Great news! I’ve decided publish my first novel myself, with the help of some very savvy people. So we will see it in print by the summer of 2024, just in time for reading on the beach or wherever you like to read.
While we are waiting for the big event, here is a little preview of what the book is about.
Light in the Harbour: Passage Through Pilot Bay
The book follows the lives of two characters who live in the same place, a little more than a century apart.
Young Patrick comes to the booming Canadian frontier settlement of Pilot Bay in 1895 to make his fortune. He is young, determined, and smart, and he is ready to make his own way in the world out from the shadow of his father. A woman he meets throws him into a web of mystery, and in his search for answers he is rewarded with much more than he bargained for.
Sally is a modern wreck of a young woman. She moves to Pilot Bay in 2019 to recover from her addictions. She is a brilliant woman with a huge heart and people love her. Animals love her. She lost her bearings and took a wrong turn when she finished high school and was on a path of self-destructive behaviour until she has a chance meeting with a man who gives her an opportunity to find her way back to a life worth living. Recovery from addiction is only one of the challenges she faces, as she works to find her true purpose and meaning in life.
Sally finds Patrick’s journal tucked away in a dusty corner in the basement of her new home. When she reads it, she is drawn into Patrick’s world. His story, for her, is not only a means of escape from her troubles, but also a lasting connection to the past, and a beacon to help her find her own way forward.
The central themes in the work cover resourcefulness, change, fidelity, hardship, loss and grieving, personal growth and resilience, being human, adventure, mystery, and addiction. These themes are skillfully interwoven and sit nicely next to each other, providing a rich feast of thoughtful ideas for any avid reader.
The land and body of water where the book take place are richly described. As well, the reader will see how the place informs the actions of the characters, causing them to think, grow, and change in response to their outer surroundings in concert with the changes that they make from their internal voices.