Many of my devoted fans have written asking me questions over these years about my books and I thought I'd take a minute to answer some of them. Question # 1. What town is Castle Valley based on? It is based on Wickenburg, Arizona. When I was searching for just the right setting for the Kendall O'Dell mystery series, I visited many small towns in Arizona before making my decision. Wickenburg just had the right feel when I drove in that blazing hot summer afternoon. Somehow, it has retained the ambiance of a true Western town, even today with most of the dude ranches long gone. It's a quiet, friendly little town and I enjoyed meeting and talking with many of the locals and exploring the entire area. Because all of my books are based on actual cases and newspaper articles, I had to change the name and borrowed the name Castle Valley from Utah. Question #2. How did you come up with Kendall's name? Believe it or not, the name came from Kendall's Famous Burgers in Prescott, Arizona. I was enjoying one of their wonderful hamburgers and had been mulling over names for weeks. It struck me suddenly that Kendall was just the name I was looking for. I loved the way it sounded & it melded very well with O'Dell. It is a good strong name, like the character herself! I have hundreds of back stories to tell about the research I conducted on all the books and will share them in the future. Check out the book trailer on this site & visit mine at www.niteowlbooks.com

Sylvia Nobel