Stones of Sandhill Island was released on September 11, 2018. It was the second in the Sandhill Island series. It is available in print, electronically, and in audio formats on Amazon or at https://books2read.com/u/bojOrp.
Victim mentality is an acquired personality trait in which a person tends to recognize themselves as a victim of the negative actions of others, and to behave as if this were the case.
Billie Stone felt she was a victim of life. A beautiful woman with the voice of an angel living on an idyllic island with the artistic mother she loved. But she felt alone after her husband and son were killed in an accident. Her music was the only thing that got her out of bed somedays – that and her aging mother. She wanted her life back.
Joe Franks felt like a victim of life when everything he’d ever worked for was taken from him and he was forced into pizza delivery to make ends meet. He never meant to hurt anyone on that dark Texas highway. Suddenly the minivan was in front of him and he couldn’t avoid it. He went to prison, lost his house, car, and job. Society was determined to keep him down.
Who was the victim and who was the victimizer?
Franks saw Billie as the lucky one. She had a job she loved, a beach house on an island to live in, and he wanted his life back. So, the man who killed her family approached her wanting her help – and when she wouldn’t give it, he tried to take it from her.
Billie Stone would get her life back if it killed her.
There’s a new jazz singer on Sandhill Island. Billie Stone, named for the late jazz great, Billie Holiday, has her own set of pipes. She grew up on Sandhill Island and has come back home to heal her psyche after a tragic accident took her family. Billie’s mother falls ill, and now, she has a new role as caregiver. Once again, her mental health takes a back seat.
Joe Franks, drunk and on the wrong side of the road late one night, crashes into the minivan that comes out of nowhere. But after a year in jail and penniless, he thinks he deserves another chance. No one will hire a jail bird, and he’s not cut out for pizza delivery.
Just when Billie seems to be on the cusp of healing – and finding a new love – Franks’ rage spirals out of control. Have Billie’s losses made her strong enough to overcome once more, or will this final disaster be her undoing?
Stones of Sandhill Island picks back up where Secrets of Sandhill Island left off. Some of the same characters make an appearance, but the main character – Sandhill Island – is once again in the forefront. The island is home to a handful of inhabitants who are wooed by her beauty and live their lives loving the calm and isolation it brings. The people are kind – except when exploited – and take care of each other and their island.
Pick up a copy of a beach read that will keep you coming back.
What are you reading, writing, or creating this week?
In 2015 I released the first Sandhill Island novel, Secrets of Sandhill Island. It was my first romance suspense novel, and I was so excited to be involved with The Wild Rose Press. They had agreed to publish my novel. It wasn’t my first publication, but it was still a new beginning for my writing.
At first it was to be set on Galveston Island, since I’d been there a few times. But it soon became obvious that that this needed to be a much smaller and intimate island full of complex characters, and the series was born. Then I realized it needed a more exciting beginning to grab the attention of the reader. Here is how it all began.
All Evan wanted was to be with Meg. He would provide for her and the child, or children as the years went by. He was still unsure why she chose him – a fisherman – over anyone else in the world, but she did. Her family didn’t like him, but they were just going to have to get used to him.
He struggled pulling the nets in alone. The pulley did most of the work, but it still would have been nice to have some help. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he sensed the presence behind him. He turned around. The man stood almost close enough to touch. The dark ski mask pulled over his face sent a shiver up Evan’s spine. Where did he come from? But most of all, why did he hide his face out here on the open ocean? And then he saw the giant meat hook in his hand.
“Who are you and how did you get on my boat?” Evan stepped toward the intruder despite the danger. He never expected what came next.
“This is from Graham.” The man plunged the hook deep into Evan’s chest. Blood spurted every direction as Evan’s eyes bulged, and he gasped only once. The man in the ski mask quickly pushed him over the side into the dark, churning water.
