Oyster Harbor is a fictional town in southern Maryland in the 1930s. It is loosely based on Solomons Island and nearby St. Mary's County. Think boats, refreshing summer breezes, and tasty seafood.
I'm from Maryland, and I got inspired to write the first book while visiting the J.C. Lore & Sons oyster house museum.
As soon as I stepped inside, I wondered what it would be like to work there...and date the boss.

Oyster Island - main town
Crabb Creek - where the oyster shuckers live
Rockfield Oyster Plant - original oyster plant in Oyster Harbor
Pearl Point - Caleb's spinoff oyster plant in St. Mary's County
Sapphire Crab - seafood restaurant

Caleb Rockfield - president of Rockfield Oyster House - hero in Book 1: Plucking the Pearl
Henry Rockfield - Caleb's brother - hero in Book 3: Sadie's Surrender
Opal Rockfield - Pearl and Caleb's daughter
Gertrude Rockfield - Caleb's late wife

Pearl Wilson - heroine in Book 1: Plucking the Pearl
Sadie Johnson - Pearl's cousin - heroine in Book 3: Sadie's Surrender
Leroy Johnson - Sadie's brother - hero in Book 2: Rose, Exposed
Wilma Johnson - Sadie's mother
Charlie Johnson - Sadie's father
Buck Jackson - Sadie's first husband

Rose Wainright - heroine in Book 2: Rose, Exposed
Charles Wainright III - Rose's father
Ella Wainright - Rose's mother

Mayor Carter - mayor of Oyster Island
Doris Carter - the mayor's wife
Jonathan Carter - the mayor's son - first hero in Book 4: Cali's Hurricane
Mary Carter - the mayor's daughter - second heroine in Book 4: Cali's Hurricane

Cali Waters - mysterious woman from Louisiana - first heroine in Book 4: Cali's Hurricane
Thelma Waters - Cali's sister - heroine in Book 5: Thelma's Song

Tom Lewes - owner of the Sapphire Crab restaurant - hero in Book 5: Thelma's Song
Betty Lewes - Tom's daughter, waitress in the Sapphire Crab restaurant
Jimmy Clark - fastest oyster shucker - second hero in Book 4: Cali's Hurricane

Reverend Palmer - leads the Baptist church on Crab Creek
Bill Murdock - supervisor at Rockfield's Oyster House
Dan Short - weighman at Rockfield's Oyster House

Follow the book links for excerpts, reviews, trailers, and more.

Though her bluesy voice can bring grown men to tears, Thelma Waters moves to Oyster Harbor for a peaceful life--avoiding singing and men. Anything to forget her wild youth as a performer, so addicted to fame she'd do anything to get it. When Tom Lewes--Oyster Harbor's remaining bigot--hires her as a lounge singer to save his failing restaurant, he stirs up more than her old talent. His obsession with profits reminds her of every man who used her, especially the one who shattered her heart. Meanwhile, his grief over his daughter's death intensifies when restaurant renovations uncover a shocking secret. Reminding her of the child she lost so long ago. And as soon as Oyster Harbor restores what Thelma has craved for so long, her dreams of family are ripped away, turning her song of joy to the bluest of blues. Will Tom be the answer to her prayers, or her biggest heartache yet?

Despite the racial tensions brewing in Oyster Harbor in the 1930s, three interracial couples have found love. When a hurricane blows through, will hate finally be washed away or will it grow back stronger than ever? Jonathan Carter, filled with hate from a childhood incident, cares only about keeping the Klan strong on the island. Cali Waters, still grieving for her husband who died from a Klan attack, longs to use her healing gift instead of being the Carter family cook. When a hurricane threatens the hospital Jon started to build, an injury puts his life in her hands and a chance to heal more than his flesh. Jonathan's sister, Mary, is tired of the sheltered existence she's lived since being raped. When Jimmy Clark, a black oyster shucker, rescues her during the hurricane, she heals from his gentle love. But if her brother finds out, both relationships will be put to a test fiercer than any storm.

After her husband leaves her for another woman, Sadie Johnson feels unattractive. Unable to face a dreary future of shucking oysters and living with her critical mother, she dreams of being a businesswoman. But in 1936, opportunities for women of color in Oyster Island are limited. An oysterman at heart, Henry Rockfield would rather sail than run the local branch of his brother's oyster company. He's not happy about belonging to the town Klan either, but he'll do anything to keep the peace and help his family. When sassy Sadie proves she can run the plant, he can't resist putting her secretly in charge so he can return to the sea. But when desire resurrects a tragic mistake from his past, he learns business and pleasure are a dangerous mix. When racial conflict hits home, forcing them to choose between love and duty, will Sadie surrender?

When Leroy Johnson gets promoted at the new oyster plant on Pearl Point, all he cares about is working hard. When he meets the flirtatious artist Rose Wainwright, however, nothing matters except getting her to the altar and into bed. Healing from a recent loss, he's not about to let her go too. Because Rose's strict, social-climbing father doesn't approve of dark-skinned Leroy, they court in secret anyplace they can find. Although Leroy's raw passion can convince her to do almost anything, why can't he understand she needs freedom, not marriage? Her father wants her to be white, but Leroy wants her to be black. Playing both sides of the fence leaves this young biracial beauty exposed in more ways than one.

When Pearl's sheltered life shatters in the 1930s when her mother dies, her only option is to move in with poor family relations and shuck oysters in the local plant on Oyster Island, Maryland. Determined to live a morally proper life, the last thing she wants is an affair with a white man, but Caleb, the plant owner, knows a pearl when he sees one. The successful widower is the "oyster king" of the island, but his intense desire for his forbidden new employee, a woman of color, threatens everything he's built. What begins as a private sexual liaison flowers into strong feelings that don't fit the social mores of the island. When their secret is discovered, they risk losing everything. They dared to pluck the pearl, but will their love be strong enough to keep it forever?