Dorothy Francis - Cozy Up With a Good Mystery

Dorothy Francis is a woman who loves entertaining others. After earning a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Kansas, she got a gig playing trumpet in an all-girl band. But as much as she enjoyed performing, life on the road was too much of a strain. So she took a more conventional job as a music teacher, married a jazz saxophonist, and started a family. Although she relished her new role as wife and mother, she missed the thrill of wowing an audience. An article in Writer Magazine inspired her to try her hand at writing, and when a publisher accepted some of her stories, Francis set out to entertain a new audience – the reading public.

              
Francis’s first foray into the world of novel writing was a series of children’s books: five animal adventures set in the Florida Keys (her adopted home), a seven- book mystery series featuring a boy named Cody Smith, and five stand-alone novels.  These books are close to her heart because “they touch people and give them something to think about.” But when readers began asking Francis when she would write something for “big people,” Francis decided to give it a try. Since she loved reading mysteries and had written several for children, she began working on a mystery novel for adults. Conch Shell Murder (2003) established Francis as a serious contributor to the Florida Mystery genre. This tale of the murder of a wealthy Key West matron was praised as “a classic whodunit filled with mystery and suspense, all set against the tropical backdrop of the Florida Keys.” (Crime Scene Magazine) It was followed by two more mystery novels: Pier Pressure and Cold Case Killer. Her latest release, Eden Palms Murder, tells the story of an aspiring singer/songwriter trying to solve the murder of her friend and mentor. Booklist calls it “an enjoyable page-turner with quite appealing and realistic characters and a well-delivered social message.”  (Note: For you e-book readers, these four titles are available in Amazon Kindle format.)

Francis describes her novels as “cozies,” a type of mystery where, if anything horrible happens, it does so offstage. “Cozies have no obscene language and no graphic sex or violence,” she explains. They rely instead on a strong story and good characterization. Francis enjoys writing mysteries because they feature “a tug of war between good and evil where the good guy always wins.” Her next novel, Killer in Control, is no exception. “The story defines the sociopath and tells how to avoid them,” Francis says. “My research revealed that 25 percent of people are born without consciences. Not all are killers, but they’re the type that will do you in in the workplace.” Killer in Control is scheduled for publication this summer.

Francis finds inspiration for characters and stories all around her. A self-described “people-watcher,” she gets ideas from looking at others and trying to guess what they’re doing or where they’re going. She even finds it fun to wait in an airport or a grocery checkout line. And this born entertainer doesn’t plan to run out of ideas any time soon. “The Fat Lady hasn’t begun to sing yet,” she says. “I don’t even hear her clearing her throat.”

For more about Dorothy Francis, visit her official website at www.dorothyfrancis.com.

Next: Enid Shomer - On the Wings of Words

Ray Dix - The Best Defense

Ray Dix is a man who still believes in heroes. As an assistant public defender, he represented individuals who could not afford attorneys. As an assistant capital collateral representative, he reinvestigated convictions and wrote death row appeals. As a writer, he created Woody Thomas, a character he describes as a champion for our time. "Woody is square," he explains. "He believes in truth, love, and a fair fight. He has a code of honor, and he'd be willing to die for it. And he believes in justice - he just doesn't believe he's seen it lately."

Dix did not set out to become a writer. A graduate of Salisbury State College in his home state of Maryland, he spent some time repairing copiers and computers, building boats, and running a boat shop. It wasn't until he was 40 years old that he decided to pursue a legal career. He earned his law degree from Maryland School of Law and began practice as a public defender. He was struck by the strangeness of the job. "When you work on death row, I don't care which side you're on, you're on the fringe because it draws so much emotion from you. You struggle with some really heavy stuff. You take it to bed with you each night, and it never goes away."

For Dix, journaling was one way of coping. He started his journal in 1972 as part of a college English assignment. The class ended, but the journal kept going. It has since grown to over 45 volumes and has become a treasury of story ideas. "Lawyers love to get together and tell war stories, and I was no exception," he says. "I come from a family of storytellers, and people kept telling me I should write a book. I had an idea, and I had a beginning and an end. I figured all I needed was a middle." He started his first novel, Death Row Defender, in 1996. It went through 11 rewrites before its release in October, 2005. The book, praised by the Richmond Times as "a cut above the average," became its publisher's second-highest seller for 2005 and went on to win an EPPIE "Best Mystery" award.