* * *
The body thrown overboard, the man with the meat hook went below to shut off the engine, then reached in and cut the fuel line. Gasoline spewed across the floor. He ran for the exit and quickly climbed back up the steps where the life raft was ready. Just before he stepped in the raft, he threw one lone burning match into the hold. When it met the fuel, it blew and burned brightly. He knew the boat would burn and sink. Any debris would be caught up in the current and head out to sea so nothing would ever be found; just another fisherman who got caught in a storm and never came home. He hoped Graham would think it was worth a bonus that the boat wouldn’t be found either. He started the little engine and headed for home after rinsing the bloody hook in the dark briny water.
From then on, my heart lived on Sandhill Island at least part time. This year I wrote the final in the series, and I find that both satisfying and nostalgic. I long to go back, though it is time to move on. You can find it at https://books2read.com/u/3JRvxE as a paperback, electronic version, or audio book.
I hope you enjoy the Sandhill Island books as much as I enjoyed writing them. Check them out and leave me a review or respond to this blog to let me know how you feel about them.
What are you reading, writing, or creating this week?
I’ve spent a lot of time on Sandhill Island developing the characters I love and some I didn’t. But they were important to the story. The small-town atmosphere has both nosey neighbors and camaraderie between people who live in the same area. And I decided it was time to move on and let them live their lives in peace.
But one last time to set the record straight, the island lives even though it has had many hardships from hurricanes to fires, to strangers up to no good, the island still endures.
Drugs and alcohol can change people—good people—who are under the influence of foreign substances and their lives and those around them are changed forever.
Dani was the older sister and always thought she was in charge. She took care of her brother, Cody, her mother, and in the end her uncle. She worked hard to keep the family together like a parent, even though she wasn’t. And her little brother was jealous. He was treated like a child, and he fell into that category. He didn’t want to work, that was for Dani, but he expected the same treatment. While his sister worked daily to scrape together a living, he sold drugs and maybe used a few for himself. Then the bad guys expected more of him and his sister whether she was involved or not.
Dani Brown grew up poor and hard working. Her brother, Cody, only grew up poor. Always wanting the easy way out, Cody ran drugs and lived his life on handouts. When they were young, Dani and Cody were inseparable, now Dani only sees him if he’s desperate. The drugs he samples and sells have started to rot his brain.
This time, Cody owes some big money, and the only person he knows to help him is his sister. When the cartel realizes she owns a boat that could run even more drugs for them, she is torn between saving her brother and living her life. The final Sandhill Island story pits sister against brother in a life-or-death struggle.
The Enid Writers Club, and Enid Arts Council, present their annual fall writing workshop “Writing a Great Story!” on November 8, 2025, at St Matthews Episcopal Church, 518 West Randolph, Enid, OK 73703. Preregistration is required and it is only $25.
We will begin the morning with check-in at 9:00 for coffee and doughnuts and to get acquainted. Speakers and members will have their books for sale, and you can get them signed. They make great Christmas gifts.
The first speaker, Jacob Benavides, OSU Professor of English, will begin at 10:00 with In Circles: Writing From, Out, and Within Your Background.
The second speaker at 11:00 is Nick Lyon, Oklahoma English and Speech teacher, will discuss Writing Historical Fiction.
A boxed lunch from McAllester’s will begin at 12:00 with a choice of ham, turkey, or veggie sandwich, chips, and a cookie. Drinks will be provided.
After lunch (around 1:00) the speaker will be Ally Robertson, from Edmond, editor with The Wild Rose Press since they opened in 2006. She is also a writing coach, freelance editor, and author, under the name Alicia Dean, with more than thirty published titles. She will discuss Plotting – A quick list of plotting steps and how to utilize them to create a solid outline.
The final speaker of the day at 2:00 will be Jennifer Wilson, aka J. W. Rose, poet from Bartlesville, will teach Taking the Mystery Out of Writing Poetry.
It will be a great networking opportunity, cozy shopping excursion for books, lunch out, and you might learn something! I’m sure it will be fun.
You must pre-register, so we have a headcount. The entire day is only $25 including lunch and will be from 9:00 to 3:00. St. Matthews is a lovely facility and just small enough to be personable, not a huge lecture hall. Parking is in the back. There will be four speakers, with four topics, lunch, and an opportunity to get acquainted with other writers.
