How I Came Up with My Ideas for this Novel!
The Setting
How does an author come up with the setting for the novel? For Madison Hart and the Desert Jewel, I liked the idea of setting the first part of the book in Page, Arizona, where Maddie and her twin brother live on a houseboat on Lake Powell. What would it be like having to travel by boat to get to school everyday?
Places that Inspired what Happens in the Desert Jewel
Watery Canyons on Lake Powell
Watery Canyons on Lake Powell
Watery Canyons on Lake Powell
Maddie and Zander celebrate their 13th Birthday with a party on their houseboat, The Desert Jewel. After a picnic on a beach with their friends Jack, Chance, Livvy and Bree, they kayak down the watery canyon where they find their archeologist mother inside a cave in the wall above them!
Moki Steps
Watery Canyons on Lake Powell
Watery Canyons on Lake Powell
How did Rebanna get up there? Jack sees "Moki Steps" carved into the slick rock wall. Look at the photo above to see real "Moki Steps" that lead to a large cave above. These carvings served as foot holds to climb to cliff dwellings or granaries (a place to store food) by the Ancient Pueblo people.
Granaries
Watery Canyons on Lake Powell
Granaries
Imagine climbing up the Moki Steps to find these granaries hidden in the cave. This is what Rebanna found, but then from within came the scary crystal monsters that whisked away Rebanna, Grey, Zander, Chance, Livvy and Bree, leaving Jack and Maddie still hanging on the cliff!
Maddie and Jack in the Desert
Getting Help!
The Cave Under the Butte
Getting Help!
After the attack of the Crystal beings in the granary, Maddie and Jack kayak further into the canyon where there are pursued by more of the monsters. When the water ends, they hike into the tight slot canyon. They fool the creature by sweeping away their foot prints in the sand and climbing up the the mesa where they find miles of hot desert. They need to find help and fast!
Arroyo
The Cave Under the Butte
Getting Help!
It's over 110 degrees and Maddie and Jack are hot and have run out of water. They find an "arroyo" which is a desert wash that was carved out by flowing water during times of rain. They have to slide down the steep wall to get to the base where it's a little shadier. One of the crystal monsters climbs down the tree top that sticks ou
It's over 110 degrees and Maddie and Jack are hot and have run out of water. They find an "arroyo" which is a desert wash that was carved out by flowing water during times of rain. They have to slide down the steep wall to get to the base where it's a little shadier. One of the crystal monsters climbs down the tree top that sticks out above the arroyo trying to chase after Jack, breaking its branches, like the one in the photo above!
The Cave Under the Butte
The Cave Under the Butte
The Cave Under the Butte
Running down the wash with the Crystal Monster close behind, Jack finds a hole low in the side of the wall that leads down to mining tunnels that go beneath the Butte, similar to the one in the photo above. Maddie realizes there are two Crystal Monsters after them and follows the second one down the wash where she joins Jack in the caves
Running down the wash with the Crystal Monster close behind, Jack finds a hole low in the side of the wall that leads down to mining tunnels that go beneath the Butte, similar to the one in the photo above. Maddie realizes there are two Crystal Monsters after them and follows the second one down the wash where she joins Jack in the caves. At least it's cool in there and the monsters can't fit into the small hole!
More Scenes from The Desert Jewel
The Hogan
Where the Kojuti Beasts live!
The Malpais
Maddie and Jack find their way through the mining tunnels under the butte and come out of them on the other side of the butte where they come upon a Hogan in the desert. A Hogan is a traditional Navajo home, used today for ceremonial purposes. They meet Hosteen Begay, an old Navajo Medicine Man who lives here while tending his flock of
Maddie and Jack find their way through the mining tunnels under the butte and come out of them on the other side of the butte where they come upon a Hogan in the desert. A Hogan is a traditional Navajo home, used today for ceremonial purposes. They meet Hosteen Begay, an old Navajo Medicine Man who lives here while tending his flock of sheep. He tells Maddie and Jack creation stories of his people and how he met Maddie's mother as a girl!
The Malpais
Where the Kojuti Beasts live!
The Malpais
You'll have to keep reading to find out how Hosteen Begay helps Maddie and Jack find the cave to the "Shimbar" that takes them to a new world to save their friends and family! Once there, Maddie and Jack venture on the "Malpais", (pronounced as mal-pie-eese) which is cooled chunks of lava to climb over like the lava flow I found in Utah, above.
Where the Kojuti Beasts live!
Where the Kojuti Beasts live!
Where the Kojuti Beasts live!
Here is the author sitting on another Malpais lava flow found in Snow Canyon in Utah. The rocks were sharp! Can you imagine what kind of creatures live under the giant boulders? Can you imagine the Dolja Flowers popping up out of the black rocks to help Maddie and Jack hide from the Kojuti beasts? If you were going to write a story o
Here is the author sitting on another Malpais lava flow found in Snow Canyon in Utah. The rocks were sharp! Can you imagine what kind of creatures live under the giant boulders? Can you imagine the Dolja Flowers popping up out of the black rocks to help Maddie and Jack hide from the Kojuti beasts? If you were going to write a story or a novel, where would you set it? Think of places you know and have visited to give you ideas!
Real Places in the Book
Padre' Butte in Lake Powell
Padre' Butte in Lake Powell
Padre' Butte in Lake Powell
This is Padre' Butte where the runaway tour boat was going so fast, it ran right out of the water and crashed into the rocks. The kids all saw some sparkles climbing up over the butte. And they found red high heeled shoes in the boat--was Mrs. Molenhoeffer driving??
The Glen Canyon Dam
Padre' Butte in Lake Powell
Padre' Butte in Lake Powell
The Glen Canyon Dam is just 6 feet shorter than the Hoover Dam. Lake Powell and the Dam bring many tourists to the town of Page, Arizona. Can you imagine driving over this everyday to get to school?
The Dam Bar and Grille
Padre' Butte in Lake Powell
The Dam Bar and Grille
Maddie and her mom Rebanna have lunch at the Dam Bar and Grill where Maddie has a Dam Burger and Dam Fries and her mom has a Dam Salad. This is a real restaurant in Page where this author has also enjoyed lunch. It has a huge wall that looks like the Dam and historical photos on the walls.