Welcome to the Campfire. Today's Guest is Elizabeth Devlin.

Welcome to camp, Elizabeth. What can I get for you? The camp fridge is like wishing stone. Ask and it appears. Coffee (expresso). But only in the morning (can’t speak before I have some). The rest of the day, Crystal Light lemonade or water.

I used to own a Specialty Coffee shop called Heavenly Brew and even went to Philadelphia to become a barista. So, guess what-bam-espresso it is. Are you or have you camped?
I went camping as a girl scout in 9th grade (we went to Nantucket); fun, but too many mosquitos! Growing up, my family had a cabin in the backyard which my father named Camp Woofleboo. I had lots of sleepovers there with friends. I still remember Carol Bozzo telling a ghost story that kept us up all night listening for trouble with every creak of the floor. Pretty cool to have your own camp in the backyard!

It sure is! And what a great name Camp Woofleboo, lol. Tell us about your latest project. What's the title and anything else you'd like to share about it.
My latest project is HOME WATERS, a mix of family, romance, and environmental suspense. Becket Fallon, a world-famous oceanographer, discovers a lethally-invasive toxic algae in Narragansett Bay. He’s trying to figure out a way to stop it from decimating the bay when non-profit expert Lainey Carmichael arrives demanding his help with 3-year-old twin girls. The book is the story of what happens next. I wrote the first draft many years ago, but put it aside and worked on five other projects. A couple years ago I took the book back out, reworked it completely, and published it at the end of 2020. It’s a finalist for two National Excellence in Romance Fiction Awards (best first book and best Mainstream with Romantic Elements). 25% of royalties go to Save the Bay.

Sounds wonderful and congratulations. Do you have something else you’re working on?
I’m working on Book 2 of my Narragansett Bay Series; the main character of that book was part of the supporting cast in HOME WATERS.

Do you have a tagline?
"Stories with a Waterview”

Who are your inspirations for writing? Or would you like to give a shout-out to anyone or their books?
I love to mix suspense and romance. Nora Robert’s Chesapeake series inspired me, but my books have environmental suspense as my own twist. I’m inspired by the ocean and stories related to it, so all my books have the ocean as a key element.

Life Hacks for Authors. Do you have any tips, tricks, or anything you specialize in that you would share with others? 
My friends call me the “Research Queen” and research is a key part of my process. For HOME WATERS, I contacted oceanographers at the Univ. of RI Graduate School of Oceanography and they helped brainstorm my suspense plot. Even in fiction, getting the specifics right is crucial.

Research is so important and things change quickly so an author needs to stay up to date. Now the fun questions 

1. Do you have a special object like a piece of jewelry or keepsake of some sort? Can you tell us what makes it special to you? I have a lapis lazuli pendant. My college ring has lapis in it, and I’ve always loved the bright blue stone. Egyptian friends helped me barter for the stone in the market in Cairo, then I had it made into a pendant in Turkey. Note: This pendant appears in HOME WATERS.
2. Years ago, there was a commercial that talked about a “Kodak Moment.” It’s a moment in time you catch in a picture. One you never want to forget. What is yours? I actually saw something so absurd that I chased after it and got the photo, which is on my wall.  I was in a market in southeastern Turkey when I saw a donkey go by carrying a television set, with two boys on either side keeping the TV in place. The juxtaposition of ancient and modern was truly irresistible (photo attached).
3. What weird talent do you have? As long as I do it fairly soon, I can remember hours of conversation and repeat it back word for word.
4. Worst household chore? I really hate washing floors.
5. If you could time travel, where would you go and when? Why? Ancient Egypt (but not to stay). I’m fascinated by the pyramids and my trip to Egypt was my favorite trip ever.
6. What’s the most amazing natural occurrence you’ve witnessed? In Turkey, there’s a Roman settlement on top of a cliff called Pamukale (Cotton Castle). The hot springs on the top of the cliff are in chalk pools; the chalk constantly dribbles over the cliff, creating a mass of white all down the Cliffside (looks like a giant Santa’s beard). Astonishing. 

Elizabeth shared some of her pictures

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Home Waters 
by
Elizabeth Devlin
 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MHGWFCG 
​
In a second-chance story with a waterview, a famed oceanographer and a non-profit expert—linked by two little girls—fight environmental disaster and their own demons.
 
He has a deep hole in his heart …can his fight to protect the ocean fill it?
 
Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island: World-famous oceanographer Becket Fallon plunged himself into work after his son’s death. But just when he discovers toxic algae threatens the entire East Coast, his sharp tongue costs him his research funding. And as he struggles to find a solution, the three-year-old grandchildren he’s felt duty-bound to avoid show up on his doorstep… in the arms of their attractive step-aunt Lainey Carmichael.
 
When he refuses to take in the orphaned twins, Lainey makes him an irresistible offer: Let them stay for the summer, and she’ll secure fresh sponsors. Stunned when she succeeds, he loses himself in the environmental battle. He’s terrified he’ll only repeat past mistakes if he lets his new houseguests wriggle their way into his life and heart.
 
Can Becket save the ocean he loves … and the family he never felt he deserved?

https://elizabethdevlin.com/

Elizabeth Devlin grew up sailing the waters of Narragansett Bay and  never forgot it. After studying in Oxford and serving in US embassies abroad, she finally  returned to RI to teach at the Naval War College in Newport. In her contemporary novel Home  Waters, she shares her love of the ocean, family, suspense, and a chance at a happy ever after.

You can follow the author here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldrfiXL7wI4 
https://www.facebook.com/Elizabeth.Devlin.writer
https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethDevlinAuthor/
https://www.instagram.com/waterviewstories/
https://twitter.com/Elizabe70474292
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55845483-home-waters
[email protected]

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