The Spark That Started it All

Are you like me after reading a really good book—wondering to yourself what sparked the idea behind the author’s story?  Memorable characters, suspenseful scenarios, unforgettable dialogue…I try to imagine what real-life experiences or observations in that writer’s life might have led to such a well-told story that kept me interested from cover to cover. 

I just returned home from a whirlwind book tour that has me both exhausted and exhilarated.  Exhausted because I’ve been on the road since the week before THE SUMMER GIRLS debut.  Exhilarated because I've received such amazing support and comments from readers and booksellers.  Thanks to all of you, this novel, book one of The Lowcountry Summer Trilogy, hit the main New York Times Best Sellers list.   

During the book signings, reading events and luncheons, readers often asked what was the spark behind THE SUMMER GIRLS? As I’ve mentioned in a previous post (Why Dolphins, Why Now), my style of writing weaves together the characters’ lives from my story world with the animals of our real world.  Nature is the inspiration for my novels.  I’ve long dreamed of writing about the bottlenose dolphins I often see here in the Lowcountry but the moment was just never right.  I hadn’t received a sign from above to write the novel; that is until one particular day at the South Carolina Aquarium.

While serving as a member of the board of directors, we were called together at the aquarium for an important meeting led by Philippe Cousteau—explorer, environmental activist and grandson of the famous Jacques Cousteau.  He was giving a special presentation about dolphins.  Coincidently, I had just watched a soul-stirring documentary on dolphin captivity in Japan called The Cove (an eye-opening, must-see film).  With Philippe were Dr. Stephen McCulloch of the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation program at Florida Atlantic University and Dr. Pat Fair, head of marine mammal studies at the Charleston branch of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).  They informed us that 48%--almost half--of the dolphins living in Charleston's estuarine waters were sick.   And 52% in Florida's estuarine waters.  I was shocked, as I'm sure you are, too.  It was during that meeting Philippe and Pat told me that it’s time to write the book about dolphins--now.  They understood how my novels can reach a wide range of readers, people who might not pick up a non-fiction article or book about dolphins. 

I dove first into academic research, learning everything I could about the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, the type of dolphin found in our waters.  I also began Photo IDs of our resident dolphins with Dr. Pat Fair.  Pat has since become my mentor in my research and a friend.  We zipped along the waterways in NOAA's Zodiac boat, stopping whenever a dolphin was sighted.  Photographs are taken of the dorsal fin.  These have unique markings similar to our fingerprints. The photos are then analyzed in the computers, dolphins identified, and the community health status observed.

Next I journeyed to the Florida Keys to volunteer at the Dolphin Research Center.  For several weeks I did whatever dirty job they asked me to do, slowly moving my way up the ladder to involvement with the dolphins.  I learned that dolphins are not only social and  highly intelligent creatures, but that they have huge personalities.  The second year's visit I volunteered in the Pathways program with a boy with special needs, and the Oddyssey program with wounded warriors.  I'll write more about these powerful experiences later.

During the many months of reading about, observing and working with the species, my story world opens up.  Characters take shape.  Plot develops.  Themes crystalize.  Everything starts coming together.  The dolphins taught me three major lessons: 

1) the power of communication
2) the importance of family and community bonds
3) to remember to laugh.  

From these lessons I created themes, then plot and characters.  Of the characters, there are two strong females, parallels that seam all three books together--Mamaw, the Muir grandmother and Delphine, the charismatic dolphin.   

THE SUMMER GIRLS isn’t about the bottlenose dolphin though.  It’s about three sisters, disconnected, unable to communicate and searching for their identities, brought together by their scheming grandmother, Mamaw, on hopes they will rediscover the bonds of family.  During a three-month stay at Mamaw’s Sea Breeze beach house, the women find their lifeline in a wild dolphin .

Little did I know that Philippe’s push to write the dolphin book I’d been dreaming of would become a trilogy!  And that leads me to the most frequently asked question I’ve been getting on tour, through my website and on Facebook—when’s the next installment coming out? 

The answer is…June 2014, my friends! 

Thank you for the massive support of THE SUMMER GIRLS, book one of The Lowcountry Summer Trilogy.  I'm already working on book two . I can’t wait to share more with you about the Muir girls and the beguiling dolphin, Delphine.

What did you find most interesting about the bottlenose dolphin in the novel?  What questions do you hope will be answered in the sequel?    

Vacationing Here Soon? Here's What I Recommend...

I not only write about the Lowcountry, I’m a long-time resident. So when you vacation here, you’re enjoying the same picturesque views, breathing the same intoxicating air, and living in the same natural landscape with creatures that inspire my novels, including my newest bestseller, THE SUMMER GIRLS.  

