Set Sail in a Story by Richard Pickard
Son of the Sea is the second book from Richard Pickard and both this one as well as Tentacle Boy have a firm sea setting. Richard Pickard describes his favourite places as inspiration in his guest blog for us today. Son of the Sea publishes soon so grab a copy of Tentacle Boy to occupy you while you wait!
Picking up a brand-new book and turning the first page is not so dissimilar to taking your first wobbly steps up the boarding ramp of an ocean liner, ready for the open sea. An adventure lies in wait, and with all the anticipation of the unknowable things ahead who can say where you’ll end up or what incredible sights are in store.
If there is anything that can hold a candle to my love for stories, it’s a love of the sea. That won’t come as much of a surprise if you’ve read my books, or even heard their titles. I find so much to inspire me when I’m on (or in) the water.
One of my favourite real-world adventures begins with a narrow stretch of sea down in Dorset. Away from the bustling beaches that line each side of Bournemouth’s pleasure pier, and along the golden shoreline overlooked by the eye-watering mansions of Sandbanks, you’ll find the mouth of Poole Harbour. There sits a humble ferry. A white hunk of metal with a red hull and forest green floor, which travels back and forth along a pair of thick metal chains that help it navigate the busy tidal waters in only four minutes.
A transport to another world. . .
Because that slim strip of water separates the hotels and holidaymakers from the luscious Isle of Purbeck – where the cars and clinking cutlery are replaced by an endless stretch of pristine beach that curves around the peninsula. The golden sand is littered not with beach towels and bathers, but grassy dunes as dry as straw. Swaying purple heather makes a home for adders, insects and birds, while the crystal-clear water manages to hide away flatfish, masked crabs and long-snouted seahorses. On the horizon, the ground rises up to meet the picturesque pubs of Studland village and the very start of Britain’s famed Jurassic coast – Old Harry Rocks. Three enormous lumps of white chalk, which run out from the cliff like stubby fingers fanned to shield the quaint seaside town of Swanage from modern life. Further inland, the craggy ruins of Corfe Castle tower over cobbled streets that spin out across the green hills like rivers of stone. It was here, where I stumbled on some mould fossils hidden beneath the Norman-era walls, that my second novel was born. . .
Son of the Sea takes place in a peculiar seaside village that owes so many of its sights and sounds to the Isle of Purbeck – my most favourite place, and the source of so much inspiration. Should you ever find yourself in Dorset, set sail on Sandbanks’ chain ferry and see for yourself.
SON OF THE SEA by Richard Pickard is published on 11th May with Chicken House Books.