THE FMWA CRAZY FLORIDA BLOG HOP
“Florida
is a giant bug light for crazy people.” ~Phyllis Smallman, Sleuthfest 2014
It’s
no surprise to any author living in Florida that some of the craziest stories
we can write are actually inspired by true events in our sunshine state. Join
us in exploring a different side of Florida than the travel bureau promotes
with our first Blog Hop sponsored by the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America.
Read on, click the links below to read another member’s view of crazy
Florida, comment, share your favorite stories, and enter the contest to win a
Kindle Paperwhite.
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| A1A in Sunny Isles Beach |
The tiny video rental store was in a run-down group of shops at the eastern end of the 163rd Street causeway, which links the mainland to the barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.
Sandwiched between the tattered blue awnings of Bikini City and a run down Miami Subs, Moscow Video didn’t last long. The entire block of shops was knocked down for a huge high-rise complex with ocean views. The neighborhood was incorporated as the city of Sunny Isles Beach, and as I traveled through it, I began to see more and more businesses that catered to a Russian clientele.
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| Russian Sodas |
Here’s what Biff Andromeda, the hero of
GENIE FOR HIRE, knows about the area: “There was a sizable Russian community in
Sunny Isles Beach, just over the causeway from his office, a Little Moscow
without the snow, the art-filled subway system or the communist legacy. You
could buy Russian-language DVDs, read the news in a newspaper printed in
Cyrillic characters, eat borscht and pelmeni, or hire a Russian-speaking
escort from a selection on Craig’s List.”
In my teaching job, at Broward College, I
began to see more Eastern European students, often with names like Boris and
Natasha. Maybe those names will be familiar to you – if, like me, you grew up
on Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons.
Boris and Natasha Badenov were the villains, always trying to “make beeg
trouble for moose and squirrel.” I also had those Eastern European accents in
my head, courtesy of my great-aunts, great-uncles and grandparents, born in
Lithuania, Russia and Poland.
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| A Russian Deli |
So it was easy for me to slide into this
world, even creating a squirrel sidekick for Biff named Raki. Biff’s case
begins when a Russian-born photographer employs him to retrieve some stolen
digital files – boudoir shots of the wife of a Russian mobster. I loved the
research, including this: “Because he couldn’t resist, Biff stopped at the
Crimean Sea bakery on Collins Avenue and treated himself to a kartoshka, a
chocolate-covered pastry that looked like a potato.”
Biff discovers a sunny society that’s built
on dark crime – my favorite kind of contrast. I hope readers will enjoy the
trip.
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on FMWA and authors' social media sites. U.S. Residents only due to postage
constraints.
Visit our Other Contributors and win more
prizes:
Gregg E. Brickman, Crazy South Florida—How
it got to be home, http://www.GreggEBrickman.com/blog.html
Diane Capri, Fishnado!, http://www.dianecapri.com/blog
Nancy J. Cohen, Characters Too Weird to Be
True, http://nancyjcohen.wordpress.com
Joan Lipinsky Cochran, The
Million Dollar Squatter: Crazy in the Land of Coconuts and Bagels, http://www.joanlipinskycochran.com/blog.htm?post=952677
Linda Gordon Hengerer Crazy Treasure on
the Treasure Coast, http://footballfoodandfiction.blogspot.com/
Vicki Landis, Eavesdropping 101, http://www.victorialandis.com
Johnny Ray Utilizing Google Plus Air to
Facilitate Author Interviews, http://www.sirjohn.us
Joanna Campbell Slan, Honey, You'll Never Guess What Rolled Up in the Surf http://www.joannaslan.blogspot.com
7 comments:
Love the Rocky and Bullwinkle analogy. Interesting to learn about the Eastern influence in Florida.
I remember Rocky and Bullwinkle - was Frostbite Falls their home, or was another cartoon locale? Love this story, and the contrast between tasty treats and what they hide.
I didn't know that about Sunny Isles. Very interesting (said in that Boris & Natasha accent).
Hey we've got a really good Russian market here in Boca. Am going to Russia this summer and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to wrestle my husband to the ground so he won't ask every Russian he meets to say
Boris and Natasha as he giggles. We're huge fans of Rocky and Bullwinkle... have the whole first season on DVD.
Nice blog.
Fascinating local color! Biff Andromeda and his sidekick Raki the Squirrel are a hoot!
You did a wonderful job in your highly entertaining story of incorporating these Russian elements. I'd had no idea such an enclave existed in South Florida.
Neil, you just have too much fun doing your research. What a hoot.
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