Women Of Florida Fiction

"Razor-sharp... Deb Rogers writes with such verve and honesty about all the ways we stumble through life, and, like all great storytellers, gives us something wondrous when we reach the end of the journey.” —Kevin Wilson, bestselling author of Nothing to See Here An Indie Next Selection • A Fantastic Strangelings Book Club Pick • Recommended by: Harper's Bazaar • Shondaland • New York Post • Goodreads • Lambda Literary • Book Riot • Reader’s Digest • LGBTQReads • Medium • Debutiful • She Reads • Autostraddle • and more! A gleefully dark and entertaining debut for fans of Kevin Wilson and Karen Russell, about one young woman’s sensational summer at a Floridian wildlife center for exotic monkeys Jamie is a Florida Woman. She grew up on the beach, thrives in humidity, has weathered more hurricanes than she can count, and now, after going viral for an outrageous crime she never meant to commit in the first place, she has the requisite headline to her name. But when the chance comes for her to escape viral infamy and imminent jail time by taking a community service placement at Atlas, a shelter for rescued monkeys, it seems like just the fresh start Jamie needs to finally get her life back on track — until it’s not. Something sinister stirs in the palmetto woods surrounding her cabin, and secrets lurk among the three beguiling women who run the shelter and affectionately take Jamie under their wing for the summer. She hears the distant screams of monkeys each night; the staff perform cryptic, lakeside sacrifices to honor Atlas; and the land, which has long been abandoned by citrus farmers and theme park developers alike, now proves to be dangerously, relentlessly untamed. As Jamie ventures deeper into the offbeat world and rituals of Atlas, her summer is soon set to inspire an even stranger Florida headline than she ever could’ve imagined.

Florida as symbol and myth is the subject of this collection of new critical essays exploring fiction written by female Floridian authors. In the words of author Karen Russell, the Sunshine State is "virtually past-less, seasons are out of the question, and it's built on a primordial park full of monsters." Discussing the state as setting, the essayists--also Floridians--suggest that it is a creation of the stories told about it. Each of the book's 12 chapters covers one author, including a brief biography followed by one (and twice, two) essays on some of the author's works. The book's final section includes interviews with authors Lynne Barrett, Jeannine Capo Cruz, Vicki Hendricks and Angela Hunt.

'Magnificent . . . Lauren Groff is a virtuoso' Emily St John Mandel 'A blistering collection . . . lyrical and oblique' Guardian 'Not to be missed . . . deep and dark and resonant' Ann Patchett 'It's beautiful. It's giving me rich, grand nightmares' Observer In these vigorous stories, Lauren Groff brings her electric storytelling to a world in which storms, snakes and sinkholes lurk at the edge of everyday life, but the greater threats are of a human, emotional and psychological nature. Among those navigating it all are a resourceful pair of abandoned sisters; a lonely boy, grown up; a restless, childless couple; a searching, homeless woman; and an unforgettable conflicted wife and mother. Florida is an exploration of the connections behind human pleasure and pain, hope and despair, love and fury. 'Innovative and terrifyingly relevant. Any one of these stories is a bracing read; together they form a masterpiece' Stylist 'Lushly evocative . . . mesmerising . . . a writer whose turn of phrase can stop you on your tracks' Financial Times

This is the story of four women. Soleil St. James, Dawn Anthony, Ebony Jones, and Dr. Jonelle "Johnnie" Edwards all live, work, and love in Jacksonville, Florida. The women from four different backgrounds don't know each other, but when one tragically triumphant event brings their worlds together, the women's jobs, relationships, and exponentially budding connections get tested in ways they've never imagined. All four question their place as African American women. Is the Black woman still the mule of the world? Can justice be served when the suspect is also the victim, and the victim has a hidden criminal history that's never reported or prosecuted, and whenever faced head on is swept under the rug? In a world where 'stand your ground' is immunity from prosecution for murder, or a license to kill, and domestic violence is scarcely recognized, what options does any one woman have? -- cover.

At the beach, Michael sat, solitary and wondering about the direction his life took. His old memories and young hopes intertwined, forcing him to take a hard look at the decisions he made. He also remembered all the women who came into his life as they all taught him what it means to live. The author is a surgeon who specializes in Integrated Natural Medicine and an administrator of EOS Ltd. He is a researcher of Natural Medicine and is quite passionate about quantum physics. He has published three novels, three essays, and a collection of poems.

