One of the great joys of writing for me is getting to set the books in my favorite places. There are two places in particular in Special Assignment that I greatly enjoy, and so I sent my characters there to enjoy it too. I’m not giving away any spoilers by telling you about these places.
Holcomb Valley is near Big Bear Lake, California. There’s a fun self-guided driving tour of the old mining area. We’ve done this over many years, and it’s disappointing to see how people vandalize the mining remains that are there. However, there are still plenty to enjoy.




Ah, my kids were so little in these pictures! I love how beautiful and peaceful it is out there, but can you imagine living here? I write historicals as well, so I know how hard it was to eke out a living in those days. I think I’ll keep my modern conveniences!


And as many times as I’ve visited, I’ve never, ever wanted to explore this mine. *Shudder.*


If you’d like to see more photos, you can see a whole board I made of them on my Pinterest account here.
Thanks for letting me share some of these locations with you. I hope it helps you picture what Scott, Melissa, and the gang are up to when you read Special Assignment.