She took great pains to assure the quality of the film.” McDowell and Monroe were executive producers and oversaw the details of the film. Andie is a South Carolina girl born in Gaffney. Imagine my delight in answering her phone call. Andie had read the book, then sought me out to make the film. Of the film, Monroe proudly says, “The great Andie MacDowell starred in the film. The Beach House was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, which is the premier branch of Hallmark films. My personal experiences bring an authenticity to the stories and an intimate perspective to this gorgeous landscape I fiercely love.” She says, “My intention is to entertain and to hopefully provide a pleasurable, painless education by bringing readers to my beach through my story world.
The book’s great success allowed her to continue a series that centered on the islands with the turtles, but also on dolphins, birds and other animals and environmental issues. Monroe says she wrote The Beach House as a mother-daughter novel set against the nesting cycle of the loggerheads.
I didn’t realize my interest in turtles would become a lifelong passion.” The five of us permit holders became fast friends - and still are today.
I was in love with the beach, walking the sand as the sun broke the darkness and sitting by the nests at night, slapping mosquitoes and swapping stories. Those were important times of turtle light disorientation, turtle excluder devices for shrimp boats and education. She says, “When I moved to Isle of Palms 22 years ago, the first thing I did was become a member of the Island Turtle Team. Of her writing style, Monroe says the old adage, “write what you know,” holds true for her. Up in the Tar Heel State, Monroe says she loves the work of Delia Owens, Ron Rash, Kathy Reichs and her fellow “Friends and Fiction” host, Kristy Woodson Harvey. The writer is also a voracious reader - some favorite South Carolina writers include Cassandra King, Signe Pike and debut authors Gervais Hagerty and the aforementioned Angela May. Monroe has stayed busy, including contributing a short story, “Mother and Child Reunion,” that’s featured in Reunion Beach, an anthology that came out in late April, as well as co-authoring a middle grade book called The Islanders with Angela May. The timely novel will likely be another bestseller for Monroe.
Set against the backdrop of coronavirus, this book explores the meaningful family and life lessons learned during a season of opportunities lost and found. Of it, she says, “I shifted my focus from animals to the challenges and changes families and friends faced during unprecedented times of isolation, limited social interaction, economic strain and health concerns brought on by a pandemic.” Monroe’s most recent novel, The Summer of Lost and Found, was released May 11.
From sandy beaches and sea turtles to the region’s unique people and places, Monroe’s bestsel ling books are steeped in pluff mud, briny air and salt water. Thank you to everyone at CARE and Nancy Bishop and Heather Garre for so generously donating their therapy services to Alice.When it comes to writing about the South Carolina coast, author and AAA Member Mary Alice Monroe certainly knows her stuff. We love her to pieces!”Īlice continues her water treadmill therapy twice a week at CARE and enjoys regular romps, walks and swims at Barnstable’s Sandy Neck Beach with her new family! Quigley “her recovery and the muscle mass that she developed were truly remarkable and a testament to the powerful benefits of physical therapy.”Īlice’s foster family fell so much in love with her that they adopted her! Rachel said that “Everyone keeps saying how lucky Alice is to have had so many chances and so many champions, but we feel like we’re the lucky ones. The underwater therapy at CARE was so effective that Alice’s veterinarians decided that an operation on her hips was no longer needed! According to Dr. Using water to take stress off of Alice’s delicate joints, therapists helped Alice exercise safely and build critical muscle tone and control of her back legs. Therapists at Cape Animal Referral and Emergency (CARE) generously offered to do underwater treadmill sessions with Alice at no cost.