About the Book
When the Season Ends invites readers to imagine leaving behind the familiar and mundane to discover a new sense of purpose in a place rooted in the past.What would happen if you just slipped away? Could you leave everything familiar behind to become someone else-living a different life in a different place without anyone noticing? That's a question Olivia Nash never knew she had-until she began to answer it. Her son has slipped away on a summer internship at a Michigan camp. Her husband, Nate, has slipped away on an extended assignment in Montreal, too wrapped up in a high-stakes merger to include her. It's not that she intended to run away-if that's what you want to call it. But smartphones and distracted, disinterested people make it surprisingly easy to telecommute in your role as wife, mother, sister, and friend. Where you are is irrelevant. Until where you are begins to change who you are. Back in a place from her past-on an island that lives in the past, Olivia creates a parallel life with an unlikely assortment of people: a troubled college student; the wise and lonely owner of the island's bookstore; Chef, older now-but is he still the temperamental culinary prodigy she remembers from that long-ago summer ? And then there's the mysterious owner of a cottage, known only to her in emails as Frankie, who invites her to refurbish the neglected house, giving Olivia a place where she can reimagine her life and her calling at the same time. You might be able to slip away from your life for a summer. It's not clear if just as easily, you can slip back into the life you left behind-when the season ends.
About the Author :
Stacy Windahl is a graduate of Kenyon College and Baldwin Wallace University with degrees in economics and business administration. She studied gracious hospitality for a season on Mackinac Island. No degree was conferred. Instead, she received a lifelong love of the island.For twenty-five years, Stacy has been a marketing communications writer for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. She coauthored a book on the magic of working for The Walt Disney Company from the experience of C-suite executive, Jody Dreyer (Beyond the Castle: AGuide to Discovering Your Happily Ever After [Zondervan, 2017]).Stacy enjoys entertaining, travel (she studied economics and theology for a year in St. Andrews, Scotland), a hot cup of coffee, and a good story, believing every person has a story worth telling.She, her husband, Jeff, and dog, Winnie, live in her hometown of Bay Village, Ohio, on the Lake Erie shore. Their son and daughter, their spouses, and recent additions to the family make their homes in the Cleveland area as well.Follow Stacy on Instagram at @stacywindahl or on stacywindahl.com. Noel Skiba is an award-winning impressionistic painter and instructor, and fourth-generation artist. Born and raised in Alpena, Michigan, she began painting at age two. She visited Mackinac Island as a five-year-old Girl Scout and fell in love. Even then, she knew she would find her home on the island.Noel has won numerous awards, including the Lilac Festival PosterAward (five times), Celebration at the Grand Art Award, Harbor Springs Arts Festival Poster Award, Key West Schooners Wharf Best of Show, Rockford Art in the Park Best of Show, and numerous others. She has also created art for the Murdick's Fudge seasonal and holiday boxes.Noel's work can be seen in the Ford Presidential Museum and the Michigan House of Representatives. She paints live at the Kentucky Derby and at US monuments. She has traveled the world over from Paris to Mexico and Guatemala to Norway, inspired by God's gifts andcapturing moments in time with her paintbrush.You can catch Noel painting in her waterfront studio and gallery or on location around Mackinac Island, northern Michigan, or in the Florida Keys asshe travels with her husband, Tom Kingman, a horseman, trainer, and carpenter. Her son, Paul, raised on the island, is also an artist and travels to the island often with his wife, Jess.Learn more about Noel and see her work at noelskiba.com.
Review :
"If you love Elin Hilderbrand novels and Mackinac Island, you'll love When the Season Ends. The story and characters are compelling, and you'll find yourself caring for each one. When the story-and the season-ended, I wanted more!" -Tamara Tomac, manager, The Island Bookstore, Mackinac Island
"Through crystal clear prose sprinkled with quietly sharp observations about modern womanhood, Windahl tells an instantly relatable story, lovingly set on the shores of Mackinac Island's lush blue water. I loved discovering Olivia's journey right alongside her." -Jeff Graham, award-winning writer/director of Always, Lola
"When the Season Ends touches on so many thoughts, feelings, and situations that arise as mothers move into new stages of life. The characters may be fictional, but the landscape is as real as it gets." -Jodi Bird, literary destination influencer, Bountiful Blessings Travel
"Mackinac Island comes to life in a vivid novel that draws us in and takes us on a journey through a season that you don't want to miss. Stacy has given us a splendid story with complex characters and a strong sense of place. When the Season Ends is a read that is both captivating and as inviting as a warm summer's day!" -Jody Jean Dreyer, 30-year Disney veteran and former senior corporate staff member, author of Beyond the Castle, A Guide to Discovering Your Happily Ever After
"A wonderful, engaging story about a woman finding her way back to herself, set against the backdrop of beautiful Mackinac Island. I was deeply connected to the main character and am hoping for another book to find out what happens next! If you love Mackinac Island and just a good story, I highly recommend!" -Sharon Hegarty, Mackinac Island summer resident
