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tanaiseI just had to turn the light on and open up google maps because moments before I'd had to throw down a book in disgust and turn the lights off. The trashy romance I had *just* started reading has a fancy con related prison break from Lewisburg Penitentiary (incidentally, no escapes from the maximum security since like, 1974.). And they took off down Roger Miller Drive, and I couldn't imagine what the hell the author was talking about since there is in fact no road that leads 'straight' to the town from the prison. There is are two roads from the prison. One leads into farm land behind the prison. No one in their right mind goes that way. (it is, however, the big truck way.) The other way is the road in front of the house I grew up in which is very much NOT Roger Miller Drive. (Amusingly enough, as part of the not the big trucks way, we have been treated to a fair number of semis backing up the road a quarter mile till they get back to a point where they can turn.
Okay, so Google maps does say that the road on the other side of the reservation fence is Roger Miller Road. The author is still ON CRACK. They forced a car into the creek. Okay, the fence is right at the creek, so they could do it there. That's technically doable, but there's way too much discussion of trees there, since there are no trees around the prison, not surprisingly. Then she turns back towards the prison. Okay. And then goes off road? and drives through 'farmed land' up to the trees around the stream again, up stream from where the car was forced into the creek. There are no farms there. It's prison property, and there is a road which goes through the creepy boggy bits and along the creek. It's on the same map that she clearly used to discover the name of the road into the prison (okay, maybe not that one, but it's on google, and who doesn't use google for current maps these days?
I used to ride there. I cleaned stalls across the creek, and when I was done sometimes we'd saddle up the horses and take them down to the creek, through the trees, and up onto the prison property. It was not fourwheelable, not if you ever wanted to get the vehicle back out of there. I used to ride my bike on the road inside the prison along the stream. I CAN LOOK ON FREAKING GOOGLE. I want to rip the pages out of the book, and mail them back to the author with a note.
Dear Penny McCall:
I realize you thought it unlikely that anyone who actually came from Lewisburg would ever read your book--there are only 6K in the town, or 36K in the county, after all--and even less likely that someone from Lewisburg *AND* from that street would read your book, but OH MY GOD YOU ARE SO WRONG. I shouldn't care, I really shouldn't. But you went to all the trouble of using details. Where they're driving, where they're stopping, that after they got back on the road, they made three left turns and drove for a half hour. AND THE DETAILS ARE ALL WRONG. SO WRONG. SO WRONG I want to stop reading the book.
But I won't, because there is probably more wrong in the book just waiting to be found.
I would go on, AT LENGTH, but I have to go to sleep now.
Love, Me.
And then I would attach an annotated map. Most of it would just say OMGWRONGWRONGWRONG.
Okay, so Google maps does say that the road on the other side of the reservation fence is Roger Miller Road. The author is still ON CRACK. They forced a car into the creek. Okay, the fence is right at the creek, so they could do it there. That's technically doable, but there's way too much discussion of trees there, since there are no trees around the prison, not surprisingly. Then she turns back towards the prison. Okay. And then goes off road? and drives through 'farmed land' up to the trees around the stream again, up stream from where the car was forced into the creek. There are no farms there. It's prison property, and there is a road which goes through the creepy boggy bits and along the creek. It's on the same map that she clearly used to discover the name of the road into the prison (okay, maybe not that one, but it's on google, and who doesn't use google for current maps these days?
I used to ride there. I cleaned stalls across the creek, and when I was done sometimes we'd saddle up the horses and take them down to the creek, through the trees, and up onto the prison property. It was not fourwheelable, not if you ever wanted to get the vehicle back out of there. I used to ride my bike on the road inside the prison along the stream. I CAN LOOK ON FREAKING GOOGLE. I want to rip the pages out of the book, and mail them back to the author with a note.
Dear Penny McCall:
I realize you thought it unlikely that anyone who actually came from Lewisburg would ever read your book--there are only 6K in the town, or 36K in the county, after all--and even less likely that someone from Lewisburg *AND* from that street would read your book, but OH MY GOD YOU ARE SO WRONG. I shouldn't care, I really shouldn't. But you went to all the trouble of using details. Where they're driving, where they're stopping, that after they got back on the road, they made three left turns and drove for a half hour. AND THE DETAILS ARE ALL WRONG. SO WRONG. SO WRONG I want to stop reading the book.
But I won't, because there is probably more wrong in the book just waiting to be found.
I would go on, AT LENGTH, but I have to go to sleep now.
Love, Me.
And then I would attach an annotated map. Most of it would just say OMGWRONGWRONGWRONG.
