'Queen of Lowcountry Fiction' releases A Lowcountry Wedding

She has been dubbed the “Queen of Lowcountry Fiction” by Charleston City Paper - and Mary Alice Monroe has certainly lived up to the title.

Monroe describes local landscapes in her stories with such evocative detail that even if you aren’t familiar with the setting, you’ll swear you can smell the intoxicating aroma of Carolina Jasmine, sense the protective canopy of a draping, ancient oak, and feel the pluff mud squishing between your toes before you’re done. Add in a little family drama and an environmentally-themed thread to pull it all together, and you’ve got yourself a page-turning novel that will have you reapplying the sunscreen for hours on end while reading on the beach this summer.

And such is the appeal of a Mary Alice Monroe story. The Isles of Palms resident and award-winning author served as the guest speaker at a special luncheon held in her honor at Daniel Island Club on May 3 to share the story behind her latest story - A Lowcountry Wedding, the fourth in her nationally best-selling “Lowcountry” series, set on Sullivan’s Island. The occasion marked the release of Monroe’s 20th published book.

“We’re neighbors,” Monroe told the crowd, while gazing out the window beyond the audience to take in the marsh grasses swaying in the distance. “This is the Lowcountry that we love so much and it’s imperative that all of us preserve and protect this landscape. And that’s what my books are all about. I’m a storyteller - and I believe in the power of story.”

All of Monroe’s novels include ties to a cause near and dear to her heart. In the case of the “Lowcountry” series - it’s the plight of the Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin, an endangered species currently struggling with sickness in nearly half of its local population.

“I’ve come to love them,” continued Monroe, who has done extensive volunteer work with dolphins over the last six years while researching for her books. “Because you see them through the eyes of Mamaw, and Carson, and Eudora, and Harper - my characters. You feel it. And that’s the key emotion. If you can experience what I experience through my stories, then you become part of the story, too.”

Monroe explained that she doesn’t always have a book in mind when she begins her research. In addition to dolphins, she has also studied sea turtles and butterflies. Through her volunteer work, she lets the species dictate where the story goes. In studying dolphins, Monroe learned that they excel in communication, they can sense each other’s presence, and that they have very strong family bonds.

“I took that knowledge and wrote a series of books about a family,” she said. The first in the series is entitled The Summer Girls and it introduces the reader to the central characters in the stories and the family’s beloved home on Sullivan’s Island. The matriarch, Marietta “Mamaw” Muir, is grandmother to Carson, Eudora, and Harper, who have all come to stay with Mamaw for the summer at her request. “It was one of those summers where each of the girls, who are in their 20s, early 30s, felt adrift,” explained Monroe. “Eudora was getting a divorce. Carson was in-between jobs and was a little bit low on cash. The idea of being on Sullivan’s Island for free sounded good to her! And Harper was having a crisis with her mother.”

The first book explores Carson’s story, while The Summer Wind focuses on Eudora. In the third novel in the series, The Summer’s End, the spotlight is on Harper. One common theme in all of the stories is Delphine, a dolphin that captures the family’s heart.

“Delphine…who you meet in book one, is the tent pole,” added Monroe. “The thread that weaves all of the books together.”

At the end of book three, two of the main characters are engaged. Monroe felt it just wasn’t the right time to end the series, so, as she was contemplating Charleston’s acclaimed ranking as the number one wedding destination in the country, she decided there was still much more to be told about the relationship between the summer girls and Mamaw. Monroe’s fourth book in the series, A Lowcountry Wedding, was released last week.

“After talking to a lot of women and doing my research, I began to form my own opinions for this story and, in a nutshell, my opinion is that (Charleston) is more than a beautiful backdrop,” she said. “The Lowcountry does make for beautiful photographs…but I believe that because so much of the country is now connected on the internet, and we’re becoming more homogenous, there’s not the clear regional differences that used to be so pronounced, except in the South. And I think Charleston has become a beacon of tradition and history, and more, etiquette and protocol.”

That, combined with the tension that normally comes during the planning stages of a wedding, and you have what Monroe contends is a recipe for conflict.

“I think everybody knows a story that is either hysterically funny or pretty tragically objectionable!” Monroe told the audience. “I had a lot of fodder to play with, especially the generational differences. I find that whenever you bring family together, especially when there is a lot of estrangement, that tension level goes way up…I think in the end, gatherings for family are really a time for compromise, and that’s really what weddings are.”

In the six years it took to create her “Lowcountry” series, Monroe became a grandmother. She sees some similarities now in her Mamaw character and herself. Becoming a grandparent, she explained, is really about getting a second chance to make a difference.

“I got to grow with Mamaw in the book,” added Monroe, referring to writing A Lowcountry Wedding. “(Grandparenting) is not just our second chance to have fun…but to me, what I’ve learned…is to watch and be an observer…Watch them as individuals. What are their weaknesses? What do they need help with? What can I get them that gives them confidence? Because it’s not really what I want for them to become, and that’s what Mamaw realized, but to help them become the best they want to be.”

For more information on A Lowcountry Wedding, and all of Monroe’s books, visit www.maryalicemonroe.com.