SEQUIM — “This story came along just when I needed it,” said Sequim author Sandy Frykholm.
After years of research for a historical novel that wasn’t coming together, Frykholm says she needed a change of pace in her writing.
That’s when Gino Calabrese, a phony astrology writer who moonlights as a fortune teller at parties, came alive for her.
Gino is a main character in “The Islands Call,” a time-travel adventure with a hint of romance.
Frykholm’s novel will be available Wednesday next week in paperback and e-book; the e-book can be pre- ordered now on Amazon.
Gino, Frykholm said, would like to be more than friends with Sara, a fraud investigator with a big secret. She is clairvoyant — a gift that has ruined important relationships in her life.
When Gino disappears on a sailing trip in Italy, Sara is the only person who knows he is still alive.
While friends and family plan his memorial service, Sara struggles with how she can help Gino without revealing her own secret.
Although she began writing this story about 12 years ago, Frykholm set it aside for a few years to complete her memoir, “The Drive in ’65,” which was published in 2020.
She used a pen name, Sandra Lynne Reed, to publish the memoir.
“The choice to use a pen name was probably one of my worst decisions,” Frykholm said. “Maintaining two identities on social media and as a business person became very cumbersome.”
And unnecessary, she discovered.
Frykholm has been part of the writing community on the Olympic Peninsula since the 1990s, when she was an active freelancer for local newspapers.
She has also edited for other writers, and taught at conferences.
In addition to book-length work and journalism, Frykholm has written award-winning poetry and plays, and mentored young writers in the area.
She will be the featured reader on Feb. 24 at Olympic Peninsula Authors’ Fourth Friday readings on Zoom.
Contact her at 360-461-6897 for more information.
