When my friend’s daughter began telling me about her internship with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab a few years ago, I knew right away that I wanted to set a book there! She was studying manatee migration patterns. The large mammals had started leaving their habitats in Florida during the summer to forage for food along the Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and even the Texas coastlines. The animals then have to make their way back to Florida for the winter.
I was fascinated. It took me a while to find the right characters to place into a story there, but finally I decided that my character from Star Rising had a sister, Skye, who was a marine biologist and would come to do a study there.
I was so excited to learn about manatees, I even swam with them this summer on a tour at Crystal River in Florida.
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The town of Dauphin Island is low-key and still fairly non-commercialized with only a few local shops and restaurants. You arrive there by only one long bridge, a boat, or the ferry from Fort Morgan, unless you have a small plane. They call themselves the Sunset Capital of Alabama, and I have to agree.
The DI Sea Lab offers a small aquarium for the public and some excursions that I enjoyed, plus there are birding trails to observe the birds migrating across the Gulf of Mexico. If you time it right, you can catch the butterflies migrating as well. Of course, there’s the beach!
Oh, a historical fort is located on the east end of the island. I love touring old forts! There’s a huge fishing rodeo every summer, but I didn’t get to go. I’m not a fisherman, anyway, but I did include it in my novel since both my characters would be involved. Dauphin Island is a cute Southern small town, and I really enjoyed learning about it. I hope you do too!
People can’t be trusted, but she’s forced to take a chance.
Animals always made more sense than humans did to marine biologist Skye Youngblood. After her mother’s suicide, she left Alabama and never looked back. These days, she pours her heart into protecting nature’s sea creatures. When she returns to Dauphin Island, Alabama, for a temporary manatee migration study, her dark past is much too close. She can’t let her guard down. But how can she keep her heart hidden when a kind man with a genuine smile makes her want a fresh start?
Charter fishing pays the bills for widower Pete Thompson and his little girl, but like his father, a pastor, Pete can’t help but fish for men. Only, after growing up under constant scrutiny as a preacher’s kid, Pete’s ways are a bit more unconventional. And the bulk of his life revolves around raising his precious daughter.
When he witnesses the car wreck of a new marine biologist on the island, it doesn’t take a genius to see that more than just her physical pain needs tending. Pete feels called to help Skye find true healing, but he’s navigating dangerous waters. And he’s not at all sure he’ll walk away unscathed.
Get your copy of Healing Skye now on Amazon!
By the way For the Love of Joy is only 99 cents right now! Get a copy here!
Tell me about a small town you love! I’m giving away one Kindle copy of Star Rising which is the story of Skye’s sister and precedes this novel. Comment by January 9, 2022, US only, void where prohibited.
Janet W. Ferguson is a Christy Award finalist and the FHL Readers Choice Award winning author of realistic inspirational fiction. An avid reader, she loved books so much she found a job as a librarian so she could be around them all day. Then she turned that love of story into writing faith-filled novels with characters who feel like best friends. You’ll laugh and cry as the quirky heroes and heroines chase their happily ever after. Janet and her husband live in Mississippi where they say y’all a lot, and she forces him to visit the beach as often as possible. They have two grown children, one really smart dog, and a cat that allows them to share the space. Connect with her at http://www.janetfergusonauthor.com/
I love small towns!! Most of my extended family lives in small towns in NW GA. I made my first trip back there in more years than I care to remember this past summer. A lot of things have changed since I was there last!! The little store where we used to go to get our Cokes and peanuts is still there, but it’s not a store anymore. The lady that owned it when I was much younger used to know what family we belonged to, that we lived in Florida, and were there for one of our visits whenever we went in.
That’s great that you got to go back! I loved peanuts and the Cokes in glass bottles. Yes, things change so quickly.
Fantastic story, Love the behind the scenes inspiration!
Thank you so much!!
Hi, your book sounds like a great read and your book cover is beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing about it. I love small towns, my favorite small town is Cloudcroft , NM, we have spent many a times there where we stay in a cabin. We haven’t done that for a while, so we are way over due for a stay there. Have a great week and stay safe.
I just looked up Cloudcroft and it’s beautiful! I need to go some day!
Hope you have a good week too!
I love fictional small towns.
Me too! I know several Inspy Romance authors create wonderful small towns!
