Lots Going On "at the beach"

     I read in this mornings paper of the closing of Lincoln Lanes. So sad.  I had my first "real" job there right after it opened in 1959. Jack Reynolds was working there and he got me a job as a pin-boy. I later was promoted to Assistant Manager. I did not own a car at the time, so I paid $.50 each way in a cab. I met some very good friends there and many are still around today. I am considering writing a third book "Death on Mt. Pleasant" and if I do, Lincoln Lanes will have a chapter of its own.
     Meanwhile back "at the beach". A bill has been introduced in the South Carolina General Assembly that gives hope to the Grand Strand's effort to lure a large California craft brewer to a site near Broadway st the Beach. The bill redefines brewpubs as operations that produce up to 500,000 barrels of beer per year, rather than a limit of 2,000 barrels per year in the current law.
     Barefoot Landing is getting a fresh look and ten new stores for the summer season. Crews have been busy re-decking the pedestrian bridges, renovating the restrooms and resurfacing the parking area. They are painting through out the shopping center and adding new rocking chairs, benches and planters in the common areas. It won't have that weathered tired look anymore.
     If you're coming to Myrtle Beach this summer, leave your beach tent at home. Horry County, Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach have all banned beach tents for the summer season.
     Real estate is picking up and prices are still low. I showed a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo at A Place at The Beach ll in Windy Hill and it was really nice. It was located on the ocean and priced to sell at $115,000.
     My second book Cougars at the Beach is at the editor and I am hoping for a June 1st publishing date.I will keep y'all advised.
     Bev and I are planning to be back in the Lancaster area over the Memorial Day holiday and we hope to see as many of you as possible. If anyone knows of a place where I can do a book signing for my book Murder on the Front Nine, while I am in town, please let me know.
     See ya,
     Steve and Bev

                                                      View from Windy Hill condo

                                                        View from Windy Hill condo

                                                            Windy Hill beach

                                                                Windy Hill beach






    

Cougars "at the beach"

     All of our winter visitors have left the beach. Most of them left too soon. The weather turned nice after they headed back north. You can tell it's spring in South Carolina, the pollen has arrived. When you go out to get in your vehicle, you soon discover the color of said vehicle has changed. It is now yellow. You can no longer leave your windows open even though the temperature is in the mid 70's. I played golf yesterday and when I finished my brown shoes had changed colors, they are now yellow. At least it started late this year, so hopefully it will go away quickly. A good thunderstorm will wash away all of the pollen for awhile and a water hose daily restores the color of your car.
     Real estate sales are picking up along the Grand Strand but prices are still rather low for a beach destination. If you're teetering on the edge of should I purchase now or wait, now is probably the right time.  Come on down and visit, you may decide to stay. And by the way, we're dealin!
   
     My second book Cougars at the Beach is finally finished. Now the hard part begins, editing and re-writes. Here is a summary of the book and maybe my back cover:

     Cougars at the Beach is Steve McMillen's second installment in the Mickke D, Grand Strand murder mystery series. His first book Murder on the Front Nine, got rave reviews on Amazon, Kindle and from the public in general.The setting for the second book is the same as the first, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
     Mickke D, an ex-Green Beret, real estate agent and part time private investigator accepts the job of trying to locate a missing person for a friend of his. Now, how much trouble can a missing persons case be for a PI? He soon discovers he is hunting for a serial killer and that the serial killer is hunting him as well. This is a fast paced, drama-filled, page turner, which will keep you on the edge of your chair all the way through. As in the first book, the author includes a lot of local history along with local settings, including the new Boardwalk, the Sky Wheel, golf courses, resorts, restaurants, wine festivals, and a boat chase on the Waterway, all of which anyone who lives in Myrtle Beach or has ever visited Myrtle Beach will recognize. Just as in the first book, the reader will be able to say, "Been there, done that."
     Steve brings back several characters from the first book and adds a few new ones. Mickke D has a significant other this time around, however he is not sure if she is a good guy or a bad guy. He has never had much luck with women and that trend seems to continue, however I'll let you, the reader, be the judge of that.
     If you're looking for a good beach read, Cougars at the Beach, is for you.