Death Row Defender tells the story of Woody Thomas' attempt to save the life of a down-on-his-luck young man sentenced to die for a rape-murder. After examining the case, Woody comes to believe the young man has been framed. He relives the trial through the transcripts, then locates and questions the witnesses. The case looks solid, but federal agents begin to follow Woody, local police try to frame him, and someone tries to kill him. The novel takes readers on a compelling and harrowing journey through the labyrinth of our legal system. According to Dix, "Nothing happens in the book that hasn't happened somewhere in the country. I wanted the reader to see what really goes on." And what really goes on is extremely unsettling.

Dix's second novel, Tampa Bay Blues, is set for release in December 2011. The idea for the story came to Dix while he was reviewing case law for a Pinellas County court case. The story centers around the murder of Woody's good friend. Woody agrees to represent the confessed murderer, a mutual friend from Alcoholics Anonymous. The novel gives an in-depth look at police interrogation techniques, courtroom tactics, and the relationships within Alcoholics Anonymous.

Dix has also completed his third Woody Thomas novel, Panama City Jump. It grew out of unresolved issues in Death Row Defender and examines how revenge and anger change people. In the story, an enemy from Woody's past seeks revenge by destroying and killing that which Woody loves. Always a defender at heart, but still a former military intelligence agent, Woody knows that often the best defense is a good offense. But is he willing to lose his soul if that good defense becomes murder?

Dix acknowledges that his dual role as lawyer/writer poses a unique set of challenges. "The hardest part of writing for me is finding the time. The first ten pages of a book are hell. But the best part is when it's over and you can look back on what you've written. There's nothing like it." He hopes to retire from full-time law practice soon so that he can spend more time wrtiting and doing other things he enjoys - like sailing, meditating, and walking the beach with his wife, Cynthia. His goal for the future is "to produce one good mystery/suspense novel a year for the next 20 to 30 years." To Dix, there is a clear connection between being a lawyer and being a writer. "We become lawyers because we see things that need to be fixed," he says. "We become writers because we can't always fix them."

For more about Ray Dix, visit his website at http://www.raydixbooks.com/

Next: Dorothy Francis - Cozy Up With a Good Mystery

On the Job With Elaine Viets

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work in a trendy South Florida dress shop? How about in a bookstore, a posh bridal salon or a doggie boutique? Elaine Viets, a Fort Lauderdale native and national best-selling author, has worked all these jobs and more to give readers a glimpse of what life is like for people who work for minimum wage. Throw in a heroine on the run, some colorful South Florida characters, and a murder or two, and you have Viets’ "Dead-End Job" series, a collection of novels that has been described as “Janet Evanovich meets The Fugitive.”

Originally from St. Louis, Viets graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. She credits a former teacher with inspiring her to pursue a writing career. “I had a nun for an English teacher," Viets recalls. "She thought I was a good writer and encouraged me to get a job on a newspaper.” Viets followed her advice and spent 27 years working for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Her three weekly columns were eventually syndicated for United Media in New York. According to Viets, “Working for a newspaper was a good training course. It influenced my dialogue and characters, and it allowed me to see people in many different circumstances.” She also spent some time proofreading medical books, which turned her into “the biggest hypochondriac in St. Louis.”

Then Viets moved to Florida and fell in love with her new state. “Florida has so much natural beauty. I never get over it. It’s nice to live in place where people want to be.” But she acknowledges that this can sometimes cause problems, especially when she’s trying to write. “When you live in Florida, you have a lot more friends who come from out of town. I solved that by getting a really uncomfortable couch.” She especially likes Florida's climate. “I hate snow, and I hate the cold. In St. Louis, the only place I could get warm was in the shower.” Now she warms up at her home on the intracoastal and spends the winter months “sitting by the pool, watching the boats go by.”

Living in Florida also inspired her to pen a series of mystery novels set in the Sunshine State. “I thought of setting the stories in St. Louis, but readers expect the Midwest to have standards, morals and taste," she says. "South Florida has none of these handicaps." Her "Dead-End Jobs" books center around Helen Hawthorne, a formerly successful career woman who runs away from her cheating husband and winds up in South Florida, working minimum-wage jobs in order to stay off the radar. As research, Viets actually does a stint working each job she gives her character. For Shop Till You Drop (2003), the first book in the series, she worked as a salesperson in a dress shop. For her other novels, her jobs have run the gamut from telemarketer to hotel chambermaid. Viets is interested in giving her readers a feel for what it's like to be "the invisible people who work very hard, but nobody sees what they do." And the very worst dead-end job? “If I ever go to hell,” says Viets, “I’ll be a telemarketer.”

