The Write Address From Key West to St. Augustine, some of America’s most successful authors have found a home, a retreat and occasionally a perfectly respectable alibi in the Sunshine State. —by Denise Copeland
F lorida has always made sense to writers. It o ers polished resorts and backwater roads, old money and new trouble, quiet islands and cities capable of producing a fresh scandal before breakfast. Some of America’s most successful authors have chosen to work here, nding privacy, distinctive characters and enough real-life eccentricity to keep ction on its toes. eir signature books range from royal teenage comedies and historical conspiracies to murder, marriage and supernatural terror. Steve Berry, St. Augustine Historical-thriller author Steve Berry lives in St. Augustine, a tting headquarters for a writer fascinated by secrets buried in the past. His novels have sold more than 27 million copies and been translated into 42 languages. Berry’s signature bestseller, e Templar Legacy , introduces Cotton Malone, a former Justice Department operative attempting to enjoy a quieter life as a bookseller in Copenhagen. at plan unravels when his former supervisor becomes involved in a dangerous search for the lost treasure of the Knights Templar. Religious history, coded messages and a secret capable of challenging centuries of Christian belief pull Malone across Europe. Berry’s combination of documented history and high-speed adventure turned Cotton Malone into the center of a long- running series. Lauren Gro , Gainesville Lauren Gro has lived in Gainesville since 2006 and later opened e Lynx, an independent bookstore with a strong commitment to literary
freedom. Her work approaches Florida with a ection, unease and a clear understanding that beauty and danger o en share the same patch of ground. Her best-known novel, Fates and Furies , examines the 24-year marriage of Lotto and Mathilde. e rst half follows Lotto, a charismatic actor and playwright who believes he understands the history of their relationship. e second half belongs to Mathilde, whose account quietly dismantles many of his assumptions. By presenting the marriage from both perspectives, Gro reveals the secrets, private sacri ces and carefully managed truths hidden beneath an admired couple’s life. Kristin Harmel, Orlando Orlando resident Kristin Harmel has built an international readership with historical novels centered on war, memory and the people who preserve lives that history might otherwise erase. Her books have been translated into more than 35 languages. e Book of Lost Names follows Eva Traube Abrams, an elderly librarian in Florida who sees a newspaper photograph of a book she has not encountered since World War II. As a young Jewish graduate student escaping occupied Paris, Eva joined the French Resistance and forged identity papers for children eeing the Nazis. Unable to bear the thought that their real names could disappear, she secretly recorded them in a coded book. e novel moves between wartime France and Eva’s later life as she confronts a love, a loss and an un nished chapter from her past.
42 Coastal Pearl Living - TREASURE
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