Recently re-released with bonus content, Pucking Around (the first book in the series) is now a USA Today bestseller! The sequel, Pucking Wild, debuted at the top of the Kindle store in multiple countries: #2 in the USA, #1 in Canada, #1 in Australia, and top 50 in the UK!

From the author: "The signed paperback preorder campaign for the Kensington editions of Pucking Around is now LIVE!! I’ve partnered with Femme Fire Books, which is a Jacksonville-based independent bookstore, to help me run this preorder campaign. You can secure your preorder HERE." - https://femmefirebooks.com/products/pucking-around-by-emily-rath?_pos=1&_sid=cebabb0a5&_ss=r&variant=44219323121891 

Emily Rath is an international bestselling author of fantasy and romance. Born in Florida and raised in Kentucky, she is a former university professor, holding PhDs in Political Science and Peace Studies. Her works include the "TikTok sensation" and Amazon Charts bestselling Jacksonville Rays Hockey romance series, as well as the Second Sons Regency Romance series. She currently lives in Jacksonville with her husband, son, and cat. They regularly comb the local beaches looking for shark teeth.

Interviewer Jessica Hatch has a passion for writing genre-blind, character-first fiction with a love of words and a strong beating heart. Her work has appeared in such publications as Writer’s Digest, The Millions, Fast Company, Neutral Spaces, and Surely Magazine, and she hosts the virtual reading series Comp Title Book Club. Her freshman and sophomore novels were published by Hachette UK’s Bookouture imprint, and her debut novel, My Big Fake Wedding, a Lonely Victories Book of 2022, appeared in the Top 50 women’s fiction and Top 100 romantic comedy titles on Amazon. Before becoming an author, Jessica worked and interned in New York trade publishing institutions Writers House and St. Martin’s Press. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

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EMILY RECOMMENDS

If you are new to the world of hockey romance, here are some other great authors you can check out:

Helena Hunting, Liz Tomforde, Jessa Wilder, Saxon James, and S.J. Tilly.

I owe so much to TikTok for helping me reach a whole new world of readers. I spend a lot of time on the #Booktok side of TikTok, where there are some truly amazing content creators. They have brought me so much laughter and whimsy! Some of my current personal favorite non-book-related creators are Brian Morabito (@morathanenough), Laura Ramoso (@lau_ramoso), Prince Stash (@realprincestash), and Sean the Sheepman (@seanthesheepman). If you're looking for an awesome bookish content creator to follow, go follow Reid Moon (@moonsrarebooks)--his rare book collection is absolutely fascinating!

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Jeffrey Blount is the award-winning author of four novels, including Almost Snow White, Hating Heidi Foster, The Emancipation of Evan Walls, and Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way. He is also an Emmy award-winning television director and a 2016 inductee to the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. During a 34-year career at NBC News, Jeffrey directed a decade of Meet The Press, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and major special events. He is the first African American to direct The Today Show.

He was a contributor for HuffPost and has been published in The Washington Post, The Grio.com and other publications, commenting on issues of race, social justice, and writing.

Interviewer Fati D. Ashley is a Ghanaian-American literary and visual artist who resides in Florida. She holds a Master of Arts in English (Rhetoric and Composition) from the University of North Florida. Her poem “Cape Coast” was performed in Echoes of Us, a series of curated monologues, directed by Tony Award nominee Michele Shay in 2022. She is the Editor-in-Chief for The Banyan Review, a 2023 Best of the Net nominee, and a 2023 Fellow of The Craft Institute, "a non-profit organization dedicated to curating culturally inclusive ecosystems throughout the world of arts and entertainment..." Ashley consults and facilitates workshops for Authors Roundtable of North Florida and teaches creative writing at Jacksonville Arts and Music School. 

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THE LIBRARY RECOMMENDS

More books about finding yourself and your community:

• The Gone Dead, by Chanelle Benz
• The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
• The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

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Jami Attenberg is the author of seven books of fiction including Instant Love, The Kept Man, The Melting Season, The Middlesteins, Saint Mazie, and All Grown Up. Her most recent novel is All This Could Be Yours (2019). She is also the author of the memoir I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home (2022). Attenberg has written about food, travel, books, relationships and urban life for The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, the Sunday Times, Slate, and others. Her work has been published in a total of sixteen languages. She lives in New Orleans, LA.

