say? Nothing. Forget I brought it up. Oh, no, you don't.

You can't just do that. Say something like that and stop. She squared her shoulders and pinned him in place with her big dark brown eyes. Tell me. He shrugged.

It was no skin off his back. If you were mine, I'd shorten it. Make it more intimate. Like what? He heard the hitch in her voice. Like Alex. Allie. Or better yet, Lexi.

He bobbed his head. That's it, Lexi. It's pretty and it fits you.

The silence that followed wasn't exactly comfortable, but it wasn't unpleasant either, the kind that buzzes with the awareness of something unspoken, something discovered just beyond the edge, something found that had been lost. A smile flitted across her lips. That's my name. I mean, my name is Alexandria. But everyone called me Lexi before. Before what? Before Colin.

She turned away from him, then back to the canyon. No one really calls me that anymore. The gorge below stretched out before them in layered silence, its ancient beauty almost too much to take in.

Colors shifted in the light, dusty, sunburnt, and shadowed, and instead of looking at the view, Ty watched the way her eyes tracked the horizon. Thoughtful, tired. Maybe a little lost. Do you come here often? She asked, changing the subject. Depends on what you consider often.

He smiled faintly when she didn't take the bait. Not since last week. She glanced at him then, just briefly, and for a second he forgot how to breathe.

There was something guarded in her gaze, but not cold or closed. My husband didn't want to come she said quietly, more to the canyon than to him. Too much quiet. Ty said nothing.

The word husband hit him like a reminder and a warning. He let the silence stretch, trying to read not too much into it, but finally he had to ask, then why this adventure to the bottom and back?

This was his idea. He lives for the adventure, the extreme action. He likes to live on the edge. After all, he is the adventure king. I thought he was the hydration king.

He's that too.

She closed her eyes for a moment as the wind teased and swirled around it, stirring up debris, then opened them again as if to take it in completely anew. You don't need hydration if you don't have the action or the adventure. They go hand in hand. I guess they do.

I meant he would never just sit here like we are and take it all in. At least not for more than five minutes. She shifted and tucked the blanket she'd sit on around her legs.

I want to see the sun go down behind the God sculpted walls, watch him snuff out the last embers of light and then soak in the vastness of the dark for a breath before heading home. Or maybe lie back and look at the stars. Let the night and the dark stretch and contemplate the heavens. That's my idea of a perfect ending to the day.

Mine too, he confirmed quietly. Glad they had that in common. How does someone end up becoming an outfitter? She asked. Ty shrugged. Kind of started when I was a kid.

I was obsessed with the outdoors before I could even tie my own hiking boots. Lexi tilted her head in his direction. Really? Ty gave a smile, the kind that held both memory and ache.

He paused, eyes drifting over the horizon like he could see a younger version of himself out there, his boots too big, his heart wide open. My grandfather took me on my first real hike. We did the Bright Angel Trail right here in the Grand Canyon.

He said it was the best trail to start with. Not easy, but a fair challenge. He told me. The canyon doesn't give you anything for free, but it'll teach you everything if you're willing to listen.

Ty's voice quieted, and without thinking he adjusted the knife on his hip. He taught me how to build the fire from nothing, how to find true north without a compass, and how to tell time by the angle of the sun.

Which plants could heal you, which once could kill. He taught me more than survival skills. He passed down the wonder, the grit, and the reverence of this place.

As if Lexi could sense something in his tone. She asked, how Long ago. Did he pass away? Ty looked out across the canyon, the late light trading sharp angles with Redstone.

He died when I was a teenager. I'm sorry. Yeah, me too. He was something. Ty had loved him beyond measure. It had been just the two of them since before he could remember. And did that.

She pointed at the knife belonging to him. It did. It's nice to have something of a loved one that you can carry with you. Make you feel as if there was always close by. It does.

He shifted closer to her and extended his arm, pointing. See those two peaks with the cream colored layers that jut out above everything? Yes.

That is what we call Zoyster's Temple at 7,123ft tall, or 1.3 miles high. Do people climb it? She asked. Yeah. Have you? A few times. The views from up there are spectacular. He shifted slightly and pointed again. Over there.

See the Switchback trail? She nodded. That's part of the South Kabob Trail. Will we be on it?

