Exploring the Haunting Tale of Minera Springs

If you've picked up one of my Ghosts of Minera Springs books, thank you for spending time in my little corner of Texas. Whether you're just discovering the series or you've been following Riley and Tobi from the beginning, I'm glad you're here.

One of the questions I get asked most often is, "Is Minera Springs a real place?"

The answer is... sort of.

Minera Springs is fictional, but its heart comes from a very real place—Mineral Wells, Texas, where I grew up. As a kid, I spent countless hours wandering creeks, exploring old buildings, fishing with friends, and listening to stories that blurred the line between fact and folklore. Every small town has those stories. The abandoned house no one dares enter. The lonely bridge where something strange supposedly happened. The dirt road everyone avoids after dark.

Those stories stick with you.

Over the years, I began wondering, What if they were true? That simple question eventually became the foundation for the entire Ghosts of Minera Springs series.

Many of Riley and Tobi's adventures are inspired by memories from my own childhood. While the characters and supernatural events are fictional, the feeling of growing up in a small Texas town is completely real. I wanted readers to experience that mix of freedom, curiosity, friendship, and just enough fear to make every walk through the woods feel like an adventure.

When I write about an old bridge disappearing into the darkness, a forgotten dirt road, or the eerie silence of the Texas countryside after sunset, I'm drawing on places that left a lasting impression on me. I think that's why Minera Springs feels so real—because, in many ways, it is.

If you've ever lived in a small town, you probably know exactly what I mean. Every community has its own legends. Maybe you grew up hearing ghost stories from your grandparents, dared your friends to visit a haunted cemetery, or convinced yourself you saw something moving in the trees one night. Whether those stories were true almost doesn't matter. They become part of who you are.

That's what I hope you'll find in Minera Springs.

Yes, there are ghosts, mysteries, and things that go bump in the night. But at its heart, this series is about friendship, family, growing up, and the places that shape us. It's about remembering what it felt like to believe the impossible might be waiting just beyond the next bend in the road.

Thanks for taking this journey with me. I hope every visit to Minera Springs feels like coming back to a place you've never been—but somehow remember.