I’m sure this was 1967 when short shorts were the thing and daughters loved their daddy’s. I sure loved mine. All kinds of things were happening then, riots, the Vietnam War, bra burning, assassinations-lots of hate going around then. But I think that here on the island, we lived in a protective bubble away from all the harshness that was happening in the 60s. Our lives were much simpler. 

In the first book in the Blue House Series, Topsail Island Tango, I try to bring back those days, but try as I might I I realized that perhaps things were not as simple on the island as I thought. 

Here is an excerpt from TOPSAIL ISLAND TANGO:

Pop’s was the place where you went to get a hot dog and Pepsi. There were dances on the weekends, mostly square dances, but it was fun and offered live music. Whole families went there to enjoy a night out with friends.

In the summertime Pop paid a few dollars to one of the local boys to work as lifeguard and to keep watch on the flood of swimmers that came from small neighboring farming towns like Clinton and Chinquapin, Burgaw and Wilson.

Marines and Sailors from nearby Camp Lejeune came to enjoy the beach, too. They were toned and curious young men, far away from their homes.

At Pop’s you could rent an umbrella to stick in the sand and shade yourself from the sun. You could rent inner tubes or rafts, beach toys, buckets and shovels for the kids, along with suntan oils and lotions, hats, beach towels, flip flops and all sorts of beach paraphernalia.

Downstairs there were even showers for the visitors. Pop’s had everything. The Mermaid Bar, just over the county line, had beer.

Geez, didn’t we look like a couple of ragamuffins back then. This is around 1957 or ’58. The little camera my older sister is holding is a Brownie. She took care of it and used it for years and years. She may still have it.

The building we are standing in front of was our home. It was originally an old WWII barracks  that Daddy made into apartments. I remember riding my tricycle down the long hall before the apartments were completed. Oh, there are so many stories. But I digress, this post is about audio books, something that no one ever heard of way back in the dinosaur days.

I attend several markets throughout the year and so many people ask me if my books are in audio form. Many people can no longer see well enough to read, and then others prefer to listen as they drive.  Because it is so very expensive to do so, I have not pursued turning my books into audio form. However!!! A friend of mine found a program that is much less expensive and so I’m going to give it a shot–see if I can finally get some of my books made into audio books. Wish me luck, please.  God bless you all and please stay safe and healthy.

This has been one crazy summer-the crowds, the heat, the rain, the crowds, traffic backups, covid. Did I mention the crowds? But this, this sight-this beautiful, peaceful morning sight erases so much blah, blah, BS. When I see this I am in the mood to be nicer, to try harder and to relax into things I love the most. So it’s off to another book, another story. It’s forming in my head and I’m vacillating between a couple of titles, but the time, the era is set- fixed in my head. It’s the 1960s. Wow! What a decade! Think of all the things that were happening then. What were you doing then? Were you even here? What do the history books tell you or friends tell you? ………………. And we’re off!

Amazon assures me that Tickler Chain will be here in a couple of days. I’m very excited about my new baby and hope my readers will enjoy the latest book too. I’ll be at Carolina Decor Wednesday and the South Topsail Market Thursday.  The regular shops on the island will have it soon and I’m available also on Amazon. Tickler Chain is the 7th book in the Murder by the Sea series. Here is a little excerpt:

The warmth of familiarity and knowledge of a goal, one she could reach, flooded through her body almost to ecstasy. Then in the throes of her passion, the course, consuming envelopment of fear descended upon her, it was as if someone had tossed a blanket across her entire body. The emotion gripped her stronger than she’d ever felt before. She felt lost, alone-so very alone and as if she had never existed.

Amazon says TICKLER CHAIN will be here on July 2, geez I hope they aren’t misleading me. Lately it has been taking so long to get stuff on time-seems to take forever. Anyway, the book is due here in a week or so. I’m thrilled,  my editor is thrilled, and I hope you, my readers, are too. I’ve loved writing the MURDER BY THE SEA series and it’s been hard keeping the series on the shelves of the local stores. Thank you so much! It is always so fulfilling to have return readers who follow the series.

As soon as the shipment comes in,  I will post it on my page. Thanks again for reading. Carol

Tickler Chain is at the editors and I’m busy selecting a proper photo for the cover. This is a maybe.This is another maybe. There is just so many to choose from. The chain you see in the nets is the tickler chain. It bumps along the sandy bottom and encourages the shrimp to jump into the net. Anyone have any preferences? Would love to hear from you.

