Tall Ships, Bookstores and New York

Bookstores. Dreams do come true with a lot of prayer sometimes, but when I dreamt of becoming an author and sitting in bookstores with crowds of people surrounding me, I never imagined it would be in New York, complete with Tall Ships and fireworks! When I sat in front of Burton’s Bookstore in Greenport (a village within Southold, Long Island) NY, with my hubby Tom by my side, it was all that and more!

I’ve been coming out to visit Long Island since 1999, when my mother and I made the trip to see Horton Point Lighthouse, named after the ancestor I grew up hearing tales about. My mom was born Helen Jean Horton and she knew all about the voyage on a ship called The Swallow Barnabas Horton made in the 1600’s from England to the New World. The lore had been handed down, though until then she’d never known of the lighthouse.

When we arrived, we visited the lighthouse, the historical society, and the library, and we were amazed at all of the information we found. But I went home wondering about Mary Horton. I’d discovered Barnabas was a widow with two little boys when he married her. And I wondered about how she felt when they left family behind for the wilds of New England.

So I wrote a novel to give Mary a voice. My very first, so imagine my excitement when I received a three-book contract for it. My story became A Place in His Heart, book one of The Southold Chronicles series! I was so honored to sign copies of my debut novel at The Southold Free Library, where my mom and I had visited so many years before, and in the lovely Whitaker Room where I’d returned to do research, guided by Melissa Andruski and Daniel McCarthy.

My research spanned several years, and my mother died in 2005 before I began writing the story, but every time I’m back I stay where my mom and I stayed on our first trip, The Sound View Inn , where Ellen is our gracious hostess.

This year, on the Fourth of July I signed copies of To Capture Her Heart at Burton’s Bookstore in Greenport, and it made even my wildest dreams  come true! Burton’s Bookstore was closing last year for lack of a new owner, and it was so very sad, as there were no other bookstores on that end of the North Fork.

The good news is Scott Raulsome bought the bookstore! Burton’s Bookstore has some history of its own, and I am so glad Scott is keeping the legacy! I was thrilled to be at Burton’s on the 4th, during one of the busiest weekends of the year!

Southold is celebrating its 375th anniversary this year, and to be there celebrating too, with my stories of the founding, was surreal. They closed the streets and an estimated 10,000 people came through each day. I met Mary with her food booth and Kathy with her display of Tall Ship glass art. I chatted with people from all over the world, and they listened to my story about Barnabas, Mary and my mom.

Navy Cadets from the Sagres: Magda Inas, Maria Jose, Jessica Machado, Beatriz Manuel.

To have the Tall Ships in port, much like the Hortons and Youngs and Terrys came over from England on (well maybe the ones in port were a little bigger) was so inspiring. And I was able to meet some of the crew from the Sagres and chat about their work, my books, and bookstores. I was delighted to learn the Sagres, a Portuguese ship, won the race from Cape May, NY, to Montauk, NY! Pure fun! That evening, of course, the fireworks display put the finishing touch on a grand day! Dreams do come true!

The gracious hospitality of Scott, Melissa, Dan, Ellen and many others really made our stay in Southold/Greenport so very special. They are why I feel so at home when I visit, though I’ve never lived there. They are why I can’t wait to go back. I love Long Island!

I’m looking forward to, and already counting the days until I’m back to sign copies of To Follow Her Heart, book three of The Southold Chronicles! Guess I’d better go get those edits turned in!

Until next time, cheers and blessings, Rebecca

P.S. What is your favorite place to visit? What is the place in your heart?