Ponte Vedra resident Suzanne Sinclair published her novel “Secrets of Peaceful River Valley,” the first in her Ponte Vedra Series, in May.
What first sparked your interest in writing?
I started writing in February of 2023, after my father died. Writing was cathartic for me during that period of my life while I was grieving. I wanted to write a world that still included my dad, somehow. I wrote him as a character who grew up in the ’40s and ’50s in Palm Valley.
All that content was cut from “Secrets of Peaceful River Valley.” However, everything I wrote originally was pushed to either “The Ponte Vedra Beach Series” or “The Palm Valley Series.” Both series are in the timeline and outline phase.
The stories follow the King family during the early 1900s to the 1960s. I hope the history of the area, that details a working-class family [the King family] will make for a dynamic and dubious story while they constantly intermingle and touch the lives of the wealthy PVB characters who frequent the Inn & Club.
What has your journey as a writer been like?
My journey as a writer has been a major creative release for me. Before I even finished “Secrets of Peaceful River Valley,” I started inventing all these ideas, storylines and themes for more books. I knew before I completed Book 1 that there were more books needed, and it became “A Ponte Vedra Series.”
What is a typical day as an author like for you?
Writing a series is about building a timeline. As I write chapters for Book 2, I’m playing with where the story can go in Book 3 and 4. Often, I will be writing a chapter, then spend 15 minutes to an hour at the whiteboard teasing out an idea or a concept.
After I am done writing for the day, I usually work on injecting humor or a lesson into what I wrote. Then I plan what I will write or accomplish the next day as a target.
Creativity ebbs and flows, but writing every day keeps the story going even if it ends up on the floor during the editing process.
Are you from Ponte Vedra originally or did you settle somewhere else?
I moved to Ponte Vedra in 2020. I visited Ponte Vedra Beach once for work back in 2017. I really enjoyed the area and an opportunity arose, so I moved here after only two short stays.
What do you like best about living here?
The best thing about Ponte Vedra is the history. People don’t realize how fascinating the area was during the past two to three centuries. A close second … the people of Ponte Vedra. I’ve made a home and built a community of friends here with similar values and principles.
What inspired you to write mysteries with a local setting?
I felt that Nocatee was a special place when I visited it in 2017 for the first time. It wasn’t until 2022 that I stumbled across an idea about a family who discovered a sister via a DNA website that I decided to write Nocatee into the story as the setting. You write what you know.
After several months of research, I knew the Ponte Vedra area. I read books with quiet little beach towns as the setting and that cute concept resonated with me. But Nocatee being Peaceful River Valley, in the Timucua language, had more of a mysterious vibe then other beach books. The idyllic small-town vibe amplified the drama of the scenes. It's like the calm surface hides murky depths, mirroring the family's secrets. The setting comes alive as a character itself as you immerse yourself in the beach, ICW, restaurants and neighborhoods. There is something mysterious about living amongst the preserve and Intracoastal Waterway that has really held 400 years of secrets.
What are the themes of your newest book, “Secrets of Peaceful River Valley”?
A Ponte Vedra Series centers around family, faith and freedom. I bring back time-honored traditions of family connectivity around the dinner table and prayer, but balance it with the reality of today’s technologically intense world. The clashes, like tech-savvy youth versus more traditional elders, added humor and realism. It showed how DNA tests and modern tools uncover old secrets, bridging gaps but also creating new tensions.
Each book will have a thread woven throughout the book about a faith concept. “Secrets of Peaceful River Valley” was a redemption story in the most unexpected manner. Sometimes the most broken people in the world teach us the most valuable lessons.
What's next for you as an author?
I’m working on Book 2 and Book 3 at the moment. “Fires of Peaceful River Valley,” the title of Book 2, revolves around transformation. I love to torture my characters and give them real-life challenges that people can identify with personally.
Is there anything else you'd like to share about your book or journey as an author?
“Secrets of Peaceful River Valley” is now available in paperback, e-book or on Kindle Unlimited.
