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How Van Life Inspired my Novel
If Found, Do Not Return is a love letter to adventure
It all started with an instagram post about van life and turned into a dream of writing novels on the road. One simple post became the inspiration behind If Found, Do Not Return, my romance novel that took a left turn away from my normal fantasy genre.
I don’t talk much about this book since it’s a standalone, but it’s still one of my favorite creations because it ties together a lot of things I enjoy — minimalism, small town romance, and an IT nerd who falls in love with adventure.
Right before I wrote this book, I came across a van life instagram post and I immediately decided I was going to sell all of my things and buy a van to live in. Of course, I was still in grad school at the time so that wasn’t really something I could do, but then I had a different idea. If I couldn’t live it, why not write it?
The entire romance plot came to me in an instant. I saw my heroine Remy, a brilliant girl weighed down after being forced to return to the small town she tried so hard to escape. I saw Lucas, the hometown boy who doesn’t shy away from Remy’s dreams but still wants to be part of her life. And I knew Maddox would be our mysterious stranger who offers a hand to Remy when she needs it most.
