Written by longtime locals and true insiders who offer personal and practical perspectives that readers trust.

The Insider’s Guide to NC’s Southern Coast & Wilmington takes you to the clean, quiet, family oriented beaches of North Carolina’s Southern Coast and introduces you to the intriguing city of Wilmington, including the historic downtown riverfront.

Regular Cover Price: $15.95

On Sale:

$9.95 Buy it at http://Islands-Art.com

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• Race for Riches: a history of the origins of piracy
• Greed and Gold: a pirate’s life aboard ship and in battle
• Tools of the Trade: weapons, vessels, and pirate culture
• Rogues and Raiders: profiles of pirates through history
• Other Pirates, Other Times: the past and future of piracy
• A Roster of Infamy: a list of pirates and their vessels

“The illustrations are incredible, from the actual pirates to their ships, battles, maps, tools of the trade and treasures. For every generations’ fascination with pirates and the exotic and exciting life they supposedly led, this book will satisfy that hunger for the actual and imagined part of pirate lore.

Miller Pope is as exceptional a writer as he is an illustrator, writing with the visual in mind, always crafting his words from an illustrators’ perspective and then backing that image up with the very picture the words so masterfully created.”

- Island Living Magazine

While priced as low as $8.00, all prints are titled digitally and reproduced as high quality Giclées.

A light gray mat is also printed around the white area. All prints fit standard frame sizes found everywhere. Pricing is by frame size.

To view all of Miller’s prints and/or purchase these prints click here!

The first series Miller has released were nature and beach scenes.

Other series now released include prints of his illustrations from his four pirate books and a selection of his retro/vintage art from the 19950s and 1960s.

Miller was recently the subject of a feature article in the January issue of Our State Magazine.

Miller Pope was born in South Carolina but spent most of his career during the “golden age of illustration” in the New York advertising and publishing arenas, after getting his start on the Marine Corps’ legendary Leatherneck magazine.

Miller studied figure drawing at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C., at the Art Students League in New York City.

His works have appeared on novel covers and in major magazines. He was elected to the Society of Illustrators in 1957.

With his wife, Helen, he moved south in the 1970s and worked to develop The Winds Resort Beach Club and Sea Trail Plantation on the Southeastern North Carolina coast.

To view all of Miller Pope’s prints and/or purchase these prints click here!

The Devil’s Parody is the second book in the Nick Thomas Mystery series. The first novel in the series The Nine Irony was published in 2009 and brought to life a cast of colorful characters that take you on a ride to remember.

The Devil’s Parody asks the question How Far Would You Go For $5,000,000.00? Lured by a five million dollar prize, six consummate gamblers; three men and three women, are trapped by their own greed and find themselves playing against each other for their lives in a deadly game of chance.

The Devil’s Parody is a gripping thriller that pits Nick against recluse sociopath, Sebastian Black, in the remote woods of Vermont where he is conducting a deadly experiment into the gambler’s mind. Are there lines they wouldn’t cross?

Tom Rieber’s third novel in the Nick Thomas Series, Backfire, is a thriller, set in Sunset Beach, North Carolina is already under pen.

$14.99 Devil’s Parody – Nick Thomas Mystery by Tom Rieber

Buy it now at Islands-Art.com

He retired from the fast-paced New York life and moved to coastal Ocean Isle Beach where he opened The Winds Resort. He loves the coastal life but he still takes time to do his art, his life’s passion.

WRAL.com out of Raleigh has featured the advertising guru in an episode of The Tarheel Traveler, check out his interview on the link below and find out what it was like to be a real madman.

Check out Islands-Art.com for some unique books by nationally renowned local authors and artists.

The works of the writers include romance Novels, Mysteries, History and fun. All have ties to this very special place along NC’s Coast.

Jacqueline DeGroot Romance Novels

Islands Art brings you novels by renowned local Romance Novelist Jacqueline DeGroot.

Jacqueline’s books take place right here on the beaches of Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle – with many local landmarks as back drops.

