What Happens on The Roaring Road does not always stay on The Roaring Road

Hello Roaring Road Trippers! Yes, it has been too long since the last post. I offer no excuses, you'd see right through them anyway.

New readers have questioned what relationship a chapter has to the overall story. Yes, sometimes a chapter will describe a situation that at first seems to have little to do with the story line. What's happening is that I'm placing someone or something in play, that might be quite obvious in the next chapter. Other times I've planted something that will become evident several chapters later. So don't worry, if you read a chapter and it doesn't seem to be necessary, just read on because eventually it will! For example, the very first chapter in Road Trip Blues, sequel to The Roaring Road Books 1 & 2, will at first be puzzling. All I can say (NO spoilers will be given here!) is read on and you shall be rewarded for your curiosity and patience.

Other readers have asked about some of the little vignettes scattered more or less throughout the story. If you're not a student of automotive history you might ask why there is a short side story about Virgil M. Exner in TRR Book 2. So here's the reason: I just happen to be a fan of Exner's automotive designs, from the Studebaker Starlight Coupe, often  credited to Loewy but actually done by Exner. He went on to eventually become the first Vice President of Styling for Chrysler Corporation, and is applauded and/or blamed for the huge fins in Chrysler Corporation automobiles in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This, despite the fact that it was Harley Earl of General Motors who started the fin craze, although Exner did work for Earl.

Dan and Laure meet Virgil as a young man just months before he went to Notre Dame in South Bend Indiana to study design. He is already in love with automobiles and is admiring their Model X Duesenberg at a roadside picnic area. Laure makes a comment that indicates she thinks Virgil has a future in automobile design. Laure is a Forward Looking thinker! Email or comment on my Facebook page if you 'get' what that means. Virgil also tells Dan and Laure that he would like to design a Duesenberg some day. Since he has not designed any automobiles, and the Duesenberg marque is one of the most respected marques on the American automobile market at that time, that would seem to be an unusual goal. Email or remark if you 'get' what that means too!

If you're a new reader just getting started on The Roaring Road adventure, keep in mind that everything, every chapter, has a purpose for being in the book, even if it does not seem so at first. There's no artificial fillers here. No words were harmed in the writing of The Roaring Road.

As always, keep your comments coming and I'll respond, sometimes not immediately but I will respond. Thank you, readers, for your support in buying and reading The Roaring Road books.