#Sunshine State Stories Blog Hop

This week, Books Make Me Happy blog and a handful of UF/PNR authors are celebrating stories set in sunny Florida. The authors showcased have offered excerpts, written cool blog posts, and are all participating in a blog hop GRAND PRIZE giveaway full of books and other goodies. Be sure to click on the header above to see the complete list of participating sites. Check out each day’s excerpt and the Featured Author’s site for fun posts and chances to win!! Today is MY turn to be featured!! You can find my excerpt on Books Make Me Happy HERE. Be sure to check at the bottom of today’s post for the rafflecopter entry form for the Grand Prize AND a special added rafflecopter to win an ecopy of THE KING SERIES. Hop around and check out all the Florida authors participating:

8/4 Books Make Me Happy kickoff post with full schedule: http://wp.me/pOeF4-12p

8/4 Tawdra: http://wp.me/pOeF4-12s

8/5 KC: http://wp.me/pOeF4-12x

8/6 Armand: http://wp.me/pOeF4-12B

8/7 Heather: http://wp.me/pOeF4-12E

8/8 Christy: http://wp.me/pOeF4-12H

I’m a relative newcomer to Florida, having lived here only seven years. But the state will always hold a place in my heart, since it’s here that I realized my dream of writing and publishing.

My bio says that I’ve been a writer since the invention of the pen, and sometimes it feels that long. I have been creating characters and stories in my head since I was a child. I had never set any of them in Florida, but when we moved to a small town in the middle of the state in 2007, and some of my characters had time to be heard, it turned out that living in Florida was part of their story.

Most of my inspiration for The King Series, my YA quartet, came via long drives or day trips. Tasmyn’s last name came from a nursery alongside SR-46 between Lake County and Sanford. The setting for Michael’s family nursery also sprung from that drive. The lakes in Fearless, Breathless and Restless owe their existence to the many lakes around Apopka and in (duh) Lake County.

The town of King itself is nearly a character in the books. I hadn’t realized how important it was until Michael began talking to Tas one day, and it all clicked. King’s physical manifestation is very close to that of Mount Dora, a small and lovely town in Lake County where I spent a good deal of time in our early Florida days. However, the history of King is closer to another famous Sunshine State burg–Cassadega. I had never been there when I wrote Fearless, and once I did visit, much later, I was surprised at how much the two towns–one fictional, one factual–have in common. Both were founded by men who chose the spot based on the idea that it was a place of spiritual congruence. Both maintain the reputation of being somewhat supernatural.

A few of my other books have also found their home in Florida. Of course, Rafe begins his journey in King, though he ends up traveling out of state. Nell also spends some time in the northern part of the state, near the fictional Perriman College (where Tas and Michael attend). THE POSSE, a contemporary romance, is set in a Florida beach town.

Since Tasmyn is a transplant just like me, we decided to play a little game of quick-draw Q and A. I’m interested in some of her answers!

Summer or Winter in Florida? Wait, is there a difference? Juuuust kidding. Winter. Definitely winter.

Disney or Universal? I have to choose between Mickey or Harry? Well, Disney is the favorite of my heart. I don’t love roller coasters, and Disney gives me more options that don’t make me puke.

Sharks or Gators? Sharks, because as long as I stay out of the ocean, they won’t bother me. Gators can turn up anywhere. <shudder>