 |
Salt Garden
The lovely title of this Christian novel hints at its themes of shipwreck, youth lost and romance by the sea. In the waters beyond a small town on the Pacific coast, a shipwreck is being salvaged that will disclose secrets from the past.
Martinusen (North of Tomorrow) tells her story from the viewpoints of three women. Claire O'Rourke is a San Francisco reporter recently returned to her small hometown of Harper's Bay for a short visit, but a contrived plot device leaves her back home for good and looking for work at The Tidal Post, a local newspaper. Her path soon intersects with that of Sophia Fleming, a 70-something reclusive author whom Claire has admired since childhood. When a salt-damaged book washes ashore, some long-buried secrets are illuminated through the journal entries of Josephine Vanderook, a passenger on an ill-fated ship. As the story unfolds, Martinusen introduces enjoyable characters: "Cap Charlie" is an old salt who makes lattes and espresso below decks; Claire's potential love interest, Griffin Anderson, is a scrap junk sculptor whose work is displayed on town roofs.
Publishers Weekly
|
 |
 |
|
It was time for a new setting so I went -- as I often do when in need of respite - to the sea. This story arose from three points of view - an older reclusive writer, a young woman who returns to her hometown, and the memoir of a shipwreck survivor from years earlier. As I tried several approaches, the voices told me that it had to be done in first person and in present tense except the memoir entries. First person, multiple POVs, in present tense offers many unique challenges - challenges I felt ready to undertake as a writer.
Every novel has pieces of me and creates new things within my being. I explore questions and doubts and things that anger me while I also pour out the beauty and love I’ve discovered. This novel gave me peace that I’ll always have more questions than answers. It taught me a deeper faith.
|
|
|
|
