Why a Booktrail?
2000s: Can you fall in love with someone before you’ve even met?
Somewhere Beyond the Sea
What you need to know before your trail
Seren MacArthur is living a life she never intended. Trying to save the Cornish seaside business her late father built – while grieving for his loss – she has put her own dreams on hold and is struggling. Until she discovers a half-finished seaglass star on her favourite beach during an early morning walk. When she completes the star, she sets into motion a chain of events that will steal her heart and challenge everything she believes.
Jack Dixon is trying to secure a better life for daughter Nessie and himself. Left a widower and homeless when his wife died, he’s just about keeping their heads above water. Finding seaglass stars completed on Gwithian beach is a bright spark that slowly rekindles his hope.
Seren and Jack are searching for their missing pieces. But when they meet in real life, it’s on the opposing sides of a battle. Jack is managing the redevelopment of a local landmark, and Seren is leading the community campaign to save it.
Both have reason to fight but only one can win. With so much at stake, will they ever find what they are really looking for?
Travel Guide
Miranda, Bob and daughter Flo’s tour of Cornwall
Porthmeor Beach
Gorgeous at any time of year, Portmeor Beach is wild and wide and completely wonderful. I stayed in a house over looking the beach whilst I was writing Somewhere beyond the Sea, and was amazed by how quickly the seascape and colours changed through the day. It’s Flo’s favourite beach, too. She’s been known to insist on making sandcastles and sand-angels in January here!
Porthgwidden Beach
A short walk around the island headland brings you to the small perfectly firmed beach with its cafes (the setting for Aggie’s coffee hut in Somewhere Beyond the Sea)
A wedding anniversary gift of a heart made from seaglass sparked the idea for seaglass stars being found on Gwithian beach in SWBS
Fore Street
It gets very busy in the summer, but this famous cobbled street in St Ives is one of my favourites,because it;s always our main route into town when we stay there. There are lots of gorgeous shops and cafes, galleries and foodie places and Flo’s favourite Post Office, which sells toys, art supplies and Cornish Goodies.
St Ives Bookseller
A tiny bookshop at the entrance of Fore Street that packs a mighty punch. This is my go-to place for holiday books and Flo adores choosing stories from the well-stocked kids section.
SeaSalt St Ives
Friendly staff, gorgeous clothes and window displays you want to take home!
Ebb and Flow
My favourite shop in St Ives. It’s a fabulous ethical boutique right on the harbour front packed to the rafters with gorgeous clothes, jewelry , treats and fits many sourced in Cornwall
(Karen the owner is lovely and Domino is the friendly shop dog!)
Further afield
Gwithian Beach
A very special place for me and my family. Gloriously wide and windswept, with huge skies above, this fudge-coloured sandy beach is a favourite with surfers and families, and when I was writing SWBS it was the only choice for the beach where Seren, Jack and Nessie make their seaglass stars.
Godrevy Lighthouse
One of the first places I visited with Bob’s family and also one of the first places we took Flo
Also…
Carbis Bay and Hayle and St Michaels Mount. For Cornish treasure trove of curiosities, try Marazion Museum
Trail Gallery
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
You know those shiny stones you find on the beach, pick them up and see that there’s pieces of glass that the sea has worn away to form smooth jewels.That’s the inspiration behind this book, the stones the author found on a beach, one her husband had made with other things into a heart shape for her…now I love books with backstories like this!
Then when I found out Seren, a character in the book, had a name which translated as “Star” in Welsh…well…
Set against a story of community campaigning, something very special happens in this book. A story familiar to many in local communities where one camp wants to change something and the others want to protect it was interesting but much more so with Jack and Seren at the centre of the book. When two opposing characters come together, sparks fly.
What made this book really special was the idea that you can find everyday magic in the most unexpected of places. It’s an uplifting read and one where you can tell the author has evoked a setting on the page which is so special to her and her family.
St Ives has never been so gorgeous!
A lovely story to relax with in the Cornish sun
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Somewhere Beyond the Sea
Destination : Cornwall, St Ives Author/Guide: Miranda Dickinson Departure Time: 2000s
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