Can you smell the ocean breeze?

Sherryl Woods

Several years ago a dear friend loaned me her time-share home on the North Carolina Outer Banks. It was my first trip to Nags Head, but it hasn’t been my last, and the area served as an inspiration for my new Ocean Breeze trilogy of novels, which kicks off with Sand Castle Bay (out now), followed by Wind Chime Point on April 30 and Sea Glass Island on May 28, all from MIRA Books.

Sand Castle Bay: out now

Wind Chime Point: coming April 30, 2013

Sea Glass Island: coming May 28, 2013

Though these books are set in the fictional coastal community of Sand Castle Bay, I’ve tried to capture the atmosphere of Nags Head, Manteo, Corolla, Duck, Kill Devil Hills and all the other small communities that comprise the barrier islands along North Carolina’s coast.

Ever since that initial introduction, my large extended family and I have rented a house on the ocean in Nags Head for a week each summer. There are seventeen of us now. We’ve added two babies since we started these vacations, and we take full advantage of the beaches, miniature golf, seafood, fishing charters, minor league baseball games, ocean kayaking, and visits to the wild horses on the beach at Corolla. If there’s an activity available, someone in our group is always eager to give it a try.

Of course, with ages ranging from, well, mature to infancy, we spend a lot of time just hanging out by the pool or on the beach. I always have a stack of books which make the rounds among the adults. And we play Scrabble. A lot of Scrabble! I had to laugh when it was recently reported that Prince William and Kate never finish a Scrabble game because somebody always gets angry and walks off. We’re a lively, competitive bunch, but none of us has walked away from the table yet! Give up? Not a chance.

As a now-frequent vacationer in the Outer Banks, I wanted to give readers a taste of this relaxing atmosphere, but from the point of view of a family that calls the coast home. The Castles, the core family in the series, have owned a restaurant in town for years. The series heroines—sisters Emily, Gabriella and Samantha—have all fled in search of fulfilling careers, but when a hurricane strikes home and damages the restaurant, they rush home to help . . . and one by one find that everything they really need is right there in the town they left behind.

I think many women will relate to the desire to try their wings, as well as to the discovery that sometimes home truly is where the heart is. I hope you’ll enjoy this new series and that you’ll almost be able to smell the salt in the air and feel the ocean breezes on your cheeks!

Thanks, Sherryl! To learn more about Sherryl and the Ocean Breeze trilogy, visit her website. And be sure to check out her author page on BookPage.com. 

[author photo by Nina Subin]