I am not a travel writer, but I would love to get paid to be one. However, while writing Dark Evil, it felt like I did a lot of traveling. Other than it being a fiction novel, I tried to make everything else as factual as possible. So that meant, I needed to research locations, in most cases, down to the street level.
I have been to:
- Phoenix, AZ
- Navajo Mountain, Utah,
- Canyon de Chelly National Monument – Massacre Cave, AZ
- Upper Delicate Arch, Utah
- Chinle, AZ
- White House Overlook, AZ
- Mummy Cave, AZ
- Apache Death Cave – Two Guns, AZ
- Canyon de Chelly National Monument – Canyon del Muerto, AZ
- Utah National Park – Delicate Arch, Utah
- Twin Lakes, MN
- Canyon Diablo, AZ
And so many more. I have never physically been to any of these places, but with the power of Google Maps and Google Earth, it’s like I was right there in the middle of the action. Essentially, I was, in a way. I experienced things virtually, which for me was just as good. Except I would have loved to get my own pictures of each place instead of experiencing everything through the pictures of others.
It’s amazing the things you learn, experience, and see when you do enough research. This novel was definitely a deep dive into research. I wanted the story to be fictional, but with a ring of truth, given the characters, their backstory, and the storyline. My hope is that people will want to read it and they will like it.
Sarah Johnson 