Getting back in the groove

A pattern is emerging. Every time I go away from my computer for a few days or weeks it takes me forever to get back to my blog. Like so many times when we have to do something we put it off until tomorrow. Well, before you know it, your tomorrows have accumulated into weeks.

I can always say I was trying to think of a catchy topic. Sounds like as good an excuse as any. So I got to thinking...yes I try to do that once in a while without getting into trouble. :) And I thought about small towns.
I love small towns. I like to visit them and walk around, look at the homes, the yards and say hello to the people walking about. I like to linger and read the plaques on the buildings or posted on poles or in parks.

My stories are in set in small towns for many reasons. The first is that I have control over the people and their behavior. (Most of the time I do but sometimes they balks and won't do what I want them to.) I don't want my characters to be lost and anonymous in a big city. However, this can create a problem because a history for the place has to be created. A town is like a plant, say a philodendron, it has a core root with a lot of vines branching out but the plant will die without its core root. This can be great fun but it can also be a pain in the rump. Why? Because research is involved. When was the town created? Who were the founders? Why did they decide to stay? How has it survived this long?

My stories are set in SW Florida. When you say Florida most people think of Disney World first and Miami next followed by orange groves and alligators, not the rich history of the State. Florida was settled by hearty folks. Wagon trains came to Florida. There were Indian wars in Florida not mention the political shenanigans following the Civil War. I like to use the descendants of these early settlers in my stories but to do this I have to read a lot of history. Thank goodness I love history. The events may have occurred in the past but the results are present now.

Enough rambling for now but I look forward to sharing some of the history in the future. The only thought I want to leave with you today is keep in mind there was not air conditioning in the early days when Florida was settled but the people came anyway and stayed.