Nearly ten years ago, I was considering my first series of inspy romance and an idea was born. Book 1 would feature Leslie, a fifty-something teacher facing an empty summer. Her husband had just filed divorce papers. The house that had been her family’s haven for fifteen years was going up on the market. Her daughter had been accepted for a prestigious internship overseas, so she couldn’t come home for one last summer.
Life was looking pretty dark. Until she decided to just hit the road. Follow her faith and see where God led her.
I decided Leslie would end up in Pawleys Island, South Carolina on her roadtrip because it was a special place to me. I used to vacation there in the 1960s and 70s with my extended family. As I worked through the plot, I realized Leslie would need a place to stay. Somewhere cozy, inspiring, life-changing. Somewhere that would heal her heart and draw her closer to God.
Somewhere she could fall in love.
The real Pawleys Island is known for having very few businesses on the island itself. Four miles long and a mile wide, it’s a simple barrier island that houses only a police station/town hall, private homes and a few condos. No McDonalds, no donut shops, etc. You have to cross the causeway bridge and go to the mainland for that.
Where would Leslie stay?
I pulled up my internet browser and started searching. As it turns out, there are two inns on the island where people can stay. One is Pelican Inn, an 8-room bed and breakfast built in 1858. The other is the SeaView Inn, built in the 1930s, has a variety of rooms and cottages and provides two delicious meals a day in their chef-inspired kitchen.
I started scouring the SeaView Inn’s website and photo gallery and immediately felt a stirring in my heart. They call it “A Barefoot Paradise Since 1937.” It faces the saltwater creek in the front and the ocean in the back. It was a place I’d want to vacation, so I knew it was a perfect spot for Leslie. Ocean waves,
calm breezes, sunrises over the Atlantic and sunsets over the marsh. I was hooked.
I wrote them an email and explained that I was a fiction writer and was inspired by their inn. Could I include it in my stories? They wrote back and asked if I would change the name slightly. I did. In the Pawleys Island Paradise series books I refer to the SeaView Inn as the Seaside Inn.
Fast forward almost ten years. I wrote and published the six books of that series, plus a nonfiction Companion book. I wrote and published three series since then.
Now we’re in January of 2022. I’m the President of the Lowcountry chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. At our board meeting I asked for ideas of new activities we could introduce to our members. Someone suggested a writers retreat at a beach resort. Somewhere we could bond and grow in our friendships, learn a little bit, inspire each other, and spend long hours writing independently.
I knew just the place! I contacted the SeaView Inn and planned the retreat. It took place a few weeks ago and it was a unanimous success! The inn was a perfect location – centrally located for all our members. Gorgeous beauty straight from God to inspire our creativity. Two delicious meals provided to us meant we didn’t have to think about or plan meals. Lots and lots of little hideaways, inside and outside, where we could go with our laptops and write endlessly.
It was a magical experience for me because it was truly a full-circle moment. I couldn’t help remembering that “2012 me” dreaming up my first series and fictionalizing this very inn as an important place for my characters. I ate in the dining room where Leslie ate. I stayed in the rooms where Leslie stayed. Walked the same beach. Watched the same sunsets.
In the cozy great room, so like the room in my imagination where the Harrison clan frequently gathered, I was scanning the huge bookshelves on either side of the fireplace and made an amazing discovery – my book, Roadtrip to Redemption was in their collection! My heart skittered and I whispered a word of thanks. I know God had His hand in that series – from where I set it, to the characters to the storylines. And finding my book on this special inn’s shelf was His wink at me.
Enjoy some of these pictures from my weekend there.
Where is your magical place? Why do you love it so much?
**Heartwarming, life-changing Christian fiction.** An award-winning author, Laurie is living her dream life at the beach, writing novels. Laurie writes beachy inspirational romance that takes place in the South Carolina Low Country. She retired from the big day job and now focuses on writing full time. Strolls on the sand, soaking up the sun and riding the waves can be considered the best kind of research.
My magical place is The Sunshine Coast – pristine beaches, family friendly, idyllic……..
It was a magical retreat, wasn’t it? So neat to share in your story, and write our own!
Okay so I Googled “Sunshine Coast” and came up with two hits: British Columbia and Australia. Which is yours?
I’ll remember it always! I’m so glad we shared it together!
Hi Laurie! Thanks for sharing your inspiring retreat. This retired teacher, wife, mom and Oma is glad she has the chance to travel from coast to coast and to 9 foreign countries. Planning a road trip to Idaho this summer to visit our youngest son. While living in SW Michigan can be cold and gloomy – within 10 miles we have numerous sandy beaches and Warren Dunes state park. In our resort town, the bluff park overlooking Lake Michigan is magical with romantic sunsets and on a cool night we can see the Chicago skyline 55 miles away. Fun to watch the kids playing in the Compass Splash Pad, hear the carousel music and smell the delicious aroma of Michigan’s best pizza, while swinging or sitting in a rocker enjoying a delicious ice cream cone. Magic of Summer near a Great Lake. Best wishes. Enjoy your weekend.
