There’s a kind of magic to those middle-of-the-night hours, when the fireworks smoke has settled and the city feels half-asleep. That’s when the best stories seem to tumble out. Around 3 AM on the 5th of July, I found myself swapping wild rideshare tales with three passengers who ended up becoming brand-new fans of my book. Moments like that remind me exactly why the long hours behind the wheel are worth it.