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What a wonderful quest. I highly recommend spending a week in NC to visit all of our lighthouses. But be sure to spend two or three days at Ocracoke.

Speaking of lighthouses, now might be a good time for a vanity tease. Here's the first page or so from my novel, Aphrodite's Whisper. (Remember this, Billie?)

Chapter One
Friday, December 11, 1903
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

Ethan Roberts walked southward through the frigid, pelting rain. Without even the dim light of stars to thin the blackness he had to rely upon the sound of the crashing breakers to guide him.

Veering too far to the left would soon put him waist deep in roiling surf. Too far to the right and he would have to struggle through the powdery sand of the inner beach that made walking almost impossible. A storm lantern would have easily thrown out enough light to reveal the hard-packed sand that lay between the two, but its glow would have destroyed his night vision, turning his night patrol for stranded ships into a pointless stroll on the beach.

The tempered cold of the Outer Banks had given way to the brutal arctic winds of a nor’easter, its freezing rain turning the five miles of watch-walk into a wet, miserable test of endurance. His feet throbbed numbly with cold, and fearing the frostbite that would follow if he did not make it back to shelter soon, he quickened his pace. At twenty-eight, he was old enough to know how dangerous the cold could be, but too young to admit it might defeat him. He would do his job to its completion, as was expected, the weather be damned. But there was nothing in the regulations that said he couldn’t hurry it up a bit.

At least the wind blew from behind now, pushing him toward his destination. Although his swept-back storm hat with its large brim diverted most of the water down the back of his slicker, the spray whipped around his head to soak his bearded face. Wiping the moisture from his eyes with the back of his hand, he shuddered from the cold and wondered how long it would be before the rain turned to sleet.

The Hatteras Lighthouse was only a quarter-mile away now. Every seven and a half seconds its bright beam cut through the black swirling rain, beckoning him back to the lifesaving station nestled safely behind the flashing sentinel. Within the station a glowing wood stove called to him, urging him to hurry. Once inside he would use its warmth to thaw his aching flesh, then seek refuge from the ruthless chill under the wool blankets of his bunk. By that time another lifesaver would be walking the shoreline looking for ships that might have run aground – while he would be dry, warm and asleep.

Several miles out on the ocean a streak of red bolted from the water then disappeared into the thick, angry clouds above. A moment later Ethan saw the burst of a flare, its white light stabbing holes through the stormy blackness. His thoughts of warmth and sleep evaporated as quickly as the glowing ball drifted down toward the sea. Somewhere out on the Diamond Shoals a ship was in distress! The lives of its crew depended upon how quickly the seven men of the Hatteras Station traversed the waters to where the flare was launched. Sprinting the last hundred yards, Ethan ran inside the station shouting the alarm to wake the others. Quickly returning outside he set off a Costone signal at the crest of the dune line. The ground flare’s brilliant light would let the hapless sailors on the shoals know that help was on the way. The race had begun.

Rousing from their sleep the other six men of the station threw on their storm gear and scampered to the station’s holding bay where their surfboat waited on its cart. As one, they pushed the cart through the soft sand and into the surf until its wheels were half submerged beneath the cold December waters. When the boat floated free of the cart, they boarded her as quickly as the raging surf allowed.

Sounds like a romantic thriller you've got cookin' there (((((((Lee'sGhost)))))))

Thank-you for sharing that!

Oh, I do remember that part, of course! I pinged you to my first post this morning, because I thought of your book when I read this thread was about lighthouses!

And now you're 'teasing' everyone with a few pararaphs of your novel!

Dansy, I've been privileged to get to read it a chapter or two at a time via FR mail, and it is full of intrigue and romance and several unexpected twists.