Thank you to Traveler of Charleston for inviting me to be a guest blogger today.  Whether you're local or from off, the free quarterly publication is a great resource before planning your next adventure.  Heading to Isle of Palms or Sullivan's Island soon?  Check out my personal recommendations here: Lowcountry Author Shares Her Charleston Beach Vacation Tips.

Pearls of Tradition

    She walked across the plush carpeting directly to her ornately carved, mahogany four-poster bed, where she saw three black velvet bags lying on the bedspread. Three necklaces for three granddaughters.
    “It’s high time I selected which necklace to give which girl.”Lucille crossed her arms over her ample breast. “I thought you said you was gonna let them pick out the one they like the best.”
    “No, no, Lucille,” Marietta replied impatiently. “That wouldn’t do at all.” She paused, turning her head to meet Lucille’s gaze. “It’s said,” she said in the manner of a sage, “that pearls take on the essence of the person who wears them.” She nodded, as though adding emphasis to the declaration. She began walking again. “I’ve worn those pearl necklaces for decades. Why, each pearl is positively infused with my essence. Don’t you see,” she said as though it were obvious, “that by giving my granddaughters my pearls, I’m passing on a bit of myself to each of them?” The very idea of it still had the power of giving her pleasure. “I’ve been looking forward to this moment for years.” 

                                                         -Excerpt from THE SUMMER GIRLS

The handing down of jewelry, especially pearls, is a time-honored tradition for many traditional families.  It is said that pearls absorb the essence of the woman who wears them.

I received my first set of pearls when I graduated from high school.  This is a tradition in my family.  I was so proud to wear them, though these pearls were not handed down to me from my mother but acquired for the occasion.   Years later, when I was on my honeymoon in Japan, Markus and I went to the small coastal town where Mikimoto pearl divers gathered baskets and baskets full of pearls.  My new husband bought me my first Mikimoto necklace, a single strand of lustrous pink hued beauties.  Later for our first Christmas together he surprised me with an opera-length strand, each handpicked by him.  A labor of love that made the necklace all the more precious to me.

Pearls have been revered since ancient times, wrapped in symbolism and meaning.  They were extremely rare and thus priceless, attainable by only the wealthiest in any civilization.  Pearls were a woman's most treasured jewelry until the early 1900’s when the process of cultured pearls was invented in Japan by Kokichi Mikimoto.  Anyone who knows pearls knows the Mikimoto name and their quality still holds value today.   Even though pearls are much more affordable today than ever before, they still symbolize elegance, class and beauty.  They adorn the neckline of countless brides.  They dress up most any outfit.  Pearls have always been the accessory of choice when one wants to be "lady-like."  And it’s taught among some southern ladies that she should never been seen in public without her lipstick and her pearls! But as with most things in life, old traditions fade away and new ones take their place.  The practice of passing down pearls may not be as popular today as it was just a generation ago.  And to many young ladies today, pearl necklaces--pricey Mikimotos and South Sea pearls or affordable freshwater -- are simply a fashionable accessory option. 

Despite the fading tradition, I felt that the tradition was an important element to include in THE SUMMER GIRLS.  I wanted to show the great thought and heart that Mamaw—a dowager of Charleston society and a woman of tradition—put into making her selections for each granddaughter.  The scene revealed not only her opinions of her granddaughters, her summer girls, with whom she has not spent time for many year,s but it also allowed me to present the girls' individual personalities to my readers in a "show not tell" manner.  And it’s equally as interesting to display in later scenes how the granddaughters respond to their gift, what they do with their pearls, and their modern attitudes toward family traditions.

The practice of passing down pearls is still alive in the south, yet I believe it’s an act that resonates with women from all regions.  Pearls are a symbol of elegance and tradition that, when worn, serve as a constant reminder of tradition, love, and of course, when handed down, the essence of the woman who once wore them.   Isn't the act of passing them to the next owner the true treasure?  Like Mamaw in the novel, I love my pearls, the feel of them around my neck, their creamy luster and the memories they invoke.  I, too, look forward to the day I hand down my treasured pearls to my girls --my daughters and granddaughters.  In this way, I will leave a bit of me with them, forever.

What’s your pearl story?  What item has been passed down to you that you most treasure?

Real Dolphin Tales

Fourteen events and counting since last Tuesday’s official release of THE SUMMER GIRLS!  What a wild, wonderful book launch week it has been. 

I just left Chicago where I received a heartwarming welcome at the ALA conference, attended by 15,000 of the nation’s librarians. Wow!

