Delaware author Lynnette Adair releases ‘The Sea Sprite Inn’
Fans of summer beach reads will love "The Sea Sprite Inn," a new novel by Wilmington author Lynnette Adair that features a Rehoboth Beach innkeeper and the guests who come and go through her charming bed and breakfast. The book was published by Cat & Mouse Press and is available through bookstores and online.
As the book opens, Jillian finds herself in the middle of a perfect storm of stressful situations. She's lost her husband and her job, and now her daughter is leaving for college. When her beloved grandfather has a health crisis, Jillian inherits the responsibility for a dilapidated family home in Rehoboth, but instead of looking for a way out, she leaps at the chance to reinvent herself. With the help of some loyal friends and a newly discovered sense of purpose, Jillian turns lemons into The Sea Sprite Inn. Now, along with fluffy bath towels and restaurant recommendations, she offers advice, insights, and encouragement - with a side dish of humor - as owner of a Rehoboth bed & breakfast. As guests come and go, each with unique challenges and discoveries, Jillian learns to trust her instincts and finds a clear path to her future.
“The Sea Sprite Inn” includes eight individual guest stories. Visitors include a klutzy bargain shopper who hires a local fisherman to help her catch dinner and gets more than she bargained for; a couple who take the ferry to Cape May, N.J., for an evening picnic at the lighthouse and learn that things are not always as they appear; a woman with a new bathing suit that may have magical properties; and a teenager who is focused on breaking a record and finds a different kind of reward.
As the guests come and go, Jillian continues to deal with family issues and the challenge of running an inn, but also works on a mystery of her own. During the renovation of the inn, workers found a metal box containing an intriguing collection of keepsakes: a photograph, a USO pin, old theater tickets, a piece of a scarf and other seemingly unrelated objects. Jillian yearns to unlock the secret of the box and perhaps return the treasured items to their owner.
Adair came to the attention of Cat & Mouse Press when her short story "The Magical Suit" was selected by the judges of the Rehoboth Beach Reads Short Story Contest for inclusion in the anthology “Beach Days.” The story later became a starting point for “The Sea Sprite Inn.” Ever since she picked up her first pencil, people said Adair should be a writer. And now, having seemingly lived a thousand lives rolled into one, she will never run out of material. She lives with her husband in Wilmington.
“The Sea Sprite Inn” is available in paperback for $15.95 and includes questions for discussion for book clubs. For more information, go to www.seaspriteinn.com. Cat & Mouse Press publishes engaging, inclusive books with a connection to the Delmarva region, manages the Rehoboth Beach Reads Short Story Contest and provides resources and opportunities for writers. For more information, go to www.catandmousepress.com or like on Facebook.