My husband and I decided to take out the tub and put in a shower in the front bathroom. We looked around and got some estimates and decided what we wanted. I am to the point that the less scrubbing the better. I didn’t want grout around tile to deal with. I wanted a smooth finish. And I got it. Well, I will in a few days.
This is a wall covering that is like the man-made granite you put on a kitchen countertop. It is manufactured to your size and then put in. I had a bench built so I could sit and shave my legs. It is smooth and has no rough grout to hold and grow mold. It will have a glass door when it is finished, and I bought a shower squeegee, so I won’t have water spots on the glass.
It seems the older we get the more we need and want the simple things in life. Comfort before style and beauty. It gets harder to step into a tub, and comfort is the name of the game. I think we will have both comfort and beauty this time around.
It’s not finished yet, but the picture shows what it looks like now and the tub before. I know we’re going to enjoy it. I’ll show you pictures when the shower is finalized.
Here’s to comfort in our old age!
What are you reading, writing, or creating this week?
The Enid Writers Club, and Enid Arts Council, present their annual fall writing workshop “Writing a Great Story!” on November 8, 2025, at St Matthews Episcopal Church, 518 West Randolph, Enid, OK 73703. Preregistration is required and it is only $25.
We will begin the morning with check-in at 9:00 for coffee and doughnuts and to get acquainted. Speakers and members will have their books for sale, and you can get them signed. They make great Christmas gifts.
The first speaker, Jacob Benavides, OSU Professor of English, will begin at 10:00 with In Circles: Writing From, Out, and Within Your Background.
The second speaker at 11:00 is Nick Lyon, Oklahoma English and Speech teacher, will discuss Writing Historical Fiction.
A boxed lunch from McAllester’s will begin at 12:00 with a choice of ham, turkey, or veggie sandwich, chips, and a cookie. Drinks will be provided.
After lunch (around 1:00) the speaker will be Ally Robertson, from Edmond, editor with The Wild Rose Press since they opened in 2006. She is also a writing coach, freelance editor, and author, under the name Alicia Dean, with more than thirty published titles. She will discuss Plotting – A quick list of plotting steps and how to utilize them to create a solid outline.
The final speaker of the day at 2:00 will be Jennifer Wilson, aka J. W. Rose, poet from Bartlesville, will teach Taking the Mystery Out of Writing Poetry.
It will be a great networking opportunity, cozy shopping excursion for books, lunch out, and you might learn something! I’m sure it will be fun.
You must pre-register, so we have a headcount. The entire day is only $25 including lunch and will be from 9:00 to 3:00. St. Matthews is a lovely facility and just small enough to be personable, not a huge lecture hall. Parking is in the back. There will be four speakers, with four topics, lunch, and an opportunity to get acquainted with other writers.
I’ve spent a lot of time on Sandhill Island developing the characters I love and some I didn’t. But they were important to the story. The small-town atmosphere has both nosey neighbors and camaraderie between people who live in the same area. And I decided it was time to move on and let them live their lives in peace.
But one last time to set the record straight, the island lives even though it has had many hardships from hurricanes to fires, to strangers up to no good, the island still endures.
Drugs and alcohol can change people—good people—who are under the influence of foreign substances and their lives and those around them are changed forever.
Dani was the older sister and always thought she was in charge. She took care of her brother, Cody, her mother, and in the end her uncle. She worked hard to keep the family together like a parent, even though she wasn’t. And her little brother was jealous. He was treated like a child, and he fell into that category. He didn’t want to work, that was for Dani, but he expected the same treatment. While his sister worked daily to scrape together a living, he sold drugs and maybe used a few for himself. Then the bad guys expected more of him and his sister whether she was involved or not.
Dani Brown grew up poor and hard working. Her brother, Cody, only grew up poor. Always wanting the easy way out, Cody ran drugs and lived his life on handouts. When they were young, Dani and Cody were inseparable, now Dani only sees him if he’s desperate. The drugs he samples and sells have started to rot his brain.