Today I’m in Pawley’s Island, SC for the Moveable Feast Author Series hosted Litchfield Books.  The crowd is always lively and it really feels like a homecoming every time I go.  Then I’m off to another favorite book tour location—the Silver Coast Winery in Ocean Isle, North Carolina.  Then book tour brings me back home for the July 5^th book launch party at Wild Dunes Resort on Isle of Palms, SC and everyone’s invited!  We’ll dance to the sounds of steel drum music, enjoy Lowcountry-inspired nibblers, and talk about some behind-the-scenes details of my new novel THE SUMMER GIRLS.  Tickets are $10 per person.  But you must RSVP by tomorrow, Wednesday, July 3.  Call (843) 886-2020 to make your reservation.  I can’t think of a more perfect place to celebrate the release of The Lowcountry Summer Trilogy. Click here to see complete tour schedule.

My longtime readers know that nature is the backdrop of my novels —sea turtles, sweetgrass, monarch butterflies, and now the Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin.  And one thing people have been asking for during this tour is my own personal experiences with dolphins. 

The dolphin scenes in THE SUMMER GIRLS are not necessarily my own experiences, but they are inspired by the hands-on research I’ve done for this trilogy.  I have worked with the Charleston division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which has been involved with a long-term study of resident dolphins here in South Carolina.  The situation is not good-- 48% of Charleston’s resident dolphins are sick.  The stats are even worse in Florida.  I’ve been with them on their watercrafts as they zoom across the water, identifying dolphins and their pods at dizzying speed.  I’ve had the honor of working closely with the Dolphin Research Center (DRC) in Grassy Key, FL where they’ve allowed me to get up close and personal with their resident dolphins.  That is where I’ve witnessed remarkable bonds and connections between dolphins and humans.  Oh and the stories that have been shared with me!

I’ve learned that dolphin mothers are just like human mothers.  There are the good mothers, the very strict mothers and the more laid back, easy going mothers.  Tursi is one of my favorite dolphin mothers that I got to bond with at the DRC.  She’s very strict, keeping her calves close and with her for a long time.  One morning, I was helping feed the babies and all of a sudden there’s Tursi giving me the hairy eyeball!  It was a look of who are you and why are you feeding my babies.  I spoke to her, offered her a fish and after some contemplation, she must have approved of me because she swam off without taking her babies away.  A couple days later, I was in one of the DRC’s ocean lagoons, floating in a raft as the enrichment toy for the baby dolphins that day.  The little ones were having a rambunctious good time, when suddenly, here comes Tursi zooming over and steers here baby away, then comes back to disperse the other calves.  She pauses in front of me, gives this look and glances at her dorsal fin as if she wants me to grab hold.  I do.  And she tows me clear across to the other side of the lagoon and leaves me there.  It’s as if she put me in time out!

My best experiences though weren’t necessarily ones involving me, but instead moments I witnessed between dolphin and child, dolphin and war veteran. 

The first involved the Pathways Program at the DRC for people with special needs.  I got to see the unique relationship dolphins forge with autistic children, connecting with them in ways that perhaps no one or nothing else can.  Dolphins are known for having a complex form of communication.  The autistic children taking part in this program cannot express themselves in ways that we normally expect or understand.  Yet, the dolphin can elicit emotion and response from them.  It’s truly beautiful to observe. 

On another day I met a young man, an injured veteran, now blind after being shot in the head by a sniper.  He had been in the hospital for eight months when he arrived at the DRC to participate in the Wounded Warrior Project.  The program’s goal is to promote a healthy transition to civilian life for those severely wounded during war, left with traumatic brain injury and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).  His guide was a former Navy Seal, so they seemed to share the same language.  He helped ease this obviously nervous blind man into the water.  What was so powerful to witness was seeing how he looked entering the water—his body was clenched, shivering and so tightly closed—and then again after spending time with a dolphin, for his first time ever.  The dolphin with the war veteran recognized his fears or needs and just grazed against his feet, very gently at first.  Then gradually, the soldier did reach out enough to touch the dolphin.  And the dolphin was so patient, letting the soldier take all the time he needed to relax.  Eventually he held on to the dolphin’s dorsal fin, and with his guide by his side, this blind, injured veteran was being pulled through the water by the dolphin.  The smile that spread across that man’s face conveyed so much emotion, revealed so much freedom—from his pain, his disabilities, his obstacles.  And that’s what dolphins do.  They force something out of you to make you happy.  It’s powerful.  And I’ll never ever forget that man’s smile. 

You know you’re being looked at when you look a dolphin in the eye.  And anyone who has had the opportunity to be that close with the species knows what I mean and agrees.  It’s a magical feeling, an unexplainable connection similar to the unspoken bond you might have with your favorite pet, but this surpasses that.  And even more remarkable is that a dolphin doesn’t forget you! 

I hope that after you read THE SUMMER GIRLS, you’ll find this saga unforgettable and feel a deeper sense of appreciation for and connection to the bottlenose dolphin, whether you see one for yourself or experience the species in the pages of my trilogy.