No, we're taking the Hermit Trail because that's the route your husband specifically requested, he said, his voice firm. The Hermit is one of the most demanding trails in the canyon. It's remote, unmaintained, and brutally steep.

The train is unforgiving, the path often unstable, and there's no water until we reach the Colorado. This isn't a hike for the inexperienced or unprepared. He glanced at her, the weight of his warning clear in his eyes.

There was brief connection there as their eyes locked. It's not too late to back out. She nodded, eyes back on the canyon. Well, Tyler, that's not an option. And thank you for ruining my perfect solo date.

He smiled, slow and genuine, getting the hint anytime. He took that as his cue, got up and brushed off the seat of his jeans.

Dropping his voice low, he said, by the way, Lexi, my name is Tyler, but I'd prefer if you'd call me Ty. She didn't look at him. Sure, Ty. He walked away, not looking back, the silence stretching long behind him.

He wasn't sure what bothered him more, her calmness or the way she said his name like she'd said it a hundred times before and would again a thousand times more.

Wow. You are very good at painting a picture.

Thank you, man.

That. I mean, just in the beginning I was already locked in. I'm picturing the Grand Canyon and everything and just watching them too go back and forth.

That was great, man. So actually, I gotta ask you, why'd you choose that particular excerpt?

Well, just because I like the fact of it was her first time seeing it, but still, it was ties. He'd seen it a hundred times, but he still just. The view captured him.

And so actually when we were there, I went with my sister and my mom and we had gotten out to see the Grand Canyon and we had a rental car and we were stopping along the, you know, the little various points and stuff. And it had started to snow. And so my mom one time she didn't get out because it was like really blizzard on us.

But my sister and I still got out anyway. And after we were coated in snow, we decided that was enough, got back in. My sister got in the wrong car. I'm not even like, seriously. We had an suv.

She got in a little sedan because she was so, like, captivated by the. The landscape. She forgot where we parked.

Wow.

And she just got in. And there was a woman in the back of that car as well. And she's like, ma', am, you're in the wrong car. And my sister, like, freaked out.

She's like, oh, no. So I just wanted to point that out. Like, it does happen. Like the scene in front of you can just capture you and forget where you're. What?

You're breathtaking. Yeah.

Wow. Now, is that what sparked the book for you?

No, just. I mean, that her getting in the wrong car or.

Well, I mean, just that the whole trip out there.

Yes. Yep, it did.

Okay.

I have never had an experience like this, but I actually. Standing at the edge, I just literally had the whole book just pour into me. I've never had that happen before. Wow.

And what do you hope that readers feel after finishing it?

After finishing it? I just hope that they can. I want them to visualize the place whether they've been there or not.

If they have, I hope they, you know, it still paints that picture for them that they can remember what it was like to be there at the edge. Because it's just, you know, it's just a one of a kind thing that you'll never see again.

So the big question now, what's next for Melissa as an author?

Well, I have two books that I'm working on now. So I have one that's a crossover from my original very first book, You Can Hide.

So, same setting, a few of the same characters, but a totally different story. So I have that. And then I also have another one I'm working on. It's called Counting Stars. And that's more of a small town, you know, mystery romance.

So set here in Pennsylvania.

And where can people purchase your book and. And follow you.

So I have a website so you can add my website. I have book trailers and things like that, so you can see those.

And obviously you can get me in the basic places like Amazon or Barnes and Noble Online. I'm also at, like, some smaller bookstores like Bethany Beach Books in Bethany Beach, Delaware, and Shenanigans in Elizabethtown in Pennsylvania.

Here, Cupboard Baker Books in Enola, Pennsylvania. Bookstock. Org, so you can, you know, everywhere. Yep.

And those of you listening, you know what I'm gonna say. When you purchase Melissa's book, the Truth Lies at the Edge. After you read it, make sure you leave a full review.

Usually I say, whether it be on Amazon, Goodreads, or whatever, but no, leave a review everywhere that you can and then purchase a copy for someone else or several other people. Melissa, I want to thank you so much. It's always great seeing you, and I can't wait for you to come back on and talk about some of your other books.

Well, thank you for having me, Rich. It's a lot of fun to be here.

Oh, my pleasure. I want to thank everybody for listening to the author pitch. I am Rich Bennett, and until next time, keep turning pages and discovering new voices.