The Bay at Midnight Bungalow

IMAG1098.JPGMy dogsitter was up in New Jersey and took a side trip to see my old family bungalow, the setting in THE BAY AT MIDNIGHT. She was sweet enough to take pictures for me. As my sister said when I emailed her the pictures: “it makes me both happy and sad.” The bungalow and canal behind it were very special parts of our childhoods. IMAG1100.JPG
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

12 Comments

  1. brenda on November 13, 2007 at 6:04 pm

    Am at the college helping students…just checked this BLOG. I love the house. Would love to live there. I have a nice home that is cozy and warm…about 22-2300 square feet…not too big-just perfect for us.
    However, I dream of a Thomas Kinkade cottage somewhere with my books and computer.

  2. brenda on November 13, 2007 at 6:06 pm

    D-you are lucky to have a dog sitter. Ours has to go to a kennel-quite expensive…especially when we are gone any period of time.

  3. Ann on November 13, 2007 at 7:30 pm

    These pictures inspire me to read Bay at Midnight again. I think I will do that!!!

  4. Julie on November 14, 2007 at 12:47 am

    Wow, I read that only a few months ago, and I have to say that is EXACTLY how I pictured the house. That is so crazy! You must have done an excellent job describing it, or somehow conveyed things so it magically appeared in my brain that way. I don’t remember there being a picture on the cover or anything, was there? Seems like it was just a girl sitting on a dock or something.
    Anyway, the only thing that looks different from the picture in my mind is not the house, but it seems more rural, and somehow I had a more urban feel in my head–less vegetation, but taller trees!
    Thanks for sharing that.

  5. Diane Chamberlain on November 14, 2007 at 2:46 am

    Julie, in the book, i changed the house color, but I can’t remember what I changed it to. I think yellow? But otherwise, it was exactly the same. When we owned it, it was white with red shutters and a red roof. The canal had wooden bulkheads instead of the unattractive red corrugated metal it has now. But the wood couldn’t stand up to the current which could get quite strong.
    I wouldn’t say the area is rural, but it’s also not urban. It’s coastal. There were more trees around when we lived there. lots of trees and blueberry bushes, which played a big role in BAY if you remember.

  6. Margo on November 14, 2007 at 8:37 am

    Diane, the bungalow is beautiful and just as I pictured it. What wonderful memories fo
    right? Reminds me so much of the cottage we spent time at every summer in Clear Lake
    Lake while growing up. That’s another reason why I loved THE BAY AT MIDNIGHT
    so much…your magic with words brought the whole setting to life and I felt like I
    was back at Clear Lake with my parents & sis. I understand your sister’s words
    ‘it makes me both happy & sad’.

  7. brenda on November 14, 2007 at 5:08 pm

    Stopped by the library to pick up a book. The consensus with those there are that the books we are reading-particular authors-some that we have been reading for years and years–something is happening…not so with Chamberlain…good…
    I had a great time in class last night although we were there until l0:00…The oral projects are so so so great. One was about buying from companies owned by America…so many different topics. Classes end Dec. 13 until January (college).
    We get off one week for C’mas at the high school. What folks don’t understand is that teachers do not get a vacation per se…we are paid for a certain number of days, and that is it. I DON’T MIND it though.
    Think of me as I grade the final essays and final research papers.

  8. Diane Chamberlain on November 14, 2007 at 9:23 pm

    Margo, many readers told me that BAY reminded them of their special vacation settings, no matter where they were. I like that.
    Brenda, sounds like you’re enjoying the year despite all the work. Have fun grading those papers. I bet you’re a terrific teacher.

  9. brenda on November 15, 2007 at 5:22 pm

    I dread tonight and Tuesday night-teacher evaluations. I know that the students like the classes, and they know that I come at 4:30 or 5 and work with them until classes start at 7:00. However, if the evaluations are negative (never happened before but I have some doubts this time)…I will rethink my two classes next semester.
    It seems everyone wants “A’s” Oh well.

  10. Donna Schmidt on January 15, 2008 at 7:55 pm

    After I read ‘Bay’, it stayed with me for weeks. I kept thinking about all of the charachters and all that had happened. I have to say, this is SPOT ON to what I had pictured the bungalow to look like. Great description in your book Diane! Now that I have just finished ‘CeeCee’, I wonder if it will stay with me the way ‘Bay’ did. I think so!

  11. Diane Chamberlain on January 15, 2008 at 10:43 pm

    Thanks, Donna! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my books.

  12. […] I was a kid, my dad would take us out in the back yard of our summer bungalow in Point Pleasant, New Jersey to star gaze. We had these big Adirondack chairs and he’d tip […]

Leave a Comment