On April 7, an ordinary day for those at the Lopez Museum ended on a golden note. “I got a check in the mail for $500,” says Director Mark Thompson-Klein. The check was due not to the lottery or to any bequest, but rather the republishing of a certain novel.

“A couple of days ago I got an email from Aaron Shepard of Shepard Publications saying that he planned to republish Phoenix Island by Charlotte Paul.” Further more, Shepherd told Thompson-Klein that for the time being, all the proceeds from the sales of the novel are to go the Lopez Historical Society. An unexpected, but much appreciated, windfall for the museum.

Shepherd, who is San Juan Island based, has many positive things to say of the novel and its cross-genre themes.

“It starts out as a techno-thriller then turns into an adventure story and then romance and then a utopian novel at the end, it is quite unusual,” he says.

First published in 1978, and going on to sell over a million copies, the book has a relevancy to Lopez because Paul spent time here and reputedly based the book on the Island. Shepherd cites this ‘‘local touch’’ to the novel as one of the things that appealed to him about it. “She looked a lot into how you would surrvive on these islands, so there is a strong local angle, I liked that.” He also highlights the importance of Utopian novels, and how he feels that the conflict resolution aspect to the work contributes to its over all “positive values.” “Utopian novels are very rare, they are the kind of thing that needs to be preserved, this [publication of the novel] is my gift to the islands.”

It was decided by the sons of Charlotte Paul’s first marriage, Hiram and John Groshell, to donate all the proceeds to the museum. The work will be distributed nationally in hard copy but also available by ebook.

Although Thompson-Klein had never read the book before, he is now half way through and enjoying it.