I spent from September 2020 to February 2021 cleaning out the house our family of five lived in for 37 years. What an exhausting process! Hobbies, sports equipment, school papers, books, and all kinds of things filled the basement. I shredded huge bags of personal documents, threw out thousands of duplicate slides and pictures, and disposed of everything from a boat anchor to 2nd-grade school projects all while making my way slowly down Memory Lane. It was exhausting and emotional, and, when it was all done, I decided to treat myself to a little R&R: a month in Chincoteague.
Do you have a happy place? Some beach, some mountain., some village, some city (??) where you automatically relax?
Chincoteague is a small island off the coast of Virginia. You know it from the iconic book, “Misty of Chincoteague.” In fact, today, July 20, 2021, is Misty’s 75th birthday. How ‘bout that.
My grandparents, Cecil and Marie Linn, retired to Chincoteague back in 1961. Back then, it was a little fishing village. They bought a two-story house with no indoor plumbing, renovated it themselves (they were in their sixties) and settled in. I lived in the Washington D.C suburbs, about five hours away, but I visited with my family frequently and spent weeks with my grandparents whenever I could. My favorite week to visit was Pony Penning Week, when the pony swim and auction and carnival took place. I just knew if I won the pony they always raffled off my dad would have to let me keep her. Somehow.
Fast forward many years. My husband and I took our own children to Chincoteague so they could experience the island and Pony Penning. And when I started writing, I knew I wanted to set a book there. I remember telling a friend, “I don’t care if this book ever sells, I just want to evoke this place.”
“Seeds of Evidence” did sell, and it’s still selling. Published by Abingdon Press, it won the HOLT Medallion and was a finalist for other awards. Every year since 2013 when It came out, my family and I have trekked off to Chincoteague. The kids enjoy the beach and the ponies and I love meeting readers at Sundial Books on Main Street.
When I needed R&R after selling my home, I decided to rent my grandparents’ old house for the month of May. I packed up my dog, and off we went. While I was there, I hiked, rested, bird-watched, pony-watched, and read books on the beach. I sat on the front porch, sipping wonderful coffee and eating butter croissants from Amarin Coffee Shop. I watched a rocket launch from NASA at Wallops Island, heard a fox at night, and saw black squirrels and a deer in the back yard. And I began SAR Book #4.
It’s crazy: Chapter 1 in that book includes … a building collapse. I wrote it in May, long before the tragic Surfside collapse. I spent a lot of time imagining what people would feel if their loved ones were trapped. And then I saw it play out on the news.
I pray for healing for those who survived that collapse, and the relatives of those who didn’t. It’s very sad.
I’m back in my new home (sort of) in Yorktown, VA. Right now, I’m in the fourth bedroom of my daughter and son-in-law’s house. I’m building an in-law suite onto the back, and grabbing quiet time when I can to work on that book. But next week I’ll be in Chincoteague with three grown children and five grandchildren. It’s beach and pony week, time to relax and refresh.
So where’s your happy place? I hope you get some time there real soon.