The book is finished-TICKLER CHAIN is complete (except for a final re-write and editing). What comes next? Polishing the image in my head that will be the cover, is what comes next. But I’ve been chewing on that for several months already. What do y’all think of this picture? I like the foot, but is there enough  color? Should I have a net with a tickler chain attached-maybe a few hermit crabs crawling around? Of course the net has to be just so, and do the toes have the right color of polish on them? Is the foot girly enough? Should the shells and foot be in the water? Should there only be shells and a net? Remember, this is a murder story and so the cover cannot be bright and sunny, it has to be a bit on the ominous side. Decisions, decisions- pulling my hair out! Imagine going through this as I write–every paragraph, every page, every chapter is scrutinized by my never satisfied writer’s eye.

This is what is going on in my head now. Think of how tedious it will be to actually find a net, with a chain, near the water-at the right time of day and have just the right shells in the sand. On top of that, I have to be satisfied with the foot-and the polish, etc., etc., etc.

Now I know why a dog goes round and round before finally settling down in his comfortable spot. It has to be just right. I’ve started doing that too.

We all love the sight of a shrimp boat with its doors spread wide as it pulls the trawl behind it. Nothing beats that sight in the early morning sun or as twilight rests on the horizon, Ain’t nothing like a good shrimp dinner. Ain’t nothing like appreciating the hard work those guys on the shrimp boats do. But there’s another guy out there too, searching for a lighter haul, and he’s out in the sound all by his lonesome hoping to pull in a little bit to sell or feed himself for a short while. Those shrimp taste just as good-he’s working hard too it’s just that he’s  using a smaller net. Both nets have tickle chains and what?! My goodness isn’t that the title for my newest book? Here’s a little excerpt:

It was a gentle night, only light wind, and as it breezed through her hair, Estelle felt the twinge of self confident beauty she had once felt before being marred by the alligator in Florida. She ground her teeth as the angry moment passed and moved forward toward the boats moored along the finger docks.

All was quiet at the marina, at this late hour everyone was either asleep or passed out. All the workers at the marina would have gone home, so Estelle felt safe and inconspicuous as she made her way toward the docks and boats, scanning each to see if something there would fit her agenda. And then she spied the skiff laying sort of cockeyed against a bulkhead, the spongy marsh and its dense salty grasses nearly hid it completely. Estelle hissed gleefully into the thick night air, she couldn’t believe her luck, this abandoned vessel was exactly what she needed and she made her way quickly through the muck to where it lay. The boat held water, so it didn’t have leaks, she surmised. A few tin cans and empty beer bottles floated in the murky water inside it; Estelle tossed them from the boat and whispered, “Nobody is going to miss this thing.”

A tickle chain is a metal chain, part of a trawl, that drags along the seabed with the aim of disturbing fish or shrimp and causing them to enter the net. This next book, the 7th in the MURDER BY THE SEA series, is titled Tickle Chain Here’s a little excerpt:

It was nearly 2 A.M. when Estelle was dropped at the marina. She wished the driver good luck and offered a thank you for the lift. In the quiet still night she stood listening to the gentle clanking of lines against spars and the timid movement of water against hulls. Again, to her advantage, it was a starless night, even the clouds were on her side as they hid the moon.

The gentle night breezed through her hair and Estelle felt a twinge of the self confidence she had once felt before being marred by the alligator in Florida. She ground her teeth as the moment passed and moved forward toward the boats moored along the finger docks.

They say change is good. Well, I’m not too sure about that, but I’ve got a change for you anyway. A couple of weeks ago I posted that the title of my new book, the one I’m presently working on, was going to be titled LOW TIDE. Things have changed. As I progress, and as the book evolves, I’ve decide that the title needs to change as well. Therefore, the new title will be TICKLE CHAIN. Those of you familiar with fishing and shrimping know what a tickle chain is, it is the beads of metal at the bottom of a net that tickles the sand as the net is drawn across it and encourages the shrimp to “pop” into the net. It also weights the net down.

There it is-change. I’ll be posting excerpt from TICKLE CHAIN periodically. I welcome any comments. Thanks, Carol