Sit in your beach chair and lose yourself in a Jacqueline DeGroot Romance Novel!
Click Here To preview 8 of Jacqueline DeGroot’s best:
Jacqueline DeGroot Romance Novels

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Tom Rieber’s “The Nine Irony”

For men there’s the latest in the Nick Thomas Mystery Series “The Nine Irony” by local author Tom Rieber. A powerful. suspense driven thriller!

Nick Thomas is a little bit of all of us; believable, lovable, tough when need be and sensitive. He is a man who got a second chance at life after hitting bottom and turned his life around. And life was good, that is until one fateful day the walls of his life came crashing down and he finds himself framed and wanted for the murder of his estranged ex-wife.

Nick has no choice but to go underground and try and find the real killer before the police find him.

Click here to preview:
Tom Rieber’s “The Nine Irony” – A Nick Thomas Mystery

Miller Pope’s Book Of Pirates

For kids of all ages there is Miller Pope’s series of Pirate Books. Richly illustrated in full color and historically accurate, Miller’s pirate series are engrossing and entertaining. With nearly 150 original illustrations, this volume is sure to please and inform pirate fans of all ages.

• Race for Riches: a history of the origins of piracy
• Greed and Gold: a pirate’s life aboard ship and in battle
• Tools of the Trade: weapons, vessels, and pirate culture
• Rogues and Raiders: profiles of pirates through history
• Other Pirates, Other Times: the past and future of piracy
• A Roster of Infamy: a list of pirates and their vessels

Click here to preview:
Miller Pope’s Series of Pirate Books

Tales OF The Silver Coast

Hard Cover or Soft Cover Edition – A Secret History Of Brunswick County – From the earliest days of European exploration to the golf courses and beach resorts in this fascinating and fast-growing region, Brunswick County has attracted settlers, invaders, and visitors of all descriptions.

In these pages you’ll read about Steve Bonnet, the “Gentleman Pirate,” who hid his ships in Brunswick’s moss-draped creeks but unfortunately underestimated the ebbing tide; “Mrs. Calabash,” who’s said to have lent her name to the famous sign-off for Jimmy Durante’s classic radio shows; and Topsy the Elephant, who swam for the Brunswick riverbank after breaking loose from circus handlers in the 1920s.

Click here to preview:
Tales OF The Silver Coast

The History Of Ocean Isle Beach

Written to preserve and bring to life the history, character, and charm of Ocean Isle Beach is for people of all ages to enjoy the rich history of this area, from the lives of Cape Fear Indians to the explorations of Verrazano.

This book illustrates and describes the exploits of Ocean Isle Beach pirates, the rise of large plantations, our Revolutionary War fighters, the salt mills, the dueling matches, the Civil War wrecks, the Prohibition years of Ocean Isle Beach liquor smuggling, the 1920’s Ocean Isle Beach dance hall, the World War II shipwrecks here, the hard work of Mr. Odell Williamson (founder of Ocean Isle Beach), and the town’s public servant individuals today.

Click here to preview:

The History Of Ocean Isle Beach

Sunset Beach – A History

A full history of Sunset Beach NC with stories from many of the “old timers” who were eye witnesses to events. Some are funny, some are shocking – all are fascinating. No true Sunset Beach Lover should be without this book!

This is the second collaboration between Author/ Illustrator Miller Pope and celebrated novelist Jacqueline DeGroot. World renowned nature photographer Ken Buckner’s photos are used through out the book in addition to the photographs and illustrations of Miller Pope.

Click here to preview:
Sunset Beach – A History

The coastal islands of the area have long been a magnet to artists and writers who discover the beauty and romance of the area and decide to put down roots.

Islands Art features Giclée Prints by nationally renowned local nature photographer and artist, Ken Buckner, the books of Miller Pope (founder of The Winds Resort and Sea Trail Golf Resort), mystery novelist Tom Rieber and renowned local Romance Novelists Jacqueline DeGroot and Peggy Grich.

Visitors to the site can learn about these artists and writers and purchase their works along with T-shirts and other apparel featuring their works of art.

