Seven Seas Cruising Association Reviews Leaving Lukens

I am so tickled to see this review of Leaving Lukens in Seven Seas Cruising Association's Bulletin -- these folks do what I dream of doing ... on a daily basis. (They sail daily, and yes, I dream daily of sailing.) :-)

From the September, 2012 issue of the SSCA Bulletin: 

Do you love to read great fiction that takes place in locations where you’re cruising to or that you’ve cruised to before? I know I do and after living aboard in Oriental and New Bern, NC for several years, I really enjoyed reading Leaving Lukens, a nautical adventure/love story that takes place in these locales. This award winning historical novel is set in 1942 as WWII encroaches on a small North Carolina coastal village. 

Weave in some North Carolina sailing and treasure diving adventures, a few Nazis, and characters that soon become old friends and you’ve got yourself a great read. The surprise ending is perfect. This is just the right book to grab as you’re heading down the ICW this fall.

SSCA Member Laura Wharton is also the author of The Pirate’s Bastard, a historical fiction adventure set in colonial North Carolina in and around Wilmington, N.C. Visit her website, http://www.laurawhartonbooks.com.

 
 ~Barbara Theisen, Editor
Seven Seas Cruising Association Bulletin

Thanks to my sailing friends for encouraging me to join this excellent organization. I'm looking forward to taking advantage of some of the many educational opportunities presented this year!

Featured in Front Row Lit

Have you seen Front Row Lit today? It's a cool online magazine/blog all about books, and today, Leaving Lukens is highlighted in a short interview. Pretty neat! Please help me spread the word. Thanks!

Murder in Mayberry ... TV interview of Jane Tesh

One of my friends, novelist Jane Tesh, was interviewed for WRAL TV -- a segment on traveling in North Carolina. It's a great short segment, and it showcases Jane's incredible spirit of joy and, I shall say, hints at her mischievous side.

So do her murder mystery books. She has two series going, and each one is as delightful as the next. They are filled with humor, a sense of silly sometimes, references to music, and, did I mention murder? They have a small-town feel, so if you're looking for fast crime in L.A., this isn't it. If, however, you want personality in your characters, Jane's books are worth investigating.

I invite you to get to know Jane Tesh in this short segment. You won't regret it!

The friendliest town in North Carolina

I've lived in many small and large towns in North Carolina over the past 20-something years. Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Southport, Edenton, and Mt. Airy have all been "my" adopted homes for stints while working on various projects. Each one has it's own unique advantages (and some with some serious disadvantages). I would return to again for work if offered the chance in the bigger spots, and certainly to Edenton or Southport for vacations. 

Living in Mt. Airy for over six years now has been interesting. So imagine my surprise to read in the Winston-Salem Journal that Mt. Airy received state recognition as being the friendliest Main Street community, edging out Southport's Howe Street and Edenton's Broad Street. I'm not sure I agree with that. For one thing, I still count many people in both Southport and Edenton as true friends. For another, I've just returned from a fantastic week in Oriental, North Carolina. Oriental is truly the friendliest town in the state.

The people we met (and there were many) welcomed us like we were old friends. They were genuine. Since many of them are sailors (as I still consider myself), and many of them came through my home state of Maryland and more specifically, my real hometown, Sherwood Forest near Annapolis, I felt like it was one big reunion there.

Shop owners Bill and Camillia Wheeler of Nautical Wheelers made time to meet us at The Bean for ice cream one evening for a lovely visit. Turns out Bill and my husband went to high school together in Winston-Salem. Small world.

Another day, Miss Faye invited us to come to her house to watch her feed the turtles that congregated in her backyard when she called them ("Here, Turtles!") for their evening supper of dog food and watermelon rinds. In fact, she invited us into her lovely home to see about a DVD a news reporter had made of their interview, but the DVD player wasn't working properly. Never mind we were in our still-dripping bathing suits or sandy feet. We'd been across the street at a public beach. I'd never met Miss Faye before that day. I can assure you I'll never forget her.

Our son was in sailing camp all week at Bow to Stern Sailing School. The camp went on despite the death of the owner's father the day before it was to begin. Volunteers and some young employees took over beautifully, and Will had a fantastic time. Local campers rode their bikes to camp just like I used to do in Sherwood Forest -- and they have a certain maturity about them that I don't see in other kids their age in Mt. Airy ... perhaps because many of the Oriental locals are sailboat children/cruisers to begin with, or perhaps because they know everyone in the town of 850 will be looking out for them, forcing them to be on their best behavior.

The Wheelers commented that they did what so many other people do when first coming to Oriental: they kept a sailboat there for years, then found a realtor and bought a house. It's the friendliness of the people (and the certain attraction of water) that keeps this scene playing over and over again. Perhaps one day, we'll be doing the same.

