Mysteries of Martha’s Vineyard: An Author’s Personal Journey

Hi Guideposts. I’m Janice Thompson. I’m from the Houston area. I am part of a series called Mysteries of Martha’s Vineyard. And I’m here today to share news about my book, which is Like a Fish Out of Water, which is the second book in that series.

This is a very exciting story because it takes place both in the past and in the present. I’ve had such a wonderful time writing for Guideposts, and an even more wonderful time getting to know all of the people that I’ve met along the way. In my story, Like a Fish Out of Water, Priscilla finds an antique sword in the wall behind a painting in her bedroom at the cottage. And she knows that this sword of was in some way involved in something rather dubious. So she sets out to prove that her family member from the past was not the bad guy that people thought he was.

By far my favorite place on the island was Gay Head Cliffs at Aquinnah. A beautiful elevated place. We had gone to see a lighthouse there. I had absolutely no idea, until I got there, how breathtakingly beautiful these cliffs would be. I could imagine a crime taking place on those cliffs, which is exactly where I set the scenario for the crime that takes place in this book.

What I admired most about Priscilla was that she was having to reinvent herself. She’s been through a tragedy, she’s lost her husband, and she’s having to go to a new place and completely start over. I connected with her on many levels, but particularly because in my life I just lost my mom. And I had been a caregiver for my mom for seven years—she had Alzheimer’s. And she passed away actually the very week that my second book was due to Guideposts.

And so, I really began to see what that was like, to have to say, OK, here I am. I’m 58 years old—almost 59—like Priscilla. And I don’t know what the rest of my life looks like. The persons or person that I cared the most about is no longer with me. My security blanket is gone, and I’m having to begin again.

As far as having insider secrets for this mystery series, I would say, you’ve got to pay particular attention to the locations on the island, and to the items that are referred to in the stories. So I did want to share just from my heart, as a thank you to Guideposts, I never, ever, ever, could have guessed that this offering from the editor to let me be a part of this series would lead me to Martha’s Vineyard, and would lead me to an article in a Guideposts magazine that was specific to my mom.

That article was all about how hard it was for me to leave home and travel to a different place, and leave my mom’s care in someone else’s hands. That was a very difficult thing for this caregiver to do. I want you guys to know that the photographer that you sent to my house to take photos of my mother took the most beautiful pictures of my mom. And those were the last pictures that were ever taken of my mom. So that beautiful teal shirt that she was wearing in those photos, that is actually the blouse that we buried my mom in when she passed away.

This has been—I don’t even know how to say how beautiful this journey has been. To walk hand in hand with Guideposts as I’ve walked hand in hand letting go my mom. And God knew it was all coming in advance, even though I did not.