Everyone knows books begin with an idea. But where do ideas come from? In the next series of blog posts, I’m going to take each book I’ve written and explain the seminal idea that created it.
ISLAND SUNRISE is my latest Amazon ebook. It began years ago when I was staying at a surfer’s camp near Haleiwa, Hawaii. Located about one-hour drive from Waikiki, Haleiwa and the North Shore of Oahu are known as the surfing capital of the world. Haleiwa, pronounced hah-lay-EE-wah is an old community dating back to the 1900s devoted to the sugar plantation industry.
The camp I was staying at was primitive in the extreme. It had been used as an R&R base for soldiers during the Second World War, and nothing much had been done to update it. But it was cheap, and the sun and surf were spectacular.
The first morning I woke up at dawn to the sound of a bugle playing Reveille. I staggered out of the rickety cabin to see who was making the poignant sound, but there was no one on the beach. The music came not every morning, but more often than not during my stay. I asked the owners who it was. They claimed not to have heard anything, adding that it was probably a recording from a nearby air-force base. But the sound wasn’t consistent–often the bugler would miss notes or vary the tempo.
I began to get up at dawn, searching up and down the misty beach for the elusive bugler. In the two weeks I was there, I never located him. I began to think that the sound was audible only to me, because no one else seemed at all curious about it.
And that’s where Island Sunrise was born. What if a crew of female carpenters were hired to renovate the old resort? And what if only one of them heard the bugler? Who was he, and why was he there? Was he a ghost–and why was he haunting the reef?
And as a wise man once wrote about another wise man, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
I’d love to hear any stories you have about mysterious incidents.
Annie, didn’t old WS have a quote for every situation? And he didn’t even have Google to refer to. Love what you say about experiences leading us to accomplish things we never dreamed were possible. Writing can be like that when the writer gets out of her own way and lets story take the lead. It’s truly magical when that happens. And I hope you also find magic in Island Sunrise.
Hi Bobby! Great website. First, I have to say: I feel instantly connected with your writing. I just discovered your work, and the first link I click here on your blog includes one of my very favorite Shakespeare quotes: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” It’s a line than has carried me through many situations. So, hearing you use it to relate to “Island Sunrise” makes me very interested to read the book. I love the idea of the elusive bugler — and that it sprung from a real life experience you had in Haleiwa. Like the mysterious bugle, there are some experiences we simply cannot explain… and also that sometimes lead us to accomplish things we never dreamed.