Nantucket Beaches

I've just completed a mini-vacation to the island of Nantucket, located about 30 miles off the shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The above picture is Cisco Beach. We biked there. It's about 6 miles from town (one way).

This next beach is much harder to get to. It's called Great Point, and is located on the northern tip of the island, between both the Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Sound.

This beach is actually part of the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge and is an area protected for seals and birds. You can only reach it via 4 wheel drive jeep, and a 5 mile drive over a thick and rutted beach. My husband and I were the only ones there that day, plus the ranger.

Madaket Beach (below) was easily our favorite because it's wide and long and just beautiful. The only problem - this is Nantucket, so you can't really get here easily for a beach day. There is no parking. So you need to have one of the very expensive homes near the beach to enjoy it, or you could ride a bike there.

There are even houses right on the beach which don't have any parking, not even for one car. I was wondering how they use a house like that. But the beach is gorgeous.

I like this view of Sconset Beach because of the pretty dune grass which is all over Nantucket. The island suffers from severe erosion problems so they leave the grass alone.

Since Nantucket is an island, they have many more beautiful beaches. The only problem is they can be hard to access. Nantucketers are not anxious to be bombarded by day trippers, and most of the beaches are bordered by homes which are private property. Still, we managed to see a fair number of them with a jeep and some bicycles.

My story, Love Charm for Dakota, is set in Nantucket.

Would you use a love charm to capture a man?

Nantucket is the home of hedge fund titans, old money and hidebound tradition. Habits are comfortable, and the habits of the rich are very comfortable. Into Cabot Saltonstall's sedate world blows Dakota Bishop, possessor of a wild spirit and a magical love charm. Cabot's blue-blood family history includes an ancestor who resigned from the Salem Witch trials, because he refused to believe in witchcraft.

But Cabot is all too willing to be bewitched.

Dakota can't stay still long enough for anyone to tie her down, nor is Cabot the right kind of guy for her. If only he'd have sex with her so she could get him out of her system. Why does he need to be so traditional with his emotions and plans for the future? Does she know enough of witchcraft to overcome the spell of the accidentally cast love charm?

Excerpt here.

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Free! Mistletoe and Magick Anthology

I'm excited to have a story in this anthology, Mistletoe & Magick, which will be FREE on Dec. 4-6 only.

Do you believe in magic? Lose yourself in these enchanting and spooky Christmas tales featuring bewitched mistletoe, a love charm, a spellbound snow globe, a mysterious shifter stag, a ghost, a magical toy shop, and eerie hauntings. These stories move from light and frothy magic to dark, pagan tales.

Our heroes are even more delicious: From bad boys and billionaires to military men, dark fae, witches and warlocks, and even a Regency Lord. You're sure to fall in love in love with one, or all, of these hot guys.

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A Kiss is Just a Kiss by Linda Barlow

Thinking only of love and passion, college student Holly Mathers steals an enchanted kiss beneath bewitched mistletoe, but she finds that all magic comes with a price.

Love Charm for Dakota by Carly Carson

Into Cabot's sedate Nantucket world blows Dakota Bishop, possessor of a wild spirit and a magical love charm. Will Cabot succumb to her charm, or will Dakota's witchcraft boomerang on her?

The Snow Queen by Alana Albertson

A curse follows those who perform in the Cambridge Ballet's production of The Nutcracker--every year for the past five, a cast member has gone missing. Now cast as the Snow Queen, can Nieves Alba break the curse, or will she be yet another victim of America's favorite ballet?

How Lovely Your Branches by Kara Ashley Dey

When a new neighbor and his three female companions take up residence across the road in the very house her friend had vacated four months ago, recluse Katie Crowe is intrigued. Gabe's eyes hold a promise, a way out of her exile, if Katie can break free of the past and the haunting secrets that surround her.

The Perfect Gift by Nicole Blanchard

When faced with the reality of a negative bank balance and a failing marriage, Sera Flaherty finds she's willing to sacrifice anything to fix her mistakes and find her husband the perfect gift...even if doing will cost more than she bargained for.

In the Bleak Midwinter by Andra Brynn

For Ayla MacFarlane, coming home for the holidays is a prison sentence. The old gods of the solstice still listen and can answer her prayers, but old gods require old sacrifices, and power is sometimes fed in the bloodiest of ways.

Until the Twelfth Night by Cherie Chulick

Spending the holidays at an old countryside manor sounded like a good idea, but as rumors spread that the great house is haunted, and sparks fly with a handsome houseguest, will Lady Elizabeth regret her decision?

Amazon only 

Please be aware that one of the stories has an incest theme (In the Bleak Midwinter). My story is very light. :)

Nantucket Christmas Stroll

The Nantucket Christmas Stroll is now in its 40^th year and takes place this weekend, Dec. 6-8. Most of the organized activities are on Saturday, but the organizers hope that people will stay for the weekend and enjoy the beauty of Nantucket in an off-season time.

This event is the setting of my new novella, Love Charm for Dakota, which takes place on Nantucket (and a bit on St. Thomas). The island of Nantucket started life as a whaling seaport. (Of course, it was used by Native Americans who lived there before that.) Today it is a very high-priced vacation destination. Although it is part of Massachusetts, and used to draw mostly from the Boston area, its appeal has expanded. I personally know a California family with a summer home on the island.

The island is now a National Historic Landmark District and there are many people working to save the island's history.

Nantucket is a wealthy enclave, and quite tradition bound, with many shops, galleries, and restaurants to serve its clientele. Naturally, the Christmas Stroll was designed to boost commerce in what would otherwise be a slow season.

In my story, I wanted to show the contrast between a man born and bred to that Yankee tradition, and a free-spirited woman in town only for the stroll.

Of course, when a love charm is involved, it's hard for anyone to escape the magic!

Love Charm for Carlotta blurb: 

Into Cabot Saltonstall's sedate Nantucket world blows Dakota Bishop, possessor of a wild spirit and a magical love charm. Cabot is all too willing to be bewitched. But Dakota fears ties and tradition. Does she know enough of witchcraft to overcome the spell of the accidentally cast love charm?

Excerpt:

"Oh, come, all ye—" The man in the bowler hat had his eyes fixed on her. Dakota shivered. She'd better not make a wish because it might fix on him, and she'd be in real trouble. Despite his formal, old-fashioned clothes, and his friendly, open expression – the opposite of what she normally was attracted to – the man was strangely appealing to her. Someone who, in different circumstances, she might want to get to know. In fact, before she could stop herself, she acknowledged the fact that she'd like to spend one night with him.

"You changed your mind?" Brenna spoke beside her.

"Grandma always told me to follow my instincts." Dakota sighed. "Of course, that advice has gotten me into trouble more than once."

"Always listen to grandma."

"Yeah, well, she's gone, so it's your job now to make sure I don't speak to any man unless he's a) single and b) hotter than the devil."

Brenna laughed. "Oh, that's not a small job. Especially when a Mr. Right kind of guy has been watching you for the past five minutes."

This novella is available in Unholy Nights - A Twisted Christmas Anthology for the sale price of only 99 cents! 

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Take a look at Snow Guy! We love him!

Unholy Nights