Riverpeak, Colorado is the town I created for my debut novel, NOT MY TIME, and is where the entire Rivepreak Heroes series is set. I had a ton of fun crafting this fictional town and wanted to share some IRL inspiration so you can really help picture it yourself when you read.
Why I Chose Colorado
Colorado is a gorgeous state. I fell in love with it when I first visited and I look forward to visiting again with my books in hand.
I knew I wanted my story to take place anywhere other than NYC since so many superhero stories take place in major cities, so I thought a small mountain town could provide a breath of fresh (mountain) air to the superhero genre.
Plus, I grew up in the small town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and have pretty much always lived in the ‘burbs. Even now that I live in Florida, I’ve never lived in downtown Orlando, but in the smaller neighborhoods further out from the city.
And if there’s anything I’ve learned living in small towns? It’s that most of them have their secrets, and many of them underreport crime. This presented an opportunity for me when crafting my superhero story.
Where Is Riverpeak?
If you’ve ever been to Colorado, you are familiar with the scattering of small towns you see as you drive through the mountains. Riverpeak is about 60-90 minutes south of Denver, somewhere between the mountains and the grasslands. Colorado Springs is to the east, putting Riverpeak somewhere in Park, Chaffee, or Fremont County.
Pikes Peak is visible on a clear day, and if you look in the other direction, you can also see Mt. Elbert, Mt. Massive, and Mt. Harvard.
However, I didn’t want my town to feel too small (which is why I didn’t select my home state of Rhode Island). This is how the east side of Riverpeak was born. Imagine a failed attempt at creating a city like Denver or Colorado Springs—failed because they’re out in the sticks and [SPOILER REDACTED]. Businesses that weren’t local pulled out, leaving what was completed behind.
Our characters live in the suburbs, with action taking place across there and Downtown Riverpeak. Downtown is more like a small, quaint strip of local businesses. Think of the type of downtown area that hosts farmer’s markets on the weekends, not an actual city. It’s very walkable, making it easy for my characters to move around. Places like Manitou Springs, Vail, and Telluride come to mind, as do the more suburban parts of Denver.
Constance’s Pond, the little park in Riverpeak, was heavily inspired by Lake Estes. I have a core memory of going for a walk around Lake Estes, which was nestled right behind the hotel my husband and I stayed at (The Estes Park Resort). There was a walking path that took you along a small park and alongside a stream and the view of the mountains was quite literally breathtaking. We ran into a bunch of elk along the way, too.
NOT MY TIME will have pre-order links soon ahead of its early 2023 release (and newsletter subscribers will be the first to get that link when it’s live!). In the meantime, you can also learn more about some of Riverpeak’s residents. Who knows what secrets they’re hiding?
