Welcome to Mason’s World
He’s my brand-new action hero: A former Army Ranger turned homicide detective turned wanderer. Mason Sharpe has all the tools required to unlock the case, with none of the rules standing in his way.
Victims take heart. Bad guys take cover.
In preparation for writing the first book in Mason’s series, Point Blank, I visited the small North Carolina town of Southport to conduct on-site research. I always like to visit the places I write about, even if I end up fictionalizing actual towns/communities (as is the case with Point Blank). There’s something about walking the streets my characters walk, eating at the diners where they eat, and experiencing the weather they will experience that just makes the story so much more authentic.
My research trip for Point Blank was taken last January, and involved several North Carolina locations over the span of four days. The weather was absolutely bitter—which was good, because the weather is much the same in the book. I’ve taken well over a dozen research trips in my career, but I have to say this was easily my favorite. Here are a few snapshots of the places that inspired the scenes in Point Blank! I hope you enjoy.
(If you haven’t read the book yes, no worries. There are no spoilers here).
A pier in Southport, looking out toward Bald Head Island (fictionalized as Saint Ellen Island in the book).
The lighthouse on Bald Head Island, also appearing in Mia’s painting.
The Bald Head Island ferry.
The winding road Mason walks across the island. I actually walked this path myself, leading from the ferry landing on the west side of the island, to Cape Fear on the east side. It’s a six mile round trip, and it was miserably cold, but just as in the story there are no motor vehicles on the island, only golf carts. Due to an ice storm the previous night, all the golf cart rental shops were closed. So much like Mason, I just dealt with it.
Beautiful Cape Fear. It was so bleak the day I visited, much as it is the first time Mason visits. It’s right here, while he’s sitting in the sand, that Mason’s story really gets going.
The many very cute shops in downtown Southport inspired the little restaurants and stores Mason observes in fictional Eastport. Just as in the book, most of these places were closed for the season when I visited.
Whenever I travel I’m always on the lookout for excellent local flavor, and I definitely found it at Local’s Restaurant. I ate there several times over my trip, and liked it so much that it inspired the nameless diner Mason eats at several times while visiting Eastport. And yes—the pancakes are truly awesome!
The embankment along the Cape Fear River where a certain very important beatdown takes place. I can’t spoil anything, but if you’ve read the book . . . you know what happens here.