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Discover new worlds inhabited by characters rooted in the salty mangrove coast.
Local Authors Write About Home
Whether a good mystery or a historical novel is your style, a wide variety of locally written books can be found in local bookstores. Select one by an author featured here, and take a little piece of The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel home with you.
By Juliette Reynolds
Whether a good mystery or a historical novel is your style, a wide variety of locally written books can be found in local bookstores. Select one by an author featured here, and take a little piece of The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel home with you.
By Juliette Reynolds
  Sanibel Bookshop |
This phenomenon of nature freeing the artistic spirit is not new; neither is it particular to Southwest Florida. The Brontë sisters felt and conveyed the bleak beauty and romantic yearning embodied by the moors surrounding their home (think Wuthering Heights). Henry David Thoreau created a new philosophy of living ensconced in the embrace of the forests of New England.
It is into this tradition that the writers here step gingerly onto the shifting sands to tease from the sea her inspiration – and her mysteries.
 Randy Wayne White |
Writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh gave a gift to all seeking introspection and a simpler life when she penned Gift from the Sea. In her small tome, Lindbergh, the wife of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh and a pilot herself, explores the serenity of Captiva Island's seaside setting and its effects on her psyche:
"The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach – waiting for a gift from the sea."
The book, first published in 1955, is carried in most area bookstores and gift shops and has been treasured by many for its honest approach to a woman's journey to self-discovery and self-expression. And for its insightful descriptions of everyday occurrences on the islands' shores:
"But his shell – it is simple; it is bare, it is beautiful. Small, only the size of my thumb, its architecture is perfect, down to the finest detail. Its shape, swelling like a pear in the center, winds in a gentle spiral to the pointed apex. Its color, dull gold, is whitened by a wash of salt from the sea. Each whorl, each faint knob, each criss-cross vein in its egg-shell texture, is as clearly defined as on the day of creation. My eye follows with delight the outer circumference of that diminutive winding staircase up which this tenant used to travel."
Modern Mysteries
The area's most celebrated contemporary writer is Randy Wayne White, whose best-selling Doc Ford mystery novels use the area's natural beauty and assets to draw readers into the sleuth's peculiar island world. Packed with lively characters and descriptions of life on the fictional Dinkin's Bay, White's work paints a vivid picture of life on the undeveloped coast. With titles such as Sanibel Flats, Captiva and Ten Thousand Islands, White casts a wide geographic net while bringing the area's history and ecology to his readers. Not to mention bang-up mysteries.
While there's no record of Mary Roberts Rinehart, a mystery novelist who helped popularize the genre in the early 20th century, ever writing at her son's home on Cabbage Key, famed Florida author John D. MacDonald often visited and, it's rumored, penned some of his hard-boiled mysteries there.
A recent transplant to the area is Wendy Howell Mills, whose Callie McKinley series of mysteries is set on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Mills' Callie and the Dealer and a Dog named Jake and Death of a Mermaid have both received great reviews. Perhaps Callie will swap one intriguing coastal community for another soon?
History & Locale
Peter Wake is the creation of writer Robert Macomber, an avid sailor whose historical novels chart Wake's 35-year career in the U.S. Navy during and after the Civil War. The first of three books in a series, At the Edge of Honor, was recently awarded the Patrick D. Smith Award for Florida Fiction by the Florida Historical Society. His second book Point of Honor, and the third, Honorable Mention, are available in bookstores now.
Realtor Charles Sobczak has parlayed his experiences living on Sanibel into three books. Way Under Contract and Six Mornings on Sanibel are set on Sanibel Island (or a veiled version of it). His latest, A Choice of Angels, is set in Atlanta and Turkey.
John D. Mills, a local attorney, explores timely issues in his most recent work, The Manatee Murders, which illuminates the controversy brewing between the Save the Manatee Foundation and the local boating community. Pine Island Sound provides the background for the mystery.
Kid-Friendly Favorites
If you have little ones in tow, you'll find plenty of books from local authors in area bookstores to fuel their imaginations, though only a few of them prominently feature Fort Myers and Sanibel area locales.
James Kaserman has written two books on the same subject. Gasparilla, Pirate Genius, is a historical novel based on the legend of José Gaspar, for whom Gasparilla Island is named. With his wife Sarah, Kaserman has adapted the same swashbuckling material for Legend of Gasparilla, A Tale for All Ages, which is used in some area high schools and won the Florida Publisher's Association's 2003 President's Book Award for Best Florida Title.
Author Gerald Hausman has written a number of children's books, including Escape from Botany Bay. A noted folklorist, Hausman lectures to school groups on writing. Many of his stories are based on Jamaican folk tales and Native American lore.
Mary Beth Lundgren's newest book is the delightful Seven Scary Monsters. She specializes in picture books (with stunning illustrations) and books for young adults.
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Liked this article? Order your free 2008 Traveler’s Guide and receive 168 pages of intriguing features and complete planning information.More... |
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