Tag Archives: fabulous novel

Long Point Lighthouse Provincetown Fishing Colony

Longpoint

This handsome antique postcard showing Long Point Lighthouse in Provincetown Massachusetts on the tip of Cape Cod shows houses set back beyond a lighthouse keeper’s building and the lighthouse itself. If you hike across the Provincetown breakwater on the west end of town, just beyond the Provincetown Inn and hike across the sand or visit Long Point by boat, you won’t see any  such buildings. The fishing village first settled in 1818, was at its height of prosperity in 1846.  There were 200 residents and 38 houses. They used cisterns to gather water and had their own salt works for fish processing. The lighthouse itself was established in 1826 and the current tower built in 1875. Automated in 1952 and currently solar powered, it shines a fixed green signal and blasts out a fog alert every 15 seconds.
So what happened to the village of Long Point and all those houses?  Most of them were floated across the bay during low tide on barrels and repositioned in Provincetown. Ceramic blue and white plaques identify some of the houses in town that were floated across the bay from Long Point.
There are many interesting stories about the town and if you were born in the town or have lived and worked in Provincetown for a number of years you learn thiings.. Curious to learn more? Read Remaining in Provincetown, the new mystery novel just released and available at bookstores, including the Provincetown Bookshop, and online in trade paperback and as an ebook at Amazon. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Best Provincetown Books for Summer Reading

Reading some books about Provincetown will get you in the mood for your visit.

Reading some books about Provincetown will get you in the mood for your visit.

Whether you are visiting Provincetown for the very first time or returning to Cape Cod for your annual summer visit, there is nothing like reading a few good books to get you in the mood. Here are some favorites!

Time and the Town by Mary Heaton Vorse

Mary Heaton Vorse (1874-1966) arrived in Provincetown in 1907. The book was published in 1942 and it is the last of the sixteen books that she wrote. An activist in the American labor movement and a roving foreign correspondent, she was a woman ahead of her time. Her book is a story of the town and its people, rich with history and interesting antidotes. Her story is both a memoir and a social commentary, with lovely descriptions of the way the town once was years ago. y If you have an interest in Cape Cod, Provincetown history, and women writers, don’t miss out on reading this classic.  A reprinted version published by the Rutgers University Press and listed under editor Adele Heller is available online  in paperback. Earlier collectible versions are available from antiquarian book dealers.

The Outermost House: A Year on the Great Beach of Cape Cod

By Henry Beston

Published in 1928 this beloved book that puts the focus on nature, is now available in paperback , and  chronicles a year spent on the Cape Cod Beach , now known as the Coast Guard Beach in Easton. Beston describes the desolate beauty of life living on the sand dunes. You are transported.  Available in paperback, hardback, and a kindle version as well as an audio version, it could be the perfect book to listen to as you drive towards the tip of Cape Cod.

Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook

A perfect beach read, this recently released mystery novel set in the early 1990s, takes you inside the minds of a diverse set of characters whose lives intersect when one of the town’s leading citizens, a real estate entrepreneur and native son, is murdered. “Described Provincetown to a T” says one of the Amazon customer reviews. “Finally an author has been able to successfully capture the flavor of that quirky town on the end of Cape Cod and do it well,” says another reader review.  Available in trade paperback in bookstores, online, and as a kindle version.

Ptown Poem

Gay Provincetown friendly to pets

An antique postcard with an interesting statement

An antique postcard with an interesting statement

Is this young lady saying she has no chance in Provincetown because none of the men in town are interested in her or because she is walking with a dog? When did Provincetown first get its reputation as a gay town? Lest you think this postcard is of recent manufacture, here is the back of the card.Ptownlady2

Provincetown has long had a reputation for not following society’s conventions. The fishing village at the very tip of the Cape was known as “Hell Town” back in the 19th century.  Whatever your sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or philosophical perspective, the small town on the tip of Cape Cod has long been the place you get away to not be deterred or influenced by what everyone else thinks. And as for that very cute dog, being walked on a leash, well Provincetown is also quite dog friendly and a great place to visit if you have a pet. There are many dog friendly inns and hotels in the area and placse to eat outside looking towards the bay you can sit with your favorite four legged honey.  And of course everyone with dogs know they love to run across the sand bars when the tide is low. The characters in the new novel Remaining in Provincetown, due to be released April 15th, like to walk along the beach with or without a dog. It’s a great place to think and reflect on just who the murderer in town might be. Want to find out more about the book? Visit our new facebook page, just launched, to see the cover. (click on it to see the entire image).  Like the page. We’ll be giving away some FREE copies to our facebook fans. So keep following.

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Sand dunes entering Provincetown Cape Cod a memory

Junction of Commercial and Bradford Streets entering Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Junction of Commercial and Bradford Streets entering Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Sand dunes greet you as you enter the east end of Provincetown in this antique postcard.  The houses on Commercial Street don’t look much different than they did 100 years ago in this unique town on the tip of Cape Cod. On Bradford Street, the town’s major two-way thoroughfare, however, it looks quite different. With just two main streets and only a one route out of town, by car, how do you commit a murder and make a clean getaway? In 1990, the approximate year  the new novel Remaining in Provincetown takes place, much of the sand dunes and woods had already made way for apartments, condominium complexes, and businesses.

Announcing a new book set in Provincetown

Remaining in Provincetown is the name of a fabulous novel, about to be published and this blog is the place where you’ll be able to ask your questions and make your comments. Want to know more?

This color lithograph postcard was created over 100 years ago. What's on that corner now?

This color lithograph postcard was created over 100 years ago. What’s on that corner now?

Old postcards figure into the plot.