The Setting for the Book

Buena Vista’s History

Buena Vista, the setting for my novel, is fictitious. However, the derelict mining town of Jerome, Arizona is very real. The day I set eyes on that amazing place, with its slumped and leaning buildings, and its hundred mile vistas, I knew I’d found the setting for my, as yet to be written novel.

The effects of mining are evident everywhere. Streets beneath Jerome have been so savagely drilled with poorly supported mine shafts, that the jail has slid a hundred and fifty feet, coming to rest on an entirely different street from its origin. This eerie disarray suggests more than the damaging creep of time; it feels as if something apocalyptic happened there.

As I tried to grasp what compelled me, Jerome morphed into Buena Vista. And although I’d only spent a few hours there, my sense of connection grew and festered into a very real locale that bustled with oddball characters.

The self-important mayor barters for votes to increase parking fines. Huddled men grace the benches of its postage stamp size park, and pass bagged bottle of booze between them. Lolling on the bench opposite sits a spectacularly obese woman, who is caught up in a different world altogether. And stuffy ranchers arrive to partake of the saloon, turning aghast at the posh artisan shops.

I hope I’ve captured the unique feel of time and place in my book, enabling that special town to come alive.

Photos Courtesy of Jerome Historical Society