Wendy Wax's Blog, page 3
June 26, 2018
A Look Back at Ten Beach Road
The most asked question by far at talks and book clubs is ‘where do your ideas come from?’ The quick answer is anywhere—and everywhere.
Sometimes an idea begins as a tiny seed of…something…that springs up in your brain and refuses to go away. Sometimes a character simply presents itself, demanding attention, and … once again, refuses to go away. Other times it’s a television show or a headline. Or a line in a song that trips through your mind and starts your thoughts down some unimagined path. It can get really crowded up there with all those seeds and images sprouting up, vying for space.
In the case of TEN BEACH ROAD it was Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme that leaped from the headlines and forced me to pay attention. Like most people, I was horrified that someone could abuse his client’s trust on such a mammoth scale. I was fascinated by how this wolf had dressed up in sheep’s clothing, playing hard to get to reel in clients and, ultimately, offering returns that were far too good to be true.
As I inhaled the articles and books and television specials, I was appalled by how much he stole and from how many people. Entire life savings disappeared. Charities were bankrupted. Even more terrifying, people and institutions that didn’t even realize their money had ended up with Madoff, lost everything they owned.
How could a person sink so low or live with himself afterward?
At first I was consumed by the details of how he did it. I read about other Ponzi schemes—Madoff was not the first or the last—and I was surprised to discover how many of them were perpetrated on friends and close family.
And then the inevitable happened—at least in my writer’s world. I started imagining what that kind of loss would feel like. What it would do to my life, my family. How it would feel to lose absolutely everything.
After I finished shuddering, the words ‘what if’’ formed in my brain. “What if that happened to us?” And then, more specifically, ‘What if I wasn’t even involved and it still happened to me? Which was followed by, “What if my husband lost everything we had, including his job, and then didn’t have the nerve to tell me?” With that first series of ‘what ifs’ Madeline Singer, the primary protagonist of TEN BEACH ROAD, and her husband Steve, were born.
I thought about them a lot. I gave them two children who would have to face this loss, too. And a mother-in-law whose money disappeared along with theirs.
And then, because I typically write books that involve multiple female protagonists whose stories are interwoven, I began to imagine others fleeced by this same thief.
I thought, ‘what if I was a woman who’d escaped poverty and then lost everything? And what if the person who stole it from me was the younger brother I’d raised and bankrolled, whom I’d trusted more than anyone, and whom the FBI was now looking for? How awful would that feel? And what would I do? With that Nicole Grant, well known dating guru and matchmaker was born.
Or… what if I lost the father who raised me after my mother walked out on us and then lost that father’s estate before I ever received it? And what if this happened right after my marriage and my career collapsed? Before I knew it Avery Lawford, whose now ex-husband has just pushed her out of their HGTV show, sprang to life.
I worked with my ‘what ifs’ for a while, finally coming up with three very different women, who began as strangers who’d lost everything except co-ownership of Bella Flora, a dilapidated beachfront mansion which they were forced to spend a long, hot summer trying to rebuild.
Of course, each author approaches this process in his or her own way. And although a well plotted book will seem exactly as it ‘should’ be, in reality any book can go in any number of directions.
Speaking of ‘going in any number of directions’ no one was more surprised than I was when Maddie, Avery and Nikki who were inspired by Bernie Madoff’s crime and born of ‘what if’s’ made it clear to me that they weren’t anywhere near finished with their unlikely friendship or the lives they’d begun to rebuild while they were rebuilding Bella Flora.
And since I almost never argue with my characters, TEN BEACH ROAD evolved into what became a six book series. They asked me to let you know that OCEAN BEACH, THE HOUSE ON MERMAID POINT, SUNSHINE BEACH, ONE GOOD THING and this May’s release BEST BEACH EVER are ready whenever you are.
The post A Look Back at Ten Beach Road appeared first on Wendy Wax -- official site.
May 21, 2018
BEST BEACH EVER now on sale! Save room in your beach bag.
Some things never get old. Like presents. And hearing the words ‘I love you’ from someone who does.
The day your new novel is released is way up there on the perennially exciting list. For me, today is that day.
BEST BEACH EVER is now officially on sale. It’s my fourteenth novel and I’m just as excited to see it hitting the shelves today as I was almost twenty years ago when my first book came out.