     See ya, Steve & Bev

                                                     "Twisting" at La Belle Amie vineyard

                                                          Empty Cherry Grove beach

    



    
    

Pictures

                                                               
                                                        

                                                       "All That" dancers at the Opry

I am having problems with photo's today, sorry.

Cold, Snow, Ice "at the beach"

     This past week was misarable down here. Not as bad as those of you "up north" are having but terrible for us who have grown accustomed to mild winters. I can't remember the last time we stayed inside for three straight days. The dusting of snow on top of ice was the bad part along with low temps in the teens and no "above freezing" temps during the day.  Our street was a sheet of glassy ice. Didn't see anyone go up and down for two days and then the first one to come down the street did a 360 right in front of our house. Friday was the first day we ventured out since Monday. The majority of the golf courses have been shut down all week. Not good. Today as I write this, the temp will be 65 and we may even reach 70 by the end of the week. Things are looking up.
     We went with some friends from Lancaster on Friday night to The Carolina Opry. We ate at Chuck's Steakhouse before the show and it was crowded. I think everyone was going out for the first time in awhile. The new seating at The Opry was fantastic. Larger, comfortable seats, more isle room and a cup holder. The show was great as always. I am always amazed at the talent down here. The musicians, singers and dancers are all top notch. If you've never been to a show down here, be sure and go the next time you're in town.
     Myrtle Beach is one of the top three destinations this summer based on bookings on the FlipKey.com vacation rental website.  Myrtle Beach followed No. 1 Rio de Janeiro and No.2 Ocean City, Md., as the most popular on FlipKey, which is the vacation rental arm of TripAdvisor.
     One good thing about the bad weather was that I got some much needed writing done on my new book COUGARS AT THE BEACH. It is coming along and I am looking to have it completed this spring. The book features Mickke D and several other characters from my first book MURDER ON THE FRONT NINE.
     There are lots of snowbirds down here right now. Why don't y'all come on down and join them for a couple of weeks or a month or two. I hope the bad weather is over.  See ya, Steve & Bev

That's ice under the snow

 

 

    

Cold But No Snow "at the beach"

     I figured those of you "up north" could use some cheering up, so I have included beach pictures this time around. It has been down right cold down here. I got up the other morning and it was 17 in Little River. Today it's supposed to get to 50 and then 65 on Monday and then 35 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and maybe that dreaded four letter word SNOW! This has been the coldest January I can remember since we have been down here, which is fourteen years. The only good part has been there has been ample sunshine, which does make a difference. I haven't played golf since last November and that's unheard of down here.
     Speaking of golf, after three years of relative stabilization in rounds played, the Myrtle Beach area golf market saw paid rounds drop nearly 6% in 2013 compared to 2012. I'm afraid if this trend keeps up, we may be seeing more course closings this coming year. The home building  market is starting to improve so those developers are looking at golf courses as prime locations to build.
     The local shows are opening again after a one month vacation and the Carolina Opry has installed all new seating. We're going with some Lancaster friends this coming Friday to check it out.
     My second book Cougars at the Beach is coming along slowly but surely. Hope to have it to my editor by the end of April. I have included several Lancaster personalities in the book and  I am trying to work some Lancaster locations into the book as well. Signed copies of the first book Murder on the Front Nine are still available at The Ohio Glass Museum in Lancaster. The book is also available at the Fairfield County Library in Lancaster.
     Not much going on real estate wise. It is a slow time of year, but there are lots of deals still on the books. Come on down, we're dealin!  See ya, Steve and Bev

                                                            Bev looking for shells

                                                             Cherry Grove beach

                                                          Bev with her new sand dipper

                                          Bev trying to figure out how to work her sand dipper

Lots going on "at the beach"

