EDISTO ISLAND

South Carolina’s Low Country area is my favorite place in the world other than my place at Pineapple Hill. I especially love her sea islands. Edisto near Charleston is the setting for one of my novels. The tidal marshes, where land and sea become one, have a very special vibe. It changes people. It sure changed me.

Bad things happened, an entire run of them that shut me down, caused me to withdraw from everything except my inner self.

One afternoon, in a hammock, I took a photo of myself. Just my legs. But there was no one to send it to. No one to understand.

I needed a sidekick so I sketched an armadillo because they’re crusty on the outside but not within. I made him my butler. Crusoe’s manservant Friday.

We began interacting—my hammock photo speaking to that critter, that critter speaking back.There’s a folder of cartoons somewhere. For now there’s just this one. (LINK)

Eventually after that I began writing novels.

I’m still a hermit, marooned you might say, but leaving my shell more and more—my inner self seeking its freedom through writing.