If you haven't already ordered it you can do that right here:
Buy Now
I know just how fortunate I am to ‘make things up’ for a living. Thank you to everyone who’s read one of my novels.
If you haven’t tried me yet, I hope you’ll take a moment to click around my website to read excerpts, descriptions, and reviews of all my books.
In the meantime, I plan to enjoy having BEST BEACH EVER out in the world and may even engage in a toast or two. Please feel free to raise a glass of your favorite beverage and join in the celebration!
Welcome to Ten Beach Road
The post BEST BEACH EVER now on sale! Save room in your beach bag. appeared first on Wendy Wax -- official site.
May 16, 2018
Best Beach Ever 2018 Tour Dates
2018 Best Beach Ever Tour Come Visit Me!
Best Beach Ever Now On Sale!
Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 12 am
Book Talk and Signing with Karen White
Wednesday, June 6, 2018, 7 pm
Bookmiser–Roswell
4651 Sandy Plains Road
Roswell, GA 30075
Reserve a seat: 770-993-1555 or www.bookmiser.net
2018-06-06 19:00:00 2018-06-06 21:00:00 America/New_York Double Date JOINT EVENT with KAREN WHITE at BookMiser Book discussion and signing 4651 Sandy Plains Road, Roswell, GA 30075 Author Wendy Wax
Fresh Fiction Boas & Tiaras Tea and Book Signing
Saturday, June 9, 2018, 1-5 pm
Hilton Garden
705 Central Expressway South
Allen, Texas, 75013
For more info, tickets, and to reserve a seat at Wendy’s table visit- events.freshfiction.com
2018-06-09 13:00:00 2018-06-09 17:00:00 America/New_York Wendy Wax at Bows & Tiara’s, Hilton Garden, Allen TX Afternoon tea with sandwiches and scones. Tea will be followed by a private book signing of Best Beach Ever. Tiaras mandatory! 705 Central Expressway South, Allen, Texas, 75013, USA, United States Author Wendy Wax
Discussion & Book Signing
Tuesday, June 19, 2018, 6:30 pm
FoxTale Book Shoppe
105 East Main Street, #138
Woodstock, GA 30188
2018-06-19 18:30:00 2018-06-22 20:30:00 America/New_York Author Wendy Wax Discussion & Book Signing Book Signing at FoxTale Book Shoppe 105 East Main Street, #138, Woodstock, GA 30188, United States Author Wendy Wax
Litchfield Books Moveable Feast
Friday, June 22, 2018, 11 am
Ticketed Luncheon at Kimbel’s Wachesaw Plantation
1930 Governors Landing Rd,
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
To make a reservation for the luncheon call 843-235-9600.
2018-06-22 11:00:00 2018-06-22 12:00:00 America/New_York Luncheon with Author Wendy Wax Luncheon with Author Wendy Wa Kimbel’s Wachesaw, 1930 Governors Landing Rd, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576, United States Author Wendy Wax
Book Signing at Litchfield Books
Friday, June 22, 2018, 2 pm
11421 Ocean Hwy,
Fresh Market Commons,
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
2018-06-22 14:00:00 2018-06-22 16:00:00 America/New_York Book Signing at Litchfield Books with Author Wendy Wax 11421 Ocean Hwy, Fresh Market Commons, Pawleys Island, SC 29585, United States Author Wendy Wax
The Bookmark Talk and Signing
Saturday, June 23, 2018, 7:00 pm
The Bookmark
220 1st. Street
Neptune Beach, FL 32266
2018-23-06 19:00:002018-23-06 21:00:00America/New_YorkBook Talk and Signing with Author Wendy WaxThe Bookmark, 220 1st. Street, Neptune Beach, FL 32266Author Wendy Wax
Book Talk and Signing
Sunday, June 24, 2018, 4 pm
St. Pete Beach Public Library
365 73rd Avenue
St. Pete Beach, FL 33706
Enter raffle to win your name in a future Wendy Wax novel. Proceeds to benefit the library. For more info: 727-363-9238 (Books provided by Copperfish Books)
2018-06-24 16:00:00 2018-06-24 18:00:00 America/New_York Wendy Wax, Best Beach Ever, Talk & Book Signing Book Talk and Signing at St. Pete’s Beach Public Library 65 73rd Avenue, St. Pete Beach, FL 33706, United States Author Wendy Wax
Sunset Beachside Celebration & Signing
Sunday, June 24, 2018, 6:30 pm to Sunset
Paradise Grille
900 Gulf Way
Pass-a-Grille, FL, 33706
$5 wine! 1/2 price beer! Free Spectacular View! (Flip Flops optional!) Raffle to benefit SPB Library continues. Winner announced at sunset.
2018-06-24 18:30:002018-06-24 20:30:00America/New_YorkSunset Beach Celebration and SigningParadise Grille, 900 Gulf Way, Pass-a-Grille, FL, United StatesAuthor Wendy Wax
Talk & Book Signing
Monday, June 25, 2018, 6:00 pm
Copperfish Books
103 W. Marion Avenue
Punta Gorda, Florida
To reserve a seat, call 941-205-2560 or email copperfishbooks@comcast.net.
2018-06-125 18:00:00 2018-06-25 20:00:00America/New_YorkWendy Wax, Best Beach Ever, Talk & Book SigningCopperfish Books, 103 W. Marion Avenue, Punta Gorda, Florida 33950, United StatesAuthor Wendy Wax
Page Pairings— A Book-Inspired Wine Tasting & Signing
Tuesday, June 26, 2018, 6:30 pm
M. Judson Booksellers & Storytellers
130 South Main Street
Greenville, SC
$30 ticket includes a copy of Best Beach Ever plus treats and wines from Chocolate Moose Bakery & Cafe that share the same spirit. Tickets available here
2018-06-26 18:30:002018-06-26 20:30:00America/New_YorkPairings— A Book-Inspired Wine Tasting & SigningM.Judson Booksellers & Storytellers, 130 South Main Street, Greenville, SCAuthor Wendy Wax
Book Talk and Signing with Karen White
Thursday, July 12, 2018, 7:00 pm
Book Exchange
2932 Canton Rd
Marietta, GA 30066
For more info: bookexchangemarietta.com or 770-427-4848
2018-07-12 19:00:00
2018-07-12 21:00:00America/New_YorkBook Talk and Signing with Karen White
Book Exchange, 2932 Canton Rd # 220, Marietta, GA 30066, USAAuthor Wendy Wax
The post Best Beach Ever 2018 Tour Dates appeared first on Wendy Wax -- official site.
May 9, 2018
If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Your Mother!
“If it’s not one thing, it’s your mother.” I saw a pillow with this stitched on it in a store the other day. I have a pillow just like it, bought long ago, and I’ve never been able to look at it without smiling; or perhaps more truthfully, grimacing.
I spent part of my twenties talking to a therapist about my own relationship with my mother. I was fairly certain that all of my insecurities could be traced to the things she’d said and done. In conversations debating nature versus nurture, I always went with nurture, which allowed everything that was wrong with me—and there were an awful lot of things—to be my mother’s fault. In fact, I didn’t originally intend to have children at all because I was so afraid of messing them up.
That resolve weakened in my thirties and I now have two fabulous teenaged sons (whom I don’t think I’ve scarred too badly). In the process I discovered that mothering is way more complicated than it looked from the receiving end. I also switched sides in the ‘nature vs nurture’ conversation not just to absolve myself of the full load of responsibility I dumped on my mother, but because my sons are different from each other in almost every way, and those differences were obvious from birth.
Still, it would be difficult to argue the fact that most of us are the mothers we are because of—or in spite of—our own mother’s mothering style, which we either emulate or reject completely. If they were hypercritical, we may bend over backward not to criticize. If they were disorganized we become fervent list-makers. If they never got up to make our breakfasts before school (something my mother’s generation apparently never got the memo on) we’re up at the crack of dawn squeezing fresh orange juice and scrambling those eggs. Or at least popping the frozen waffles into the toaster.
As loaded with emotion as the mother-daughter relationship is, it can be hard to find much middle ground. Which explains why it so often finds its way into women’s fiction novels. I’ve addressed it in many of my books, but even I was surprised when I ultimately ended up with not one, but three important mother-daughter relationships in my Ten Beach Road series.
In the end, no one can love you or hurt you more than your mother. Just this week I listened as one friend and one complete stranger vented about their relationships with their mothers. But of course, once you become a mother you realize that this relationship cuts both ways.
I worry that one day my sons will feel the need to vent about me, despite my best attempts to be the mother I thought they needed. As my mother once observed, it’s amazing how differently both sides of this relationship can view the same conversation or event. Like two witnesses to a crime or an accident, what happened is rarely as clear cut as we’d like.
I occasionally complain that my sons don’t share their feelings or even the details of their day as much as I’d like (or in the way that daughters do), but it’s begun to occur to me that this may actually work to my benefit. Perhaps they also won’t need to ‘tell all’ to a counselor. Or regale their friends and future spouses with stories about my mistakes and foibles. I’m pretty sure they’ve never seen that crotched pillow that reads, ‘If it’s not one thing, it’s your mother!’ I’ve got it tucked away in a back closet where my children, who are male after all, will never find it.
Author’s note: My sons are now in their twenties and seem to have survived (and even embraced) my efforts to turn them in to productive members of society. I’m incredibly proud to be their mother.
[image error]With my mom.
[image error]A few Wax women celebrate Mother’s Day!
[image error]My sons Kevin and Drew.
If It’s Not One Thing It’s Your Mother!
I spent part of my twenties talking to a therapist about my own relationship with my mother. I was fairly certain that all of my insecurities could be traced to the things she’d said and done. In conversations debating nature versus nurture, I always went with nurture, which allowed everything that was wrong with me—and there were an awful lot of things—to be my mother’s fault. In fact, I didn’t originally intend to have children at all because I was so afraid of messing them up.
That resolve weakened in my thirties and I now have two fabulous teenaged sons (whom I don’t think I’ve scarred too badly). In the process I discovered that mothering is way more complicated than it looked from the receiving end. I also switched sides in the ‘nature vs nurture’ conversation not just to absolve myself of the full load of responsibility I dumped on my mother, but because my sons are different from each other in almost every way, and those differences were obvious from birth.
Still, it would be difficult to argue the fact that most of us are the mothers we are because of—or in spite of—our own mother’s mothering style, which we either emulate or reject completely. If they were hypercritical, we may bend over backward not to criticize. If they were disorganized we become fervent list-makers. If they never got up to make our breakfasts before school (something my mother’s generation apparently never got the memo on) we’re up at the crack of dawn squeezing fresh orange juice and scrambling those eggs. Or at least popping the frozen waffles into the toaster.
As loaded with emotion as the mother-daughter relationship is, it can be hard to find much middle ground. Which explains why it so often finds its way into women’s fiction novels. I’ve addressed it in many of my books, but even I was surprised when I ultimately ended up with not one, but three important mother-daughter relationships in my Ten Beach Road series.
In the end, no one can love you or hurt you more than your mother. Just this week I listened as one friend and one complete stranger vented about their relationships with their mothers. But of course, once you become a mother you realize that this relationship cuts both ways.
I worry that one day my sons will feel the need to vent about me, despite my best attempts to be the mother I thought they needed. As my mother once observed, it’s amazing how differently both sides of this relationship can view the same conversation or event. Like two witnesses to a crime or an accident, what happened is rarely as clear cut as we’d like.
I occasionally complain that my sons don’t share their feelings or even the details of their day as much as I’d like (or in the way that daughters do), but it’s begun to occur to me that this may actually work to my benefit. Perhaps they also won’t need to ‘tell all’ to a counselor. Or regale their friends and future spouses with stories about my mistakes and foibles. I’m pretty sure they’ve never seen that crotched pillow that reads, ‘If it’s not one thing, it’s your mother!’ I’ve got it tucked away in a back closet where my children, who are male after all, will never find it.
Author’s note: My sons are now in their twenties and seem to have survived (and even embraced) my efforts to turn them in to productive members of society. I’m incredibly proud to be their mother.
With my mom.
A few Wax women celebrate Mother’s Day!
My sons Kevin and Drew.
The post If It’s Not One Thing It’s Your Mother! appeared first on Wendy Wax -- official site.
April 25, 2018
An Author’s Baggage
Ask ten authors and you’ll no doubt get ten very different answers. And of course it varies from book to book.
I have to admit that of all the books I’ve written the Ten Beach Road novels borrow most from my own past.
I grew up on St. Petersburg Beach, a barrier island on the west central coast of Florida. I went to the aptly named Sunshine Elementary School and spent long summer days on Pass-a-Grille at the southernmost end of St. Pete Beach, many of them at The Rellim (Miller spelled backwards), a mid-century hotel, which was owned by family friends.
Checking to see how many people I scared after swimming a lap underwater.
Modeling the latest fashion at a Rellim pool fashion show. (My mother made me do it!)
Introducing my then boyfriend (now husband of 32 years) to the Best Beach Ever!
When I began writing Ten Beach Road, the story of three women who lose their life savings to a Ponzi scheme and are left with only co-ownership of a derelict beachfront mansion, I spent a long time envisioning Bella Flora, the house they’d be forced to renovate. It took no time at all to decide to place it on Pass- a –Grille.
In fact, the locations in Ten Beach Road, are a mixture of fictional streets that may confound some of the locals and real Pass-a-Grille spots that I’ve loved all my life. One of those locations is The Rellim where I allegedly learned to swim before I could walk. I’m not sure if that’s actually true, but I do remember standing on the edge of the Rellim pool’s deep end where I would wait until people were watching (I guess I’ve always loved an audience) and then throw myself into the swimming pool and swim underwater to the other end where I’d come up for air to adult gasps of relief.
The Rellim was torn down a long time ago. Condos now stand in its place. But the hotel where I spent so many happy days lives on in my heart and my memory.
Now it also lives on as The Sunshine Hotel and Beach Club in Ten Beach Road novels, Sunshine Beach ((where you may notice my old underwater attention grabber used in the prologue) One Good Thing, and my upcoming release Best Beach Ever (in which you’ll see a version of the same kind of fashion shows that my mother used to stage around the Rellim pool.)
The post An Author’s Baggage appeared first on Wendy Wax -- official site.
A Little Advice from Maddie
Character Madeline Singer is that glass-is-half-full friend we all need in our lives. Take this brief quiz to find out what advice Maddie would give you.
The post A Little Advice from Maddie appeared first on Wendy Wax -- official site.
Ten Beach Road Recipes
Ted Peter’s Famous Smoked Fish Spread
This sunset staple was featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. (Recipe courtesy of Scripps Networks, LLC)
Ingredients
• 12 ounces smoked trout, boneless and skinless
• 1⁄2 cup sweet relish
• 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
• 1⁄4 cup onion, minced
• 1⁄4 cup celery, minced
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Cracker
• Hot sauce
Directions
1 Flake the fish into pieces.
2 Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in a medium bowl.
3 Gently mix the fish into the sauce and combine well to make an even spread.
4 Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5 Transfer to a serving dish or ramekin and fluff fish with fork.
6 To eat, spread fish on top of the saltine crackers with several drops of hot sauce. Enjoy!
Wax Family “Never Fail” Egg Souffle
Ingredients
• 6 eggs
• 10 slices white bread, crusts removed (I cut into cubes so it will fit in blender)
• 1/2 pound Velveeta cheese (any flavor or type)
• 3 tablespoons sharp cheddar
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 pound margarine (1 stick)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Directions
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Melt butter and cheese in microwave (cut up in cubes for easier melting).
• Beat eggs and milk in blender. Add bread to mixture and blend.
• I usually add the melted cheese and butter to the blender then, plus the baking powder, and blend smooth.
• Spray casserole dish with butter flavored non-stick spray. Pour mixture into casserole. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. (Unless it needs to be fancy, I use the disposable aluminum foil casseroles!)
Note: You can mix ahead, wrap well, and freeze. Just make sure it’s at room temperature again (and give it a last stir) before you put it in oven.
You can also mix ahead and refrigerate overnight for baking the next day.
Cheez Doodles
Ingredients
•A lot of them.
Directions: Go to store. Buy industrial size bag of puffy cheesy snack without which character Avery Lawford believes life simply isn’t worth living. (Two to three smaller bags combined will do.) Pour into large bowl and consume.
The post Ten Beach Road Recipes appeared first on Wendy Wax -- official site.
March 21, 2018
A Song, a Giveaway and an Excerpt
I know we just ‘sprang forward’ but I hope you’ll join me for this throwback to the song I co-wrote for The House on Mermaid Point‘s fictional rock-and-roll legend William Hightower even though I can’t carry a tune.
Here’s the USA Today article in which I explain how this song happened.
Watch the 10th Concession video of Mermaid in You or download a copy in the iTunes store.
Here’s what readers have to say about their favorite Ten Beach Road novels:
“I love these ladies! And many parts had me laughing (Maddie’s texts) and the ending had me shedding a few tears.”
“Laughed out loud in quite a few pages.”
“It will make you laugh, cry, think and at the very end be sorry that it is over.”
“With each renovation project the women have experienced personal growth and become more confident.”
“This has been a fabulous series to read. The characters are wonderfully developed and the story line is full of humor and warmth.”
“What can I say? After 3 books featuring this cast, I am hooked and want to know what happens next for all of them.”
Character Madeline Singer is that glass-is-half-full friend we all need in our lives. Take this brief quiz to find out what advice Maddie would give you. You’ll be entered to win an advance copy of my new Ten Beach Road novel Best Beach Ever.
I’m counting the days until May 22nd when my new novel Best Beach Ever is released.
Pre-order now!
The post A Song, a Giveaway and an Excerpt appeared first on Wendy Wax -- official site.
February 27, 2018
The Beach I Grew Up On
I was one of those lucky people who grew up on a beach. In my case it was St. Petersburg Beach, that comma of land that curves into the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida. It was beautiful all year round, but the summers were especially wonderful. We spent most days on Pass-a-Grille at the southernmost end of St. Pete Beach, at the Rellim Hotel, which was owned by family friends, where the moms played cards and the children, well, romped.
Some of my earliest memories include holding my breath. Family lore has it that I learned to swim before I could walk. I’m not sure ifthat’s actually true, but I do remember standing on the edge of the deep end where I would wait until people were watching (I guess I’ve always loved an audience) and then throw myself into the swimming pool and swim underwater to the other end where I’d come up for air to adult gasps of relief. I could and did spend hours in the pool doing handstands and trying to talk underwater clearly enough to be understood. Then there were the summersaults — how many you could complete without having to come up for air was a matter of pride. I’m happy to report that it looks like not breathing while ingesting large quantities of chlorine has had no long-term effect.
Those long, hot summer days were spent eating ice cream sandwiches and racing across the sand between the hotel’s freshwater pool and the salty gulf with occasional stops to build sand castles or dig for coquinas. Other days we’d cartwheel down the hard packed sand near the waters’ edge for what seemed like miles.
During the school year, I went to the aptly named Sunshine Elementary, where we had a fish broil every fall and art class and P.E. sometimes took place on the beach. You can see documentation of all of this at the Gulf Beaches Historical Museum.
My mother used to say that people who lived there had ‘sand in their shoes.’ I thought she meant this literally; after all there was sand everywhere—and not just in our shoes!
It took me a long time to realize that she was referring to the pace at which everyone and everything moved—or didn’t. I grew up assuming that everyone lived across the street from the beach under the shade of palm trees and spent hours perfecting their underwater summersaults. And by the time I’d finished high school, I couldn’t wait to leave for somewhere more exciting. It took going away to fully appreciate how lucky I’d been to grow up in such an incredible place. I’ve searched out sandy spots around the globe, and never found a beach I liked more. Which may explain why when I began writing Ten Beach Road, the story of three women who lose their life savings to a Ponzi scheme and are left with only co-ownership of a derelict beachfront mansion, I spent a long time envisioning the house and about two seconds deciding on which beach it would sit.
The beach locations in Ten Beach Road, Sunshine Beach, and Best Beach Ever are a mixture of real Pass-a-Grille spots that I’ve loved all my life and fictional streets that may confound some of the locals. Bella Flora, the once-fabulous Mediterranean Revival style mansion at the heart of what has become a six book series, sits on the non-existent ‘Beach Road’ (actually 1st Avenue) at the southwestern tip of Pass-a-Grille. (This wasn’t easy as I had to mentally move a condominium building so that Bella Flora could command its spectacular view of the pass and Shell Island.)
As often as possible my characters Madeline and Kyra Singer, Avery Lawford and Nicole Grant head out back to toast the sunset and search for at least one good thing to say about their day. In the process they’ve bonded, become good friends, and reclaimed their own lives even as they rescued and renovated Bella Flora.
When I finished writing Ten Beach Road I assumed I’d move on to a new cast of characters, but I missed Maddie, Avery, Nikki and crew, and I kept hearing from readers who did too. It’s been a privilege and a great pleasure to continue writing their stories, their relationships, and especially their friendship.
This is Paradise Grove where the ladies of Ten Beach Road like to go!
