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Where Snowbirds Play

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Pub Date May 06 2025 | Archive Date Aug 31 2025
Holly Watson | Hay Press/Renard Press

Description

Was it pure chance that he had run into her so soon? Philip had never believed in destiny, and his father had believed in nothing but his own genius. And yet…

From the moment recent Oxford graduate Philip takes the helm of a new marine life institute in Palm Beach, his presence revives old feuds and sparks rivalries among the wealthy resident snowbirds, many of whom have invested heavily in a biotech company soon to be exposed for insider trading. It quickly becomes clear that Philip’s quest for atonement on the behalf of his father will embroil many of the community’s most prominent members.

Interwoven with snippets of real-life drama from an insider-trading scandal, Where Snowbirds Play paints a compelling portrait of the lives of the privileged, and what happens when their world is turned upside down.

Was it pure chance that he had run into her so soon? Philip had never believed in destiny, and his father had believed in nothing but his own genius. And yet…

From the moment recent Oxford graduate...


A Note From the Publisher

Gina Goldhammer studied English and Creative Writing at Syracuse University, has a master’s degree in literature from Harvard, and after graduation worked briefly on Wall Street and at US News & World Report magazine. For the next twenty years, she was the personal editor of the former US Secretary of State, Henry A. Kissinger, and worked with him closely on all his books, speeches and news columns, including his 1994 seminal work, Diplomacy. Gina’s father was involved in geopolitics during the Cold War, attaining prominence in 1961 as the highest-ranking defector from a communist country – a story she is working into a novel. Gina is a Florida snowbird who spends time in London and Venice.

Gina Goldhammer studied English and Creative Writing at Syracuse University, has a master’s degree in literature from Harvard, and after graduation worked briefly on Wall Street and at US News &...


Advance Praise

Gina Goldhammer’s Where Snowbirds Play offers an arresting and singular perspective on a lifestyle few experience firsthand. Taking readers into the heart of privilege, Goldhammer spins a compelling story that lays bare the tensions, frailties, desires and self-deceptions that drive human beings everywhere. Sumptuous, witty and surprising, this novel will transport you to a world that is at once absorbingly fresh, and a charming – and alarming – reflection of our own. -Ann Morgan

Gina Goldhammer’s Where Snowbirds Play offers an arresting and singular perspective on a lifestyle few experience firsthand. Taking readers into the heart of privilege, Goldhammer spins a compelling...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781804471357
PRICE $14.99 (USD)
PAGES 264

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Featured Reviews

“Where Snowbirds Play” is a multi-layered read. It is based on multi-generational characters with three families plus a scholar from England looking to connect with his unknown brother. Set in Palm Beach, the is a factor of glamour and social climbing too. But it seems that all that shine can lead to many secrets. Old money, bio-tech scandals and family drama is thick with this read. The writing style of this story was colorful with fun & messy characters. This is a perfect read for your summer enjoyment! Thank you to NetGalley and Renard Press for this advance read.

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Where the Snowbirds Play is an intriguing concept based on loneliness, family, intrigue and accountability presented in a manner that creates room for consideration, and captures as a snapshot, the deeply hollow nature of the world today.
Philip arrives at the Island to oversee the Institute founded by one of the Islands wealthy widows, Vanessa Vine. He is not there just to work but to follow a trail left by his father, a man who was a womaniser, to try and discover a young woman Hannah and her son, his half-brother.
As the complex story unfolds, Philip discovers Hannah, now Mrs Hannah Caulfield and her son, down on the beach as he struggles to secure a stranded Hawksbill Turtle. They work together to get the creature secure enough to allow it to be to be pulled up to the Institution.
This sets the basis for the many layered story as Philip and Hannah grow to know and understand each other, he also finds he cares deeply for Jesse, a little boy with many serious health issues who is full of charm, wit and intelligence.
Clashing personalities, a small community of wealth and entitlement, fractured families and salvation play out as change comes to a strictly structured world; change that is long overdue, instigated by the Institute and a Hawksbill Turtle named Princess.
As Princess slowly recovers, each member of the community who has come to care and support Princess, discover their own pathway to salvation through caring for this beautiful creature.
Where the Snowbird’s Play has been constructed in three parts, all of which capture deep, fragmented emotion, all of which gently bring the many pathways travelled together to a heartbreaking but fitting conclusion.

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