NOVELS TO ENRICH A TRIP TO THE FLORIDA KEYS ... by Rae Cowie

Reading and travel are my two great loves and whenever I find the opportunity to combine them then I’m a happy soul. In recent years I’ve tried to read at least one novel set in the place I’m about to explore. So when we decided to visit the Florida Keys on a family holiday, I knew exactly which book I would choose – Vanessa Lafaye’s stunning historical debut, Summertime (A Richard and Judy BookClub Choice for 2015). A novel based on real life events, which graced my ‘to be read’ list for far too long.

FLORIDA KEYS

Set during the 1930s on the fictional Heron Key, we’re introduced to Missy, loyal maid to the Kincaid family, who spends years of her prime waiting for her first love, Henry, to return from the battlefields of France. Trouble is brewing, as a hurricane threatens the coast, turning everything, including Missy’s life, upside-down. (Here's my full Goodreads review - Summertime Review .) Summertime is a fantastic debut, made even more special for me when I went on to read the author’s notes and discovered that the real life events on which Vanessa based her novel took place in Islamorada – the island we’d chosen to stay on the Keys.

Islamorada Hurricane Memorial

ISLAMORADA HURRICANE

As we drove South on day trips, we passed a hurricane monument, which, if it weren’t for reading Summertime, I may not have given a second glance – which would’ve been a shame because I would have missed learning about perhaps the single most important event in the history of Islamorada. But because I read Summertime I understood the importance of the memorial. So we stopped and read the tragic tale of the brave WW1 veterans who, whilst working for the government, were treated shabbily by a system that chose to ignore the natural danger heading their way. Because I’d met and admired Vanessa’s fictional characters, her writing made me take time to reflect on the suffering endured

The true story behind 'Summertime'

by the real inhabitants of Islamorada, during the catastrophic 1935 Labor Day hurricane, when 200mph winds created 18 foot tidal waves, which swamped the low-lying sea town with appalling loss of life, demolishing most of the buildings. A sobering thought.

HISTORY BEHIND THE NOVEL

As we journeyed on past ocean front villas butting up against water bluer than a skimming dragonfly, heading to the lively tropical port of Key West, we commented on the strange sight of a bridge half-built, or broken - we weren’t sure.

Partially completed railway bridge (Florida Keys)

When I posted my book review on Goodreads, Vanessa was kind enough to get in touch and pointed me in the direction of her fascinating Pinterest board entitled ‘The History Behind The Novel’. It was there I discovered that the partially completed railway bridge we’d seen was the same bridge the WW1 Veterans, including Vanessa’s fictional hero, Henry, were working on when the hurricane struck.


METICULOUS RESEARCH
I feel grateful to Vanessa as her time in meticulously researching the events which led to such a tragedy added so much more to my stay in Islamorada and also to my understanding of the danger of the deadly force of nature capable of destroying the breathtaking beauty of the Keys.

The Green Turtle Inn
 today

As we drove past the flashing neon green light of the Green Turtle Inn, one of the few buildings that survived the storm, I couldn't help but remember the terrified residents who gathered there, seeking shelter, after the worst of the hurricane blew through.


It's a heart-breaking real life story, but the characters in Summertime display both courage and hope for the future. Islamorada has been rebuilt and is thriving as a popular fishing and tourist resort, once again. I'd love to return one day!

Islamorada - July 2017

FURTHER READING

If you’d like to see more photos of what inspired Vanessa to write Summertime, or learn a little more about a largely forgotten piece of American history, then I’ve included a link to her Pinterest page here.

Also, I can’t sign off without mentioning that having very much enjoyed Summertime (even if you can’t visit the Florida Keys, it’s still a brilliant read), I then went on to enjoy the companion novel, At First Light. This time our journey into the past begins during a 1993 Klu Klux Klan rally in Key West, when Alicia Cortez, a frail elderly Cuban woman, commits murder in broad daylight. To understand Alicia's motives Vanessa then carries us back to Key West of 1919, a wild, colourful frontier town filled with brothels and soldiers and bars. Again, At First Light, is loosely based on disturbing true events, which are sadly still pertinent today and which warrant a blog post all of there own! In the meantime, here’s my full Goodreads review.

So where will I travel to next? – Perhaps I should consult my bookshelf...

WHICH BOOKS HAVE ENRICHED YOUR TRAVEL EXPERIENCES?

But before you head off, please share which novels have enriched your travel experiences. (The Trip Fiction website is great for inspiration.) I’d love to hear some of your favourites…

Happy reading!

Rae

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NEW YEAR, NEW FACES...

Novel Points of View is introducing a few changes for 2016. We want to say goodbye and many thanks to Jenny Harper and Mary Smith, and a big hello and welcome to new members Rae Cowie (writer), Jennie Bohnet (writer) and Neil Donald (photographer). We’re really looking forward to having new voices – and amazing photographs – in the weeks and months ahead.

To get things rolling we have asked each of our new members to give us three words or phrases that best describe their creativity. And also to tell us a little bit about themselves. Over to you, Rae…

Hello and a thousand thanks to the Novel Points of View team for inviting me to join their not-so-secret gang.

This is the perfect time of year for setting those New Year writing goals and thinking about how best to describe my creativity was just the push I needed to return to the typeface after the sloth of the festive season.

So what do I write? - Contemporary women’s fiction stuffed full of family drama with a tender sprinkling of romance.

And how best to describe my creativity? - Well I’m a bit of a chameleon when it comes to inspiration, as that magical ‘what if?’ question can be sparked by places, photographs, objects, song lyrics…anything really.

However, like most writers I’m drawn to write about what interests me and travel has always been a firm passion of mine. Part of the joy of writing, for me, is researching other cultures, finding out what makes people and places tick. My current work-in-progress, Leaving Baku, is set in Azerbaijan (to the east of Turkey, cradled by the Caspian sea). It’s the story of a young, local widow, Samira, and the relationship she develops with a Western oilman, against her family’s wishes.

Which brings me to my second phrase - family and relationships. Having been lucky enough, along with my three siblings, to be brought up in a picturesque fishing village, where community spirit was strong, perhaps it was envitable that as a writer the importance of family and friendship would feature strongly in my writing. However, just as in real life, the road any family follows is far from smooth and part of the fun in fiction writing is throwing boulders in characters paths – testing those relationships to the limit.

My final phrase links both travel and family/relationships, as I love to write of individuals who are struggling to find their place in the world, searching for where they belong, finding friendship and romance in unexpected places.

Whilst enjoying travel, I also love home which nestles in a tiny hamlet in rural NE Scotland, overlooking the fertile Ythan estuary, where geese come and go with the seasons. As well as my imaginary characters, I also have my ever-patient husband and two lively teenage sons to keep me company. I bake to relax  - think lemon drizzle cake or red velvet muffins - not exactly to Bake Off standard but good enough for my family to appreciate. Then, to work off those calories, I walk and cycle the farm roads and dirt tracks, which crisscross the surrounding fields...perhaps not quite so often as I should!   

And so, in joining the wonderfully talented Novel Points of View team, I feel I’m travelling to an exciting new land, with lots to discover and enjoy – here’s to friendships, old and new, in 2016!