Despite what readers from eastern Oklahoma believe,
Lottawatah, Oklahoma doesn’t exist except in the Brianna Sullivan Mysteries
series. I’ve given several library talks concerning the reluctant psychic stuck
in a small town, adjacent to Lake Eufaula, just south of Interstate Highway
I-40. Everyone thinks they know exactly where it is, some are certain that
they’ve been there.
But, really guys, Lottawatah doesn’t exist. I made
it up. Well, sort of. There is a road named “Lotawatah” (note: we
changed the spelling so we’d have deniability in the case any angry
Lotawatahians showed up, offended and seeking compensation for the pain and
suffering our portrayal of his/her road had allegedly caused.)
Anyway, the real Lotawatah Road intersects I-40 a
few miles west of the lake. Anyone who has driven I-40 east from Oklahoma City
to Ft. Smith, Arkansas has seen the road sign. I’ve driven by it hundreds of
times. I loved the name, I loved saying the word. And believe me, if an author
loves something, it’s going to show up in a book.
My co-author and I have written nine Brianna
Sullivan Mysteries. The first book in the series, I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries,
had psychic Brianna stopping in Lottawatah for gas and fried pies – not in that
order. A ghost hopped in her motor home, begging for her help with a
kidnapping. Brianna made the mistake of trying to convey that information to
the local police, met the surly but handsome Cooper Jackson, and the rest is
history.
Creating the town of Lottawatah was done one or
two businesses at a time per book. As you leave I-40 and drive into Lottawatah
proper, you’ll pass by Tiny’s Diner.
It’s your typical small town diner; abeit a little more rundown than most.
Good EATS…World Famous Apple P…rust Me. The diner
hadn’t had any glory days, even in its glory days. The linoleum was butt ugly
when it was first installed, maybe 30 years earlier. Flecks of brown on a tan
background. Maybe the idea was to hide the dirt…it wasn’t working. I slid onto
the cracked red vinyl stool at the Formica counter and looked expectantly at
the guy with a stained t-shirt, standing behind the counter.
I ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a piece of
their world famous pie, then surreptitiously rubbed the grease from the menu on
my jeans. I briefly wondered if they sold wine, but decided that a healthy
glass of Maalox would be the perfect beverage to accompany my dinner.
The next place Brianna visited was the Lottawatah
Police Station.
I shifted on the chair and finished the last stale
peanut in the cellophane bag I’d purchased from the station’s only vending
machine. 10 pm. I’d been waiting more than three hours. Most of the police
force, all 8 of them if you include the secretary and maintenance man, had been
marching in the Fourth of July parade over on Main until about an hour ago. I’d
been stuck with the pregnant staff sergeant whose swollen ankles precluded her
joining the Independence Day celebrations.
Even in a small town, a girl has to go somewhere
to get her roots touched up and find clues about whodunnit. Sheer Artistry
Hair Salon was just the place.
Margo stole a side glance at Sunny, before turning
back to me. “Candy and I had a little chat while she did my nails this
afternoon. She mentioned you’d been asking around about me and Martha. You’re a
smart woman Brianna. Sheer Artistry
is the place to go to find out where all the bodies are buried.” Darn,
Beverly. Between her and Candy, the women were unstoppable gossip machines. The
whole town probably knew my business.
Since Brianna arrived in Lottawatah in her motor
home, she needed somewhere to park it and a part-time job to cover expenses.
She found both at a resort on Lake Eufaula.
Ghost or no ghost. Cooper or no Cooper, it was
time to get to work. I pulled on my uniform, a pair of khaki shorts and a green
polo shirt, with LEC in block letters next to a pine tree and a fish. I
thought it suggested that the area was full of dead fish lying next to trees,
but Jack Fulsom, the owner, testily informed me that I was missing the high
concept nature of the design. High concept my behind! But in exchange for a
free full hookup for Matilda, and a commission for every time-share sale I
made, I was more than willing to sing the praises of this new, promising condo
and cabin lakeside resort. And that meant wearing the cheesy t-shirt. I walked out
of air-conditioned Matilda into air so thick you could chew it. The sales
office was down a pine-canopied path near the water. I might be getting a free
hookup for Matilda, but I wasn’t getting a lake view.
Jobs in Lottawatah don’t last too long. By February,
Brianna was working at a new job and our fictional town of Lottawatah got
another new business.
If I was late for my job at Pearl’s Soak and
Spin one more time, I’d be unemployed and would almost certainly have to
hit the road in search of gas and food money. Lottawatah’s economy, if it ever
had one, had crashed long before the rest of the nation. Jobs, as Miss Pearl
had reminded me, didn’t grow on trees.
Even though Tiny’s Diner was the local
hotspot, every town needs more than one place to eat.
By the time Will Dobson let me answer the phone,
we’d pulled into the local barbeque joint’s parking lot on the edge of
Lottawatah. Actually you could be at one end of town and almost see the city
limits on the opposite side. Will Dobson had decided that we were going to get
on I-40 and head west towards Oklahoma City. The shortest route was right
through Lottawatah.
Will just laughed as I struggled with the dog. He
didn’t notice I snagged my cell phone off the truck floor during the fracas.
Outside, I bent down, like I was going to set the dog on the ground, but
instead I ran, Leon under my arm like a furry football. I managed enough for a
first down before sliding out of bounds under Arnold–the six foot high concrete
pig, beloved mascot and icon of the Pig Palace Barbeque Joint. Will
Dobson got off one shot. Arnold lost his manhood, but Leon and I just kept
sliding until we buried up in a snow bank.
That’s all the time (and word space) that I have
for our short tour of Lottawatah. To learn more, check out the books. Or you
can take that exit off I-40 and see if you can find it. I dare you!
Rhonda
aka The Southern Half of Evelyn David
__________________________________________
Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books Kindle – Nook – Smashwords – Trade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake Kindle – Trade Paperback (exclusive to Amazon)
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries– Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah– Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah– Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle (exclusive to Amazon this month)
Lottawatah Twister – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 – I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)
Romances
Love Lessons – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
