Valerie -Welcome to Bookworthy. Today we're talking with Abbi Lee, the author of a middle-grade adventure, Geocache Club, Ghost Town Treasure Hunt, which comes out October 1st. Abbi's book follows 11-year-old Layton as he struggles with life after his best friend since kindergarten moves away. But when a new kid in school, Sherry, introduces him to geocaching, he might discover that friendship and history are treasures worth looking for. Welcome to Bookworthy Abbi.
Abbi -Thanks Valerie, I'm happy to be here.
Valerie -Okay, I'm going to ask you a random question that isn't so random because it concerns your book. How many times have you gone geocaching?
Abbi -Well, I've gone quite a bit. I considered it research for my book, but it's just fun. So I go anyway. But yeah, there's been a few that I've logged into the geocaching app. There's been some that I couldn't find. And so some it's just random. You just see one, you're like, OK, that's a geocache. OK. And then I haven't logged it because I didn't know it was there and just stumbled upon it quite a few times.
Valerie -Boy, fun. Well, it's time to put on your teacher hat, because I don't think everybody knows what geocaching is. Tell us what is geocaching, Abbi.
Abbi -Yeah, of course. So geocaching is modern-day treasure hunting. What a geocacher does is somebody who makes a little geocache out of it could be a medicine bottle, it could be a box, something as big as a shoe box even, just something that's weather-safe. And then they hide it somewhere on public property. That's important. It's always on public property. And then they pin the GPS coordinates for other people to find it. And in each geocache is a log. So that way when you find it, you write your name in there or your geocache code name, and then you put it back where you found it. And the goal is for no one else to find or to see you finding it, hiding it, that kind of thing. So it looks kind of weird sometimes that you're looking in weird spots but it's worth it when you find it. So that's geocaching.
Valerie -It is a very fun pastime that's grown in the last few years. My oldest son did a geocaching merit badge and scouts. And so we had to like scout around our, I guess our city and it was bizarre. The places that we found things and sewer drains and what was it? We have found one that was a micro cache that was inside a golf ball. It was so hard to find, but it was very interesting. But aren't there different types of geocaching also?
Abbi -Yeah, there's I mean if you go on the geocaching website That's the company name the big website and they've got the app and everything There's yeah micro geocaches. There's a log only there's virtual geocaches. There are geocache events There are some that they lay like for certain events They will lay out geocaches to spell something on the map so you don't see it until you look on the map and it says We love Kansas or whatever. So yeah, there's so many, so many types.
Valerie -It is a community that has a lot of fun for certain. A lot of fun for... It is, and it's great for families to kind of explore their city a little bit like Leighton and Sherry do in your book. Since you're a Kansas native, is any of Layton's stories similar to your childhood?
Abbi -Yes, I based a lot of the setting in Kansas. So Kansas has hundreds of ghost towns just throughout, which is pretty interesting. And so I just, I learned about that in one of my history classes in college and it just kind of stuck. And so that's why we have a ghost town that they go to. And yeah, he loves the Kansas City Royals and that is my mom's favorite team. And I mean, we love the Royals And so of course we had that in the book and yeah, his favorite player, Salvi is my mom's favorite player. So that's why that little connection's in there. But yeah, the fields that like you see the sunflower fields and stuff that's mentioned in the book come from even just around where I'm at now. So yeah, definitely brought in as much Kansas as I could.
Valerie -It shows it helped, you know, the book places you in Kansas and gives you a sense of, you don't really expect much history in Kansas from someone, not from Kansas, but it is really neat to see how Layton kind of comes to understand that there is history even in his little, little town. So tell us a little bit about the inspiration for Geocache Club, the Ghost Town Treasure Hunt.
