Fossil has a population of about 500. Settler is 2x that at 1000. So that I fictionalized.
Fossil is located in a county which houses the Painted Hills and the Ochoco Mountains.
I wanted it closer to where I live, so moved this lovely town to the Newberry Caldera. Here we overlook the two lakes and the obsidian flow. Between the two lakes is the pumice cone. All of this is inside a big volcano. I stuck the town in the middle of all this.
In Fossil, the library is attached to the fire house and city hall. In Settler, the fire house is on the other side of the library and city hall is elsewhere.
Fossil is very quiet. You can stand on a street corner and not see another soul or another car for hours. The same is true in Settler.
Here's the Paleo Institute I base the one in my books on, complete with dinosaur fossil.
This park is also included in my books, but I changed the mural and in the books this is behind the library:
Here is the county courthouse that inspired the Caslow County office building in Settler. In Settler, it's closer to the library. In Fossil, it's next to the Paleo Institute.
The people in Fossil are awesome. So if you ever go out that way, pop in and visit them. I'll for sure go back. Wheeler County is one of my favorite places in Oregon.
With views like this, I'm always eager to return:
The Reader, Rifters Book 3 is here!
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With the rift closed for the season and no more monsters to fight, Daelin Long gets bored as librarian in the podunk town of Settler, Oregon. A job interview and her brother's arrival present a tempting opportunity to escape, until her brother and her best friend, a ghost, disappear.
While Daelin searches for them, more mysteries pile up: dead people coming back to life, portraits of the town founders replaced with strange white trees, and people on the other side of the rift returning. It’s impossible. The portal that allows monsters from other universes to come to Earth is sealed until next summer.
The Rifters, a secret group protecting our world, believe the troubles are nothing more than the tantrums of an offended ghost. Daelin disagrees. If she’s right, the evil hell-bent on destroying Earth has new technology making the rift more deadly. Before the monster summons the next apocalypse, Daelin must find it and destroy it.
Book 3 in the Rifter series.
Need to get caught up? You can read books 1 and 2 in the series for free by becoming an M. Pax Reader.
Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteThat is gorgeous country, but doesn't look forgiving...
There isn't a lot of water, but it's so incredibly stunning. It never fails to take my breath away.
DeleteHi Mary - loved the story line and the matching photos .. clever to base the story on real places, even if slightly changed - good luck .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThe residents of Fossil were tickled about it.
DeleteCongratulations! I love the scenery too. I'd spend hours exploring it if I could.
ReplyDeleteI plan to spend more hours exploring it.
DeleteSuch a pretty little town and area! Congrats, Mary! I loved The Reader and am looking forward to the next Rifters book.
ReplyDeleteCongrats! How fun to have an actual town to explore for your story. I'm always surprised when I see the dry side of Oregon. My mind pictures the coastal area.
ReplyDeleteLove the scenery. I guess the books in that library are safe from fire. I assume the fire department maintains high standards in their own building.
ReplyDeleteThat you know the area so well will add authenticity to your story. Stunning ! Well done you!
ReplyDeleteEu vim deixar um beijo,
ReplyDeletedizer que gostei muito
do seu blog e também
dizer que o estou seguindo.
Siga o meu blog também,
vai.
Beijos e bom natal.
.
Fun photo essay! I love exploring little burgs with historic town squares. And that landscape - really looks like another planet.
ReplyDeleteTui, dropping by from TuiSnider.com via IWSG
Such a cute little town! It's so cool how you made it over for Settler. I really like the plopping it down in the middle of a dormant volcano--must be how the rift was created, some kind of majickal mojo going on there 0_o
ReplyDelete