On the heels of the success of "Dead-End Jobs," Viets was approached by her publisher to begin a second series. Since her mother was a mystery shopper (a woman who poses as an average shopper to rate a store’s service), Viets used this concept as the basis for her "Mystery Shopper" series. When the first installment, Dying in Style, debuted in 2005, it was tied with Stephen King on the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association's bestseller list. Set in St. Louis, the series takes readers into the “pink collar” world of secret shopping with Josie Marcus, a single mom struggling to make a life for herself and her nine-year-old daughter on a mystery shopper’s salary. “The mystery shopper is supposed to look like an ordinary person. That’s why I made Josie look like a typical mom and housewife,” Viets explains. But there’s nothing typical about the situations Josie becomes involved in. “Josie’s a mystery shopper the way James Bond is a spy. Her life is much more exciting than most.” Viets is currently at work on her seventh "Mystery Shopper" novel, Death on a Platter, which is due out in November, 2011.

Viets' latest release, Pumped for Murder, is her tenth "Dead-End Job" mystery. Praised as "breezy...well-plotted...fueled by Viets' perfect comic timing" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel), the story has a newly-married Helen Hawthorne working at a gym where she's taken a receptionist job as part of an investigation for her fledgling detective agency. At the gym, she is introduced to the world of extreme bodybuilding and discovers she must pump iron to keep her job and keep her eye on a client's errant husband.

When she isn’t busy writing, Viets enjoys reading (particularly Michael Connelly mysteries), walking on the beach, and spending quality time with her husband (actor Don Crinklaw), her two cats, and with other writers. She hopes readers will enjoy her novels as much as she enjoys writing them. “I try to write from a reader’s standpoint and write the kind of books I’d like to read,” she says. “I really enjoy the process. I’m lucky to enjoy what I do for a living.”

And readers will certainly enjoy all the offbeat mystery novels of Elaine Viets.

For more information, visit the author's website at http://www.elaineviets.com/.

Next: Ray Dix - The Best Defense

James Grippando - Lawyer as Storyteller

Photo credit: Sigrid Estrada

According to best-selling novelist James Grippando, “Lawyers are natural storytellers – and I mean that in a good way.” His journey from courtroom to writer’s desk began in 1988. A University of Florida graduate, Grippando was five years into a promising legal career when he decided to write a novel in his spare time. He’d caught the writing bug from his mother (whose doctoral dissertation became a top nursing textbook), his high school English teacher (who taught him that good writers, must be voracious readers), and Sid Homan, head of the University of Florida’s English Department. Six years and one failed manuscript later, The Pardon was published. Its success launched Grippando into the ranks of full-time novelists.

The Pardon introduces Jack Swyteck, Miami defense attorney and estranged son of a Florida governor. Grippando credits his experience at Florida's 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, "Court of Last Resort" for death row inmates, with inspiring the story. "Every so often, a case would make me wonder: What if this guy is innocent? That sounded like a good premise for a novel." While Grippando claims that he is not Jack Swyteck, he admits to some similarities. "Jack is a sole practitioner. I sometimes feel that way since writing is an isolated existence. Jack also tries hard to do the right thing and sometimes needs a friend to shake him and tell him to have fun." Grippando describes his character as "someone I'd like to hang out with rather than someone I'd like to be."

Since the debut of The Pardon, Grippando has published 17 novels he describes as "thoroughly researched suspense with a twist." These include nine Swyteck books, eight stand-alone novels, and Leapholes, a novel for young adults. The story of a magical old lawyer who goes into law books and travels through time to revisit landmark cases, Leapholes is "a book that will teach kids that the law is based on real people."

 Grippando's newest release, Afraid of the Dark (March 2011), has Jack Swyteck in his most dangerous case yet. To prove that his client didn't murder his girlfriend, Swyteck will not only have to prove that, at the time of the crime, his client was being interrogated as a suspected terrorist at a CIA "black site," he will also have to establish something the government steadfastly denies: that the site ever existed. The plot stretches from black sites to the dark side of cyberspace. The Associated Press calls Afraid of the Dark "a compelling thriller that has more twists and turns than a snowy mountain pass." Grippando's legion of readers must agree, because after just five days of sales, Afraid of the Dark debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list.

Although Grippando spends over six hours a day “writing outdoors under an umbrella,” he has also taken a part-time position as counsel with the David Boies firm to “stay plugged into the legal community.” While he misses the camaraderie of law practice, he loves having the freedom to explore different subjects. He also enjoys being able to golf, cycle, and spend time with his wife, Tiffany, and their three children.

