Beach nourishment involves dredging large amounts of sand from the water in order to widen an existing beach. The sand can come from a sandbar, a borrow area, or the ocean floor or even an inlet or waterway. In Pawleys Island the sand came from a borrow area. Engineers create a plan for shooting the sand onto the beach with the goal of making a wider beach. The wider beach protects homes, tourism, and wildlife.
Pipes are used to transport the sand to the beach. Then bulldozers and loaders spread out the sand and pack it down. You can see the sand is darker, but we’re told the sun will bleach it out.
Sections of the beach were closed off, the work took place in fall and spring in order to protect sea turtles who nest on Pawleys Island.
As you can see, the beach is wider. It had been open for a couple of weeks before closing for health reasons, but one day people will flock to the beach again. There will be more room for social distancing, and there are more shells that came up with the sand during this process.
What does this mean for a cozy mystery writer? I’m pondering all the ways to tie this process into my next book.
I’ve been writing for quite a few years with many of the ups and downs authors experience on the road to publication.
Bite the Dust is the first book in A Low Country Dog Walker Mystery series. Andi Grace Scott is the local dog walker and friend to all. She has a caretaker personality which is part of her charm in caring for dogs.
One steamy South Carolina morning, Low Country dog walker Andi Grace Scott discovers a client’s dead body. Police quickly decide she’s the prime suspect. Horrified, she knows she’ll have to turn detective if she’s going to convince them they’re barking up the wrong tree.
Proving her innocence could be a tall order. The local police never solved the hit-and-run that killed her parents; Andi Grace isn’t sure they’ll solve this crime either…not when they have a convenient suspect—one caught with the possible murder weapon in her hand. She’ll have to follow every clue and call in every favor, even if that puts her in danger.
If you love strong heroines, coastal small-town life, and dogs, you’ll love Bite the Dust.