Florida Gothic Stories


Book Description

Gothic, in the sense of Southern Gothic, these eleven stories emphasize the "grotesque" and take place in various Florida environments. Some involve crime and violence, most involve sex; and animals are often central to the plot. "Stormy, Mon Amour" is about a woman who has given birth to a mermaid and seeks to reunite with her dolphin lover. "ReBecca" is the story of conjoined twins and their first sexual experience. "Boozanne, Lemme Be," from the viewpoint of a petty thief, focuses on his secret life in a couple's home when they are at work. "Must Bite " is a grizzly tale of greed, murder, and ape behavior. Eight other stories contain similarly original plots and off-kilter characters. Megan Abbott provides the Introduction and Michael Connelly the Afterword.




Florida Gothic


Book Description

Stuck in a twilight world between life and death...A hit-and-run driver leaves Ernesto Martinez to die by a Miami canal. Then an alligator comes along to finish the job. Being dead gives Ernesto plenty of time to think. He thinks about his wife, taken from him too soon by illness. He thinks about his daughter, the victim of a drunk driver. He thinks about his death as he watches his body slowly decompose. Most of all, he thinks about injustice. The meth head ex-con living in the Everglades. The judge enjoying retirement on the Gulf Coast. The son of a Colombian drug kingpin partying in South Beach. These men care nothing for the pain they've caused. But they'll soon know what it is to feel pain. Set against the sweltering bug-infested backdrop of South Florida, Florida Gothic weaves a darkly unnerving and visceral tale of sex, drugs, crime and vengeance.(Book 1 in The "Gothic" Series from Mitzi Szereto)"Mitzi Szereto's dark night of the soul is one wild, soul-blasting old mother of a trip, plus maggots, cockroaches, and cocaine. Solid, slippery, bug-eyed fun."-Peter Straub, Interior Darkness: Selected Stories "From gators with a taste for human flesh to a meth-addled son of a drug kingpin at the wheel of a Hummer, Mitzi Szereto's Florida Gothic exposes the world of South Florida's seediest through the rotting eyes of a revenge-driven corpse. Raunchy, gory, and impossible to put down! Follow the 'Pied Piper of cucarachas' at your own risk!"-Lucy Taylor, The Safety of Unknown Cities "Mitzi Szereto's Florida Gothic is like an alligator-quick, powerful and primal-once it has you, it will not let go!"-Mark Onspaugh, Deadlight Jack "Look out readers! Florida Gothic will shock you to your core. Mitzi Szereto carefully guides us through the very nasty underbelly of the darkest of Miami's dark side in a gritty tale where love is scarce and violence rules 24/7. It takes a highly skilled, intelligent writer with impeccable control of her craft to keep me glued to the page, and I was. This first in a series plunges headlong into the sinister minds of high-and low-life criminals, and the soul of the tormented, preyed-upon protagonist who is hell-bent on revenge. Recommended? Absolutely!"-Nancy Kilpatrick, Revenge of the Vampir King; Sacrifice of the Hybrid Princess




Cracker Gothic


Book Description

PRAISE FOR Wanda Duncan: "In Cracker Gothic, Wanda Duncan writes about the intersections between family and place with precision, wit, and loving detail. Capturing moments that are at times humorous and at other times heartbreaking, Duncan makes spending time in the Florida swamp an unexpected, lyrical pleasure." - Aimee Mepham, author of "Raving Ones"




Florida


Book Description

'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




The Ghost and Mr. Moore


Book Description

Joseph Moore is looking for a fresh start for himself and his son River after the recent death of his wife. With the ink already dry on the purchase of a rambling rural Victorian-era home in St. Augustine prior to her death, and family in close proximity, he decides that the property will be the perfect place for him and his son to heal. However, almost as soon as they arrive, Joseph realizes that they aren't proud new homeowners, but unwanted visitors. Carolina Braun knows that she's dead... she just doesn't want to accept it. Free-spirited in life, her family always held her back from living the way she wanted. Now, more than a hundred years after her death, Carolina is still holding on to the fact that she never got to really live and wants to make sure that everyone around her knows it -- especially the awful man that is trying to make an absolute spectacle of her home. When he discovers the cantankerous ghost's hidden stash of paintings in the attic, her unfinished business becomes clear. With Joseph's help, Carolina's artwork can be released into the world and her spirit can be set free as her home is restored to its former glory. Only now after meeting Joseph and his son, Carolina has a whole new reason to stay.