Abbi -Yeah, so this is such a random story But during my first year of teaching I was teaching high school and I was talking to another Teacher and she mentioned someone she had seen online and it his name was Forrest Finn And I don't know if you've heard of Forrest Finn, but the story behind him is that in 2010 he had an actual treasure chest and somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, and then it was said to contain gold and other valuables worth at least a million dollars. And then he published his memoir, and in the memoir, there was a poem that held clues for people to try and find the treasure. So I was captivated by that story, and I even did my research and, you know, tried to solve the mystery and whatnot. Turns out I was way off on my guess of where I thought the treasure was because it was found in 2020, but it was fun. And so I had that story that I kind of got into. And then a few years later, I learned about geocaching, and something just kind of clicked between the two. And so I started to wonder, you know, what if there was, you know, this geocache hunt that turned into a real-life treasure hunt. And now we can kind of find out what that looks like with Layton and Sherry.
Valerie -Very neat. I enjoyed reading through it and just, you know, not just the history side, because, you know, Indiana Jones is one of my favorite movies. And I was like, I'm sure Abbi loves that series too, but it did feel like its own Indiana Jones story. And I love that. Now, he's not just looking for these geocaches. He's kind of, Layton's kind of having to discover himself a little bit too. Can you tell us a little about a bit about his journey?
Abbi -Yeah, so like you mentioned in the beginning, he lost his best friend because his best friend moved away to California over the summer. And so he's just kind of by himself and he's not really like, he's not an extroverted person. He's not going to go out and try and find a bunch of friends. And he really doesn't like change. Like that is not his forte. He's not good at it. And so he ends up meeting Sherry. And Sherry makes him open up a little bit. And he's like, well, I don't, you know, I don't know if we're really friends, but it's someone to hang out with. And Mom and Dad are kind of pestering me to, you know, find a friend. And so that's kind of what he does. He's like, OK, well, I'll stick with Sherry for a little bit. Well, she introduces him to geocaching and he loves it. He says, OK, this is great. I'm good at this. And just through the book, you kind of see his friendship with Sherry evolve and get stronger. And then, you know, his dad mentions that you know what, we might have to move. And that's a whole new change because he's only been in the city of Havenborough. And so he's just really nervous about that. And he decides, OK, nothing's changing. I'm going to make sure this stays the same. We're going to figure out this mystery in the ghost town. We're going to do this. I'm going to stay. It's going to be great. And he finds that, you know, sometimes change does happen and it's not always bad. Sometimes it's necessary. Sometimes it's good. I mean, that's how Sherry came along in geocaching. And so he, yeah, he has a lot of growing to do in this story with friendships and just with himself.
Valerie -You know, dealing with change is kind of one of those hard life lessons we learn in that kind of eight to 12 range. Is that something that you had to struggle with too? Cause I know I did.
Abbi -Yeah, I still don't love change. I am a routine. No, I am a routine gal. You know, I've got I just it's more it's easy for me if I can just be in a routine. And so when my routine gets kind of thrown off, I'm like, okay, takes me a minute to adjust and then I go for it. So yeah, some of Layton's dislike of change is definitely from me.
Valerie -I think we can all relate to that. So I'm big on my routine and once that gets sideswiped I'm like, how do I even get back to a routine? I don't even know. Exactly. Well, Abbi, what do you hope to communicate to kiddos with this book?
Abbi -Yes, it's so much more work to figure out what to do next then. I would love it, it's kind of three things. So like the friendship piece for sure. I would love, it because it's such a major theme in this story and I would just, it's really important for kids to see how different friendships look as well as how a friendship can evolve. Leighton's friendship with Charlie who moved to California, that evolved, it changed. And his friendship with Sherry evolved and changed in totally different ways. And it's important to see that. And friendship is a theme that's going to be throughout the entire Geocache Club series. And Layton will learn different things with each book. I also think, like we said, dealing with change. Layton's not a fan, and he grows into that a little bit as the story goes on. And I just hope readers really learn that
sometimes there's nothing we can do to stop change. And a lot of for me, I gotta leave it in God's hands and say, okay, it's changing, it's up to you, you get to decide. I don't love that as someone who doesn't like change, but that must happen. And I think that's important for kids to know that it's okay that change happens. Sometimes it's just change, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. And then I also really would love for kids to just discover their towns after reading this book. Like you said, like just the random things you find geocaching and the little gems in your town and your city that you can find and you just kind of are made aware of when you're geocaching is kind of cool. And just kind of discovering that hidden magic in their town is something that I hope kids get from reading this.
