After a year away from blogging it feels good to be back in the groove and focused on the completion of my current book, BENT TREE COTTAGE.
It’s been a rough two years. My partner of twenty-six years was diagnosed with lung cancer. Unfortunately, by the time he realized something was wrong it was stage four. My writing ceased as my head was filled with him and his care––Bent Tree Cottage was not going to meet the publication date of mid 2023. After his passing in April of last year and legal details completed, I packed up our two Yorkies, Hemingway (Hemi) and Peluche (Teddy) and headed down to our house on Big Pine Key, Florida. Big Pine Key is the home of the small Key Deer, and Hemi and Teddy love watching, and barking, at the little guys that roam freely around the island.
Florida in June and July is not the ideal time for an extended visit with temperatures in the mid to high 80s day and night. However, it was just what I needed to get my life back on track. While exploring parts of the island that I had not seen in twenty-six years of owning the house, the little voice in my head directed me to a street I had never noticed and at the dead end was a lovely gate with a FOR SALE sign. My curiosity took over and I sat there in the middle of the road and GOOGLED the address.
It turned out to be a fabulous “old school” estate built in the early 1960s. It was situated on ocean-front property, very private and on a street named Winifred. Well, it happened––by the time I got back home a new story was in my head. It’s called WINDSWEPT and my character’s name is Winifred.
I spent the next month driving to remote areas of the island, talking to the locals, and buying every book I could find on the history of the Florida Keys, especially the southern keys and Key West. I look forward to my future blogs and letting you in on my findings.