Seaspell

Cape Hatteras Chronicles is a series of historical fiction books focusing on

the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the surrounding mainland. Each

book has been published previously. These novels are now being brought

together as a freshly redesigned collection to offer the contemporary reader

a glimpse of life on the North Carolina coast in days gone by.

Remote doesn't begin to describe Cape Hatteras, the island off the coast

of North Carolina, where Mariah has taken a teaching job. Murfreesboro

is not that far, as the crow flies, from Hatteras Island. But in the late 1800s

the trip means a train ride, followed by several boat rides. And the windswept

island might as well be on another continent as far as the culture

goes. The accent sounds like another language and the lack of electricity

makes the night sky light up with stars as if it were a planetarium.

For all the rugged discomfort, Mariah is soon charmed by the locals.

Walking the sand paths becomes a pleasant way to explore the village.

The ocean turns out to be far less frightening when the pounding waves

lie down. Wading in the clear water is a cool balm on beastly hot days .

Return to the days when the majestic Cape Hatteras Light was fueled

by kerosene, hauled up the 268 steps in 5 gallon containers. When

storm tides regularly washed over the flats and inundated houses.

Where animals were fenced out, not in, and wild ponies roamed free.

Bronwyn Williams is the shared pen name of two sisters, Dixie Burrus Browning

and Mary Burrus Williams. Descended from two lighthouse keepers and one

pirate, these ninth generation Outer Banks natives grew up steeped in seafaring

traditions. Their historical fiction lets the reader experience life on a barrier

island as it was in the days of their grandparents and great grandparents