An early morning walk on the beach and things just come to me. Conversations with my characters, how they behave, react, respond-each character has a unique personality. Or at least that's what I shoot for. Almost done with THE MERMAID DID IT-if I'm lucky it will be out in July. If you remember  the character Fate from the previous books, here's a little exerpt from him:

-    "The ocean, how it takes away the pretense, leaves your soul naked so that the only thing you have to face is yourself. After that, what kind of house you live in, what kind of car you drive, what style of hair, clothes, stuff--things--they just don't have the same relevance, the same stature. All that becomes superficial.

     He chuckled, studying Don as he drank his coffee, "feeling that way, it’s kinda liberating--because without all the stuff, well, it frees you to truly enjoy what is important – and what is important has nothing to do with the superficial.

     Don watched the old man, his eyes tired with age, though sparkling with the vitality of hope and love.

     "Makes me sad, in a way, when I see how much importance people place on all the stuff and things—especially here—on Topsail. I used to do that, when I was younger. Guess I had to learn the hard way. You'd think others my age would know by now too--the difference--what is important." 

     "I see it every day Fate, people are greedy, everybody's concerned with what they can get for themselves."

     Fate nodded agreement, "Yep, they’ve replaced the dunes  with houses that nobody lives in except during tourist season and I never understood how someone with a conscience could tear down the dunes to build a house, or tear down our windswept scrub oaks to plant palm trees—they don’t even grow here naturally. He shook his head, it all breaks my heart—even more—what pisses me off the most, is that the people who have done this to our little island,  sleep just fine at night. They don’t even recognize that they are destroying paradise. They don’t give a damn that their house with a view has destroyed the view for thousands of others. They can all suck-- bilge water.

QUOTE: "The sea, once it casts its spell, holds me in its net of wonder forever." Vladimer Nabokov

Writing tip: writing asks the writer to question everything--answer it on paper.