Interviewer Nikesha Elise Williams is a two-time Emmy award-winning producer, an award-winning author, and producer and host of the Black & Published podcast. Her latest novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree, was acquired by Scout Press and will be published in 2025. A Chicago native, Nikesha is now a columnist with JAX Today. Her work has also appeared in The Washington Post, ESSENCE, and VOX. She currently lives in Florida with her family.

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THE LIBRARY RECOMMENDS

More fiction to complement Jami’s works:

• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
• The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud

JAMI RECOMMENDS

My parents live over in Venice, Florida, across the state from all of you in Jacksonville, so that’s the part of Florida I know the best. These are my four favorite things about Venice:

1. Belkis Cuban food inside the Citgo gas station. The people who run it are so nice and sometimes you just need to sit down with your family and eat an enormous Cuban sandwich.
2. The free daily yoga on Venice Beach. The classes are offered by a lovely woman named Elin. She teaches it twice each morning. It’s basically just a lot of stretching but I like to go with my mom and then take a walk on the beach after.
3. The Legacy Trail. An incredible miles-long multi-use recreational rail trail connecting Sarasota and Venice. My mother is on the Friends of The Legacy Trail board and helped with fundraising for its expansion, so I always think of it as the “Joan Attenberg Trail.”
4. Humphris Park/South Jetty. Whenever I visit my parents, we go and watch the sunset here and it’s really lovely to see so many people come out and enjoy the natural beauty of Florida.

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Nat Glover was born in 1943, in segregated Jacksonville, Florida. At seventeen, he unknowingly headed into an angry white mob and the Ku Klux Klan attacking young black protestors staging a sit-in at a downtown whites-only lunch counter. Known as “Ax Handle Saturday,” this harrowing encounter with racism would commit him to a lifetime of fighting for justice.

He joined the Jacksonville Police Department in 1966 where he was named Police Officer of the Year four times, promoted to detective, rose to sergeant, and was appointed the city’s first hostage negotiator. In 1995, Duval County voters elected him the first Black sheriff in Florida since Reconstruction.

Hear more about his incredible work and his new memoir, Striving for Justice: A Black Sheriff.

Nathaniel Glover has garnered national recognition for his community policing, ban on choke holds, and de-escalation training. Then-President Bill Clinton and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno praised his initiatives during a walk-along with Glover in Jacksonville.

He was also a mayoral candidate in 2003 and served as the 29th President of his alma mater, Edward Waters University. He was twice nominated for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Male President of the Year. The school’s stadium is named the Nathaniel Glover Community Field and Stadium.

He received a “Great Floridian” designation in 2016 for his dedication to law enforcement, higher education, and the city of Jacksonville. He was inducted into the Florida Law Enforcement Officer’s Hall of Fame in 2021. His memoir, Striving for Justice: A Black Sheriff, was released on August 22, 2023. Book proceeds help fund scholarships for need-based students through the Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Foundation and the “Where They Will Shine Scholarship Fund”. Learn more at www.strivingforjusticebook.com.

Interviewer Keitha Nelson is an award-winning journalist with 19 years of experience in the field of broadcasting. She currently serves as the co-anchor for Good Morning Jacksonville, First Coast News, NBC12/ABC25.

She’s a true storyteller with the ability to connect with audiences. Throughout her career, Keitha has covered several major stories including Hurricanes Katrina, Matthew, and Irma as well as the Kamiyah Mobley story and Ahmaud Arbery shooting trial.

Keitha is a regular speaker and volunteer. Most recently, she’s been honored with a Ken Knight award for her coverage and positive impact within the community. Notably, she has also won an Award of Excellence in Broadcast Journalism from Women in Media. Keitha has contributed to team awards including both an Edward R. Murrow and a Peabody for Hurricane Katrina coverage and an Emmy.

She serves on the board of Jacksonville non-profit Hope at Hand, which provides art and poetry therapy to at-risk populations. Keitha is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

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THE LIBRARY RECOMMENDS

• African American Life in Jacksonville by Herman Mason
• It Still Hurts, by Marshelle Berry
• Florida’s Historic African American Homes, by Jada Wright-Greene

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The Spirit of Place

Tim Gilmore is a prolific local history author who has written extensively about Jacksonville. As the writer and creator of www.jaxpsychogeo.com, a project that explores place and catalogs the Southern Gothic, he has told more than 700 stories of strange and historic locations in and around Jacksonville, Florida. He has also published 22 books.