"Brighter than a digital print-out, 100% Pure Florida Fiction provides a full-featured map of Florida's imaginative landscape at the stark turning of the millennial moment--with visions and aftershocks that linger in the mind long after reading."--Joe David Bellamy, former publisher and editor, Fiction International From "Migration of the Love Bugs" by Jill McCorkle: My husband and I live in a tin can. He calls it the streamline model, the top of the line, the cream of the crop when it comes to moveable homes. Ambulatory and proud of it. That's Frank's motto and I guess it makes sense in a way, since he is the only one of six siblings who's still alive and walking, not to even mention that he spent his whole adult life setting things in concrete--house foundations and driveways, sidewalks that will remain until the New England winters crack them once too often and that new cement outfit that just opened comes in to redo the job. We're in Florida now and the only concrete we own are the cinder blocks that keep our wheels from turning. "Can't we at least put our tin can up on a foundation like everybody else's?" I asked our first day here. "You know, pretend it's a real building rather than a souped-up vehicle?" He was in what he called his retirement clothes, pastel golfwear, though he has never touched a club. He was surveying the flat, swampy, treeless land as if this was the Exodus. Even that day, our belongings not even unpacked, I was thinking that if this was the Promised Land, Moses for sure dealt me a bad hand. This anthology of modern Florida fiction showcases the work of 21 writers, including such literary lights as Frederick Barthelme, Alison Lurie, Jill McCorkle, Peter Meinke, and Joy Williams, as well as that of new and emerging writers. Sifting through over 600 stories in books, magazines, literary journals, and the internet, the editors selected the best Florida fiction of the century's last decades. What these stories have in common, of course, is a Florida setting--but a Florida so strongly evoked that it is more character than place. In these stories Florida is sinister, full of alligators, creeping plants, heavy clouds, noir cops and con artists; it is the surreal spread of theme parks, condominiums, and strip malls; and it is a paradise--lost, regained, and remembered--of sea, sun, hammock, forest, and glade. 100% Pure Florida Fiction is the perfect literary companion for Florida travels, armchair and actual, from the Panhandle to Key West and a dozen places in between. And it is proof that Florida is the stuff good stories are made of. Susan Hubbard is associate professor of English at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and the author of two collections of short fiction: Blue Money (1999) and Walking on Ice (1990). Robley Wilson, professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa, has been editor of the North American Review since 1969. He has published a novel, four books of short fiction, and three books of poetry, including Everything Paid For (UPF, 1999). Contributors Frederick Barthelme Tom Chiarella Philip Cioffari Steve Cushman John Henry Fleming Aracelis Gonzalez Asendorf Jeffrey Greene William R. Kanouse Karen Loeb Alison Lurie Wendell Mayo Jill McCorkle Peter Meinke Patrick J. Murphy Louis Phillips Elisavietta Ritchie Enid Shomer William Snyder, Jr. Abraham Verghese Steve Watkins Joy Williams

Meet ten-year-old Bones, whose playground is the Florida swamps, brimming with mystical witches, black bears, alligators and bobcats. Bones' father, Nolay, a Miccosukee Indian, is smart and mischievous. Her Mama, practical as corn bread, can see straight into Bones' soul. It's summer, and Bones is busy hunting and fishing with her best friend, Little Man. But then two Yankee real estate agents trespass on her family's land, and Nolay scares them off with his gun. When a storm blows in and Bones and Little Man uncover something horrible at the edge of the Loo-chee swamp, the evidence of foul play points to Nolay. The only person that can help Nolay is Sheriff LeRoy, who's as slow as pond water. Bones is determined to take matters into her own hands. If it takes a miracle, then a miracle is what she will deliver.

Jump into the wacky, wild world of Florida For more than 30 years, investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling author Craig Pittman has chronicled the wildest stories Florida has to offer. Featuring a selection of columns that have appeared in the Tampa Bay Times and other outlets throughout Pittman’s career, this book highlights just how strange and wonderful Florida can be. With a folksy style, an eye for the absurd, and a passion for the history and environment of his home state, Pittman describes some of Florida’s oddest wildlife as well as its quirkiest people. The State You’re In includes a love story involving the most tattooed woman in the world, a deep dive into the state’s professional mermaid industry, and an investigation of a battle between residents of a nudist resort and the U.S. Postal Service. Pittman introduces readers to a who’s who of Florida crime fiction, a what’s what of exotic animals, and an array of beloved places he’s seen change rapidly in his lifetime. Many of these stories are funny, some are serious, and several offer rare insights into the heart of the Sunshine State. For Pittman, Florida is both inspiring and dangerous—an “evolutionary test” for those who live in it. Together these pieces paint a complex picture of a fascinating state longing for an identity beyond palm trees and punchlines.