The site has just been launched and offers dozens of books and prints. New works will be added going forward as the site expands!

Click here to take a look: http://www.islands-art.com

This, the second in a series of historically accurate and lushly illustrated pirate books, relates the incredible lives of some of history’s most infamous pirates.

Each pirate ’s story features a unique illustration of the pirate. Visit MillerPope.com to see more and purchase his books!

Stede Bonnet, “The gentleman pirate”
Stede Bonnet was the most unlikely pirate of them all. He had been an army major before becoming a wealthy sugar plantation owner and he was among the best society on the island of Barbados. For some reason he left all this and bought a ship, hired a crew and embarked on a career of piracy.

In pirate circles it was unheard of to buy a ship instead of just stealing one. He recruited about seventy destitute seamen from the taverns and grogshops of Barbados.

Bonnet was a landlubber with virtually no knowledge of the sea. He explained that he had purchased his ship for pursuing inter-island trade and for several days his ship remained at anchor. But one night, he raised sail without a word to his friends or his wife and slipped out to sea, bound for the Virginia Capes. There he captured a few vessels.

The first of these were only plundered, but the last ship named the Turbes was burned. From then on every Barbadian ship taken by him was burned, as if he wanted leave his mark.

Bonnet captured more prizes off the New England Coast and returned to the south. Meanwhile however, the crew, were slowly becoming hostile because of Bonnet’s inexperience. During this time of increasing hostilities Bonnet anchored his ship, the Revenge, in the Bay of Honduras. There he encountered the Queen Anne’s Revenge under the command of Edward Teach, nicknamed “Blackbeard”. The two pirates quickly became friends and this odd duo, consisting of a veteran and an amateur, decided to join forces.

This was a big mistake for Bonnet because when Teach became aware of Bonnet’s inexperience, he invited Bonnet aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge, where Bonnet became almost a prisoner.

Teach tried to convince Bonnet that he would be more comfortable in the spacious quarters of the Queen Anne’s Revenge. Teach told him that a man of his education and mannerisms, should not undergo the rigors of commanding a ship like the Revenge. Soon one of Blackbeard’s lieutenants assumed command of the Revenge. Bonnet could do little about the matter. The Revenge’s new master gained the crew’s confidence quickly stifled any threat of mutiny by imposing stern discipline.

Bonnet eventually convinced Blackbeard to allow him to assume command of the Revenge again. The two parted company soon after that.

Bonnet sailed his ship to the town of Bath and turned himself in to the Governor of North Carolina, Charles Eden, as a reformed pirate. Despite this act however Bonnet still had a yen for Piracy and resumed scouring the sea for prey until his capture at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, near a quaint little town called Southport.

A narrow road that parallels the river heading north from the town center crosses a small creek after a short distance.

Beside the creek, almost unnoticed, rests a small marker with a metal plaque bearing the following inscription:

“BONNET’S CREEK . . . Stede Bonnet, the ‘Gentleman Pirate’ used the mouth of this creek as a hide-out for his vessel, the Royal James formerly called Revenge. Here on September 26, 1718, the great Battle of the Sand Bars was fought between the pirates and the men sent to capture them under the command of Col. William Rhett aboard the Henry and Sea Nymph. After a twenty-four hour battle there were nineteen men killed, twenty-three wounded, and Bonnet, with the remains of his pirate crew, surrendered. On November 8,1718, twenty-nine pirates were hanged in Charleston, S.C.’”

A few weeks later, Gentleman Stede Bonnet holding a cluster of flowers in his manacled hands, met the same fate as his crewmembers on the gallows.

If you enjoyed this excerpt click here to read more about Miller Pope and his other books. You can purchase his books right at the website: MillerPope.com

Soft Cover $12.95

Confessions of a Madman

A life lived through the years of the greatest change in human history, a tale of the Camelot period among the canyons of Madison Ave. and the publishing world in New York and Boston through the eyes of an illustrator.

A story that spans eighty years beginning in the Appalachian hills of Tennessee and evolving into the fast-paced world of art and advertising on Madison Avenue. Follow along and experience life in the upper strata of New York City society during the days when the Martini lunch ruled.

