I have often been asked: What inspires you to write? Where do ideas for your stories come from?

The whats and wheres are all around me, but yesterday they were . . .

here:

And here:

And here:

This is where I spent yesterday. I couldn’t have asked for a better day on the water. This place inspires me to write and gives me ideas about what to write. Early in the morning, when I pushed off from the shore, a line popped into my head:

She sailed off in her boat and was never seen again.

My mind started to write that story. Where did she go? Why did she go? What did she find out there that made her never want to return to her life?

I paddled my boat for about five miles, walked about a mile on the beach and was gone for seven hours, alone, in a harbour off the Atlantic Ocean. I spoke to several people, some I knew, some I didn’t know, just folks who were also enjoying a gorgeous Saturday along the shore. I found two buoys lost from fishing vessels that were washed upon the shore. I gathered mussel and scallop shells, was followed by the local seal, and saw two great blue herons, a family of ducks, and countless shags (cormorants), kingfishers, plovers and seagulls.

Spending a day alone with nature is not only inspiring but allows time to slow, troubles to fade into the distance and the soul to rejuvenate.

And that’s why I run off to the ocean every chance I get.