The Book Stacks

I’ve always been a bit smitten by the tropics. As far back as I can remember I wanted to write and be near the ocean. I should expand on that a bit: I wanted to be near, in, or beneath the ocean’s surface. By the time I was in my early thirties, I had a decade of working on dive boats, jumping around the Caribbean and writing for scuba and travel magazines under my belt.

Those years were priceless, not only in terms of the environments and cultures I was lucky enough to experience, but for the opportunity to write about them. My writing teeth were cut on sailboats, beaches, and port town taverns and for that I consider myself fortunate.

It goes without saying that when I decided to cross over into publishing fiction, the stories would take place someplace tropical. West Across the Board is set in one of my favorite locations: The Florida Keys. I fell in love with the island chain years ago, not only for its stunning scenery, collage of cultures, and pristine waters, but for its fascinating history.

Closer to Cuba than the U.S. mainland, Key West was more accessible by boat than car until the mid 1930s. It was during the 1930s that I chose to set my novel. This gave me a great opportunity to research an era in the southern keys that I’ve always been interested in and an excuse to spend more time on Key West.

I’ve been a professional archaeologist for most of my adult life. Consequently, conducting historical research is nothing new to me and with hindsight may have been why I chose to write a historical novel. Although writing non-fiction articles or papers and tackling a novel are two fundamentally different endeavors, I found the research aspect of writing historical fiction to be a safe, familiar place to start.

Ultimately, it is and will probably always be the tropics that I write about, regardless of the genre. I plan to continue freelance article writing and my next book (which is partially completed) while still fiction, is not a historical novel. This book too takes place in the tropics. One thing I do enjoy about historical fiction is the opportunity for readers to become engaged in a compelling piece of fiction while learning something about a particular historical era–whether they intended to or not.

Thanks for having me!