Grippando has already finished his 2012 release. With the success of Money to Burn (2010), Grippando returns to Wall Street, where, he says, “there are no shortage of villains.” He hopes his books will “stimulate some thoughts about serious subjects.” But above all, he wants his readers to have fun. 

For more about James Grippando, visit his website at www.jamesgrippando.com

Next: On the Job with Elaine Viets





Dr. William Emener - Lessons on Love and Life

When a friend suggested he write a romance novel, Dr. William Emener was intrigued. As a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at the University of South Florida – Tampa, Emener had written countless professional papers and journal articles. At the time, he had also published more than 20 books, but all were non-fiction: textbooks, pop-psych, and self-help books based on his 40 years of experience as a teacher, counselor and psychologist. Though he was justifiably proud of his work, there was a creative part of him that yearned to use words to paint pictures and touch human emotions. But romance novels?  Even though he’d spent a good deal of his professional life dealing with the intricacies of interpersonal relationships, Emener had to admit this was quite a leap.

As a research professor, he decided to do some research. He began reading romance novels.  As he read, he discovered a way to use the genre as an instructional tool.  “I realized that none of the books I’d read addressed deeper psychological issues,” he says. “So I decided to take the basic aspects of adult loving relationships and build them into a novel. I could include the typical romance novel concepts, then delve deeper into some of the underlying psychological aspects.”  This was the premise for My Sweetpea: Seven Years and Seven Days, the story of a couple struggling with the end of a seven year marriage. The novel also explores the personal issues each character brought into the marriage that doomed it to failure. This was followed two years later by Fear of Feeling Loved, the tale of a woman whose “commitment phobia” causes her to sabotage her romantic relationships. Emener’s latest book, If Ever Again… It’ll be for Love, deals with a newly-divorced mother trying to balance her need for love with her desire to protect her little girl. Last month, all three novels became available as e-books (in Kindle format from amazon.com and in e-Pub format from barnesandnoble.com).

Emener describes his books as “more than pedestrian level romance novels.” His biggest writing challenge was creating characters that readers could invest in emotionally. “It was difficult to tell the readers what I wanted them to know about a character and still allow them to make the story theirs,” he explains. “To make the reader identify with a character, I have to leave something out so the reader can fill in the blanks. To use a jazz metaphor, a good song has some notes missing so you have to fill them in yourself. Then you become part of the music.  I want my characters to become part of the reader’s life.”

Emener is currently at work on his fourth novel, tentatively titled Rainout, a mystery/romance that will be published sometime next year. When he isn’t writing, this recent retiree enjoys fishing, boating, golf, riding his Harley, and pitching on a co-ed softball team. The New Jersey native also loves basking in the sunshine at his St. Pete Beach home. But one of his biggest thrills is to hear that his books have made a difference in someone’s life. “My hope is that my books can impact a reader’s life for the better. When someone reads one of my books and says, ‘Wow! That really got to me,’ it makes it all worthwhile.”


For more about Dr. Emener, visit his website at http://www.emenerbooks.com/


Next: James Grippando - Lawyer as Storyteller

Claire Matturro - Sarasota Sleuth

Picture the only female law partner in a prestigious Sarasota firm.  Now make her a germ-phobic vegetarian with an obsessive-compulsive personality, a dysfunctional family, and a wickedly irreverent sense of humor. Then throw her into a series of misadventures with a cast of quirky friends and relatives, and you have the makings of an unforgettable read that will have you chuckling on every page.  This is what Claire Hamner Matturro has done in her four “Lilly Cleary” novels. Think John Grisham on laughing gas.

 Matturro, a former Bradenton resident, spent nine years at Sarasota’s Dickinson Gibbons law firm, becoming its first woman partner before deciding she needed a change. “I made the change in a series of small steps, like going into a pool a little at a time,” she says.  Having wanted to write since childhood, she joined the writing faculty at Florida State University College of Law where she taught for six years.  Then she took the plunge into full-time writing.  She wrote two serious manuscripts, both unpublished, before hitting on the idea of writing a legal thriller with a lighter tone.  That led to the creation of Lilly Belle Rose Cleary, the lovably neurotic lawyer from Bugfest, Georgia. Matturro describes Lilly as “a feminine composite of the trial attorneys I knew. Most have obsessive qualities, so I exaggerated them, and I gave her a dysfunctional childhood to explain her weird personality.”  The writer admits to having certain similarities with her heroine, however. “We’re both vegetarians, we love organic foods, and we both have rural roots.”

