New Novel Invites Readers to Escape to Lyngør—One of Europe’s Best-Preserved, Car-Free Island Villages
The anticipated debut novel by Kimbra Drake publishes today. “Emotional and heartwarming.” —Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author
Kimbra Drake is the first romance / women’s fiction author to set a love story in Lyngør, a tiny, car-free archipelago off the southern coast of Norway.
In her novel, Where the Heart Meets the Sea (January 20, 2026), author Kimbra Drake becomes the first romance / women’s fiction writer to set a love story in this remarkable island community.
Early praise for the novel highlights its immersive setting and emotional depth: “A little romance, a little mystery, a little island community in Norway—all are enticing elements in Where the Heart Meets the Sea, Kimbra Drake's delightful novel.” —Jane Doucet, author of Lost & Found in Lunenburg
At a time when readers crave both escape and emotional resonance, Drake offers a fresh take on the popular “inheritance” storyline: Instead of a crumbling manor house, her protagonist receives a seaside cottage in an island village only reachable by boat—a place most readers have never heard of but will instantly yearn to visit.
Drake’s inspiration comes from experience rather than imagination. “When I first visited Lyngør, I was immediately struck by the stillness, the history, and the sense of stepping back in time,” said author Kimbra Drake. “I ended up living there for three months, and the community welcomed me with such warmth. It felt like the perfect setting for a story about connection, healing, and starting over.”
In Where the Heart Meets the Sea, readers meet Ella Nilsen, a woman who inherits a remote cottage after her grandmother’s death and travels to Lyngør to uncover long-buried family truths. Her arrival stirs old memories for Leif Arnesen, a boatbuilder haunted by the accident that changed his family forever. As their lives intersect, secrets surface, loyalties shift, and both characters must confront the stories they’ve been told—and the ones they’ve told themselves.
Published by Bleecker Street Books, Drake is no stranger to shaping stories: She is a longtime editor and certified book coach who has helped countless authors bring their novels to life. Now she steps into the spotlight with her own fiction debut, already earning acclaim for its atmospheric writing and cinematic sense of place.
Where the Heart Meets the Sea is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio formats wherever books are sold online.
Georgie Hockett
Girl Friday Productions
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