Description:
Like Scooby Doo meets The X Files for readers of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Strange Lights is a joyride in a sentient Winnebago with a quirky cast of cryptids.
"Exuberant and heartfelt."--Publishers Weekly
Parenting is never easy, but it's a hell of a lot harder when your toddler is a chupacabra.
Paranormal investigator and cryptozoologist Reggie has embraced her fate as parent to an adopted toddler, Eldi--a bloodsucking chupacabra with a fondness for goats. Reggie wants nothing more than to put her complicated past in the rearview mirror and fade into as much obscurity as her toddler will allow. But a rash of UFOs in the night sky and a couple of crop-circle-carving Roombas force Reggie into an investigation that attracts the attention of an old enemy, an anti-supernatural agency hunting for creatures like Eldi. To outwit them, Reggie must team up with Calvin, a podcaster-turned-werewolf whose charm is a real threat to Reggie's rule against romantic attachments.
With Reggie's history quickly catching up to her and Eldi in the agency's crosshairs, any shred of normalcy evaporates. Reggie must decide: Can she confront her dark past to save Eldi--and an entire alien species--from getting wiped out of the universe?
Brief description: Mira is a full-time author and chaos manager of three small humans. You can find her escaping into novels or traveling. Equal parts personal experience and a wildly overactive imagination inspire her stories. Though her children are the inspiration for the monster toddler in her book, her husband is regrettably not a werewolf, and she can only dream of a sentient Winnebago.
Review Quotes:
"González's science-fantasy reads like Supernatural fan fiction, a mad-scientist cautionary tale, and a cozy found-family story mixed in a blender . . . Ominous, hopeful, and cozy in equal measures, González's debut is recommended for fans of any of the genres it borrows from."--Library Journal
"All those conspiracies you didn't think were real? Well, after reading Strange Lights, you might start to wonder! A fun and action-packed adventure in the world of the supernatural. I'd go on an excursion with Reggie and her marvelously magical Winnebago anytime--who knows what you'll find?"--Laura Krantz, host of the podcast Wild Thing
"Mira González has achieved a feat as breathtaking as a cryptid sighting: merging the high-stakes suspense and fantastic world-building of the best sci-fi with the tender heartbeat of a family epic. Reggie is the kind of compelling protagonist I will always root for, and I dare any reader to not fall in love with Eldi at first growl. In Strange Lights, González proves that even otherworldly adventures lead to the most complicated place of all: home. I love this bold, bright, far-reaching tale."--Sara Flannery Murphy, author of Girl One
"Delightfully bizarre. Deliriously engaging. And it has goats."--Gwenna Laithland, author of Momma Cusses
"Heartfelt and hilarious, Mira González has crafted a vibrant world full of lovable cryptids and characters you won't soon forget. A must read for sci-fi fans, Strange Lights is a blast."--Tatiana Schlote-Bonne, author of The Mean Ones and What Feeds Below
"A wild ride! Expect possessed robotic vacuums, magical Winnebagos, and the most unique found family setup you'll encounter, all against a thrumming undercurrent of the power of connection--and the value of always looking for the helpers. Strange Lights is essential reading for those of us who want to believe."--Hazel Graves, author of Four Weddings and a Funeral Director