     The weather has been great, with temps in the high 60's and low 70's and plenty of sunshine. If I had not torn my calf muscle several weeks ago, I would probably be out playing golf.
     Cypress Bay Golf Course, which is just up the street from us in Little River, was sold (again) to a housing developer and will close March 1st. Cypress Bay will be the first full 18-hole course to close for planned redevelopment since 2007. Approximately 20 18-hole courses closed between 2005-2007 for planned redevelopment, and many remain undeveloped, including the former 54-hole Bay Tree Plantation, a few miles from Cypress Bay on route 9.
     The massive Grande dunes development, which brought a new level of luxury to Myrtle Beach, has been sold to a North Carolina based company. LStar Management of Raleigh, NC. closed the deal on Friday to buy the 2,200 acre development that spans from the Oceanfront to west of the Intercoastal Waterway. The deal does not include the public resort golf course, the Marroitt, and The Marina Inn.
     For those of you who have read my book Murder on the Front Nine, you may remember that the book begins with a ferry boat ride from Southport to Bald Head Island.   On this past Tuesday, that same ferry ran aground, sending passengers flying. The Coast Guard rescued and transported 14 injured passengers back to Southport where one passenger was airlifted from the scene. The 64-foot ferry Adventure ran aground shortly after leaving the city of Southport for Bald Head Island. At least 30 people were on the ferry at the time of the accident. One passenger said it was like "hitting a brick wall" when the ferry ran aground on a sandbar. As of Friday, the ferry was still stranded on the sandbar.
     Real estate has slowed down over the Holiday Season but reports say things will begin again on an upbeat note after the first of the year. Don't wait too long or else all of the good deals will be gone.
     One of the pictures I have included is of "yours truly" from way back in 1957 with an old girlfriend (Paula Ann in chapter 1 of my book). I can't believe I was ever that young, that I was ever that thin and that I even had hair. Of course the last time I saw Ann, she looked the same. Doesn't seem fair!
     I have been working on my second book Cougars at the Beach and things are coming along very nicely. Hope to have it finished by Spring.
     My lovely bride Beverly and I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
See ya, Steve & Bev

                                                                      Me 1957

                                                   Writers Workshop Christmas get together

                                                             Cherry Grove Beach

                                                              Cherry Grove Beach

Ohio & Other Connections "at the beach"

     On Saturday I was invited to participate and do a book signing for my book MURDER ON THE FRONT NINE, at an Open House at My Sister's Books in Pawleys Island. Bev and I had a great time, they provided great food, and we met a lot of interesting people. The only problem was that, of course, it was scheduled for the same time as the OSU Michigan game. When we arrived I looked around and there was no TV. Bummers! I found a Bar & Grill two doors down and they had the game on their TV, so I spent the day between meeting, greeting and hopefully signing books, and running back and forth to get updates on the game. It was an all around exciting day. First of all, we met a lady who lives in Burmuda Run in Advance, NC, which is where one of our classmates, Tammy Fairchild, used to live. Second, one of our LHS classmates, Susan Hines Butler, who now lives in Pawleys Island came by to say hello and she was telling us that one of our high school English teachers, Mrs. Susla, lives just down the street from her. The funny thing is that I refer to her in my second book, COUGARS AT THE BEACH, not by name, but as a teacher that Mickke D had a crush on in high school. What a small and wonderful world! Next Bev and I decide to take a break, so we go down to the Bar & Grill to watch some of the game. We start a conversation with our waitress and she says her parents live in Ohio, but that we have probably never heard of the town. She tells us her parents are from Beverly and of course Bev and I, and our golf group used to play golf down there years ago. She could not believe that we knew where Beverly was located and had actually spent time there. It was a totally great day. We met great people, I sold some books and Ohio State won. It doesn't get any better than this.
     Real estate has slowed down but there are still quite a few good deals down here. If you're looking to spend the winter somewhere, come on down. There are great deals on condos everywhere.
     See ya, Steve & Bev

                                     Yours truly with Bess, one of the owners at My Sister's Books

                                                    Waitress who's parents live in Beverly

                                                           One of several book buyers

                                                        Susan, yours truly and Bev