Florida Frenzy


Book Description

"Fourteen essays and articles and three short stories that will hit you right between the eyes. Crews writing is informed by a deep love of language, literature, nature, blood sports, and his own kind of people--namely rural, southern, hard-drinking, honest-measure hell-raisers. We are all lucky to have him to tell us about cockfighting, dogfighting, mending an injured hawk, becoming a great jockey, poaching gators, and taking ourselves much too seriously"--Chicago Tribune "The author's gifts include an elegant and easy style, a knack for telling a good story, and a wry and riotous sense of humor. . . . Unforgettable characters whose preoccupations evoke such memorable detail. Despite the concreteness of his descriptions, his sports cronies and the bar rats he encounters take on a universality in his graceful prose."--Newsday In this collection of fiction and essays, Crews focuses on the people and places of Florida--full of natural wonders and other, grimier delights that make perfect grist for his forceful style, Southern Gothic sensibilities, and rowdy sense of humor. From poaching gators, to the Gatornationals, to cockfighting--a must-have collection for Harry Crews fans new and old.




White Ibis


Book Description

Chelsea is vain, self-absorbed, and driven in life only by want and her obsession with being the best. Even though she is desperate to portray an outwardly perfect image, things are far from perfect at home. One day at yoga class, Chelsea meets a woman named Damaris who is exactly like her; beautiful, confident, and reaching high to be her best self. Damaris and Chelsea become instant best friends and bond over healthy eating, fitness, and their love of luxury items. As Chelsea’s heart hardens toward her boyfriend, her obsession with the enigmatic Damaris only blossoms. As one bad decision turns into another, Chelsea begins to think she is being followed by a white bird. Her new best friend Damaris suggests a girls' weekend in New Orleans to get away from it all and Chelsea readily agrees. Unfortunately for Chelsea, it soon becomes clear that she can’t run away from her problems and instead finds herself tumbling head-first into a downward spiral Content Warning: Mentions of suicide and eating disorders.




Oh, Florida!


Book Description

A fun- and fact-filled investigation into why the Sunshine State is the weirdest but also the most influential state in the Union.




Shadow Country


Book Description

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • “Altogether gripping, shocking, and brilliantly told, not just a tour de force in its stylistic range, but a great American novel, as powerful a reading experience as nearly any in our literature.”—Michael Dirda, The New York Review of Books Killing Mister Watson, Lost Man’s River, and Bone by Bone—Peter Matthiessen’s great American epic about Everglades sugar planter and notorious outlaw E. J. Watson on the wild Florida frontier at the turn of the twentieth century—were originally conceived as one vast, mysterious novel. Now, in this bold new rendering, Matthiessen has marvelously distilled a monumental work while deepening the insights and motivations of his characters with brilliant rewriting throughout. Praise for Shadow Country “Magnificent . . . breathtaking . . . Finally now we have [this three-part saga] welded like a bell, and with Watson’s song the last sound, all the elements fuse and resonate.”—Los Angeles Times “Peter Matthiessen has done great things with the Watson trilogy. It’s the story of our continent, both land and people, and his writing does every justice to the blood fury of his themes.”—Don DeLillo “The fiction of Peter Ma­­tthiessen is the reason a lot of people in my generation decided to be writers. No doubt about it. Shadow Country lives up to anyone’s highest expectations for great writing.” —Richard Ford “Shadow Country, Matthiessen’s distillation of the earlier Watson saga, represents his original vision. It is the quintessence of his lifelong concerns, and a great legacy.”—W. S. Merwin “[An] epic masterpiece . . . a great American novel.”—The Miami Herald




Southern Gothic


Book Description

Southern Gothic: New Tales of the South is an anthology like no other. Featuring over 15 stories and poems by new and veteran authors, the writing reflects a diverse range of Southern experience. From the post-Katrina New Orleans of Rose Yndigoyen’s “Long Gone Girls” and the deep-rooted family of Hardy Jones’ “Visitin’ Cormierville” to the racial tension of Eryk Pruitt’s “Them Riders” and Shane K. Bernard’s “The Phrenologist,” the anthology represents a new interpretation of the long-established Southern Gothic genre. Each story is paired with original art by Nathan Mark Phillips. Phillips’ images pull at the underside of the stories and bring a thoughtful level of interpretation to each work. Poking at the heart of Southern distinctiveness, these writers and artists make a bold statement about the south in the 21st century. 80# paper, semi-matte finish, 7x7 inches