Story Behind the StoryI wish someone had told me that there is a name for what I went through when I was writing this book: Sophomore Blues. I felt completely unprepared to write another book. I was almost paralyzed with the thought that I needed to build another world, get to know another set of characters. The good news is that I did it. I worked through that block of fear and doubt to get to the other side of this story.
- The Gullah proverbs are real and they were the inspiration for this story. The proverb, “If you don’t know where you are going, you should know where you came from.” was the seed of the story.
- The ghost story about the Seaboro Lighthouse is loosely based on the ghost story of the Haig Point Lighthouse on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina.
- Tim’s house on the beach is the house I would build if I could.
- Just like Meridy, I did have a pink banana seat bicycle when I was twelve years old, but unlike Meridy I didn’t live on a river or get to jump off the end of the dock to prove I was tough.
- I have visited a Gullah graveyard, and I described it in this book.
