Today finds me far from the New Jersey suburb that I call home, in the midst of a research trip for my second novel. My husband and I have left our kids with my mother and journeyed to Arizona. The timing isn’t perfect–my first book, THE GATES OF EVANGELINE, has a lot going on publicity-wise as we prepare for our U.S. release. But the sequel needs some love, too, so here I am!
Today, we begin the morning at a B&B on the edge of Tucson, a city I used to live in. I take a 5 AM stroll on the trail out back and watch the sun come up. Lizards, birds, and rabbits scuttle and hop about, and I even spot an antelope jackrabbit. I make notes on the different types of cactus and desert plants I see so that I can accurately describe them in the book later.
My husband and I enjoy a breakfast of tortilla chips, black beans, and nopalitos (a type of cactus)at a place called Coyote Pause. I scan through publicity and marketing emails regarding THE GATES OF EVANGELINE while he frets over the weather reports. Looks like we will be braving temperatures of up to 46 degrees Celsius! My first novel required research trips to Louisiana during Mardi Gras–this is not quite as cushy. We chat and review our plans for the day, and then I sneak in some writing time with a notebook in the courtyard before it gets too hot.
Next, we head an hour south to Nogales, an Arizona town that borders a Mexican city by the same name. I’ve arranged a tour tomorrow with an officer at U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to get info for the book. Today, we are meeting Scott Nicholson, an American charity worker who has offered to guide us through the Mexican side of Nogales and show us one of the city’s poorest communities.
Scott brings us to Tirabichi, a garbage dump once home to thirty families who made their living recycling found materials. The dump has recently been shut down by the government and its dwellings destroyed by a pair of suspicious fires that killed one resident. Few families remain. My work-in-progress has a scene set here, so I get a good look around and speak a bit with the caretaker in my stilted Spanish.
Over lunch, we chat with Scott about his life and work. Though American, he lives and works at a Mexican community center called HEPAC, which offers free lunches for local children, adult education courses, and a new affordable child care center. In his free time, Scott hikes seven miles through the desert to leave water for desperate migrants who might otherwise die as they seek to cross the border. I am amazed by his big heart. Meeting interesting individuals with powerful stories is one of my favorite parts of being a writer.
My husband and I return to the U.S. mid-afternoon and check into a local hotel. I spend a couple hours writing while he naps. When he wakes, we do a Facetime call with our children, who breathlessly relate their day’s adventures.
Although we aren’t expecting high cuisine from this dusty border town, we find a surprisingly delicious Italian restaurant in a neighboring town. It’s strange to go from the poverty of Mexico to sipping wine and nibbling an eggplant appetizer, but I suppose this is what writers do: move in and out of worlds. Tonight I am particularly grateful for all that we have. I can’t wait to integrate the things I’ve seen into my latest novel.