The Inspiration Behind Seeking Tranquility: Chincoteague Sunsets Trilogy Book 1
Many readers have fond memories of Misty of Chincoteague, the beloved tale by Marguerite Henry about the Beebe siblings and their Chincoteague pony. I still own my paperback copy, now falling apart
at the seams. I don’t know how many times I read it, but I know that the book and the island left an imprint on my heart that I wasn’t aware of for many years.
In 2014, I began writing a book about Kate, a young woman who flees her life in the city to start over in a place with no ties to her former life, a place to escape and hide, a place to be reborn. Without giving it a thought, I watched my character pack her car and head to Chincoteague Island off the coast of Virginia.
This wasn’t surprising for me—my characters always do what they want and end up in places and predicaments I never foresaw. What was surprising was how vivid the location and the islanders were in my mind. I’d been to Chincoteague a handful of times, and have family who live on the island, but these images and personalities were so real to me that I began to think of them as friends.
Six years after the publication of the award-winning Island of Miracles, I can honestly say that many of the islanders are my friends. And as Kate found when she fled to the island, they have welcomed me with open arms.
Even before I finished writing Island of Miracles, I knew there was much more to tell about the Kelly and Middleton families and everyone they encountered on Chincoteague. I was certain that a trilogy was needed to tell their stories. Island of Promise followed and garnered nine national literary awards for inspirational fiction, and the trilogy concluded with the award-winning Island of Hope.
I thought I was finished with the island, but the island wasn’t finished with me. I had emails, online messages, and people at signings asking if I would set a book in Chincoteague again. My answer was vague at first, but a voice continued to call from the ocean waves, and the familiarity of the town and its citizens clung to me like salt and sand. I couldn’t brush them off and walk away. They had seeped into my pores, becoming part of who I am.
Last winter, I planned a return to the island. I didn’t know who would take me there or what I would encounter. Even as I began the first chapter, I didn’t know which character would spring to life and be the one to take my hand and lead me on an adventure. It didn’t take long for Christy to capture my heart and imagination. What was her story? What happened to her family? To whom was she going to turn and why?
Setting Christy’s own struggles against the backdrop of an island struggling to regain its place in a world gone mad felt like the perfect fit. After two years of living with fear and uncertainty, when few visitors ventured across the causeway and businesses shut down, everyone on the island is ready to live again. Two years after losing her parents then being forced to sell their home, Christy and her younger sister move to the place where their family found rest and refuge. She feels as if she will never live again, but the island that brought miracles, promise, and hope to many, proves once again the place to go for those Seeking Tranquility.
It's a funny thing, how we are inspired by people and places we least expect. If I had to choose a vacation spot, it would never be somewhere with sand. My most popular books take place on an island where sun, sand, and wild ponies reign. This always surprises me. Give me a wooded path to explore, a kayak on a lake, or a mountain to climb, and I’m at home. Put me on a towel in the sand, and I’m counting the minutes until it’s time to leave. Still, there’s something about Chincoteague that leaves me rejuvenated every time I visit.
Despite my lack of love for sandy shores, when I sit in my office and begin writing about Chincoteague, I’m transported. I smell the salt in the breeze and taste it on my lips. I hear waves crashing against the beach and gulls calling out overhead. Maybe it’s the painting over the spare bed in my office that first inspired me to write about the island. Whatever the draw, Chincoteague pulls me in again and again.
I look forward to traveling across Maryland and Virginia’s Eastern Shore this summer as my book tour takes me to Chincoteague and beyond. In between those travels, my mind will travel to another small town, this one in the Arkansas Ozarks. Unlike Chincoteague, Buffalo Springs can’t be found on any map or the pages of a travel guide, but the little town nestled between mountains and rivers is as real to me as the Atlantic beaches. You’re welcome to travel with me this summer to the ocean coastline and this winter to the Ozarks. Simply pick up Seeking Tranquility on June 15 and Sapphires in Snow in November. I promise exciting travels and heart-stopping adventures ahead.
Whether Amy’s penning novels of faith and inspiration, books for children, or her weekly blog, she loves connecting with readers. Her first of twelve novels debuted in 2014. Amy lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with her husband, their daughters, and their dogs. When she’s not writing, she can be found on a boat in the Chesapeake or hiking in the Rocky Mountains, most often with a good book in her hand.
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Amy Schisler is a novelist, poet, children’s book author, spiritual writer, blogger, reader, and avid traveler with years of professional experience in all manner of writing-related endeavors. Whether she’s writing novels filled with faith and inspiration, books that children will love, or her weekly blog devoted to family life and faith, she loves connecting and resonating with her readers. Amy’s first novel, A Place to Call Home, a romantic suspense, debuted in 2014, and her much-loved Chincoteague Island Trilogy has won numerous literary awards. Amy lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with her husband, Ken, their daughters, Katie and Morgan (and sometimes their daughter and son-in-law, Rebecca and Anthony), and their dogs, Rosie and Luna. When she’s not writing, Amy can usually be found on a boat in the Chesapeake Bay or hiking in the Rocky Mountains, most often with a good book in her hand.
Her latest book is Seeking Tranquility: Chincoteague Sunsets Trilogy Book 1.
You can visit her website at www.AmySchislerAuthor.com and connect with her at Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and Instagram.
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