Wild Passage (West Coast USA Romances, #1)

This book contains mature content.Trying to ease her grief, Serena stumbled into the most terrifying experience of her life!Serena knew a crew party was for people who were serious about sailing, but all she really wanted was to absorb the atmosphere that had been her late husband's dream. Then she met Neil Turner and was stunned by his effect on her. This magnetic man was looking for crew, and he made his attraction to her very clear. Should she tell him the truth, or should she risk the challenge of adventure?Pacific Waterfront Romances: each of Vanessa Grant's Pacific Waterfront Romances stands alone. The books may be read in any order.… about writing Wild PassageThe idea for Wild Passage came to me during the most terrifying night of my life. Brian and I were sailing offshore 70 miles west of Oregon, on what was meant to be a seven day voyage on our sailboat Julie Marie II, from Canada's Juan de Fuca strait to San Francisco. On the fourth night when dark fell, a brisk wind from the north blew up into a gale. Suddenly we were travelling too fast and in danger of losing control. Brian lashed himself to a safety line and climbed up on deck while I stayed in our open cockpit with instructions to steer as straight a course as I could. I was terrified something would happen to the man I loved up there on that heaving deck. I tried not to lost sight of him, but I also needed to steer and keep track of wind, waves, and the angle of the sails.Suddenly I lost sight of Brian, the boat careened out of control, and there was a horrendous crash.Writing that sentence, I'm back on Julie Marie II, living 90 endless seconds of terror when the world went wild before I located Brian - still alive, still on board, and miraculously still standing.The courageous adventurer I'd imagined myself to be disappeared that night. I woke the next day, still offshore and terrified another gale would blow up. My mind pulsed with graphic pictures of what could have happened.What if my fears became reality? My God, what a story it would make! My heroine would be terrified, too, but where I'd turned into a basket case once I realized Brian was alive, I wouldn't let my heroine wimp out. I'd force her … force Serena to deal with the horrific events I'd only fantasized.A week later Brian and I attended a party in San Francisco that was thrown to give sailboat owners a chance to meet people looking for the adventure of an offshore cruise in exchange for crew services. I had found the setup for Wild Passage, which I began writing a couple of weeks later when we tied up at Morro Bay, California.I hope you enjoy reading Serena and Neil's adventurous romance as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you finish the book wondering what happens to Neil's son and his brother Zeb, check out Taking Chances, book two in the Turner Brothers series.… Vanessa Grant