A Great Book

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The Beacon

When Beth and John Tally left Columbia, SC, over three years ago to begin cruising on their sailboat Up Jinks, she had no idea that the experience would lead to authorship.  Now, after trips to Maine, the Bahamas, the Northwest Caribbean and Central America, she finds herself immersed in writing the chronicles of their adventures for a website and offering up her first book.

It took a lot of coaxing on John’s part to get Beth to even consider the cruising lifestyle.  She had never been on a sailboat until five years ago.  But, after learning how to handle her first-mate responsibilities on Up Jinks and overcoming a basic dislike of water due to motion sickness, she has settled into a routine that is intriguing with a topic-rich environment for her stories.

“It all started on our first cruise up the East coast to Maine,” she explains. “I asked people if they would like to be on an email list so we could send updates on our progress.  Several folks agreed and periodically I’d sit down at the computer and compose an entry.  Pretty soon, I found myself absorbed in the minute details of description on everything from a beautiful sunset to the frustrations of laundromats.”

Some of the original email stories were quite lengthy, but the readers seemed to enjoy them and kept encouraging her to continue.  As Up Jinks made her way up the coast, new people were added to the list.  By the time the Tallys returned to South Carolina, she had quite a following. 

The most amazing thing to Beth was the positive response of people to the everyday experiences of life on the boat.  This spawned the concept for their website www.lifesstory.com with its slogan “Life is the only story you need.”  

“Quite honestly,” she admits, “I would never have thought up imaginatively some of the things I’ve written about for the website.  True life provides enough stimulation on its own and everybody has a life’s story to tell.”

This summer, Beth’s first book entitled The Beacon is available to the public.  It’s a slight departure from the Lifesstory.com format because it’s a fictional work.  However, the setting is real and was inspired by time spent on Grand Exuma and Little Exuma Islands in the Bahamas. 

“We were anchored for several weeks in Elizabeth Harbour with over 150 other boats,” she explains. “Every morning there was a cruisers’ net over the VHF radio that broadcast weather reports, had an information exchange and allowed local businesses to announce what was going on in the surrounding area.  We listened to it each day.”

One particular morning, an announcement came over the net from Mary Magdelene Church in Williams Town on Little Exuma Island.  The cruisers were invited to come to a barbecue and bazaar to benefit the church.  Beth and John decided it would be fun to get off the boat and go to the event.  The afternoon in Williams Town sparked the context for The Beacon. 

“The main characters and basic plot came to me almost overnight,” Beth says.  “But, it took over a year to develop the story to a point where it would be worth a read.”

By the time she finished, the whole effort had morphed into something totally different from its beginning.  The end result turned out to be not only a labor of love but an expression of her personal faith.  The story centers on the relationship of Gabriel, the pastor of Mary Magdelene Church, and his great nephew Manuel.  It focuses on family, faith and overcoming obstacles to achieve a meaningful life.

“I really consider myself more of a story teller than an author,” she confesses. “This book is relatively light and uncomplicated.  The whole process certainly gave me a tremendous respect for those who achieve a sustained level of success as an author. I’m no less proud of the endeavor, though.  I feel great for having done it.” 

 (The Beacon may be purchased for $14.00 (plus shipping) through the following vendors
 www.RoseDogBookstore.com, www.happybookseller.com, and www.theopenbookonline.com.  A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each book will go to Family Connection of South Carolina.  For additional information on the work of Family Connection, please go to www.familyconnectionSC.org.