Inspired by the many small towns I’ve seen in my travels, and by my own childhood growing up in smaller communities, I began writing novels located in these places. After having written a few, I then realized the pattern. These were stories about young men and women, usually about seventeen, starting in a current day small town, but then having the courage to step off the edge into a fantastic science-fictional adventure.
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Hutto, Texas, my current home town, was the location where James’s adventures in Emperor Dad started, and included many real life incidents, woven into a solid teleportation adventure. Currently available. -
Las Vegas, New Mexico was where the massive road trip of Roswell or Bust! begins -- starting with a Joe working at a motel, meeting Judith, and ending with an RV full of aliens. Currently available. -
Munising, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula, is where Jon, a teenager with a flair for design meets the garage inventor next door and sets off a flying saucer scare in Lighter Than Air. Currently available. -
Crescent City, California in the far north, is surrounded by the giant Redwoods that hosted the invading alien nano-machines that tried to convert Deena into their agent of destruction -- but they didn’t count on the link working both ways, in Extreme Makeover. Currently available. -
Chamberlain, South Dakota, in Falling Bakward, was the nearest town to Jerry’s farm, and the place most in danger when he discovers a ten-thousand year old flying saucer buried under the sunflower fields, complete with an active wormhole to the planet of the Bak. Currently available. -
Oquawka, Illinois, beside the Mississippi River, was home for Debra, until she was pulled into a desolate future, and told that it was up to her to change history to prevent the asteroid strike. But those scientists messed up, and she was sent bouncing through past and future years until she created the legend of the Golden Girl and found her own solution to the crisis.
Currently available. -
Ranch Exit, Utah -- so small it isn’t even on the map -- is the home of Dot and Ned, and becomes the focus for the reality bending events of Follow That Mouse. Currently available. -
Churchill Falls, NL in Labrador Canada, where it’s 300km to the nearest town one way and 250km the other, a school science club is making history in the road trip story Bearing Northeast. Currently available.
There are other novels written and in-process that might fit with these, but these give you the idea. My goal was to write stories that could comfortably fit on shelves near Heinlein’s Juveniles, but would also be quite content in school and church libraries.
