I don't know about you, but when I read a book, I often wonder what was going through the author's head as they wrote it. My latest novel, 24 Hours of Trouble, was inspired by the many horse shows I went to as a teenager plus a decade's worth of trips to France to watch the famous 24h du Mans motor race. Here's a quick peek behind the scenes…
We borrowed this stretch of track for the book cover – the track and the armco barrier behind – and added extra grass to give Harley some space to jump over the car. It's located between Arnage corner and Porsche curves.
The race starts in the daytime, always on a Saturday. Here's a view of the famous Dunlop Bridge, which is just after the startline and part of my morning jogging route. I make an effort to be healthy for at least one week of the year!
Racing carries on through the night, and the lights are super-bright.
Sunrise is always beautiful. Mostly because it means it's getting warmer and I won't need to freeze my ass off for much longer.
Not all of the cars make it to the end of the race…
And the drivers have a little map stuck to the steering wheel in case they get lost.
Here's the Aston Martin pit garage from the front:
And an LMP 2 garage from the back. The pits are quite small inside, usually busy, and a fascinating place to hang around.
The Boule d'Or cafe in in Mulsanne that Mia and Lexi visit for lunch really exists…
As does Roger the rabbit 🙂
And here's an Aston Martin to finish…
Onto the horses – I don't show jump often myself as my old horse had a tendency to stop and let me go first, while my current nag just doesn't *get* jumping. He scrambles from one side to the other, but it's potluck whether he trips over the fence or jumps it like it's four feet high! No, Trev is better at prancing and eating things.
Meet Ollie…
And Trev 🙂
I hope you enjoy reading 24 Hours of Trouble!
Photo of Trev by Erin Shaw Photography. All other photos are my own.
Great article! I love it when authors give us a glimpse into how they came up with their books.
Terrific background info!. Will this be part of your newsletter? Trev is a beautiful horse!!!!
You are just too adorable! I wish I had done fun things like that growing up. As I’m not sure I could pull a kick ads book together like you do with my experiences camping every summer… Unless you count the time I chased a brown bear cub! Lucky for me his mother wasn’t around or I wouldn’t be here replying to your blog! Can’t wait to read this book! Thanks for the awesome books you keep typing out!