It didn’t work out that way. Karen wanted a bigger, more comfortable RV than Steinbeck’s dog required, and had more interest in seeing Celine Dion’s show at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas strip than poking around back roads.
{mosgoogle left}After Bob retired from the newspaper and Karen retired from her public health job as a registered nurse, they took a yearlong RV trip, though it wasn’t quite the trip Bob had envisioned. Instead of a small truck camper, they bought a roomier fifth wheel trailer, and instead of sticking exclusively to the back roads, they hit the freeways to reach popular tourist spots as well as less-visited locations.
Although his original idea for a book was gone, Bob Mottram couldn’t break his lifetime habit of being a reporter. As they set out on their trip, traveling south from the Pacific Northwest, they kept running into fascinating people and places. “Somewhere in Arizona,” Mottram said, “I decided I needed to write some of this stuff down.”
He carried a little tape recorder in his pocket to record observations, and then transcribed his notes at the end of the day. Soon, he began composing twice-a-week travel letters that he e-mailed to friends and acquaintances. Before long, people were telling him that he ought to write a book.
Mottram said the idea for the book didn’t quite jell until he attended a writer’s conference on Washington’s Whidbey Island. In a discussion group with a dozen people, Mottram talked about his plan to write about his trip, but wasn’t connecting with the audience until he mentioned that his travels coincided with worries about the declining health of his father, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
From that writer’s conference, Mottram found the framework for his book, In Search of America’s Heartbeat. It’s a lively and absorbing account of a year on the road, punctuated with family reminiscences, and thoughts occasioned by his father’s declining health. A blurb on the book cover sums up the story: “Grief and loss are not the end of the road. Gifts found along life’s way can make it abundantly worth living, as this couple discovered on the ultimate road trip.”
It took Mottram a year to write the book and another year to search for a publisher. He tried unsuccessfully to get an agent to read his book, but was turned away with the explanation that the market was so flooded with similar travel books that nobody wanted to see another.
Undeterred, Mottram arranged for self-publication through Mill City Press. You can buy the book through his website at RVacrosstheUSA.com or through amazon.com. You can also read more about the book in this month’s book reviews on Page 18.
With so many books being published, it’s hard for any book to get noticed without a major marketing campaign. Go to the RVbookstore.com website and you will get some idea of how many books are available just in the RV niche market.
We try to spotlight especially worthwhile books when we can, and Mottram’s In Search of America’s Heartbeat is one we can strongly recommend.
Write to Mike Ward, editor at RV Life magazine, 18717 76th Avenue West, Suite B, Lynnwood, WA 98037 or e-mail editor@rvlife.com . Find First Glance online at rvlife.com.
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