Point Loma author’s new novel tells of one of the peninsula’s most mystifying figures

From an early age, the story of the mysterious woman in the round home stuck with Jill Hall.

As she was growing up in Point Loma, rumors and speculation about Katherine Tingley and the Theosophical community Lomaland swirled among locals.

For Hall, the stories and questions dating to the early 1900s were more than rumors, they were a source of intrigue and curiosity.

Now, the author, artist and educator is releasing “On a Sundown Sea: A Novel of Madame Tingley and the Origins of Lomaland,” covering the life, work and wisdom of one of Point Loma’s most mystifying figures.

The book is Hall’s debut in biographical historical fiction.

“I was compelled to find out the truth and I became obsessed,” Hall said.

The story is set in the late 1800s and early 1900s, outlining Tingley’s work in building and maintaining the community of Lomaland, the official headquarters of the Theosophical Society of America from 1900 to 1942.

Theosophy, or divine wisdom, was a progenitor of the New Age movement of the 20th century. It combined a Freemason-inspired respect for all religions with popular spiritualism and the study of then-newly “discovered” Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, according to a 2024 Point Loma-OB Monthly article by Bruce Coughran and Eric DuVall.

Tingley had taken leadership of the Theosophical Society in 1896. It was first organized in New York City in 1875.

Lomaland, now the home of Point Loma Nazarene University, was a sprawling campus with ornate white buildings. It was an oasis for Theosophists and their families, offering a space for discussions and teachings. Some of Lomaland’s original buildings are still standing, the most notable being America’s first Greek amphitheater.

From a young age, Tingley had had a vision of a “White City on a Sundown Sea,” Hall said.

According to Coughran and DuVall’s article, Tingley herself recalled mentioning that dream to Gen. John Fremont in the 1890s — “this fairy story that in the golden land, far away by the blue Pacific, I thought as a child that I could fashion a city and bring the people of all countries together and have the youth taught how to live and how to become true and strong and noble and forceful royal warriors for humanity.”

Fremont suggested California — Point Loma in particular.

And in January 1897, the Theosophical Society bought about 130 acres there and quickly began building Lomaland.

“I grew up hearing rumors,” Hall said. One of her first memories was of her mother telling her about a round building where “a crazy lady used to live.”

“She built it round because she thought her husband had been reincarnated as a turtle and she didn’t want him to bump into any walls,” Hall’s mother told her.

“I always wanted to understand more,” Hall said.

Hall began writing “On a Sundown Sea” by digging into Tingley’s life and work from all angles.

Though she wanted to emphasize historical accuracy, “there is no [full] biography on Katherine Tingley, and part of that is because no one knows what the truth is. As a historical fiction writer, my obligation is to use facts and be as authentic as possible,” Hall said. “It was not easy, and there were many obstacles when finding information.”

“I wrote the book from her point of view, in third-person close,” Hall added. “I did not want to speak for her, so I did not use ‘I.’ I added in her thoughts and feelings and used my research and intuition to describe how she might have felt at the time.”

As Lomaland grew, more attention was drawn to Theosophical ideas, and speculation from onlookers was heightened.

“Due to [Tingley’s] perceived controversy, the then-owner of the L.A. Times and other local newspapers published negative editorial pieces about her in the early 1900s. They claimed she was treating her staff horrible, starving children and worse,” Hall said. “I usually use articles as the main form of research, but in this instance, I could not even believe what the papers had said about her.”

“The ministers in town began preaching against Tingley and against Theosophy. People stopped going to church because they wanted to go to Lomaland, and that set them off,” Hall said. “People from around the world moved to Point Loma to be closer to her. … There are so many homes in Point Loma that were built by people who moved to San Diego to be closer to Tingley.”

As her research grew, “a lot of synchronistic things happened,” Hall said. “It began at a neighborhood party where I met an editor. She pointed me to San Diego State University, where a recent Lomaland exhibition by Kenneth Small had just wrapped up. Once I contacted him, he was able to pass along archives. I then was directed to a man who had written his master’s thesis on Lomaland and Tingley.”

That man was Coughran, who turned out to be a former high school classmate of Hall’s.

Hall, who still lives in Point Loma, is an instructor and past board president of San Diego Writers Ink, in addition to being a mixed-media artist with a passion for yoga and gardening. She holds degrees from Point Loma Nazarene and the University of San Diego, with a doctorate from Northern Arizona University.

She began her writing career after years of work as an educator across creative media.

“The pendulum swung away from arts and I began writing,” she said. “I began with a writing group, where we would receive prompts, and initially I thought I would write children’s books or a memoir about being a teacher. But that is not what happened.”

As Hall grew into her writing, characters began finding her. Gaining inspiration from history, art and the world around her, Hall published three dual-timeline novels, “The Black Velvet Coat,” “The Silver Shoes” and “The Green Corset,” known collectively as the Anne McFarland series after their recurring main character.

“I am intuitive writer,” Hall said. “All my first drafts are in a journal by hand, and I write with my heart, not my head.”

Following “On a Sundown Sea’s” release Tuesday, Oct. 14, Hall plans an author talk and launch party at Warwick’s bookstore in La Jolla at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20.

In addition, she plans the presentation “Research and Writing ‘On a Sundown Sea’” at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, at La Playa Books in Point Loma and 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8, at the Point Loma/Hervey Library.