Backstory for the concept behind Key West - A Novel of 1898

How long had I known that I wanted to write (or be a "writer")?

I'm not exactly sure but it had been a thought off and on for many years. In June of 2004 we (the Langley family) rented a house on Sugarloaf Key in the Florida Keys (MM 17) and stayed there for a month with various family and friends. We all read a lot.

I read Hemingway's "True at First Light", which I found to be quite funny and light. I have always liked Hemingway's style. Then I read Sterling Hayden's "Voyage: A Novel of 1896", which I found interesting albeit a very frustrating read. The story was disjointed and I couldn't even figure out who the main character was until about 1/3 of the way through the book! This got me thinking that I could do a better job than Sterling did. Maybe I should write a book, but what about? (Conceiving an idea) I also read "Cuba Libre" by Elmore Leonard. This read more like a screenplay as that is Elmore Leonards forte'. It felt like watching a movie reading that book, maybe just a little shallow for my tastes.

As a group we visited Key West several times during the trip, going to the various sites and touring some historic homes. We had been to Key West a couple of times before that on short trips. I was amazed by the amount of history there is to learn about in Key West; if you have the time. By the end of June, before the end of that trip, I had decided to write a book based on the history Key West.

If you know me once I decide to do something that pretty much is it. It's as good as done. I figured writing the book would be easy. Do some research, get a plot, start writing. Ouch, it's not that easy! Not if you want to do the story you are trying to tell, and yourself, justice. But more on that later.

We left Key West to go back home to Atlanta and I immediately scheduled a return trip to conduct research on the history of Key West. I was so excited I couldn't believe it. It was July of 2004 and I wanted to have the book finished and published by December. I must have been crazy! Actually, I could have done it, but not the way that I knew it needed to be done.

My wife's grandfather passed away right after we got home so that really put a damper on my plans. I agonized over going back to Key West while Jane stayed home for the funeral (we had planned to go together). In the end I ended up going down first and having her come down after.

That first visit back to Key West with the purpose of researching historical records for the book was amazing. I stayed at the Curry Mansion in Old Town Key West. It was built in 1896 and has since been extensively restored. It was like going back in time. It just so happened that there was a professor their, Frank Sicius of St. Thomas University, conducting a literary workshop with his students. I was able to sit with him at length and discuss the history of Key West and it's literature. I am not one that necessarily believes in the need for confirmation to order to do something, not being a doubting Thomas, but that was an amazing coincidence.

Over the next few days I spent quite a bit of time around town, at the Key West Historical Society and also in the Key West Library, which is where the archives are located. Tom Hambright is the curator. He was able to help me locate valuable information and point me in the right direction to get started.

I was overwhelmed with information. I had the concept of the story that I wanted to tell but I did not realize the historical depth of the old seaport town. I thought the towns history started around the time of Hemingway. As it turns out that period of time was the town low point. The high point had occured 40 years earlier. I reset my vision for the book to account for this realization.