So delighted to see my Bermuda-set book in actual Bermuda!
Ok folks, this is emotional and I’m SO excited to share it with you. Like, delighted, thrilled, tearful with joy… All the feels.
Last time I was in Bermuda it was 2018. Pre-pandemic, pre-published, pre-life-as-I-know-it-now. It’s crazy to think how much has changed in 6 years. Anyway, I was in the midst of writing the book after The Book (at that time, I had finished The Book, aka the first book I ever finished, and my heart was slowly being broken and my soul crushed I was querying agents).
The book after The Book was the antidote to my woes. It was fun, crazy, time-travel-adventure-romance, the total opposite to the domestic-revenge-drama I had spent the last few years working on, and it completely sparked joy. When I came to Bermuda, I was thoroughly inspired by the island, its beauty, its people and its history. It immediately made its way into my heart and into my book.
We’ll skip the query years (I’m sure we’ll revisit them at some point) and fast forward to 2022. I had published two children’s books already and by November, this book was ready. The Time Traveller’s Retrieval Service. The cover was an incredible watercolour depicting (in actual gold leaf!) the astronomical sphere ring that plays an important role in the story, by my friend, the talented artist Hannah Thorpe, who you must check out on instagram (@hannahthorpeart) or on her website here.
I’m utterly in love with this cover.
Back to Bermuda. Here’s a quick overview on this gorgeous jewel of the Atlantic. Put on your school glasses please, and prepare to take notes.
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory located in the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately 665 miles east of North Carolina, USA. This archipelago of about 181 islands was first settled in the early 17th century and has a rich history influenced by British, African, and Native American cultures. The islands are famous for their connection to the mysterious Bermuda Triangle (useful), and for their stunning pink sand beaches, which get their unique colour from tiny red organisms living on the coral reefs. Historically, Bermuda played a significant role during the American Civil War as a key port for Confederate blockade runners, and it remains an important offshore financial center today.
In 1802, when my character Elidi goes searching for her missing ex, Bermuda was experiencing significant changes and developments. It was becoming increasingly important to the British Empire as a naval base – the Royal Navy had begun to develop facilities on the islands, recognising their strategic location in the Atlantic. Alongside this, the islands’ economy was transitioning. Previously reliant on agriculture and shipbuilding, Bermuda was moving towards a maritime economy focused on trade and privateering. Bermudian ships and sailors were known for their skill and speed, often engaging in trade (both legal and illegal) with the American colonies and Caribbean islands. Very useful when you need to move dubious characters around the ocean!
The population was diverse, consisting of English settlers, enslaved Africans, and their descendants. The total population was likely around 10,000-12,000 people, with slavery still legal and widely practiced. The slave trade was a significant part of Bermuda’s economy, though it would be abolished in the British Empire in 1807.
Talking of the Empire, Bermuda was governed as a British colony, with a governor appointed by the Crown and a local assembly. Its capital at this time was St. George’s, the center of political and economic activity. The future capital, Hamilton, was established in 1790 but was still developing. This period marked a transition for Bermuda, as it moved from its early colonial phase towards becoming a key strategic asset for the British Empire in the 19th century, and as any writer knows, a transitional period in history is ripe for drama and movement.
My Time Travellers stretches from London to Devon to Bermuda to North Carolina, from 2019 to 1970 to 1993 to 1802. It follows the story of Elidi and Luna, twin sisters who have the ability to travel through time, and the lives they are trying to build. Luna longs for love and has turned her back on time-travel, while Elidi rescues people caught out of time, keeping her unusual abilities secret from her boyfriend Delaney, until the missing person she’s called to retrieve turns out to be her significant ex, Sam. Before too long, everyone is involved in an adventure that’s bigger than any of the individuals…
I always knew I wanted to bring Time Travellers here to Bermuda, to donate a copy to the library and let it live in one one of the places that was so instrumental to its development and to my own story. When I ordered a copy before leaving home I felt a tingle of excitement, but since I was also preparing for a holiday with four children and a husband, that tingle got relegated to the bottom of a long list on which suncream, cuddlies, flip-flops, and spare pants all took precedence. After a whirlwind in Boston and New York, arriving in Bermuda again felt like a dream.
And then I took my book out of my case and looked at it – really looked at it – and all the emotion came welling up once again.
Joy. Pride. Satisfaction. A sense of completion, an acknowledgment of everything I’ve been through to get from there to here, to now. And another tingle, of excitement, that perhaps the second book in the series (which has been stuck at 30k words for 18 months) might find its feet once again.
This post has grown from a quick excited share into something bigger, and honestly I’m not sure what the point of it is, but I’m sure I’ll come back to it sometime and unpack some of those feelings because I’m certain that every writer out there has experienced the same – the hope, the disappointment, the apathy and the joy. For now, I’m just happy to share with you all this moment – I made a book that I’m so proud of, and I brought it here, to share.
