Stories with a twist

When the Oklahoma temperatures reach 100 degrees, I may not be aware of the summer heat unless someone tells me. I see no need to test my heat tolerance. Instead I’ll probably be indoors writing.

In my first manuscripts, my characters were usually in perfect weather. But now I sometimes like to have frigid temperatures or sweltering days. But no tornadoes. That’s one thing I doubt I’ll ever put in a novel. I’m too scared of them.

Previously, I lived on a hill that had a nice view of the nearby town about ten miles away. One evening, the television stations were giving warnings but the weather didn’t seem particularly bad. I went outside to look at the clouds. My husband called out that a tornado was about to form. Then, seconds later, he shouted that one was in the air. I was far enough away to be safe, but I watched as the storm unfolded in front of me.

The funnel was thin, dipping down out of the sky like a giant stinger reaching to the ground. From my perspective, appeared to be right over town. In reality, it only touched a few fields. It was an F1 that went back into the clouds quickly and didn’t hurt anyone.

When a tornado touched down in one of the neighboring towns this past year, warning sirens were going off. People were trying to evacuate, and the cars couldn’t get out fast enough. The storm knocked out the power, causing the traffic lights to quit working. People were trapped in the congestion, but luckily, the storm avoided the main areas.

Another nearby town used to have a shopping mall which was one of my favorite shopping venues. After a tornado hit and the debris was cleaned away, all that remains is the parking lot.

I love where I live, but sometimes in the summer when the weather gets hot and humid and the storm clouds start forming, I wish I didn’t live so close to an area that has been called Tornado Alley.

Liz Tyner’s new historical romance, Forbidden to the Duke, is available on the Mills & Boon website now!

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By The Mills & Boon team