Hot Pursuit by Lorie O’Clare just hit the shelves and she is visiting Smexy today to chat about it!
Everyone always wants to know what was in a writer’s head when she wrote her book. I thought I’d share five fun facts about HOT PURSUIT. This is what really goes on behind the scenes…
HOT PURSUIT takes place in Zounds, CA.
1. Zounds, CA is loosely based off of Eureka, CA. My son came up with the name for Zounds. We considered the meaning of Eureka, which is surprised or something amazing. We wanted a word that had similar meaning for the name of my town in this book. My son had just finished reading Shakespeare and had loved the expression Zounds, which would mean, in our language today, Wow, or Oh my gosh, or even used in anger or shock. Hence, the name of Zounds was created. Thank you, Bill S.
HOT PURSUIT takes place toward the end of the year…
2. I was over half way through writing my first draft of Hot Pursuit when it dawned on me that, in spite of the book taking place in northern California, where there is definitely snow, it wouldn’t snow in Zounds, because it doesn’t snow in Eureka. Thank you weather.com. I couldn’t just do a find/replace of the word snow because in some instances dialogue as well as actions of characters needed changed. I went back and read through the first half of the book to make sure all necessary changes were made in references to weather before I continued writing my first draft. The joys of accurately doing my research!
Wolf Marley, one of the bounty hunters in HOT PURSUIT, drives a brand new Cadillac Escalade that he paid cash for from a previous bounty hunting job.
3. Not as exciting of a fact. But I did have fun “car shopping” before deciding that Wolf would drive a Cadillac Escalade. Do you know how many dealer sites want personal information about you before revealing anything on their site about their higher priced vehicles? The answer…all of them! One dealer called me–hey, why not give them my number?–and laughed out loud when I told him I was simply doing research for a book. He asked questions about the book. It was a nice phone call.
Several times in the book a statue of a man pointing toward the ocean is mentioned. It’s located outside Angel’s bookstore in HOT PURSUIT.
4. Humboldt Bay is the second largest bay in California but wasn’t discovered until 1849 and Eureka was founded in 1850. I know, boring state facts that most of you probably don’t care about. However, in Hot Pursuit, downtown Zounds ends at Angel’s bookstore. There is a grassy area where the road circles around in front of her store. A statue is in that grassy area. I based the statue off of a memorial to fishermen statue that is located in Humboldt Bay. Here is a picture of it.
In HOT PURSUIT, Zoey Cortez is the daughter of a ruthless, crime lord who only sees his daughter as a means to make his empire grow. They live in the nicest home in Zounds.
5. Zoey Cortez lives in one of the most expensive homes in Zounds. Her daddy is a very dangerous man, hiding out in Zounds, because the sleepy fishing town is directly between San Francisco and Seattle. He controls most illegal activity in both of those major cities but is well under the radar where they live. I based their home off of one of the original Victorian homes built in Eureka in 1886, the Carson Mansion. Here is a picture of it.
(both pictures in these fun facts are taken from the Wikipedia page on Eureka, CA. You can go there to read more about the history of this town.)
Thanks Lorie!
I have a copy of Hot Pursuit to giveaway to one random commenter today. To enter, just leave a comment. Contest open to all through April 14.
Knowing what kind of research you did makes the book all the more interesting! I remember seeing that Victorian mansion in Eureka many years ago. Glad it’s still there.
I’ve never been to Eureka. Someday I want to visit northern California. I have been to southern California many times, but it’s a large state. I’ve been told I should write about parts of the world that I know (and I do) but it’s fun writing about parts I don’t know as well. Makes the research all that more fascinating.
WOW! Thanks for the fun post :) I love finding out the “behind the scenes”.
Oh, me too! I always watch the “makings of” on DVD’s. LOL. I’m glad you enjoyed my research post.
I loved getting a look at how aspects of a book come to be or the things that inspire bits of a story. Fun stuff!
I figured it was something different to post. Everyone (including me) always writes about how their characters come to life. Thought I’d try something different.
I’m a fan of the Bounty Hunter books and look forward to reading “Hot Pursuit.”
I really hope you like it. Be sure and check out the contest on my website. http://www.lorieoclare.com. Only two more days until it ends and someone wins a brank new Kindle Fire!
It’s terrific to get background on a books genesis. I love the research. Isn’t it great when you end up having a great conversation with a complete stranger like that salesman. Love the Bounty Hunters stories.
It’s amazing how people open up when they learn you’re a writer. And I really hope you like Hot Pursuit!
Sounds like an interesting place to visit
Wow! just Wow! Love Your Books!! :)
I hope you love Hot Pursuit. Micah will very likely go down as one of my most favorite characters. If you’ve read Slow Heat you absolutely have to read Hot Pursuit! :D
Lol, I stumbled upon that photo of the Eureka Victorian mansion some time ago on Google and loved it it is so quirky so weird as if it were the Haunted Mansion in a Disneyland theme park :-)
Congrats on the release of Hot Pursuit, I always love learning more about the behind the scenes secrets of how a book came to be :-D
Trust me, it wasn’t my intention to gather a bunch of research. But as the book developed I kept digging deeper and you’re seeing the end result. It’s fun sharing it with everyone.
It sounds like fun to create a car for a character.
I like knowing an author does a lot of research. It makes the book so much better and interesting. Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me. Tore923@aol.com
Your book sounds very interesting. Love the name of your fictional town…Zounds. Great name. Thanks for the info.
Your book sounds not only interesting but unusual. Lots of Z’s.
Zounds and Eureka are such awesome names for towns.
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