Adventures in Cape Cod

Plus, a snapshot of my reading life.

I’m writing this post from one of my favorite places on earth: the island of Martha’s Vineyard. We arrived on a beautiful sunny day, dropped our stuff at our Cape-style beach rental and rushed off to State Beach, the most perfect eclipse of white sand and aquamarine water. I know, it’s hard to believe that the Nantucket Sound could ever streak with pretty shades of blues and greens, but it does.

We’ve been coming here since my husband and I were in our late twenties, and we come here still. Our summer visits are always a highlight of the year, and we spend most of our days going to the beach, reading, bicycling and meeting up with friends. Even at dinner last night, my husband, kids and I laughed about all of the memories we’ve had here, from the time my teenager was a baby waving to strangers from the back of a bike buggy to the time my husband yelled out hello to Henry Louis Gates on the bike trail.

But first…there were some book-centric adventures. And bestie meet-ups, too.

Early last week, I was giving a book talk with fellow authors Jamie Brenner and Sarah Shukla at Ink Fish Books in Warren, Rhode Island. I’d never been to Warren, but it’s the most quaint little beach town about thirty minutes from Newport. The bookstore owner, Lisa Valentino, put on the coolest event with a signature drink, and she even interviewed us in her bright and sunny corner bookshop. Valentino’s first question: “What do you think of your novels being called a beach read?” In other words, is it disparaging?

The audience nodded along as we all answered similarly: A beach read can be literary. It can be mystery. It can be light. It can be a lot emotionally. But it’s always devoured. Wouldn’t you agree? A beach read is a book that you can’t put down. It’s a story you just have to stay at the beach an hour longer to finish. It gets its hooks into you.

My best friend, Carin, from high school drove down from New Hampshire to meet me at the event. It’s so much easier to talk to a room full of strangers than it is to people you know — and so Carin and I had a good laugh about how I avoided making eye contact with her the entire time. Afterward we went to dinner at a nearby Mexican place and both admitted we were having our own kinds of midlife crises. Details to be discussed only among best friends. Then we went back to our shared room and stayed up until midnight talking about everything from our kids to high school memories to old boyfriends and where are they now.

We also talked about how we should meet up for an overnight again without the husbands and kids. It was just so nice to have each other’s full attention. Usually we’re at one another’s houses and the kids are running about and that’s fun, too, but special friend time isn’t just nourishing, it’s fun. I can’t tell you the number of times we found ourselves in stitches over something like what we wore to a homecoming dance when we were sixteen. Do you have a friend like this?

A big squeeze for Carin. Then it was off to Cape Cod for more book events.

A two hour drive later, I pulled up to the renovated, cutesy hotel in Chatham called The Greyfinch Inn. Cape Cod is a patchwork of towns and beaches with all different personalities, and Chatham is like entering a Lilly Pulitzer shop. It’s preppy. The houses are grand and shingled, or sweet and white-planked, and there are white picket fences and hydrangeas everywhere you look. The Chatham Garden Club, a group of women in matching hot pink t-shirts, tended to the public flower beds on their hands and knees while everyone around them shopped, determined to keep things beautiful. It’s a place where the flower beds really matter.

Chatham is also where the incredible Where the Sidewalk Ends bookstore is located. Mother and daughter team Caitlin and Joanne Doggarte not only stock my novels, but they were kind enough to invite me to speak at their festive Author Literary Luncheon at the spectacular Wequassett Resort along with authors Emily Habeck and Juliet Grames. Overlooking a serene inlet with small sailboats gliding about, I took the podium and spoke about my novel to over one hundred women, many decked out in colorful and patterned sundresses. It was intimidating but fun, and I’ve come to realize that I actually really enjoy public speaking.

Have you ever had a mental block where you just tell yourself you’re not good at something, so you don’t do it. Well, I would tell myself all the time that I couldn’t give a talk in front of several people, let alone a giant room full of people. But during this book tour, my first real one thanks to Covid times, I realized that I actually love standing up and talking about my books. Sure, I get nervous, and I worry that I’m going to stumble, but mostly, it goes okay. Good even, and it’s given me a newfound confidence that feels really good.

Then a couple of book signings. And more friends.

Since I was already on the Cape, I drove an hour up to P-town to do a book signing at Provincetown Books on Commercial Street. There is such great people watching in this charming little town, and the staff at the bookshop were so kind to host me. But my real surprise was when one of my old work friends stopped in to the signing with her two adorable little boys. She and I had lost touch during the Covid years, just before she and her now-husband were engaged, so it was so amazing to see her pushing a stroller. I had to squeeze her little baby’s cheeks. Too cute.

Before I checked out the following day, I drove out to Chatham’s famed Harding Beach to go for a walk. Then I had to stop by Chatham Perk because a local friend told me that it was one of the filming sites for The Perfect Couple, Elin H’s novel that is coming to Netflix and stars Nicole Kidman. Apparently, most of the show was filmed with Chatham standing in for Nantucket since it’s cheaper to film on the mainland. With a coffee in hand, I made a few more stops along the water, including a walk near the absolutely stunning Chatham Lighthouse, where I ambled by a beachside yoga class I wish I hadn’t missed.

Then it was off to Brewster Book Store, where I was finally able to meet the newish owner Jessica Devin. This bookshop has been so good to me and my books, placing them in the pretty glass window for readers to discover, so it was so nice to catch up with the owner. I’m not sure if you know this, but writers love to connect with indie booksellers. For one, we always want to say thank you, and two, there’s something so special about meeting a person whose joy comes from sharing stories with others. I know it sounds hokey, but it’s true. Bookstore owners are some of the kindest (and coolest) people I’ve met over time.

Oh, and I talked to one of the booksellers there and she had the best suggestion. Read Amor Towels’ latest short story collection Table for Two with your husband and/or teenagers, and then discuss the stories. She said she did the same, and it made for some lively conversation. I loved that, so I share it with you.

What was I reading during my travels?

You may be wondering: Where is the third book club installment about Ruth Reichl’s The Paris Novel? Well, my friends, I got three-quarters through the book and decided it just wasn’t the right fit for me. I left it in one of the many little free lending libraries that are scattered throughout Chatham for someone else to discover. What did you think of it?

In the meantime, I finished J. Courtney Sullivan’s The Cliffs. It began as a spooky ghost story, then deviated into an in-depth character study of all of the people who touched this one old house on the cliffs of Maine. I listened to this one, and I thought the audiobook was excellent. Here’s why I loved this book: The relationships between all of the women in this book are complicated and fascinating and so full of insight. I’m so curious if you loved this one. Tell me what you thought of it.

And one more thing, the coolest camper van.

I met up with my husband and kids to travel to the Vineyard, but we had to stay in a hotel the night before due to our ferry time. We found this place called AutoCamp, which was right near Woods Hole, where we had to catch our ferry. It’s a campground outfitted with dozens of Airstream “silver bullet” vintage campers. Think: glamping, not camping, with marble tile in the bathroom shower, and a comfy bed with cozy bedding. There was a large, modern common space, too, with live music, food, multiple fire pits and big sunken leather couches from which to play games. We played a lot of Yahtzee!

They have AutoParks all around the country, including Yosemite and Asheville, NC, so you’ll have to see if there’s one near you. We really enjoyed this particular one since it’s located directly on a bike trail that takes you past marshlands and then a beautiful long sandy beach on the Cape.

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