"Ever since UNF English Professor Alex Menocal introduced me to the concept of psychogeography years ago, I’ve been enthralled with it," Gilmore says. "It’s a portmanteau word, the psychology of geography, [meaning] something like the spirit of place. It’s where the name for my website, jaxpsychogeo, comes from."

Gilmore seems equally fascinated with Jacksonville and its people. He is also the founder of JaxbyJax. A literary arts festival, now in its 10th year, JaxbyJax was built on the theme of “Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville.” Few writers have written about Jacksonville more than Gilmore.

He joined us last November to talk about his latest book, The Culture Wars of Warren Folks. 

Tim Gilmore has written 22 books including Box Broken Open: The Architecture of Ted Pappas; Murder Capital: Eight Stories, 1890s-1980s; Channeling Anna Fletcher; Repossessions: Mass Shooting in Baymeadows; The Book of Isaiah: A Vision of the Founder of a City, illustrated by Shep Shepard; Devil in the Baptist Church: Bob Gray’s Unholy Trinity; and The Mad Atlas of Virginia King. Four of the works he’s written for the stage have been produced by Florida State College at Jacksonville DramaWorks and his writing has appeared in numerous publications both locally and nationally.

JaxPsychoGeo has received mention in publications including The Miami Herald, The Washington Post and The New Yorker and was featured in the A24 book Florida! A Hyper-Local Guide to the Flora, Fauna and Fantasy of the Most Far-Out State in America.

Gilmore teaches Literature and Writing at Florida State College at Jacksonville. He’s received awards from FSCJ, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and Jacksonville City Council. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida. You can also read his twice-weekly newsletter, Tim Gilmore’s deadpaper, at timgilmore.substack.com.

Interviewer Shep Shepard is a professor of English at FSCJ’s Nassau Center. He received his Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida and has worked as a full-time instructor at FSCJ for twenty years. In his spare time, he produces music under various monikers, edits fiction and nonfiction prose, creates digital art, and enjoys time with his wife Ana and their dogs Meka and Moxie.

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Tim Recommends: Pyschogeographical Works

I’ve long been a huge Cormac McCarthy fan. I’ve assigned The Road to numerous classes over the years. Of all the McCarthy I’ve read, I most highly recommend The Road and two of his earlier novels:

• First, there’s the 1973 novel Child of God, which somehow manages to be one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever read and one of the most beautiful. Few writers could achieve that strange incongruous feat, perhaps none better than McCarthy.
• Meanwhile, his 1979 novel Suttree paints as detailed a picture of down-and-out Knoxville, Tennessee, as Joyce ever painted of Dublin. It’s perhaps the greatest American psychogeographical work.

When I recently read John Oliver Killens’ 1954 novel Youngblood, I couldn’t believe I’d not read him already. This novel, alongside Harry Crews’ newly reissued 1978 memoir A Childhood, has to be among the best writings ever to come out of Georgia. The two of them work like split-screen, a Black childhood and a white childhood, both so different and so similar. Both writers had ties to Jacksonville. Crews said mid-20th century Jax was the place poor Georgia farmers went when the crops failed.

Various artists and writers have used psychogeography in different ways. I’ve returned time and again to my favorite such writings, which I can’t recommend enough – novels like Peter Ackroyd’s Chatterton and Hawksmoor and Toni Morrison’s Beloved. On the face of it, Ackroyd and Morrison couldn’t be more different, but they both explore how culture is haunted by history and how patterns of history present themselves as ghostly. Then there’s Joseph Mitchell’s Joe Gould’s Secret, a nonfiction account of a homeless Greenwich Village icon who claimed to have written the longest book in the world.

Tim Recommends: Other Jax Authors

I’d be negligent if I didn’t give a shout-out to our local literary community, which runs so much deeper and wider than most locals realize and includes works like Julie Delegal’s Seen and Andres Rojas’s Third Winter in Our Second Country and Johnny Masiulewicz’s Happy Tapir zine series.

I could name dozens of other writers I admire and their works, but as soon as I attempt a long list, I’ll foolishly omit someone and lose a few nights’ sleep. (I already see 15 or 20 people in my mind’s eye whose names I didn’t mention, but could have, just now.)