Valerie -Most definitely kind of can be your own Indiana Jones. If you jump into geocaching for sure. And so that's really neat. And it is really neat to look into your town's history. And I know was it the town that I live in, the railroad was a really big element of our town. And it's just neat to kind of walk through and even the family that our town is named after still lives in this town and they have their name on the license plate. And so you see them driving around town. I like, well, okay. I guess that's that family. So it's just kind of fun to think about. And just, you know, history is one of those things that helps give permanence and stability, which, you know, even in situations where change is happening, just knowing that there is a history or someone has been here before us does kind of give us a sense of belonging, or being a part of something that I love that history does for us.
Abbi -Yeah, and so many geocachers, sorry, so many geocachers love history from what I found. And so a lot of them include historical elements to their clues and their descriptions. And so it's just really fun because you're going to learn something every time you go and then you get to treasure hunt a little bit too. So.
Valerie -I know, have you found, what's the most unique thing that you have found in a geocache?
Abbi -I really like the geocaches that are a trade and replace. So basically you find them and it's usually a little bit bigger geocache and there's like trinkets inside and those are the ones that Layton is first introduced to in the story when he finds his compass. And so yeah, those are my favorites. So I've got like a little baggie of prizes, I guess, that I can trade and replace when I find those. It just lives in my car. So yeah, that's one of my favorites, but yeah, there's, I've noticed a lot of geocaches are placed in cemeteries. And so, yeah, you gotta be comfortable with a cemetery.
Valerie -It was very interesting taking me, I guess he was 12 at the time, my 12-year-old to the town cemetery and we had the hardest time finding the geocache. We like, where is it? We were, we tried to be as respectful as possible, but it was tricky.
Abbi -Yeah, and it's a good time to talk about, okay, if you're in a cemetery or public place like this, you know, how do we act and we don't climb on the headstones and you know, just things like that. It's a good teaching moment for parents too.
Valerie -It is a very good teaching moment. Now Abbi, did you always want to be an author?
Abbi -No. I've always been a big reader. And as a kid, you know, I like to write songs and make stories. And I even had a journal so I could interview people about events. But as a child, I never actually thought that people could become book authors. Like in my child's mind, I knew authors existed and I thought that they just existed. And since I wasn't an author already That wasn't anything I could do. And I didn't know any authors. And so I never actually saw that
progression to be an author. It just never crossed my mind that that was an actual career. I wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. And that's what I did. I taught high school and I loved it. But I did end up leaving that profession when my oldest daughter was born. I stayed at home with her and she loved to read so she still does. And we would go through picture book after picture book. And then when I was pregnant with my second and youngest daughter, I had this idea for a picture book and that just kind of sparked this journey to becoming an author. And I just did the research and started writing and here we are.
Valerie -Very neat. Now you taught in high school. Did you teach history or English? Both. Okay.
Abbi -Both, actually. Yeah, my first-year teaching, I taught at a charter school, and I was the social studies English teacher and I co-taught with the science and math teacher. And then after that, I taught English for a couple of years.
Valerie - Very neat, so you kind of have a marriage of both of your joys, both in teaching and in your book. Now what is your favorite book, Abbi?
Abbi -That is so hard. Well, I couldn't pick just one, so I'm going to go with two. So a book that
I recommend to everyone, anyone who likes historical fiction and survival stories, I love Alas Babylon by Pat Frank. It takes place in the height of the Cold War, but it takes a twist to alternative history, so it is fiction. Because it follows this family and their community through the aftermath of those nuclear missiles being fired. It's kind of like what would have happened if this happened kind of thing. And so just kind of reading that day-to-day struggle to survive and learning what is and isn't essential just brings me back to that book time and time again. And it was, I think it was written in the 60s and it was by somebody who he was, in the CIA like he was a Cold War expert. So a lot of it was very realistic. So it was a cool book just to read. But a more recent favorite that I like is A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura
Taylor Namey. It's such a charming and little heartfelt story about a girl who leaves Miami unwillingly and she goes to live in England with her family for a few months. I just love all the food references that are in this book. I'm a big food-in-a-book fan. And then actually, I just got the sequel, which is a British girl's guide to hurricanes and heartbreak, this one. And so I can't wait to dive into that. So those are my two. Kind of favorites, I'll also read anything by Kristin Hannah or Nicholas Sparks at any time.