We kayaked around the creeks and the broad waters of the river nearly daily. Nearly daily rituals also included trips into shops, visiting with owners of a gallery, a lovely woman's dress shop, the Inland Waterway Provision Company, and of course, Nautical Wheelers. A sailor who keeps his 39-foot Mirage at the dock where we stayed (Aft Cabin at the BoonDocks is a fantastic cabin in the woods ... and we enjoyed every minute of our stay there!) stopped by to tell us a storm was coming one afternoon. He may have been concerned that we'd left our gear outside to dry after a paddle up the creek. We invited him in for a beer, and ended up making another friend. Like the Wheelers (who are his next-door neighbors), he was gracious from the first hello, and invited us to tour his boat the next day -- even offering the lock combo if we wanted to go see it before he got to the dock in the morning.

My car's back windshield now sports a sticker of a red dragon in honor of my favorite spot in the state. We're going back again soon ... and when we do, I know we'll meet more new friends. It's just that kind of town.

E-book The Pirate's Bastard now available

I'm pleased to announce the second edition of The Pirate's Bastard is now available in paperback and e-book format ... and the reviews are starting to roll in again. This book was nominated for the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction--quite an honor for a debut novel. The first edition sold out, so ... here we go again!

Besides, for a fast summer read, what's better than a pirate story?

Set in colonial North Carolina near Wilmington and Orton Plantation, The Pirate's Bastard tells of Edward Marshall, illegitimate son of the notorious "gentleman pirate," Stede Bonnet, and how he comes to the new world to recast his life as a shipbuilder. Things are going well: he's building a good ship, he's got a lady love, and the respect of the small community of Brunswicktown. What could possibly go wrong? (Don't you hate it when someone asks that?) For starters, his dead father's first mate (boatswain) approaches Edward with a plan to hunt for treasure and a bit of blackmail in mind.

On a Roll: Another Work in the Works

Sometimes, my productivity surprises me. So far this year, I've released two children's books AND welcomed the second edition of The Pirate's Bastard with a lovely new cover, layout, and professional edits. Yesterday, I finished a 69,000+ word manuscript's final edits. Today, I sent it off to the publisher to start the review process. Today, I also started hunting around for my next project.

I'm either crazy ... or terribly antsy this summer. August comes with a new beginning - it always does - so I better make the most of "my" time over the next month and write another manuscript before school starts.

I have three projects in mind. The first should take about a week to complete, and it needs to be done. The second is an off-shoot of the first, the Jock Avery Adventures' hero leading the charge on an adventure intended for children who crave the kinds of adventures I had as a kid. (Thank you, Mom and Dad, and all my friends in Sherwood Forest -- you know who you are. You're fortunate you were nice to me--otherwise, you might end up in one of my novels!) Anyway, Jock Avery has been yammering at me all spring. Now, he and the other characters of the other children's book have been uncharacteristically silent so far. Maybe they need a break. Maybe they need to enjoy summer, as children often do.

Instead, there's a new character who is taunting me. She says her name is Julia. She was murdered. There's a garden and a historic home needing restoration. And a secret or two to unravel in this mystery for adults. I love a challenge, don't you?

Then there's the grant application to complete, a website to write content for, and a few other media-promotional things that are on the to-do list. Never mind that the grass needs to be mowed (where is a rent-a-goat when you need it?), the weeds that have won in the garden, or the kitchen that seems to always need a good cleaning.

Roulette, anyone?  (Sunny Harnett, super model of the 1950s, stands ready to take her chances.) I think I'll wait to see what tomorrow brings. How very Scarlet O'Hara of me.

NC Reads Posts Wonderful Review of Book Co-written with Son

Hey, this is getting fun! NC Reads, the blog hosted by UNC-Chapel Hill, offered a nice review of Mystery at the Lake House #1: Monsters Below. I've shared it here!

Laura S. and William L. B. Wharton. Monsters Below. Mount Airy, NC: Broad Creek Press, 2012.

School is finally over, and vacation stretches ahead! Jock Avery has just finished fourth grade, and is looking forward to spending the whole summer at his grandparents’ lake house on Longleaf Lake in Moore County, NC. Jock has spent many happy summers there learning to swim, fish, water ski, and sail, but this summer he is a little sad. His busy parents won’t be able to join him much, and none of his cousins or friends will be able to visit. Jock figures he’ll be spending a lot of time with his favorite intrepid (fictional) adventurer, Sam Justice, when he discovers that a new family has just moved in next door: a single mom with two kids around his age!
Jock is excited to share the lake with his new friends Lyanna and Chip, but Chip is convinced there is a monster in the lake, and won’t have anything to do with it. Jock is sure there isn’t a monster in Longleaf Lake, but he has been hearing some strange screeching noises recently. Could there be a monster? Additionally, the kids have spotted their grumpy neighbor Mr. Harrison doing something mysterious out on the lake at night. If there is a monster…is Mr. Harrison feeding it? The trio decide to investigate, but their curiosity about what lies beneath the lake waters could end up with them in hot water. Or worse, eaten by a monster!
Co-authored by seasoned novelist Laura S. Wharton and her young son William, this first installment in the  Mystery at the Lake House series is a great chapter book for children ages 6-12. It also includes a wealth of information on bird watching for children, as well as recipes for some of the characters’ favorite foods.
Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.