Dear friend,
I love road trips.
Which is ironic because my parents had to strong-arm me into taking driver’s training and getting my license (I was convinced that society should revert to horse-drawn carriages). Driving lessons gave me panic attacks and I became a statistic a couple years later (you know, the one where the probability you’ll get into an accident before the age of twenty is something like twice as high as any other age (don’t quote me on that)). For the longest time, driving felt like pulling nose hairs.
My First Road Trip
It was the weekend of my nineteenth birthday when I took my first solo road trip. I drove a little over three hours to Indiana to see my friend act in a college performance of “Guys and Dolls,” which is a witty Prohibition-era musical that I deeply enjoy. I’d never driven more than an hour by myself before, so I was nervous and rightfully so. I drove on a Saturday evening, arriving just in time for the show. There was a brief period of time were I got turned around, but otherwise the drive went smoothly. (I know, I know. You wanted to hear some harrowing tale that I survived. Sorry.)
When I was twenty-one, a different friend and I planned a camping trip to Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula for a weekend. We wanted to drive through Petoskey on one of the most stunning autumn drives you’ll ever see on our way to visiting the lower Tahquamenon Falls. It was one of the more memorable trips I’ve ever taken, partly because of the fabulous company I had and partly because that’s the closest I’ve ever come to running out of gas in the middle of nowhere, not to mention trying to start campfires in the rain.
I’ve taken several other road trips since then, not to mention the dozen or so times I’ve driven the seven hours between Michigan and Ohio to visit my family. I’ve had smooth road trips that were nearly boring with how uneventful they were, and I’ve had trips that had me white-knuckling the steering wheel nearly the whole drive.
The road trip book
When I read Beyond the Mirage by Vella Karman, I was transported back to when I first began road tripping. The anxiety of changing lanes in the middle of a big city, the annoyance of noises from the backseat passengers and backseat drivers. The emergency stop at Walmart for snacks and the use of the restroom. The desire to have someone else drive but you’re the only one who can drive (for one reason or another). The weird conversations that come from boredom.
Now imagine all those situations with a car-full of late teenagers and early twentysomethings, add in the ability to teleport between states via freeway on-ramps and off-ramps through the power of prayer, and you get Beyond the Mirage.
Lauren is a quodesher–one of those people who can teleport a whole carful of people across the country.
When California wildfires turn the drive to her sister’s wedding into a mad dash teleportation tour of the country, she’s entrusted with her sister’s wedding ring…and thrust into a responsibility she knows she’s not ready for.
When the ring goes missing, Lauren is forced to make choices that will impact the lives of the people around her forever.
As the leader of this ragtag group of wedding guests, she finds herself in more trouble than she bargained for. And since when did she ask to be haggled about her parents’ death (ancient history) at every move?
Not all is as it seems. And trusting God…might just be a journey.
Ready to share in the adventure? You can get your own copy on Vella’s website or on Amazon.
(If you enjoy it, make sure to say so in a quick review. It’s a great way to support your favorite authors!)
Sincerely,
R. J. Catlin
