Florida is a wild place to live and Central Florida is unique with stories that you won’t find anywhere else. I’ve chosen recent headlines from places used as settings in my newest release, The Hunted Girls, to give you a flavor of Central Florida.
Seminole County rescue crews searching St Johns River for missing boater
Story: Rescue teams were called for two individuals after their boat sank. One occupant was able to reach safety. They eventually called the search off. The second boater was not found.
My Story: A few years back, I took a houseboat up the St Johns River. I felt like I was on the Amazon because several places along the route were completely devoid of any human activity. The green murky water, filled with fish, turtles and alligators seems a perfect place to make a person disappear, making it a favorite body dump location for the serial killer mother of my heroine. Both the St Johns River and that houseboat turn up in The Hunted Girls.
Man killed in motorcycle accident with a bear in Ocala National Forest
Story: Now that isn’t something most visitors associate with Central Florida. But just this year, a man accidentally struck a bear and was thrown from his bike. Florida does not have a helmet law, and the biker did not wear one. Neither did the bear, who also died as a result of the accident.
My Story: The Ocala Forest is over six hundred miles of wilderness. It is an alluring and dangerous area, as are all wild places. With rivers, lakes, state parks and even a bombing range still used by US military, the forest and the associate state parks are perfect for hiking, hunting, fishing, camping and going missing. Lots of people do. Look it up. You’ll be surprised at the number of headlines that begin with Bodies found in the forest.
Despite alligator sighting in Silver Glen Springs, swimmers return
Story: A 13-foot alligator was removed from the state park in Ocala National Forest on Saturday, and on Monday the swimmers were back ‘unfazed’. In the winter, the springs are warmer than the lakes and rivers which are a lure for both humans and reptiles, but only the gators are subject to removal.
My Story: Alligators feature in my Florida stories. How could they not? They are dinosaurs, basically unchanged for millions of years. Despite that, Floridians kayak, boat, paddleboard and fossil hunt and occasionally swim with alligators.
Case of manatee with ‘Trump’ etched into back under investigation
Story: Some fool mutilated an aquatic mammal by scraping the name of our former president into its back. Manatees are docile, slow-moving vegetarian mammals who frequently suffer injury from boat propellers. The manatee was spotted in Blue Hole Springs. The perpetrator of this crime is still at large, but not as large as the manatee, which average 900 pounds.
My Story: I was swimming in this natural spring, one of many throughout the state, when I spotted something large and black stirring deep in the spring’s mouth. Of course I freaked, surfaced and sputtered. I’ll bet you think it was a manatee. Well, it was a scuba diver. The only thing scarier than the monster emerging from that hole was contemplating diving into a natural spring and through the maze of limestone caverns beneath. Dangerous? You bet. Folks drown in those caves with regularity.
Florida man accused of killing grandpa, cutting off his ears and keeping them in his pocket
Story: This was a brutal murder that occurred this March in DeLand, Florida. The suspect used a baseball bat and butcher knife on his grandfather, killing him before his arrest the same day. Reason? The two had argued. My new story, The Hunted Girls, opens in DeLand with a vicious crime. I’m shocked to say the true crimes committed here are often equally brutal.
My Story: DeLand is a beautiful town, charming really, and the river makes it a great jumping off point for recreational boaters. This was the place we departed from on our houseboat adventure, and I had a lovely lunch at a nearby marina that I later used as a setting in The Hunted Girls.
As you can see, Central Florida is not all theme parks, cartoon mice, wizards and killer whales. Like all places, the darkness doesn’t lay far from the surface. After learning of five locations in the news that influenced The Hunted Girls, I hope you’ll explore further by picking up my May 2021 release and come and visit Florida’s wild locales. They are a wonder.
Publishers Weekly bestselling author Jenna Kernan is a two-time RITA nominee and winner of the Book Buyers’ Best award. Prior to signing with Bookouture, she published over thirty novels including her popular APACHE PROTECTOR series, and is a member of numerous writing groups, including International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Florida Mystery Writers and Novelists, Inc. and frequently attends conferences on police procedure at the Writers Police Academy and MurderCon. Jenna currently lives on Florida’s Gulf Coast with her husband. A natural redhead, she has recently increased her sunblock to SPF 50.
Quite an excellent post 🙂