White fisherman boots are as common around here as flip flops and Nike’s. Called by locals: Wanchese Go Go Boots, Low Land Nike’s, Fisherman Dress shoes, etc. These boots are great when you are working on the water or in the case of the last few days, walking in snowy muck.

Today I’ve traded in my Go Go boots for a more stylish pair of boots. Mine of course, were not the creamy white rubber boots often worn by fisherman, mine have more personality. Like me, they are colorful.

When I started thinking about these boots and how much a part of my community they are, I realized that for some people, these are a status symbol. The men and women who wear the white boots are workers. The are crabbers and fisherman, pickers (women who pick out the crab meat and job that requires skill and dexterity) and anyone who works on or near the water. It is a blue-collar symbol. For many in this community, it represents generations of those who have lived and worked on these shores.

In my Leeward Files series, I use the people and communities around me for inspiration. The hard-working people I know are the heroes and heroines of my stories. I hope I give them the respect and honor they deserve. The people who work in the seafood industry are the backbone of the east. Eastern North Carolina is known for its vinegar based pork barbecue and its fresh seafood.

Leeward, North Carolina, the fictional town in my novel, Chrome Pink is a combination of places on the Pamlico River. It is a town, filled with good, hard-working people. Like any town, there are also bigots, ne’r-do-wells and criminals. I love my home town, the beauty, the people but I also see there is a darker side. Hopefully, the dark side isn’t as bad as what I portray in Chrome Pink but as they say, fact is often stranger than fiction.

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Sherri Lupton Hollister

Chrome Pink

Southern Suspense/Thriller with a touch of romance and attitude