Former St. Thomas resident Lynne Hinkey is in the Virgin Islands to sign copies of her first novel, “Marina Melee.” Monday from 1 to 5 p.m., she’ll be at The Pirate’s Chest in Port of Sale Mall on St. Thomas. She’ll be at Undercover Books on St. Croix from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Set on the fictional island of São Jorge, the comic novel follows the path of George Marshall, a newly divorced and unemployed playboy who sets out to find business success. While he initially thinks that running a marina on a tropical island would be easy, he soon finds that life in paradise is hard work.
“I was rereading ‘Don’t Stop the Carnival,’” Hinkey said, referring to the 1965 Herman Wouk novel about a New York City press agent who runs away to a Caribbean island to reinvent himself as a hotel keeper.
Hinkey thought it would be interesting to write a similar book but in a more contemporary setting and place it in a marina rather than Wouk’s hotel.
In particular, she said she was at Sapphire Beach Resort’s karaoke night when two former marina owners got up to sing “All My Exes Live in Texas,” and that got her started thinking about the characters that live on St. Thomas then and now.
“Anyone who has lived in, sailed through, or visited the Virgin Islands will recognize some of the characters and sympathize with George’s trials and tribulations as he maneuvers his way through island politics and people,” she said.
Hinkey drew on her 14 years on St. Thomas to write the book. A 1986 graduate of the University of the Virgin Islands, she went on to serve as the university’s St. Thomas-based Sea Grant marine advisor from 1992 to 1997. In that job, she said she got a firsthand look at marinas and got to know many of the island’s boaters.
She left St. Thomas to get a doctorate in marine science at the University of Puerto Rico. Her dissertation was on the impacts of marinas and boating to coastal habitats.
Hinkey, who now lives in Charleston, S.C., and works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, started work on the book while living in Germany with her husband. When she returned to Charleston, she finished the book and went back to work for NOAA. She also teaches part time.
“Marina Melee” is published by Casperian Books and is available in bookstores and online.
