New Mexico is a fantastic place for a weird western series. There is no shortage of legends, lost treasure, ghosts, ghost towns, and haunted places. In addition, the Land of Enchantment is home to a glorious white desert, otherworldly caverns, an active volcanic caldera, lava tubes, an ice cave, black lava flows, fossil beds, wetlands, malpaís, the largest Cottonwood forest in the world, snowy mountain peaks, and alpine lakes, to name a few amazing landscapes.
If you're familiar with New Mexico, you may have recognized a few places in Midnight Agency, Season One: The Obsidian Gate. But I thought it would be fun to explain what inspired some of these post-apocalyptic settings.
Old Town/New Town: The first scenes of the book take place in New Town, which is based on the real Las Vegas, NM, one of the wickedest towns in the Old West (see my previous blog post). What fascinated me the most about its history was the fierce rivalry between New Town and Old Town, all because of the railroad. Filled with outlaws, vigilantes, lynch mobs, and a hanging windmill, it felt like a great place to find our anti-hero, Kory "Diablo" Shaw, smack-dab in the middle of an outlaw card game in the Contaminated Saloon.
Contaminated Saloon: In the first drafts, the opening scene in the saloon lacked a post-apocalyptic punch, so I created a nuclear thematic name (Contaminated) and added rusty license plate and biohazard/radioactive décor. It worked out great, and I'll return there in the series one day. On my fictional map, it is located on Center Street, a block away from the train depot, exactly where Doc Holliday owned a saloon before being run out of that wicked town.
White Oaks: Once a gold-mining boomtown, the real White Oaks is considered a Historic Place and is still home to the famous No Scum Allowed Saloon. In its heyday, it was a lively town that attracted miners, lawyers, and criminals alike. They even built an opera house. When the railroad wanted to come through town, however, local businessmen decided to make them pay for the right-of-way, and so the railroad went through Carrizozo instead, twelve miles away. A few years later, the gold mines were depleted and the town was mostly abandoned. In The Obsidian Gate, Kory and the team confront the demonic villain, Tez, and his gang in the town of White Oaks.
Fun fact: Celebrated children's author, Gary Paulsen, spent his latter years on a ranch on the outskirts of White Oaks.
Thunderbird Mountain: The basis for this one came from the real Thunderbird Mountain in El Paso, TX, which got its name from a vast birdlike formation of red rock on a mountainside. In a tale from Kory's past, she wanders into the rubbled ruins of El Paso, including UTEP's stadium, where sacrifices are made to a cult-like Thunderbird goddess. As an alumnus of NMSU, I admit that it was fun to turn our I-10 rival to rubble. Ain't I a stinker?
Ghostwind: Inspired by White Sands National Park (see my photo to the right), the Ghostwind is a snow-white storm that roams the Tularosa Basin, eating away at people's memories until all that remains is white sand. It is a truly terrible place. However, the real-life monument is a wondrous place to behold, and a must-see for visitors to NM.
Oracle: Silas Blue, our badass crippled sheriff, is from the Arizona town of Oracle. His backstory required a mountain town and I hadn't used Arizona yet, so I searched Google Maps until I found Oracle. The name called to me. Like other city names I casually mention in the book, "Oracle" had the right vibe and the right fit.
Organ Mountains: Although never named, the team battles Tez in the Organ Mountains, the gorgeous rocky mountains of my hometown. I did my best to describe the iconic granite formations of Rabbit Ears and Needles, but it's really some place you need to see for yourself. It is a great place to hike, whether you're on the east or west side of the mountains, but historic Dripping Springs is at the top of the list. Here are a few awesome photos by a local photographer.
Trinity Vault: In the book, the team is delivering cargo to Trinity Vault, the last surviving museum of the old world. Set in the ruins of the White Sands Missile Range, the Vault is built deep into the mountainside. Originally, the Vault was going to be located at Trinity Site, the birthplace of atomic bomb, but logistically I had to change it. The name stuck. The epic battle that takes place there will reverberate through the series.
Midnight Agency Headquarters: For the HQ, I wanted a centralized location in the U.S. with a train hub that was close to NM, so I chose Denver, CO, and the ruins of the spectacular Denver Union Station. I debated about ending the book there, but I felt the need to show that the Midnight Agency was bigger than one team. It was a blast to create new characters, and we see two of them in Season Two.
Thanks for tuning in. I'll write about The Soul-Stealers next year.
Until next time, remember to use your powers for good.
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