Day 2 of Lone Star Literary Life’s Aransas Morning Book Blog Tour features something that all writers crave and at the same time fear: a book review.
But Bibliotica’s Melissa Bartell definitely got the spirit of the book with these words:
“Aside from immediately putting the reader in that beachy state of mind, Hampton tells a compelling story. There’s nothing flashy in his writing – the language is pretty simple, and the characters are the kinds of ordinary people we interact with every day – and yet there’s something about Sam, Dave, Bo, Shelly, and Allie that makes you want to keep reading.
“From the first chapter, I was rooting for every character. I particularly loved that grizzled fisherman Bo had that softer side, that twinkle in his eye. Gruff characters run the risk of being stereotypes, but Hampton gave this gruff character just enough depth that he became supremely real.”
Read more from her at Bibliotica.
Day 2 also includes my own telling of how the book got started. It was a chance encounter that prompted a story that has become an amazing gift. Read more about it at Chapter Break Book Blog. The photo below was taken just a moment before that encounter at 7 a.m. on July 31, 2009.
Melissa’s review was wonderful. This novel sounds captivating and special. The locale and the characters caught my interest. I would enjoy this book and I love the beach as it is my favorite setting.
Hi Anne, I appreciated Melissa’s review too, and your comment makes an important point about setting. Some have asked, “Is the book about Port Aransas?” and the answer is, “No. Not about Port Aransas, but set in Port Aransas.” The distinction is important because that allows me as a writer to create some people and places within the town that aren’t really there, but to situate them generally in the existing map and landscape of the town. But, as you know, beach towns do have a certain pace and culture and so the setting definitely dictates the pace of the story and also shapes the actions and attitudes of the characters. If you dropped these characters into Houston or Austin, the story would go in completely different directions.
Hello ,
I saw your tweet about animals and thought I will check your website. I like it!
I love pets. I have two beautiful thai cats called Tammy(female) and Yommo(male). Yommo is 1 year older than Tommy. He acts like a bigger brother for her. 🙂
I have even created an Instagram account for them ( https://www.instagram.com/tayo_home/ ) and probably soon they will have more followers than me (kinda funny).
I wanted to subscribe to your newsletter, but I couldn’t find it. Do you have it?
Keep up the good work on your blog.
Regards
Wiki
Not sure which tweet about animals you saw but I appreciate you looking at my web site. I don’t have a newsletter so this blog will have to do for now.