Matturro’s debut novel, Skinny Dipping, was published in 2004 and earned praise from the Kirkus Review as “Funny, sharp, savvy…this new kid on Grisham’s block is one to watch.”  This was followed by Wildcat Wine in 2005, Bone Valley in 2006, and Sweetheart Deal in 2007.  In Bone Valley, Lilly Cleary becomes unwittingly involved with environmental activists working to expose the dangers of an abandoned phosphate plant in Manatee County. Matturro got the idea for the story while driving through the real Bone Valley near Lakeland.  Although she had read about the phosphate issue in the press, she was shocked by the devastation and later realized that many people were unaware of the problem.  “Bone Valley” struck her as a great title for a book, and nine months later, she had completed the rough draft of the novel. “This book took more research than the others,” she explains.  “The hardest part of the book was condensing and weaving the research into the storyline.” The result is an eminently readable cautionary tale with particular significance for Floridians

Matturro’s fourth Lilly Cleary novel, Sweetheart Deal, differs from the prior novels in that it is “more personal to Lilly and more poignant, very much in favor of small towns and families.” But it has enough suspense and action for even the biggest legal thriller fan. The story has Lilly returning to her hometown of Bugfest to help her reclusive mother who has been accused of shooting a man. The plot includes fire ants, an unscrupulous developer, a corrupt county commissioner, voodoo eggs, and an albino ferret with Lassie fantasies.

Although Matturro lived in southern Georgia while writing all four novels, she traveled to Eugene, Oregon in 2007 for a stint as a visiting professor of legal writing at the University of Oregon. “Eugene was cool, very cool, and had marvelous progressive programs and great health food stores and wonderful walking and biking paths,” Matturro recalls, “but home is home.” Since 2007, she has returned to her adopted native state, Florida.

Matturro’s novels are set in the Sunshine State because “you can find almost any kind of drama in Florida.”  She finds the state “enormously fascinating…it’s got everything—crime, wonderful wildlife, fascinating history and cultures.”  She enjoys the works of other Florida authors and “can’t get enough of them.”  She also loves her craft. “I love playing with words, the music of language, and the sheer fun of making up stories.”  While she admits to having trouble with spelling, she says the most difficult part of her job is “the physical act of typing.” 

In her spare time, Matturro enjoys walking, gardening, and “hanging around watching the sky change as night comes on” with husband Bill (a retired environmental attorney), and Bunni, her twenty-five year-old cat. She is also a self-described “people watcher” which provides the inspiration for many of her eccentric characters. According to Matturro, “The key thing in writing is to be a people studier. Listen to as many different kinds of people as you can.  Listen and remember.”  And she hopes readers will come away from her books with something to remember. “I want readers to be entertained, but I try to slide in some education, so I hope they will learn something too.” 

One thing is certain: no matter why you pick up one of Claire Matturro’s novels, you’re sure to be coming back for more.

For more about Claire Matturro, visit her website at http://www.clairematturro.com/

Next: Dr. William Emener - Lessons on Love and Life

Tom Corcoran - Key West Chronicler

If you’ve ever been to Key West, you know that it’s one of the more colorful Florida locales. And no one captures that local color quite like Tom Corcoran. With a photographer’s eye, Corcoran gives readers a glimpse into the off-beat heart of the city that has captivated him for almost forty years.

An Ohio native, Corcoran joined the Navy in the 60s and was sent to Key West for an eight-week training course. He fell in love with the island and its people. “It was so fascinating to an Ohio boy,” he says. “The sights, sounds and smells were just glorious.” When he finished his naval stint, Corcoran returned to Key West. He took a job tending bar at The Chart Room where, in 1971, he met a young musician who had just arrived in town. Jimmy Buffett stopped in for a drink, and Corcoran welcomed him with a beer “on the house.” This was the start of a lifelong friendship. Buffett and Corcoran shared many memorable experiences. One found its way into Corcotan’s third novel, Bone Island Mambo, which includes a scene that took place on Buffett’s boat. Corcoran even co-wrote two songs that became Buffett classics: “Fins” and “Cuban Crime of Passion.”

