Southern Sands Newsletter

The Wind and the Waves

Over the Fourth of July Holiday, I woke up to a radiant sunrise. I enjoyed my breakfast on the porch of my parents’ beach house as beams of light shot through the vanishing clouds, creating a sheen on the smooth ocean. It appeared to be a perfect opportunity to take my stand-up paddleboard out for a ride. I love the peace and calm of being out on the water, so I prefer a flat sea for my paddle boarding but I don’t mind gliding over gentle waves that lumber into shore. However, if the current is fighting against strong winds, it creates choppy waters that threaten to toss me. Unfortunately, when I got out into the water, I realized that I’d taken too long. Although the waves were tame, the incoming tide was relentless, and I could not paddle against it.

So often in life, we want excitement and thrills. Isn’t that why paragliding is so popular? (Don’t ask me. I’d never try it.) During those calm seas, we don’t stop and enjoy the rest. Even though it is a perfect time to relish in God’s creation and give thanks for his blessings. But when everything is going right, sometimes we start checking the horizon for storm clouds and miss a lovely day on the beach. It’s good to be prepared, but sometimes it’s okay to huddle under your beach tent in a passing shower and have faith that God will protect you in this moment and wants you to enjoy his extravagant creation with abandon.

And really, why try to predict and control the weather? If you live on the Southern coast, you know a thunderstorm can pop up without warning, like the one that just rolled over my house. I always carry sunglasses and an umbrella to afternoon swim practices. The good news for us is that Jesus is the same as he was on the Sea of Galilee. He is all powerful, and He controls the wind and the waves.

How do you prepare for Summer weather? How do you surrender control and have faith?

Fun St. Simons Island Fact

As most of you know, I just completed writing my sixth book, and it is set on at an Olive Orchard in a fictional South Georgia town. While researching for the book, I learned that Thomas Jefferson thought the Southeastern United States would be a good place to grow olives. Although his crops failed, other farmers did have success along the coast of Georgia and South Carolina. There was even an olive orchard planted on St. Simons Island near the lighthouse. It survived until Hurricane Number Seven in 1898.

Writing Updates

I’m so grateful for all of you and your continued support as I navigate my way through this writing journey. As I wrote above, my time off from blogging in June was well spent. I completed a very rough first draft of my sixth book that I’m currently titling Secrets and Love at the Olive Orchard. Someone once told me that you need to write seven books to get published, so I hope she was off by one.

In the meantime, I continue to edit and rewrite the three books I’ve written over the last eighteen months, so I’ll be ready when we get the call.

Also, I found out in June that I won first place for Contemporary Fiction at the Write-to-Publish Conference in Ohio. This was for my third Contemporary romance manuscript, so I plan to prepare a proposal for it over the coming months as well.

Thank you all for your Southern phrase suggestions. With the responses on Facebook, I ended up with four single-spaced pages of great sayings. Isn’t it fun to live in the South?

As I continue to work to find a publisher, I’m trying to educate acquisitions editors on the Golden Isles and would love your help. What are your favorite things about the South Georgia Coast? Describe your perfect day on one of the Islands. What is a wonderful memory you have of time spent on the coast?

I’d love to share why we all love the Golden Isles with people around the world. Please leave your comments on the website, so everyone can read them.