This time, Cody owes some big money, and the only person he knows to help him is his sister. When the cartel realizes she owns a boat that could run even more drugs for them, she is torn between saving her brother and living her life. The final Sandhill Island story pits sister against brother in a life-or-death struggle.
I met Faith Phillips a couple of years ago at a Library Festival at the Oklahoma City Municipal Library. We shared the elevator together and I loved her cowboy boots. Then I found out she was the speaker! I was there that day representing Tornado Alley and had other things I had to attend to, so I was in and out of her presentation. She was probably tired of that, but she was gracious. Then I found her on Facebook and invited her to speak at the Enid Writers Club fall workshop. Everyone loved her. Since then, we’ve developed a relationship based around books and writing. She is a novelist, screen writer, TV producer and a great proponent of the art. She is incredibly busy, but she agreed to this interview like always. I asked her a few questions.
1. What drives you to write?
This is such an interesting question. What drives me to write? The truth is, when I’m writing, everything feels right in the world. Time is suspended. I don’t need to eat or drink. I don’t need anything except that feeling of creation.
I wrote my first book when I was six years old. It was a work of supernatural fiction called Grandma and the Water Gnome. Hah! So, I think if I was compelled to write at that age, perhaps I was just born that way.
I love mystery. I prefer to live a life of great mystery. So, I’m ok with not knowing exactly how to explain why I’m compelled to write.
2. What genre(s) do you write, and why?
I write fiction, true crime, and essays/memoir. My great dream in life was to become a great writer of literary fiction. My first book was a fiction supernatural thriller. But my career didn’t really take off until my third book, a true crime novel about the 2008 Weleetka murders. This was not my plan. The book basically fell in my lap and when I heard the story from the woman who prosecuted the murders, I knew without a doubt that it had to be written. After that, I planned to get back to fiction. As it turns out, people have a powerful response to my non-fiction writing. So, I have been riding that wave since 2015 and it hasn’t crested yet. I still plan to get back to fiction, but so far, my plans have failed in a most spectacular fashion.
3. What genre(s) do you read, and why?
I started reading Stephen King at a completely inappropriate age. I think Pet Sematary is the one that hooked me first. I was a really good kid, straight A’s, class president, church every Sunday. But I had this secret life with Stephen King, and I still feel a little guilty about it. I also love the humor writing of David Sedaris. Basically, if you can scare me and make me laugh at the same time, we are going to get along just fine.
4. What’s your writing schedule? Do you write every day?
I really want to tell you that I write every day, but I don’t. When I’m writing a book or a screenplay I go into obsessive mode, and I’ll write up to 5,000 words a day. My mind just grabs onto the story and won’t let go until I finish. Then I’ll take a break until the next project.
I do journal every day but that’s not the same as when I’m on a project. When I’m on a project I’ll start writing around 10 a.m. and finish around 2 or 3 p.m. Then I’ll do some editing in the evening. But I confess I’m more of a binge writer than a disciplined writer. I’m trying to get better about that part.
5. What pulled you into writing and did you always want to be a writer?
I have always been writing I just didn’t realize as a kid that it might become a career. As a young person, authors seemed like rock stars to me. No one in my periphery did anything like that. Matter of fact, it’s a little bit insane to pursue a career in the arts where I’m from. People said that to me when I moved back home to write books. They just couldn’t believe that I would do something so irrational as to leave a law career to write books. And they were probably right.
6. Tell us about your screen writing and television production and how you got into it.
It’s a strange story. I think I could say I spoke it into existence. My fourth book came out and Iwas somewhat frustrated with the trajectory of my writing career. I wondered if maybe I would spend the rest of my life as a local author – not that there’s anything wrong with that – but I am nothing if not ambitious. So, I decided I would study screenwriting, thinking I might adapt my books into screenplays. I was in the process of learning when a production company contacted me to ask about using my book on the Weleetka murders for a tv series. It just so happened that I had come upon some new information in another notorious cold case and I just pitched it to the producers. The next thing I knew, I was arguing with Nancy Grave on national television. I genuinely had no idea what I was doing. That’s how I sold my first tv series. Since then, I’ve been adapting my true crime into scripted feature films and tv shows. They’ve been winning awards so it seems like I may be on to something. All will be revealed.