Anyone who wants an extensive list of writers participating in the Jax community, just look at the archives for the last nine festivals at jaxbyjax.com. I’ll just say this is the 10th year of JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival, which my wife Jo Carlisle and I founded and then relinquished to the more capable hands of Darlyn and Brad Kuhn.

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Cat Sebastian writes queer historical romance. Her books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist, and she’s been featured in the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and Jezebel. She was born in New Jersey and lived in New York and Arizona before settling down in a swampy part of the South. When she isn’t writing, she’s probably reading, having one-sided conversations with her dog, or doing the crossword puzzle.

Interviewer Lori Sterling is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who focuses on helping LGBT+ individuals both at her private practice, Tea Time Therapy, and with her career as a medical care coordinator at JASMYN, a nationally recognized LGBT+ youth center located in Jacksonville Florida. When not advocating for or working with the community, you can most likely find her painting, playing Animal Crossing, or on the mat with her Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class. 

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CAT RECOMMENDS

"Here are some non-fiction books and memoirs I've recently read for research purposes, and which I've loved."

• The Summer Game by Roger Angell
• Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell
• Can't Anybody Here Play This Game by Jimmy Breslin
• A Drinking Life by Pete Hamill - https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=drinking+life+hamill&te= 
• City Boy by Edmund White - https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=TITLE%3D%22city+boy%22&qu=AUTHOR%3Dwhite&te= 

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The Legacies We Leave Behind

For many childhood summers, Mark Woods piled into a station wagon with his parents and two sisters and headed to America's national parks. Mark’s most vivid childhood memories are set against a backdrop of mountains, woods, and fireflies in places like Redwood, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon national parks.

On the eve of turning fifty and a little burned out, Mark decided to reconnect with the great outdoors. He'd spend a year visiting the national parks and write a book - thanks to a coveted fellowship from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Mark had initially intended to write a book about the future of the national parks, but Lassoing the Sun grew into something more: a book about family, the parks, and the legacies we inherit and the ones we leave behind. His book, Lassoing the Sun, is about a journey that started with a sunrise in Maine, finished with a sunset in Hawaii and had a life-changing event in the middle: his mother's death.

Mark Woods is the author of Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America’s National Parks. He has been Metro columnist at the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville since 2003. Before that, he spent 20 years as a sportswriter at newspapers in Florida, Kentucky, Missouri and Indiana. He covered the earthquake in Haiti, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, political conventions, Olympics, Wimbledon, the Masters, the World Cup and 11 Super Bowls – but he says none of those assignments compare with what he did in 2012, the year that led to Lassoing the Sun.

Each year, the Society of Professional Journalists awards the Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship to one writer in America. Mark Woods, who most Jacksonville readers will recognize from his work at the Florida Times-Union, won the fellowship in 2011. His project, built around the National Park Service and celebrating its centennial in 2016, asked the question: What is the future of our parks? The coveted fellowship allowed Woods to devote the following year to his plan — explore one park a month, each symbolizing a different issue for the future, from rising seas to fading night skies.

Interviewer Barbara Goodman is an International Park consultant and co-founder of the Riverfront Parks Conservancy. Barbara retired from the National Park Service in 2015 after 33 years of service; most recently as the Superintendent of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve for 18 years. During this time she provided the leadership and vision for the development of an unprecedented tri-lateral agreement between the National Park Service, Florida Park Service, and the City of Jacksonville Preservation Parks to create a seamless system of parks and to cooperate in planning, promotion, and resource protection.

Barbara provides consultation assistance and guidance to Directors of National Park systems internationally in the areas of park planning and tourism in association with Global Parks and the International Conservation Caucus Foundation. She served as the Deputy Secretary, Land and Recreation at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection overseeing the Florida State Park System – which includes 175 parks, 800,000 acres, 100 miles of beaches, 7,500 miles of trails, 4,000 miles of paddling trails; and the Florida State Lands program providing oversight for 12 million acres of public lands, land sales acquisition and the Florida Forever program.

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"Earnest and heartfelt, [Lassoing the Sun] captures how one family handles the joys and sorrows of life, with America’s most beautiful landscapes standing in the background."--Travel & Leisure

ARK RECOMMENDS

“I've done several columns about local places. Seems like this one (https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/columns/mark-woods/2021/04/16/celebrate-national-park-week-list-10-my-favorite-nearby-spots-jacksonville-timucuan-st-augustine/7247473002/) might be fitting for a National Parks talk.” 

