My series did not waltz fully-formed into my head. It came in fits and bits, with far too many stops to recount here.
In 2019, I had just finished a dark Sci-Fi novel and needed something lighter—a brain cleanser, some sunshine. As a fan of Ghost Whisperer, Ghost Hunters, Ghostbusters, and various haunted house books, I wanted to write something spooky that would make me laugh.
I made a list of must-haves:
- novice ghost whisper
- a mentor/spectral grandmother
- her ghost-hunting team/online show
- a Chihuahua puppy
- a retro car and trailer (the 1957 Chevy Nomad and Holiday House Geographic Model X pictured above)
And my fictional team had to investigate the paranormal activity disturbing an RV campground in Oak Glen, California. My very first RV trip was to the Oak Glen Retreat-Halo Resorts. That was the hook, my motivation to go RVing for life, and the location for my book.
I finished Road Apples in 2020, but something wasn’t right. This novel didn’t come together as neatly as my SciFi books, but as it often does, real life intruded. Mr. Embers and I had some decisions to make.
So I let the draft sit while we determined our grand plans.
Fast-forward through selling our house, upgrading RVs, moving into our 5th Wheel full-time, retiring from our state jobs, an injury, and prepping to leave California. The countdown to our departure had started, and we were running out of time in the Golden State.
Before our great send-off, we created a Bucket List of things we had to do in California—things we hadn’t already done despite living here most of our adult lives.
Hello, Route 66!
We’d lived less than fifteen minutes from the famous road most of our adult lives and hadn’t yet traveled it, aside from driving it to reach the freeway or local diners. With time ticking away, we became avid Route 66 day trippers. Our first stop was the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville, just a quick drive downtown.
That visit changed everything.
Standing in that museum, surrounded by the history and romance of America’s Mother Road, it finally clicked. The missing piece wasn’t just one book—it was an entire series. A haunted Route 66 cozy mystery series, following my ghost-hunting team as they travel the historic highway, investigating paranormal hotspots from California to Illinois.
We hit as many attractions on the Road of Dreams as possible after that revelation, all of which deserve their own blog posts. Road Apples will now be the second book in the series—a delightful side trip where the ghost hunters detour off Route 66 to investigate the mountains of Oak Glen. But the series begins with Road Map, launching my characters onto the legendary highway that inspired it all.
After many drastic detours in both my writing and my life, the ultimate spooky road trip begins in October.