Serendipity in South Carolina

Vacations are a distraction to blog posting, but I’ll take one anytime, thank you. Last week was spent visiting the Lowcountry—specifically, Beaufort, Bluffton, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. My husband and I scoped the area to see if the South is where we would like to retire. (As if. Writers never retire, I’m finding out.) While there, we attended a talk by author Carol Lucas about her new book, A Breath Away: one woman’s journey through widowhood. What a compelling speaker, and her book will be a companion and inspiration to women and men facing aloneness after the passing of a partner. 

As a new author, I’m eager to meet other writers. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the pleasant lady seated next to me is a well-known writer and author of multiple best-sellers—the kind of author I’m striving to someday be. We chatted a bit, but I confess, the whole time I was in shock. She fished in her bag for a business card to give me, and she even circled her email address. That meeting alone made the 13.5-hour drive from New Jersey worth it.  

The venue for Lucas’ talk was the Pat Conroy Literary Center, a newly renovated, welcoming building in the shade of oaks and sweeping Spanish moss. Sweet and tidy though it is, the Center offers an impressive schedule of education programs and literary events. It’s well worth a visit next time you’re in Beaufort, SC. Conroy’s writings, as well as books by other authors, are available for purchase.