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Sohrab Homi Fracis’s new book of North Florida and elsewhere stories, True Fiction, won the 2023 International Book Award for story collections. American Book Award winner Rilla Askew says of it: "True Fiction is a tour de force." Fracis is the first Asian American author to win the Iowa Short Fiction Award, described by the New York Times Book Review as "among the most prestigious literary prizes America offers," for his first book, Ticket to Minto: Stories of India and America. Publishers Weekly called it "A reminder of how satisfying the short story form can be...the work of an impressive new talent." 

His novel, Go Home, was shortlisted by Stanford University Libraries for the William Saroyan International Prize. Singapore Poetry described it as “newly poignant and even heartbreaking.” He taught literature and creative writing at University of North Florida. He was Twin Cities Visiting Writer in Residence at Augsburg College and Artist in Residence at Yaddo. He received the Florida Individual Artist Fellowship in Literature/Fiction. The South Asian Literary Association bestowed on him its Distinguished Achievement Award.

Interviewer Michelle Lizet Flores is a graduate of FSU and NYU creative writing programs. She currently works as a teacher and co-hosts the What's in a Verse Poetry Open Mic in Jacksonville, FL. She has previously been published in magazines and journals such as The Miami Rail, Chircú Journal, and Travel Latina. A finalist for the Juan Felipe Herrera Award for Poetry, she is the author of the chapbooks Cuentos from the Swamp and Memoria, as well as the picture book, Carlito the Bat Learns to Trick or Treat. Her short fiction can be found in the anthology, Places We Build in the Universe through Flowersong Press. Her first full-length collection of poetry, Invasive Species, is forthcoming through Finishing Line Press. Find out more at michellelizetflores.com.

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SOHRAB RECOMMENDS

In addition to books and movies, I also love music and sports. Lately my Spotify playlists center around contemporary folk rock by such musicians as The Paper Kites, Birdtalker, Plains, Ondara, Bonny Light Horseman, and River Whyless. Some of my characters are aspiring musicians, as in "Open Mic," the first story in True Fiction.

Playing college sports in India taught me to hang in there when things were going wrong and then to turn them around. I still follow professional tennis and not long ago watched stars such as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Venus Williams live at the Miami Open. I'm excited about the resurgent Jacksonville Jaguars. Go Jags! I see sportsmen as contemporary gladiators. Having been one helped me write the battlefield combat scene in True Fiction's concluding/signature novelette, "The Legend of Rostam and Sohrab," based on my ancient-Persian naming legend.

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Tracey Enerson Wood loves discovering amazing women whose stories have been lost to history and bringing them to life for today’s readers. 

Her debut novel, The Engineer’s Wife, historical fiction about the woman who built the Brooklyn Bridge, is an international and USA Today bestseller. Her newest book, The President’s Wife, is centered on Edith Bolling Wilson, the second wife of Woodrow Wilson. She is sometimes described as America's first woman President because of the role she played after the President's massive stroke in October 1919.

Tracey has always had a writing bug. While working as a Registered Nurse, starting her own Interior Design company, raising two children, and bouncing around the world as a military wife, she indulged in her passion as a playwright, screenwriter and novelist. She has authored magazine columns and other non-fiction, written and directed plays of all lengths, including Grits, Fleas and Carrots, Rocks and Other Hard Places, Alone, and Fog. Her screenplays include Strike Three and Roebling’s Bridge.

Other passions include food and cooking, and honoring military heroes. A New Jersey native, she now lives with her family in Florida.

Interviewer Jessica Hatch has a passion for writing laugh-out-loud fiction with a strong-beating heart. Her first novel, My Big Fake Wedding, debuted at #1 on Amazon’s “Humorous American Literature” charts in August 2022. It went on to be a Lonely Victories Best Book of 2022, and her follow-up, How to Keep a Husband for Ten Days, was a BookLovr pick for spring 2023.

Jessica has worked in book publishing since 2013. She has had bylines published in Writer’s Digest, The Millions, and G*Mob Magazine, among others, and she is a proud alumna of the Mors Tua Vita Mea workshop in Sezze Romano, Italy. Before being acquired by Bookouture, her debut novel won a pitch slam at the Brooklyn Book Festival in 2018 and was workshopped by acclaimed author Rumaan Alam at Aspen Summer Words in 2019.