Inspired by the sights and scenes around him, Corcoran decided to try his hand at photography. “I read books on photography and gave myself assignments,” he explains. “For example, I’d photograph only green things for a week. That way I’d learn to see all shades of green. Now I can look at a bush and see twenty different greens.” He soon became good enough to do some freelancing. His photographs were featured on seven of Jimmy Buffett’s album covers as well as on the book jackets of writers like James W. Hall, Winston Groom, and Les Standiford. 

By 1980, Corcoran’s life began to take a different turn “I had a wife and a kid, and I needed a full-time job. My son was at that impressionable age, and Key West was filling up with impressions.” So Corcoran moved his family to Fairhope, Alabama, where he worked as an advertising and magazine photographer until his wife’s death in 1986. He suddenly found himself a single father with a rambunctious 15-year-old, so when he was offered a job as editor of Mustang Monthly, an automotive magazine, he moved back to Florida and settled in Lakeland.  According to Corcoran, “Writing about (Ford) Mustangs taught me to spot details readers respond to, and editing the technical stuff to make it more interesting really helped my writing.” 

In 1998, Corcoran made the transition from non-fiction to fiction with the publication of his first novel. The Mango Opera marked the debut of Alex Rutledge, a Key West freelance photographer who is occasionally coerced into photographing crime scenes for the city police and county sheriff. Corcoran wanted Rutledge “to be someone typical of the Key West I loved, a vehicle for its personality to come through.” He also gives readers a sampling of the colorful cast of characters that people the Keys. “Key West is an island of characters. Many are genuine characters, and those who aren’t have manufactured characters for themselves. Everybody knows everybody, and everybody has a support team. Nobody’s a star in Key West.” 

 
The Mango Opera was soon followed by five other Alex Rutledge mysteries. Corcoran credits his Key West days with providing a wealth of story material. “I spent a lot of time listening to the stories of old Conch fishermen at bars on Duval Street, and I use these in my novels." He also drew inspiration from experiences closer to home. He got the idea for his 2005 offering, Air Dance Iguana, while sitting on his dock. "I was looking out at the water, and I wondered if  anyone had written about a murder victim being hung from a boat davit.  I couldn’t find it in any other book, so I used it as my opening scene.” He keeps his readers guessing by throwing out false clues and real clues at the same time, “like a video game on paper.” The story, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch, “will take you away to Margaritaville without wasting away your time.”

The sixth Alex Rutledge mystery, Hawk Channel Chase, was released in hardcover in 2009, then in trade paperback and Kindle download in 2010. It has three or four subplots, and Sam Wheeler (Alex’s fishing guide friend) is fundamental to the story.

Corcoran is already at work on his seventh Alex Rutledge mystery, as yet untitle The story embroils Alex in two cases, one in Key West, the other in Sarasota. And two dodgy street characters created for his second and third mysteries, Dubbie Tanner and Wiley Fecko, will team up to form a private investigations company that proves invaluable to Rutledge’s efforts.

Corcoran has also ventured into the publishing arena as co-owner of The Ketch and Yawl Press, a small company that specializes in non-fiction books about the Florida Keys. In 2006, Ketch and Yawl released Jimmy Buffett: The Key West Years, Corcoran’s compilation of photos and vignettes about Buffett’s life from the 1970s throughout the past several years.  It’s a must-read for all Parrotheads and anyone who is nostalgic for the old Key West. In 2007, Corcoran released Key West in Black and White, a collection of over 160 vintage black-and-white photos. The two most recent releases are fresh editions of existing titles. Undying Love is Ben Harrison’s study of perhaps the weirdest true crime case in Keys history. And The Railroad That Died at Sea tells of Henry Flagler’s construction of train rails to Key West a century ago.

Most recently, Corcoran has returned to songwriting, collaborating on six tunes with Florida-based folk singer John Frinzi for his 2009 CD, “Shoreline.” The title song is derived from a long poem Corcoran wrote while in the Navy. The two artists continue to write new songs for Frinzi’s next release. In 2010, Corcoran assembled a 40-minute high-definition DVD with 400 recent color photographs of Key West and an instrumental sound track featuring Frinzi’s acoustic guitar and the steel pan of John Patti. It's like taking a trip to the Keys without leaving home.

The ease with which Corcoran moves between fiction and non-fiction is no small feat. But it’s easy to see why his books have been so successful. All share one fundamental quality: an abiding respect for the reader. “I never disrespect the intelligence of my readers,” Corcoran says. “I know they’re smart or they wouldn’t be reading in the first place.” 

To find out more about Tom Corcoran’s books, visit his official website at http://www.tomcorcoran.net/

Next: Claire Matturro - Sarasota Sleuth