7. Tell us about your latest work in progress.
After self-publishing for fifteen years, I’ve just signed with Bloomsbury Publishing. This is the largest indie publishing house in the world, and they discovered JK Rowling. So, it’s going to be a whole new world for me. Here’s the logline:
Faith Phillips, a Cherokee true crime novelist, targets eight cases of missing and murdered indigenous women that she believes are all solvable. The author, with a proven track record of re-opening official cold case investigations, travels to each of the eight tribes across North America to document the crimes, share the intimate grief of families who continue to search for their missing women, and coordinate resources between state, tribal, and federal governments to demand answers, once and for all.
I also have a feature screenplay in development. It’s a thriller called Mankiller Shell and it is an adaptation of my experiences in true crime. We’re making movies, baby!
8. Tell us one unusual thing about yourself – not related to writing!
I have experienced prophetic dreams since I was in grade school. I woke up crying telling my parents that I couldn’t go to school because the bus was going to crash. They said don’t be silly and put me on the bus. Guess what happened next?
9. Who was your first love and what age were you?
Oh boy, I’m a strange bird, in that I fall in love all the time. Don’t tell my husband I said that. I just mean I see Creation in all people, so I’m in awe of them. So, I’ve been falling in love as long as I can remember. But if we had to say first romantic love it must be my first boyfriend, named Gator. He was a wrestler who took me to the opera and that was it, I was totally gone. I would have married him and had a family except that he cheated on me in the girls’ restroom of the high school gym with one of my classmates. It was the first of a long string of violently broken hearts. It’s ok though, I got better.
Most importantly, the love of my life is Mark Hinson. We have been together for ten years now and he’s been a huge supporter of my writing career. Without him, it wouldn’t have happened like this. It isn’t easy to be partnered up with a creative, so Mark deserves all the accolades.
10. If you could relive one day, which one would it be? Think GROUNDHOG DAY, the movie for this one – you’ll have to live it over and over and . . .
I would choose Harvest Day at my family’s small vineyard. We all came together to help my dad bring in the grapes, then we de-stem while listening to our favorite music (Leon Russell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, etc.). We stomp the grapes … sounds gross but it’s one of the best feelings in the world. Mom puts out a huge charcuterie and we share last year’s vintage together. Grandma would bring a homemade chocolate pie while the kids run around with grape stains on their faces. That’s all. Let it be again.
11. What three words describe you, the person?
Peculiar. Cunning. Awestruck.
I asked Faith for her bio and here is what she says:
Creator / Executive Producer
Faith Phillips, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is known for her work as a novelist, screenwriter, and producer living in the Ozark foothills. She created, wrote, and executive-produced the national docu-series The Girl Scout Murders in 2022.
Her third book, Now I Lay Me Down, is an Oklahoma best seller selected for development with legendary documentarian Stanley Nelson and the HULU/Firelight Kindling Fund. Phillips adapted her true crime novel into an original pilot, Bad Creek Bridge, a finalist in the SeriesFest TV Lab. She is also the creator of the crime noir series Cadaver Dog.
Faith’s feature screenplay Mankiller Shell was selected as a finalist for the Almanack Screenwriters Colony. She was also named a 2024 recipient of the Netflix Native American Writer Accelerator Grant. Phillips recently signed with Bloomsbury Publishing to pen an MMIW true crime novel, due for release in 2026.
Coming in 2026:
Missing & Murdered
Bloomsbury Publishing
Faith Phillips, a Cherokee true crime novelist, targets eight cases of missing and murdered indigenous women that she believes are all solvable. The author, with a proven track record of re-opening official cold case investigations, travels to each of the eight tribes across North America to document the crimes, share the intimate grief of families who continue to search for their missing women, and coordinate resources between state, tribal, and federal governments to demand answers, once and for all.
