Good morning! I hope everyone had a happy weekend! I finally saw Fury Road, had an unexpectedly nice BBQ (ie., the weather cooperated) and spent a little time working and planning a blog post about the road trip I undertook to research SWERVE.

As you may know, it’s a chase book set on one road–the I-15 in the Mojave desert–in the middle of summer (the Fourth of July, to be exact). I traveled that stretch three times in July, mapping out Kristine Rush’s journey (my protag) and plotting the book. Here are some photos I took–I’ll post more and talk about them in the actually blog post–but for those of you who’ve received an early peek at SWERVE … these images should be self-explanatory. *evil grin*

Rest stop. The location, and the original building, was what inspired the opening scenes in SWERVE. They’ve since expanded it, but I still remembering the original sweltering desert hole.

The abandoned Rock-a-Hoola waterpark, situated between Baker and Barstow on the I-15. Cheery place, huh? Now imagine it at over 100 degrees F. Now imagine the wind whipping through its flats. Now imagine it at night. #swerve

The inspiration home for the Hawthorne Estate in Lake Arrowhead. #swerve

Pool table. I photographed this from a real estate office window on my research trip to Lake Arrowhead. I don’t know if it was the red cast to the photo that influenced its inclusion in SWERVE or if it was just my imagination. I prefer to think the former. #swerve

Fireworks over Lake Arrowhead on the Fourth of July. See all the tiny lights dotting the lake? Those are boats gathered around a dock centered in the lake. That’s where the fireworks are shot from. This view is via the grand hotel patio. #swerve

The Fourth of July is five weeks away.

So is SWERVE.

Are you ready to go for a little ride?

Vx.