Amelia
Island is a hidden gem of a beach, just south of the Florida-Georgia line. One
of the chain of barrier islands stretching along the east coast,
Amelia Island is 13 miles long and approximately 4 miles wide at its widest
point. Named for Princess Amelia, daughter
of George II, the island changed hands between colonial powers and has claimed French,
Spanish, British, Patriot, Green Cross, Mexican, Confederate, and United States
flags.
You
might find a more stunning tropical beach at some posh destination, but for the
price of lodging and ease of access (assuming you live in the Southeast U.S.), you
can't beat this little beauty. Amelia Island is also the site of one of my best
vacations ever.
Why?
For starters, any beach—by its very nature—immediately conjures images of
fabulous holidays. There's something about the ocean, the salty air and sound
of the waves that takes your cares away and makes life somehow better. Seriously, have you ever heard
anyone say, “We went to the beach and it was awful”?
No
way. You may get some complaints about rain, although most of us love walking
on the beach in an afternoon shower, but in general you have a head start to a
great vacation if there’s a coast in your destination.
Yet
this particular beach vacation had more—so much more. In addition to the
advantages of sand and sea, my hubby was healthy, my almost-twenty daughter
wasn’t grumpy, and the accommodations were awesome. My spouse and I spend a
full day simply making a sandcastle—although when you’re married to an
architectural drafter, there’s nothing simple about seaside construction.
So
being a writer, what’s the first thing I did when I got home? You guessed it,
set a story on the island.
But it
didn’t work. I’m guessing my error was my inability to associate conflict with this particular location--I couldn't associate the location with anything bad. I think I had better luck with a different beach town in my young adult thriller, The Secret Language of Leah Sinclair. My critique
partner, Linda Lovely, created an awesome, conflict-rich story set in a seaside community in her
page-turner, Dear Killer, but my endeavor didn’t have the same outcome.
What
do you think? Do beaches make good backdrops for novels?
Robin Weaver
