 |
| Morro Rock |
Cherie O’Boyle, Professor Emerita of Psychology at California State
University, San Marcos, is an avid Border collie enthusiast who lives in
Northern California. Learn more about her and her books at her website.
Places, Real and Imagined
The Estela Nogales Mystery series
is set in one of the most beautiful parts of California, the central coast near
Morro Rock. Deadly Disguise, the
fourth book in the series, is now released, so I thought it would be fun to
take a short road trip through the settings, both real and imagined, that provide
the background for this award-winning series.
We’ll begin our journey at the
intersection of Arroyo Loco Rd and Highway 41, connecting the charming and real
towns of Morro Bay and Atascadero. This intersection and the village of Arroyo
Loco are purely imaginary, but it is easy to picture the old roadhouse there by
the corner, and remember the rusty ice chest where we found the body in Iced Tee. The lot where Will’s house
burned down in Fire at Will’s is just
out of sight up the hill.
Heading east, we
wind through the Coast Range and into Atascadero, site of the all-too-real maximum-security prison for the
criminally insane. Arroyo
Loco’s residents often wonder if their village has been visited by a former
inmate. The twisting oak-shaded residential streets where I always get lost,
and where Estela once found a bloody knife embedded in a front door, are east
of the downtown area.
A ten-minute drive north brings us into
the quaint town of Paso Robles. Here, we wander alongside the dry riverbed where
Estela and her friends searched for Nina in Missing
Mom. The riverbed is real; its homeless denizens must either be hiding, or
are imaginary. Nearby, we can stop for a juicy cheeseburger at the real Cowgirl
Cafe. If we’ve timed our visit right, we might even be able to watch the
classic cars cruising Paso Robles’ central plaza, and catch a glimpse of
Detective Muñoz’s meticulously restored Camaro.
Highway 46, crossing the
countryside from Paso Robles west to Highway 1, is one of most scenic drives in
the state. On a clear spring day, you can see across miles of rolling green
hills frosted with lupine and mustard flowers to the deep blue of the Pacific
Ocean. Breath-taking.
South of the tiny town of
Cayucos, you’ll find the scruffy and unofficial dog beach where Estela loves to
walk and think through the mysteries that confront her. Keep your eyes open,
and you may see Shiner, the real Border collie, romping with his friends and
running through the surf.
The town of
Morro Bay is already popular with tourists, and needs no introduction. We can walk around the base of
Morro Rock, the remnant of an ancient volcano, and look upward for real nesting
peregrine falcons. The nearby embarcadero, and especially the Bayside Cafe are
worth a stop, if only to imagine Estela and her detective friend Muñoz enjoying
the view and working out the most recent puzzle.
Inez’s
combination sheep ranch and dog day-care business is imaginary, although you
can picture the green hills south of Morro Bay dotted with white Merino sheep.
Continuing south, you’ll pass the real state Men’s Colony prison, and if you
know just where to look, you might see Helen’s car parked in the lot.
I’m going to
leave you at the entrance to the California state university campus where
Estela is employed in the counseling center, and where rumors of an active
shooter in the library are about to send the campus into chaos in Deadly Disguise.
I hope you
enjoyed this imaginary road trip, and that someday you get to experience the
real adventure. If you already love the central coast, please share your
memories and favorites places in the comments below.
Deadly Disguise
...bodies falling...Estela Nogales
is caught in the middle when the perfect murder sets off chaos during final
exams week. Together with Detective Muñoz, Estela must use her acute powers of
observation to help identify the killer. One calamity after another disrupts
the investigation, and Estela is pursued at every turn by the mysterious figure
in the hat, even home to Arroyo Loco where a fresh set of crises are unleashed.
Buy Links
(For a brief introduction to Arroyo
Loco, Estela Nogales, and her neighbors, please download the free short story, Back for Seconds? available on most
ebook outlets.)
2 comments:
Thank you so much, Lois, for letting me share some of my favorite places!
Thanks for leading us through the neighborhood, Cherie. Can't wait to read the latest!
Post a Comment