“From Madison Avenue to Island Sands” is one of those rare, thoroughly entertaining autobiographies that works because, unlike many autobiographies, it isn’t about a celebrity or a politician, but about a regular guy who has lived life to the fullest and then some.

In some respects, it’s a tale of two islands: Manhattan and a little place off the coast of North Carolina called Ocean Isle.” Lynn Jessup – The Wilmington Star News

Tales of the Silver Coast

A Secret History Of Brunswick County – From the earliest days of European exploration to the golf courses and beach resorts in this fascinating and fast-growing region, Brunswick County has attracted settlers, invaders, and visitors of all descriptions.

“Miller has done an exceptional job keeping the tone light while still being informative. Each story is only two to three pages long, with illustrations liberally spread throughout, making it perfect for children. Young and old will love the story of the Barefoot Felon, where a captain uses a simple trick to save his ship from pirates.”

- Brunswick Alive! Magazine

Miller Pope’s Book Of Pirates

From Captain Kidd to Blackbeard to the pirates of the orient . . . From bloody battles to walking the plank- from blunderbusses to cutlasses, With nearly 150 original illustrations, this volume is sure to please and inform pirate fans of all ages.

• Race for Riches: a history of the origins of piracy
• Greed and Gold: a pirate’s life aboard ship and in battle
• Tools of the Trade: weapons, vessels, and pirate culture
• Rogues and Raiders: profiles of pirates through history
• Other Pirates, Other Times: the past and future of piracy
• A Roster of Infamy: a list of pirates and their vessels

“The illustrations are incredible, from the actual pirates to their ships, battles, maps, tools of the trade and treasures. For every generations’ fascination with pirates and the exotic and exciting life they supposedly led, this book will satisfy that hunger for the actual and imagined part of pirate lore.
Miller Pope is as exceptional a writer as he is an illustrator, writing with the visual in mind, always crafting his words from an illustrators’ perspective and then backing that image up with the very picture the words so masterfully created.”

- Island Living Magazine

Drawing BC-Before Computers

This hot off the press book describes and illustrates the techniques of illustration during the mid-century days before the reign of color television and computers when great short story magazines ruled.

In these pages artists may find inspiration and those who remember the simpler times of the decades following the second World War will find nostalgia for a bygone time.

Younger people who were born into the world of color television and computers may discover in these pages a glimpse into the past.

Drawing techniques of Illustration’s Golden Age. Miller Pope relates the techniques and mediums used by some of the finest illustrators before the rise of computers in the world of publishing.

“Before moving to Ocean Isle Beach, Miller Pope (”Tales of the Silver Coast,” “Miller Pope’s Book of Pirates”) was a top illustrator in New York publishing, working for advertising agencies in the “Mad Men” era and creating artwork for The Saturday Evening Post, Reader’s Digest and other publications, as well as a number of textbooks.

He recalls those days in “Drawing B.C.” as in Before Computers (Island Press, $16.95 paperback). Pope demonstrates techniques that he and other commercial artists used in predigital days to get eye catching effects that conveyed the message. (Helpful hint: “Less is More.”).

Younger artists can learn a trick or two; the rest of us will be transported into a color-filled retro-world.”

- Ben Steelman The Wilmington Star News, Wilmington, NC

Buy them at MillerPope.com

Books by local Author, Illustrator – Miller Pope! Buy them at MillerPope.com

With these six medals added to those won over the past six years the total awarded the winery comes to the 219 awards! Silver Coast Winery received bronze medals for its 2006 American Oak Chardonnay, 2005 Seyval Blanc and 2002 Merlot and silver medals for its Premium Oak Chardonnay, 2005 Reserve Merlot and 2004 Treasure.

Silver Coast Winery Winter hours (January & February) for tours and tastings are offered from noon to 5pm Wed – Sunday. For more info visit the winery’s site at: silvercoastwinery.com or call 910.287.2800

For more about the site read our archived story here!