Cozy Florida

Cozy Florida welcomes Nancy J. Cohen to the blog as our March guest author.

Writing about Real Places

Seasoned writers often get asked by newbies if it’s okay to write about real places. My answer is yes, that’s fine, unless something bad happens there. Also, if you want more creative license, it’s best to use a fictional location. For example, my Bad Hair Day cozy mystery series takes place in Palm Haven, Florida. This town is an upscale community located on the western edge of Fort Lauderdale, similar to Plantation where I lived for forty years. You’ll find real restaurants, tourist attractions and street names throughout my stories.

Readers love to recognize these places. They’ve either visited Florida, have a relative who lives there, or they want to come and play in our sunshine state. Our varied ecology and diverse population provide fodder for the many writers who live here. It’s meaningful to me to add Florida issues into my tales. These can range from citrus canker to illegal migrant farm workers to honey production to the burgeoning olive industry. But a historical angle thrills me even more. Whether it’s utilizing old sugar mill ruins, accounts of shipwrecks and pirates, or ghost stories, I like to include these elements for added depth.

Using real places as models for fictional locations work well. My hairstylist sleuth, Marla Shore, visits her cousin’s seaside estate in Hair Raiser. This was modeled after Bonnet House in Fort Lauderdale. The wedding site Orchid Isle in Shear Murder is based on Harry P. Leu Gardens in Winter Park. She’s entered a food competition at a farm festival based on Bedner’s Farm in Boynton Beach.

Meanwhile, Marla has interviewed suspects in the Greek sponge fishing town of Tarpon Springs, in Mount Dora, the Florida Keys and other locales that I want to showcase. She’s even had a reading by a certified medium in Cassadaga. I’ve visited all these places myself so I could describe them accurately albeit through Marla’s viewpoint.

Florida has much to offer to readers with our distinct regions and our huge stable of authors. Under the sizzling sun, temperatures can easily reach the boiling point and so do temperaments. But murder isn’t the only item on the menu. I’ve set my scifi/fantasy romance Drift Lords series in Florida as well, centering the stories around a sinister theme park. Sound familiar? Do you enjoy reading about places you’ve visited or want to see?

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Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. These books have won numerous awards along with her nonfiction titles, Writing the Cozy Mystery and A Bad Hair Day Cookbook. Active in the writing community, Nancy is a past president of Florida Romance Writers and Mystery Writers of America, Florida Chapter. When not busy writing, she enjoys cooking, fine dining, cruising and visiting Disney World.