The idea for my new book, Set Your Life on Fire, came to me in the shower, which,
to be honest, is where most of my book ideas show up. I think they’re lurking up near the ceiling fan waiting for me to be open to them. This idea said: What would happen if two heartbroken, semi-bonkers strangers undertook a road trip together after they got stranded at O’Hare Airport in a snowstorm? (My shower might have been a little too cold that day.)
The shower left it to me to figure out why they were heartbroken, where they were going, and what was going to happen to them. The characters themselves stepped right up. Tasha told me she was leaving a cheating husband and heading out after clearing out all their bank accounts. Carter, a passive, sad assistant professor, had decided to win back his ex-wife and convince her he’d changed by derailing her wedding, in the style of Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate.
So they both think the other is insane, yet they rent a van and head to California. Along the way, they banter and argue and cry and share secrets and even end up adopting a dog. There are breakdowns, both physical and emotional. And there are plenty of laughs. And a grandmother. And then — well, I’ll stop now. You need to read it to find out.
I’m not the only one who’s realized that characters on a road trip give readers lots of reasons to relate to them, even fall in love with them. There are so many fabulous ones out there. Here are some I especially recommend.