by King, R. L.
And hey, thanks to the Ojai Valley for being such a great place to grow up. I’m pretty sure all those cool spooky urban legends I heard as a kid just sat there in the back of my brain for years until they could be inspirations for my books.
Author’s Note
I spent the first eighteen years of my life in the Ojai Valley. Blood and Stone is a work of fiction, obviously, but a lot of the details are based on fact. Bart’s Books is a real (and very cool) place, where I used to spend a lot of time when I lived there. The Nest Motel, Don Armando’s Restaurant, and The Third Eye aren’t real, but they’re based on real Ojai locations. Matilija Hot Springs exists, though I took so much literary license with it that those familiar with the actual place probably won’t recognize it. The Arcade, the Arbolada, Libbey Park, and Creek Road are all real, and almost all of the urban legends I described in the story (such as Char Man and the headless motorcyclist) are based on tales I heard throughout my childhood. You can even buy Char Man hot sauce around the area.
None of the characters in the story are real, nor are they based on real people, living or dead. The “witch club” is very loosely based on something I did myself, but it was in grade school and it was far less elaborate than anything the Sisterhood ever got involved in.
If you’re ever visiting southern California, I highly recommend stopping by for a day. Ojai’s a beautiful place with a lot of quaint shopping boutiques, great restaurants, and wonderful scenery.
I’m really sorry I broke the town. Nothing personal, I promise.
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Books By R. L. King
The Alastair Stone Chronicles
Stone and a Hard Place
The Forgotten
The Threshold
The Source
Core of Stone
Shadows and Stone (novella)
Shadowrun (published by Catalyst Game Labs)
Borrowed Time
Wolf and Buffalo (novella)
Veiled Extraction (coming 2017)
About the Author
When not doing her best to make life difficult for her characters, R. L. King is a software technical writer for a large Silicon Valley database company. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her very understanding spouse and her small herd of cats, watching way too much Doctor Who, and attending conventions when she can. She is an Active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Horror Writers’ Association, and the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers.
You can find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AlastairStoneChronicles and on Twitter at @Dragonwriter11. Her blog is at www.rlkingwriting.com.