Happy New Year Janet! No need to include me in the drawing, as I have read the entire series. Reading Healing Skye this week. Excellent story. Fascinating setting. As a mom and Oma I laughed and cried at Skye’s and Pete’s parenting skills. My son is a single dad that shares custody with his ex wife. He is raising a five year old, so many similarities. My dad had 30 radiation treatments for skin cancer / 15 on his ear and a few years later 15 on his skull for sores that would not heal due to being sunburned at 18. Fortunately he only had basal cells and squamous cells, but treatment whether icing/ freezing or radiation still was painful. Thanks for making folks aware of the risks. Healing Skye also reminded me of seeing manatee near Vera Beach, Florida in 1990. Or our family vacation this summer with a Dolphin Cruise in Virginia Beach. Not fond of the bridges to get to some of the outer banks in this region. Will post review for Healing Skye soon.
I enjoy the small towns of Western Michigan. Each with its unique beaches, lighthouses, stores, galleries, wineries, restaurants and more. New Buffalo, Sawyer, Bridgeman, St. Joseph, South Haven, Saugatuck, Holland, Grand Haven. Best wishes.
Happy New Year! I’m glad I was able to write a realistic child still, since it’s been a while for me. :) Those skin cancer treatments do sound painful. That’s so exciting that you saw a manatee in the wild! I love a dolphin cruise! We went on one again this summer in Destin.
I really still want to come up and see those places you love! Some day!!
Blessings!
Dauphin Island sounds like a lovely place. I’ve always wanted to travel south and visit all the little islands in the Carolinas and Georgia. Now I need to add this one to my list too!
Hi, Janet! Your book sounds great! My family and I have vacationed on Dauphin Island twice and loved it. We rented a big house and spent most of our time at the beach, but we did visit the estuarium and the fort.
I grew up in a small town in Northwest Arkansas, Prairie Grove, which will always have my heart. Small towns are my favorite.
I’d love to see the ones in the Carolinas! I read about them in novels.
Oh neat! Glad you enjoyed it! Arkansas is a pretty state. I need to go back.
The island and town sound interesting and a good place to visit. We have a few coastal towns that in summer the population blooms but other times is much lower. I love small towns in books cos I can identify more. Dry Creek by Janet Tronstad is a place I would love to visit.
In real places as I don’t drive I need a ride or going where a friend lives. I think coastal is always nice due to the ocean (even if not to go in) I went to Hawaii but didn’t go in the ocean. Just going for walks on the beach and the sunsets even in winter. But one place I loved when in Canada was Pemberton. Its not that far by bus from Whistler but it is surrounded by mountains and the views were wonderful. The people I met were friendly and there was enough to see and they also have the Nairn falls which was a nice hike to (but am glad I ended up walking with a couple from Switzerland due to maybe seeing bears). We didn’t see the bears but my friend who was waiting did. It also has a good bus service which to Whistler and to Vancouver which is always a plus.
Wow! All those places sound amazing!! I haven’t been to Canada since I was very young. Beaches and mountains together are amazing. I haven’t been to Hawaii but I’d love to.
I love a small community called Lanesville, West Virginia. It was formally a small logging community close to Thomas, Davis and Canaan Valley. Between Davis and Thomas West Virginia is Blackwater Falls National Park. It has a beautiful waterfall as well as a lot of wildlife. In Canaan Valley, there is a sky lift, golfing as well as trails. The last time I was in the area, the deer were so tame they would come up to the cars. At one time, I was concerned that the deer was going to get in my back seat. I love this small area. It is so quiet and peaceful. Thank you for letting me share. Your book sounds fabulous. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
I love the little town I live in. I met my husband here camping as a child & now have been married 15 years
Other then where I live the other small town would be St. Pierre which is where a cottage I had as a kid was & my uncle lives there now. We had our honeymoon there.
The small town where I live has a lot of history with the music industry, but that is about the extent of interesting things. Generally I like small towns, but sometimes they can be stifling.
Oh goodness, I love waterfalls. That sounds beautiful! LOL, a deer in the backseat. I bet they’re so cute! I’d love to see your area. Thank you for sharing!!
Sweet! Where is it? Congrats on 15 years!
How sweet! Where is St. Pierre? Do you get to go back to see it?
Oh, that’s neat about the music industry! What state is that?
More books I would love to read!
More books I would love to read! I don’t have a bucket list for travel, but I do want to see more places. We went on a trip this past summer, and really enjoyed it!!
I hope you enjoy the stories! I do love to see new places! Happy New Year!