Valerie -Good ones to know you can always go to and enjoy, right? Well, Abbi, what's the most impactful book in your life other than the Bible?
Abbi -This is a tough one too, but within the last couple of years, I would probably have to say Atomic Habits by James Clear. I have that one too. So this one. It has helped me find ways to be more successful in incorporating time to read my Bible and exercise and help me designate times for reading and writing without feeling like I'm emphasizing one thing over the others. And so it's just one of the few books that I go back to reference and there's always more for me to learn from it. I'm just teeny tiny tweaks in my life to get more of what I want done. And so that's definitely a favorite for me. It's been very impactful.
Valerie -Always the goal is to make the most out of the 24 hours we're given, right? Now, the Geocache Club series isn't so much a spiritual or Christian book, correct? What influenced you to make this more of a general market-style book?
Abbi -Yeah, I just really wanted to reach as many people as I could with it, And my publisher's chicken scratch books. They are really good about just keeping books publishing books that are just fun books and They can kind of you know match with anybody So it's something that I enjoy. But yeah, that's kind of why I picked it to just reach as many people as possible and just to have fun with the story and hopefully not turn anybody away because of one aspect or another.
Valerie -And there are some really key elements, like you said, about friendship and dealing with change and, you know, also the kind of dealing with family and change, because that is a hard thing too. And, you know, just it's such a universal theme and concept that even without being specifically, you know, spiritual about how you deal with it. The elements of understanding what a friend is, how to make a friend, what a friend is not is great for any age kid, especially that, you know, middle age area where they're kind of starting to have to like, I have to work at this friendship thing. It's not just who I sit next to in class. I have to engage in this relationship and that is always a funky place to be for kids. Very neat. Well, what can we expect next from you, Abbi?
Abbi -Yeah, so I'm actually like I said, Geocache Club is a series. So I'm working on book two. It follows Layton and his friends as they form the school's first geocaching club. They create geocaches of their own to hide, which is something new that he hasn't done before. There is some tension in the book that happens between Layton and Sherry's friendship. And so we get to explore that a little bit. And then may or may not be a geocache going into space. So that's what I'm currently working on. And then I will also soon be starting to outline the third and final book in the trilogy. All I can tell you about that right now is that the Geocache Club is heading to Colorado. And if you remember from the first book, that's where Sherry thinks, yes, that's where Sherry thinks they'll find that Prairie Springs treasure. So we'll see if she's right.
Valerie -All right. I was wondering if RBT would show up again, it's a fun little hint to follow throughout, you know, the first book. And I can't wait to see how you introduce that so-and-so character or initials throughout the rest of the series too. So looking forward to those books for sure. Where can people find out more about you and your book?
Abbi -Yeah, people can find me on Twitter or X, whatever it's called at this point, Instagram, Facebook, under the name Abbi Lee Books. I also post a little bit on Pinterest and I'm pretty good about keeping my website updated. And that's where you'll find pre-order and purchase links, any kind of handout or resource for parents or teachers to use with a book. That's abbileebooks.wordpress.com. And if someone really wants to stay up to date on what I'm doing, I also send out an email newsletter every couple of months and people can sign up for that on my website.
Valerie -That sounds like some great opportunities to see what's going on as well as see what's going to be happening with the Geocache Club for sure. Thank you so much for joining me today, Abbi.
Abbi -Thank you for having me, this was fun.
Valerie - And thank you for joining Abbi and me on this episode of the Bookworthy Podcast. Check the show notes for any books or links that we discussed and let us know in the comments if you've ever gone looking for a geocache. And maybe what did you find? Be sure to like and subscribe so we can discover more great books together.
Happy reading!
Comments