Silver Lake book tour – part 1

By coralmccallum on July 16, 2024

Eleven years ago, give or take a month or two, I created a fictitious rock band in my debut novel, Stronger Within,

For those of you who haven't read it (tut tut) the book is set in the small town of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware USA. I wanted my rock band to have a name that reflected where their roots lay. Cue a Google maps search of the area looking for inspiration…. then I spotted it. A small lake, just inland from the south end of the boardwalk - Silver Lake. (It is in fact one of only two freshwater lakes in the area, originally formed from the runoff from the Wisconsin glacier.)

The rest as they say is history…. read the Silver Lake series to see how the rock band worked out.

Recently I spent some time back in Rehoboth Beach. That small town is one of my favourite places on earth. It had been twelve long years since my last visit, and I had never seen Silver Lake in real life. As I walked along the beach and the boardwalk everything felt surreal. I felt as though I was walking through the pages of my own novels.

It goes without saying that one of the first places on my "must see" list was Silver Lake. It did not disappoint!

Stronger Within starts with our favourite aspiring rock star, Jake Power, helping artist Lori Hyde home along the boardwalk after a fall on the beach. As I walked along the same stretch of boardwalk I could imagine them by my side. I followed the boardwalk to its south end then made a short pilgrimage along the beach to where Lori's house is in the books. There's a gap in real life between the third and fourth houses off the end of the boardwalk and its in that gap that is site where I imagined Lori's house to be situated.

Next on my book tour was Silver Lake. I headed down Prospect Street towards East Lake Drive and there it was shimmering in the afternoon sun in front of me. Silver Lake!

It took my breath away!

Even if I do say so myself, I'd pictured it perfectly in my books. I feel I'd done a pretty good job of describing East Lake Drive too.

Actually standing in the spot that was meant to be the end of Lori's driveway, looking out over Silver Lake was a special and emotional moment that will live with me for a long time.