SWIMMING LESSONS: True Tales at the Sea Turtle Hospital

There is no denying my deep affinity for sea turtles, particularly the threatened loggerhead. This ancient creature of the deep blue swam its way into the pages of two of my novels, THE BEACH HOUSE and the sequel SWIMMING LESSONS.

SWIMMING LESSONS is being re-released as mass market this July with a fresh seaside front cover. My hope is a new wave of readers will find themselves taking interest in the loggerhead as well as the sea turtle hospitals that care for the sick and injured.

In SWIMMING LESSONS, my protagonist Toy Sooner, a single mother raising her young daughter on Isle of Palms, is also caring for injured sea turtles at the Sea Turtle Hospital located at Charleston's South Carolina Aquarium. Each turtle Toy handles at the facility are reflective of actual case histories there.

Biologist Kelly Thorvalson, who is the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program Coordinator, blogs about the amazing turtle cases the staff and volunteers handle. Their mission is to help sea turtles survive in our ocean by healing the ill and injured for their return to the wild. It is through her dedication, and that of the volunteers, aquarium staff, and a long line of generous donors, that the SC Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital has grown into the amazing facility it is today.

After reading, or re-reading, SWIMMING LESSONS when it makes its return to bookstores in July, I encourage you to plan a trip to the SC Aquarium. We have two fabulous new exhibits—an extremely rare albino alligator and a 3D theater that lets you feel the splash of water and more as you watch a film. Also, the penguin exhibit has been extended. And don’t forget to take for a tour of the Sea Turtle Hospital. I hope the pages of my novel come alive when you see with your own eyes the spectacular sea creature that inspired me to write my turtle novels. I hope they capture your heart just as they did mine!

SWEETGRASS: Then and Now

Almost six years after its nationwide debut, my Lowcountry novel SWEETGRASS is gearing up for a springtime comeback. This May will be the first time it appears at bookstores in trade paperback (It’s one of four paperback releases this year).

In preparation for this literary redux, the publisher has given the book cover a makeover (I think the pop of green and yellow color is eye-catching).

As for the story of Mama June Blakely-- her family’s crisis and unlocked secrets—I left the story untouched.

I was inspired to write this story by watching a woman’s strong hands weave together the disparate grasses into a work of art. How like a mother and her family, I thought. And in a flash I knew what my story would be about.

During Mama June’s tumultuous personal journey, the reader also learns about the intricate southern art of weaving sweetgrass baskets. The story raised many harsh realities about the current issues threatening this centuries-old craft.

I’m delighted to report that since its first publication in 2005, some progress has been made to help preserve the ancient African art of Sweetgrass basket weaving.

• Sweetgrass basketry was named South Carolina’s state handcraft in 2006.
• In 2006, the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor was designated by Congress, thus helping protect one of Southern America’s unique cultures shaped by enslaved West Africans.
• In 2009, the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Pavilion opened at the new Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park in South Carolina, in an effort to help keep the basketmaking tradition alive.
• Local efforts have been made to encourage residents to plant sweetgrass for basketmakers.

However, commercial and residential development in coastal islands and marshes continue to make the indigenous sweetgrass difficult to find. It’s an ongoing issue, one that was prevalent when I was writing SWEETGRASS years ago and continues today. Southern coastal communities must continue to work to find ways to protect our precious coastal resources.

My hope is that anyone who reads or re-reads SWEETGRASS when it’s released in May will enjoy this family saga of a plantation family and come to appreciate the sweetgrass basketmaking culture.

If you don’t have a sweetgrass basket in your home, go out to the new Cultural Arts Pavilion in Mt. P, or to the Market in Charleston, or stop at one of the many basket stands along Hwy 17. Each sewer is a unique artist. By learning about the baskets, you’ll better understand the cost and appreciate that the baskets are a historic and impressive art form of the Lowcountry. I adore them and have them all over my house. 

Here's a photo of the baskets in my office.