Author Ray McAllister was a columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch from 1988 through 2007, and a newspaper reporter for 14 years before that. His only book had been published in 1995, a collection of mostly humor columns entitled Reflections: Objects in Mirror Appear Backwards, But Maybe It’s Me.
But a column he wrote in August 2005 about a small island in North Carolina, and the reader response to it, led to an acclaimed book, Topsail Island: Mayberry By The Sea, in 2006. The book quickly went into six printings and a phenomenon was born.
Another island book, Wrightsville Beach: The Luminous Island, followed in 2007, and a third, Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks, in 2009. All three books were winners of Willie Parker Peace History Boook Awards, given annually by the North Carolina Society of Historians, and continue to be popular sellers. “Topsail” and “Wrightsville” were nominated for Library of Virginia Literary Awards, as well. “Hatteras” was a national Reader’s Choice Award winner.
The journey continues. A fourth book, Ocracoke: The Pearl of the Outer Banks, was published in 2013.
Meanwhile, Ray gave up the day job in late 2007 to write books, then also took an offer to become editor of Boomer magazine the following spring. He and his wife Vicki, the books’ photographer, live in Richmond, VA, and have a home in Surf City, NC. He currently is at work on other coastal books expected to come out within the next few years.
 The author interviews a diver on Topsail Sound |
 Signing at Quarter Moon Books on Topsail Island |
 The author discusses Hatteras and his other books before 550 persons at the Virginia Historical Society. |
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