Last year for Christmas I got a Shark (Rumba type) vacuum cleaner. I love it! I was writing a story the other day, and the vacuum cleaner was vacuuming the floor, the dishwasher was washing the dishes, and the washing machine was cleaning my clothes. All. At. Once. I was in heaven. The older I get the more I appreciate the little things, like a clean house without the work it takes to get there.
For ease of explanation, I will admit to the fact that I love the new vacuum so much I named her Rosie like the Jetson’s maid who was a robot. My husband and I are the only ones in the house, and we aren’t that dirty. No kids anymore or pets, just us. So, I run Rosie about once a week.
Rosie does a pretty good job most of the time, but she doesn’t get the corners, and blinds, under some tables, etc., and I have to clean up now and then. But that is to be expected.
Then a very ironic thing happened. I walked into the dining room where Rosie docks and waits for her next assignment and draped over the vacuum cleaner was a huge cobweb! I know that it is Indian Summer and just before fall officially hits, the spiders and other creatures make one last triumphant return to the world, or maybe they are looking for a good place to winter, but this was ridiculous. And it got worse. I got the push vacuum out and pulled out the hoses to vacuum up the mess, aware of the irony of vacuuming the vacuuming cleaner, and found the web draped all the way across the back door and into the corner of the room. I know I’ve been out that door several times since the last time I ran Rosie. That spider was speedy!
I vacuumed the vacuum cleaner and then the back door and the corner. There were bugs in it and I destroyed what was supposed to be a feast. They all went into the upright vacuum cleaner and then into the trash. Nice try, spider, maybe next time. But Rosie and I are ready for you. There is a rule in this house, if you don’t pay rent, you don’t live here. Find another place. I never did find the homebuilder. I’m sure I’ll run into him eventually. I really hate spiders.
What are you reading, writing, cleaning, or creating this week?
The weather has been unusual this summer. I think anyone in the Midwest will agree with that. It makes me wonder what our winter weather will be like. It was cool and wet this summer, will it be cold and snowy this winter? I can’t predict the future, but if I could, I’d say cold and snowy.
This time of year, is called “Indian Summer.” I really don’t know why, but it is the last time the vegetation can grow with abandon, and it gives it one last try.
For many years I have had a basil crop along the fence in the backyard. I do very little with it. Right now, it is chest high. Sometimes I make pesto. Mostly it seems to be for the bees and butterflies and other critters. It reseeds itself and comes back each spring. I am just in charge of watering it and walking around it as it falls over, smelling like heaven.
The other day, my husband was getting ready to mow and he said, “I am going to end up hitting your basil, it is leaning over and in the way.” It has become so tall and unruly that it is a menace. I went out and used some small 2-foot-tall fencing to help hold it up out of the way. It didn’t work. Then my husband came out with a sign that we’ve used many times over the years. It is a “For Sale” sign that he turned around and wrote “Free Plants” on and we put it by the curb when I was trying to clean out another overabundance of vegetation. Those were at least in pots. But I loved the sign. It did help get the overabundance of basil out of the way—and it said it all. If you want some basil, come get it!
Oh, while I was out tending to basil, I saw my first Monarch butterfly of the season. Soon it was joined by another. I guess it’s migration time. That too makes me think of fall and what is next for us. Cold and snowy? Time will tell.
What are you reading, writing, growing, or creating this week?
Life is a patchwork of moments — laughter, solitude, everyday joys, and quiet aches. Through scribbled stories, I explore travels both far and inward, from sunrise over unfamiliar streets to the comfort of home. This is life as I see it, captured in ink and memory. Stick around; let's wander together.
I’ve spent a lot of time on Sandhill Island developing the characters I love and some I didn’t. But they were important to the story. The small-town atmosphere has both nosey neighbors and camaraderie between people who live in the same area. And I decided it was time to move on and let them live their lives in peace.
I’ve spent a lot of time on Sandhill Island developing the characters I love and some I didn’t. But they were important to the story. The small-town atmosphere has both nosey neighbors and camaraderie between people who live in the same area. And I decided it was time to move on and let them live their lives in peace.
Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site 