Author Description

Route 66 was the first all-weather, paved highway to connect the American Midwest to the Pacific Coast. When it opened in 1926, it soon became a vital corridor for commerce, migration, and cultural exchange. Its significance began to wane in the postwar years and was replaced with a new interstate highway system in the 1950s which bypassed many of the small towns the legendary “Main Street of America” once served. Route 66: The Whole Enchilada tells the story of the people of Santa Cuervo, New Mexico. Among its residents are a young boy and his teenage sister who struggle to flee poverty and isolation amidst the town’s culture of superstition and folklore. Their odyssey to maturity, love, and prosperity are tested by deeply hidden family secrets. As Route 66 carries strangers, omens, and change into their small town, the characters are pulled into a mystery that has long been buried in the dust and silence of the desert. The past is about to rise. About the Author A native of Kansas City, Missouri, J.P. Barelli earned a postgraduate degree from Thunderbird Graduate School for International Business Management, a master’s degree in Applied Orthodox Theology from the University of Balamond, St. John’s School of Theology, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri. He served as an assistant prosecutor, senior corporate attorney, supervising public defender, and Superior Court Judge Pro Tempore. Beyond his legal career, Barelli is a pilot and an ordained Roman Catholic Deacon and Chaplain. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona.