Whispering Winds Book Reviews gives Leaving Lukens 5 stars!

I have read Ms Wharton's first book, “The Pirate’s Bastard.” I did enjoy it a lot. Yet as I began to read this book, I found she was not just a onetime author. In fact I enjoyed this book even more than the first.

I loved the characters in this book and the way, Ms. Wharton has created them. The flow of the story is excellent and l did not find even one page or paragraph that was boring. You are captured from the start.

The book starts on May 2000 at a reunion and then goes back to WWII. There we find adventure, love and intrigue. The ending blew me away. I had to read it twice and then it hit me. (It was a slap me silly moment for me.) Just one sentence told me what I longed to hear. I did not want this story to end. Nor do I think you will either, and that is why I am giving this book a five star rating.

Posted by Whispering Winds Book Reviews at 5:01 PM

Go Indie!

See the cute little fish bowl on the right of the blog? If you click on it, you'll see all the independent bookstores around the south! Please support them when you want to buy books and gifts. My own books, Leaving Lukens and The Pirate's Bastard, can be found in a few of them (I'd love all of them to carry my books, too!) Thanks!

Satisfaction, again!

I just learned that my first novel, The Pirate's Bastard, has just been nominated for the N.C. Literary and Historical Association's Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction! How thrilling to know that the years of research must have been sufficient enough to hold up against such scrutiny!

Holiday Shop Stop was Fun

Mixing with vendors of Pampered Chef and other "home show" types, I had a great time at the Holiday Shop Stop on Saturday. I did sell books, but was actually dismayed about the number of people stopping by to say, "I don't have time to read."

After a few too many like that, I had to respond. "Perhaps you should turn off your T.V."

Blasphemy. It was just like I'd said a really bad word! After all the reports of the negative influences of television, I was surprised to get this kind of reaction. I'm naive, I suppose. I haven't owned a television since 1989. Don't miss it. Don't want it back. Sure, I watch an occasional movie on the weekends on the DVD, and that's enough! Why ruin a perfectly good night sitting through commercials when one could read a book? Or better yet, write one?

Okay, I'm off my soap box for now. I'm getting dizzy from the height.

'Tis the Season

With holidays quickly approaching, opportunities abound for writers and readers to come together. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a Holiday Shop Stop at my local community center. I brought books to sell. others brought jewelry, Pampered Chef, and other represented merchandise.

The day went quickly with a number of people stopping in the see what I had..."you wrote these?"  What a great opportunity to tell others not only of my books, but of North Carolina's coastal history! Yeah, I sold some books!

Next up: Speaking/signing at our fabulous regional history museum during Autumn Leaves Festival (Friday, October 14, 3-5 p.m.). If you're in town, stop by and say hello!

In November, I'm off to New Bern/Oriental for signing/book selling (and a little bit of run).

Then, December 11 will be my official book launch party at Trios Restaurant in Mount Airy (2-5:00 p.m.) -- come celebrate with me! December 17 I'll be in Winston-Salem for a signing at Barnhill's Books on Burke Street. If you need to do some holiday shopping, this is a great place to do it! Wine, books, and other neat gifts await!

'Tis the season for shopping! Enjoy!

Leaving Lukens Finished

Well, at least the very rough draft of the manuscript is. It took me six months to write -- far better than the six years it took to research and write The Pirate's Bastard. (What a relief!)

The story took a few unexpected turns, and I am quite pleased with the work. The story is a bit of a roller coaster ride of an adventure tale. There's a bit of a love story woven in, too, for readers who like to see how relationships develop -- or don't.  There's an element of mystery, but not in the traditional sense. I wasn't meaning for it to be a mystery. Honestly, I don't know what I intended with this one, other than to tell a good story. That's what I think it is -- a good story set in 1942 coastal North Carolina.

New Bern and Oriental figure prominently, and I hope I've caught the essence of what these wonderful towns were like in 1942. Because New Bern is such an incredibly rich town in terms of history, information is abundant about what it might have been like back then. Oriental has always had a uniqueness about it -- and that continues today.

Special thanks go to the owner the The Bean in Oriental. He's allowing me to use an image of his delightful coffee shop on the cover as part of a design element. Other places in Oriental are mentioned as well, like Steamers, a great restaurant there. I look forward to enjoying the quiet quirkiness of Oriental in the future. 

That won't be today, though. I'm heading in the opposite direction for a book signing tomorrow in Banner Elk at the Banner Elk Winery. Author and friend Mary Flinn has invited me to this event, and I'm so grateful to be included. I only have a few copies of The Pirate's Bastard left in my "signing" stock -- wonder how many I'll come home with after this event?

Local Paper Covers Book - Nice Article

Well, I finally made the lifestyles section of the Mount Airy News. The article is a profile of my work at Habitat as well, so there is a mix of information. The author did a nice job tying it all together, though I had hoped he would have included my website or at least the local bookstore's name where the book could be purchased, but the angle of where I work seemed to take first place. Oh well. It's publicity.

I've not blogged in awhile, primarily because of my nutty work schedule as of late. The good news is that I hope to see my work hours get to the "normal" range after this week passes, and then I can get back to blogging, promoting, and writing my book. Speaking of which, I've had more great reviews of The Pirate's Bastard, and I've hit nearly 30,000 words of the work in progress. The working title is Leaving Lukens, and I really like the storyline so far. I'll tell you more about it later, but I have so little time to write this week, so I'm going to get to it!

New year, new work

With the start of a new year, I finally sat down to continue working on a project I got really excited about in October. Holidays, life, and other projects found their way into my schedule for the last quarter of the year, and I had to put this project on hold ... until now. With a day off dedicated to writing, I made great progress; the manuscript isn't going the way I thought it would, though.

In fact, the characters I was peddling around with on the handlebars of my bike last fall have morphed, and the outline for the story is nearly upside down from how I "planned" for it to be.

Truly, it's a good thing. I don't want to give the story away, but I'll share with you a few of the surprises I discovered yesterday. My lead character, Ella, is much stronger than I gave her credit for last fall. She's remained calm (to a point) in a most harrowing experience that probably would have caused me to have a heart attack. This is the first story I've written from a woman's point of view -- go figure -- and it's proving insightful on many levels.

This isn't a love story, but there is a love interest or two. There's a mystery to solve, some deep-seated issues to resolve, and of course there's a boat. Set in 1942, the story dips a toe in the waters of the economic stress of the times, the social issues of a small North Carolina coastal town near New Bern, and the war that was encroaching upon the lives of the village's occupants.

With the strong running start I had yesterday, I have a better sense of where to go with the story next -- or rather, Ella is telling me what's going on ... it will be interesting to see how she wants to resolve it.

In this new year, I wish all my friends and family (and those of you reading this who haven't made yourselves known to me yet) a prosperous and productive new year. May the characters in your lives prove insightful to you, as well. 

Book signing at Barnhill's this Saturday

Barnhill's Books on Burke Street in Winston-Salem is the next host site for a book signing this Saturday (December 11). If you're in town, come visit me and pick up a copy of The Pirate's Bastard. As extra incentive, they have wine there so you could have a wine tasting! How fun is that?

Maritime history in New Bern takes on new life

I've just returned from the N.C. Maritime History Council's annual conference in New Bern, N.C. Despite the torrential rains and slight street flooding, it was a wonderful experience.

A small disclaimer: I'm partial to New Bern anyway, so visiting there is always a treat to me. Add to the visit great speakers and like-minded people who share my enthusiasm for boats, history, and coast, and such an event could only be fantastic.

Of course, we toured Tryon Palace, the Stanley House, and the Dixon House. Those are mandatory on such a trip; but we also stepped aboard the Ada Mae, a skipjack that has a new lease on life as an educational vessel for children.

A second off-site tour was to Hatteras Yachts, and the final cherry on top of the sundae was a tour through the soon-to-be opened History and Education Center.This highly interactive space was built on the site of the former Balbour boats shipyard. The building's design bows to that history, with architecture reminiscent of a boat shed (allbeit a fancy, light-filled contemporary design). The Center has one of the best views right on the water, and the new exhibits beg to be touched (we couldn't do that since it wasn't quite ready). it will be open in a few weeks and I will definitely go back.

During the conference, I stayed with Camile and Joe, owners of The Hanna House Bed and Breakfast. Talk about your perfect hosts -- and what incredible food! A cheese souffle for breakfast one morning, shrimp and grits another ... I want to tell you that this is the place to stay if you ever go to New Bern. I'll be back in the spring (if not sooner) for a book signing of The Pirate's Bastard and the launch of another novel set in 1943 -- I won't tell you anymore about that one now, but let me just say, New Bern figures prominently in the story.

Second Wind Publishing creates promotional video for book!

Stacy, the woman who created the cover of my book, is very gifted. She creates short videos promoting the release of books (or soon-to-be-released ones, in my case). She adds music, the cover, and short enticing blurbs of each one for a quick introduction.

Check out the new one she's created that includes The Pirate's Bastard here.  It's not the first one, but the whole video is short, so you can sit still for it. (Can't you?)

Winston-Salem NC BookMarks Book Festival Coming September 11

I'll be at the Winston-Salem BookMarks Book Festival on Saturday, Sept. 11 promoting The Pirate's Bastard and the publisher, Second Wind Publishing. The festival has been around for several years, and this year's event wil be held in the arts district near Trade Street -- a great place for an event! If you're in Winston-Salem Saturday, you're in for a treat with loads of authors, publishers, and fun things to do for adults and children. If you love books, this is the place to be!

Check out this link for more information and directions.