I can’t wait until our group returns to the Sea View Inn. What a glorious time we shared! :-) I have many magical places, including the beach and the mountains.
Oh, that sounds lovely! We live a ten-hour drive from the ocean, and then it comes with a major city (Vancouver). We did have a great week there last September — on BC’s Sunshine Coast :)
Oh my! From your description I can see why Michigan is your happy place! It’s such a beautiful state, offering beautiful lakes for summer sports as well as mountains for winter ski sports. It’s got wonderful tourist towns, wineries, great restaurants. We’ve spent a little time there but we need to add another trip or two to our To Do list!
It was such a special time to share with you Melissa! I definitely hope we can return!
This is the second mention of the Sunshine Coast. Whoever marketed that phrase did a great job! I love the name and it makes me want to go visit!!
On the west (Pacific) coast, the further north you go, the more rain there is. In southern BC, the west coast of Vancouver Island bears the brunt of it. The Sunshine Coast is on the mainland, also facing west, but it’s in Vancouver Island’s rain shadow, so has considerably more sunshine, hence the name. I’m not sure how Australia’s Sunshine Coast got its name, but that’s BC’s story!
Hi, wow, how awesome for you and what a beautiful surprise awaited you on their book shelves! Your book sounds like a great read, thank you so much for sharing this great post with us and your photos. I love to stay in the mountains of Cloudcroft , New Mexico in a cabin, it is so peaceful there and we get to connect to nature. Have a great weekend and stay safe.
Thank you Alicia! So glad you enjoyed the post and the photos. I’ve never been to New Mexico but my husband and I want to start taking roadtrips west, maybe in a rented RV and bring along Weezer, our wonder dog. So I’ll make sure that Cloudcroft is on the itinerary!!
Thanks for the geography lesson! My nephew is moving to Vancouver, WA soon and while I realize it’s still a skip to Vancouver, BC, maybe I can combine a visit to him, with a side trip so I can see this sunshine coast for myself.
I don’t have a magical place yet, but I fondly remember the bleachers in the courtyard of my old school. In that school I made friends for the first time after years of bullying in other places and we used to sit there and eat and chat.
It’s heartwarming when God gives you those winks sometimes or orchestrates things in such meaningful ways.
don’t have one; fun pics
Lilly, I’m so glad you encountered that school that introduced you to kind people and the gift of friendship. Coincidentally, I associate bleachers with fond memories too! I was in the school band so I spent hours in the football bleachers with my band buddies having fun together and waiting for our halftime performance.
Thank you so much!
Oh, I love places like that!!! One place I really love is the Americus Garden Inn in Americus, GA. We went twice on Mom’s birthday getaways that we did starting when Mom turned 80, just her and us four girls. Then, just in March, my oldest sister and I went back for a night on our way to visit our aunt.
How wonderful! It’s great to go back and relive those happy memories.
Anyplace my husband and I can get away to! :-) In fact, this next week we’ll be spending the whole week on Orcas Island WA (part of the San Juan Islands) for our 25th anniversary (April 5th is the actual date). I can not wait!!
I also love where we live in Seaside OR & my husband works in Cannon Beach OR….my favorite spot. The beaches are lovely, the sunsets gorgeous, and it’s a great town to live in. At least in my opinion anyway :-)
When I was younger, my magical place was at my Mom’s homeplace where she grew up. Times have changed, my Mom is the only surviving sibling of eight. The house now belongs to my cousins. I can still go back into my memories of being in the mountains with the sound of the stream and feel peaceful and at home. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
I love that the inn is based and a real one and you got to stay there and find your book. Not sure I have a magical place but I do love visiting Hawaii. Only done it a few times but just love the place.
My Camper at the river
My magical place is te ocean/beac or mountain waterfalls.
Yes I love to visit new places and have a few on my list this year! And … I love to return to places that are familiar to me over again. I need to get up to the northwest! So many commenters mentioned the Pacific northwest!
I love your thought of visiting favorite places simply by remembering the beloved sights, sounds and smells in your mind.
Hi Jenny! Thanks for your comment. I’ve only been to Hawaii once but there’s so much to see there I’d love to go back.
Oh how fun! Do you camp often? Where do you shower? That’s my biggest concern! Haha
Oh yes, I’m with you. I’m a beach girl but I love waterfalls as well.