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We were all teens in the early 2000s, so research
was basically going through our old photo albums

 

DAPHNE (LEFT)
AND FRIEND AT THEIR
2003 HIGH SCHOOL GRAD NIGHT

without making them too perfect,” she said.
“I did end up with a small crush on him, so I
think it worked.”

The Mountain Creek Drive series began
as a trilogy of interconnecting stories where
minor characters in one book would appear
as main characters in the next and vice versa.

“As the author of the first book, I kind
of had free rein over things like school layout
and character creation,” said Lorson.

“Tt took a lot of back and forth in the
beginning, for everyone to call dibs on
certain things. We had a few different joint
documents set up so that we could keep
track. The names were the hardest to make
sure we didn’t repeat,” Huff said.

Tirrell, the author of the third book in
the series, said she was constantly turning
to her fellow writers to check details of their
shared world. “I can’t tell you how many
times I was asking the other two [authors]
questions about their characters and the
layout of the school, town, et cetera,” she
said.

“Tt was a little crazy for me to see
characters I created popping up in other

 

books,” Lorson said. “The minor characters
from Stage Kiss that play larger roles in the
other books definitely underwent some
character evolution once Daphne and Kayla
got their hands on them.”

Once the trilogy gained a following,
the authors released a short story collection
called Carnival Wishes. Set as a prequel to
Stage Kiss, the three stories take place at
Marlowe Junction’s end-of-summer carnival.

The first story, “Amy,” features Amy
Ferrera from Stage Kiss and Chasing Love
before she becomes friends with Nicole. Amy
tries to reinvent herself for the upcoming
school year, but then she meets Gabe, a sweet
guy at the carnival, who sees her for who she
really is.

“When we decided to put out a
collection of shorts featuring some of our
secondary characters from Mountain Creek
Drive, it was a no-brainer to write Amy’s
story. Unfortunately, I fell even more in love
with her and now I want to write a new book
telling Amy’s story,’ Tirrell said, teasing that
a full-length book about Amy and Gabe
might be coming in the future.

—Daphne James Huff
on the historical setting of the
Mountain Creek Drive series

 

MF,

(RIGHT)
AND FRIENDS

The second story, “Colleen,” is about
Colleen Coronado, Erin’s friend from Stage
Kiss, as she gets to know Amy's older brother
Manny at her coach father’s college football
training camp. When Erin and Manny end
up at the carnival together, romance seems to
be in the air.

“Tt was challenging to make Colleen real
in so few pages,” Lorson said. “I just felt like
she and Manny could have been [together] a
whole football season rather than a week of
training camp.”

Finally, “Amanda,” the third story in
the collection, follows Amanda Gregory
from Leah’s Song. She wants to go to the
carnival with her friends, but her job at
Tower Records and family commitments get
in the way. When she finds out that Jason
Greizmann, a cute guy she knows from band
class, is expecting to see her at the carnival,
she does her best to find a way to make it to
the festivities.

The Mountain Creek Drive series may
soon see more stories added to the collection,
continuing the adventures in Marlowe
Junction—set years after the originals.

IN THE EARLY 2000S

“We are working on another set of three
books for next year, but set in 2018,” said
Huff. “We're excited to see how the town has
changed.”

“I'm definitely excited about possible
cameos,” Tirrell said.

Stage Kiss, Leah’s Song, Chasing
Love, and Carnival Wishes are available in
paperback and ebook format on Amazon.

For more information about the authors
and their upcoming projects, check out
their official websites at MFLorson.com,
DaphneJamesHuff.com, and
TirrellbleWrites.com.