Jessica was born outside of Richmond, Virginia, and now lives in Jacksonville, Florida, with her bartender husband, Paul, and their three cats. When she is not writing, you can find her jogging on the Riverwalk or planning her next international trip. Say hello on Instagram at @JessicaNHatch.

Prepare for the Discussion

Check out Tracey's work from the library!

The Library Also Recommends

For more excellent historical fiction, try these titles!

• The Woman at the Front, by Lecia Cornwall
• The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
• The Social Graces, by Renée Rosen

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Hank Phillippi Ryan is the USA Today bestselling author of 14 psychological thrillers, winning the most prestigious awards in the genre: five Agathas, five Anthonys, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. She is also an on-air investigative reporter for Boston's WHDH-TV, with 37 EMMYs and dozens more journalism honors. National book critics call her “a superb and gifted storyteller”; she’s the only author to win the Agatha in four categories: Best First, Best Novel, Best Short Story and Best Non-Fiction. A story of psychological manipulation exploring the dark heart of marriage and friendship, her newest page-turning standalone thriller, The House Guest, has been dubbed "Gaslight meets Thelma & Louise."

Hank is also the host of Crime Time on A Mighty Blaze and co-host of First Chapter Fun and The Back Room. She is a past president of National Sisters in Crime. Visit Hank at HankPhillippiRyan.com, Twitter @HankPRyan, Instagram @hankpryan and Facebook at HankPhillippiRyanAuthor. 

On Surprises and Suprise Endings

You can also check out Hank on Crime Time, First Chapter Fun, and The Back Room.

Interviewer Michael Wiley’s new novel is The Long Way Out, featuring Franky Dast, an exonerated ex-con who investigates a series of murders in Northeast Florida. Michael is also the author of three mystery and detective series, including the Shamus Award-winning Joe Kozmarski books, the Daniel Turner thrillers, and, most recently, the Sam Kelson PI novels, which are currently in development for television. His short stories appear often in magazines and anthologies, including Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2022. 

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Check out all of Hank's books from the library! - https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=AUTHOR%3D%22hank+phillippi+ryan%22&te= 

The Library Recommends

Read similar books from other authors, including:

• The Wife by Alafair Burke
• The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
• The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

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Jacksonville Public LibraryWebsite: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaxlibrary Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxLibrary/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaxlibrary/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jaxpubliclibraryfl Contact Us: [email protected] 

Deb Rogers' novel Florida Woman was published in July 2022 by Hanover Square Press, an imprint of HarperCollins. Called "a bewitching debut" by Publisher's Weekly, Florida Woman was featured as an Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association. Deb has lived and traveled throughout Florida working as an educator, policymaker and victim advocate, and she now lives on the Atlantic side of the state in the very haunted and very beautiful town of St. Augustine. While she'd love to stumble upon hidden pirate treasure along the coast someday, her daily obsessions tend to be thriller and heist movies, word puzzles, licorice, Florida manatees, and, of course, monkeys. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @debontherocks, or learn more on her website debrogersauthor.com.

Interviewer Kay Huggins is a creative, the owner of Aphelion Editing and Consulting, and the host of the Raindrop Corner Podcast. As a longtime resident of Jacksonville, Florida, they have sought to support local artistry, foster thought-provoking content, and aid in human rights advocacy. Kay is an English major with a concentration in psychology. For over a decade, their life has been dazzled with project management, technology industries, logistics, editing, writing, and production. Through the intersectionality of Kay’s craft, they aim to champion the community by providing a platform to marginalized groups. Currently, Kay is writing their debut novel and enjoying leisure moments with their fur babies.

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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.

Check out Deb's work from the library! -- https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=deb+rogers&te= 

"Florida Woman ushers in a new talent who knows the quirkiness of the Sunshine State." – Sun Sentinel

DEB RECOMMENDS

1. Learn about the origins of Central Florida's monkey problem by reading The Bitter Southerner's well-researched article: “Who Knew Monkeys Could Swim” by Jordan Blumetti.
2. Visit the Florida Museum of Natural History and take a walk through our state's past, beginning in the Eocene epoch (when Florida was underwater). 
3. Read some of Deb's favorite books that are set in Florida including The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean, Lightwood by Steph Post and Swamplandia!( by Karen Russell.

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Jacksonville Public LibraryWebsite: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaxlibrary Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxLibrary/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaxlibrary/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jaxpubliclibraryfl Contact Us: [email protected]