Series: Charlie MacLeod / Port Starboard

     The first novel in the series, "Tales of Old Florida" tells the story of three families, the MacLeods, Dawsons, and Hackensaws, true pioneers who confronted whatever  came their way. From shipwrecks, to Indian uprisings, to buried treasure; blockade runners, to murderous beach tramps, and the sad, lonely life of the beachcomber, "Tales of Old Florida" takes the reader to a singular time and place that will  never be seen again. Above all, "Tales of Old Florida" is an epic saga of survival and prosperity, love and love lost, and most important, the power of the human spirit to prevail.

"The Homesteaders" is the sequel to "Tales of Old Florida" and answers a myriad of questions that persist. Many of our most loved, and hated, characters return to find out what happens to Charlie MacLeod and Salty. Is there  some power on earth that can bring a broken man once again into the folds of humanity? Will the new preacher's wife, the feisty Maude Wickman, split the community along racial lines? Can anyone save the day? And if so, who?

"The Homesteaders" is a whimsical tale of a fledgling town and a long list of quirky characters who are forging a future in a wild, watery frontier, a place with no roads in  or out, a place where one must learn to count on his neighbor, whatever the differences.

"Time Rummers" is the sequel to "The Gladesman."

Whatever will be will be. But what happens when dreams become reality, when unbridled imaginations supplant the laws of nature? For Gnarles and Paddy it can be very confusing, but for a certain resident of Port Starboard it can mean the difference between life and death. Can the diminutive drunks find a way to save the day, to upend reality and turn the tables on Father Time? Maybe, but not without a little help from the patron saint of shipwrecked sailors himself.

"The Gladesman" is the sequel to "The Homesteaders."

The Gladesman, a disgusting, vile, swamp dweller comes to Port Starboard - a tiny settlement on the northwest shore of 1880's Lake Worth - and everything goes    downhill from there. Because of him, however, the residents discover that Maggie Hooker, a black woman and the town's shopkeeper/postmistress, is the glue that holds the community together.

Series: Cow Hunters

Patrick D. Smith Award, 2015; Florida Historical Society.

"The Cow Hunters" is a story about Florida's first cowboys, or cow hunters as they were called.

The Florida Prairie, 1860, cattle country. War looms, but to the settlers living along a jungled, tropical creek, it all seems very far away. For Becky Hackensaw, there are much more pressing matters, such as providing an education for her children, but where to find someone willing to brave an uninhabited wilderness overrun with wild animals, alligators, poisonous snakes, and bloodthirsty mosquitoes?

Series: Bad Dog

Charlie MacLeod and his little feathered friend, Salty the parrot, were living the good life, just the two of them, in their own tropical paradise - until that fateful day when a little fellow by the name of Bamboo sailed into their lives.

Tales of loss, remembrance, and what might have been.

This book completes the tale of Charlie MacLeod and Jubal Prescott and is not intended for fledgling, unseasoned readers of A Tropical Frontier.

It astounded Mary Addison to this day, the unwitting prejudices she once held for them, these who now called her Good Mother. She adored them, as they did her. Life can be like that, though, brimming with surprise, and revelation.

The proverbial fork in the road: which path to follow? Bridges burned. No turning back. One can never know to where a single momentary decision might lead, whether it be to a good place, or to a very, very bad place, indeed, to the gates of Hell.

Series: Brigand

A tale of three friends whose lives are disrupted when one of them, Arabelle O'Shea, is abducted by the "Scourge of the Florida Straits," the feared and dreaded pirate, El Diablo Caesar.

Pirates and Indians? Who would'a thunk? The third novel in the "Brigand" series.  Captain Arabelle O'Shea and her crew of former brigands, now wreckers, have struck it rich!

Or have they?

Patrick D. Smith Award, 2022; Florida Historical Society.

The Quest" is the story of Charley Addison, and the man who would be his father, Emit Woolsey. Both are forced, at different times in their lives, to question what is required for true redemption, and whether they are willing to accept those terms.

During Prohibition, liquor flowed. But from whom did they get it? Who would be brave enough? Some might ask, who would go up against mobsters and gangsters, law enforcement, and revenue agents? Who would risk life and limb to procure and deliver those much-wanted resources to the people? Who indeed? ... ... The school bell rang.

Pappy and Buddy were living the life. Everything running smooth as cream on the farm. All was in order. Life was good. Plenty of time to soak in Pappy's hot bathtub out by the horse turnout (Pappy, not Buddy, though Buddy did try his best to climb in that one time). Yes, all was good at the Last Resort. That is until that one fated night, that inalterable moment when Pappy forgot to pull the laundry room door shut.

This was war. Real war. This was Man (and Buddy) vs Armadillo.

  Series: Castaway

In 1696, the English barkentine, Reformation, sailing out of Port Royal, Jamaica, wrecked on the desolate shore of La Florida, the so-called "Land of Cannibals." There, the party of castaways, including a Quaker named Jonathan Dickinson and his family, were captured by the fierce Ais Indians, who were known for capturing and torturing shipwreck survivors who were no of Spanish origin - as were those onboard Reformation. Hope seemed a distant mirage; but then, the Hand of Fate can be a fickle thing.

It is 1715, and Caspar Crispian - former slave, celebrated opera star, notorious pirate and wanted man in at least four nations - has found his place in the world. Home is a desolate, tropic shore, located at the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean, two rivers, and a meandering creek that extends it fingers deep into the fabled sawgras expanses to the south. Here, a seaside village called Jobe, his is a life of contentment and familal joy - a loving wife, a beautiful daughter, and good friends. Then, one day, Fate steps in, in the form of a hurricane and the most disaterous Spanish Treasure Fleet wreck in history. Caspar's life will never be the same.

"The Good Dog" is the story of one dog's journey to discover a place called home.

The Civil War finds its way to the southern frontier, where young, impetuous Henry Hackensaw, eager to join up and serve,  discovers he'd had no idea what war was.

 A bitter old man, a resentful son who never knew his father, and a daughter-in-law who is intent on fixing everything. What could possibly go wrong? Set along the banks of a winding, jungle river, this is a story of reflection, regret, and the power of bulheadedness.

Tales of loss, remembrance, and what might have been.

Attention: This book completes the tale of Charlie MacLeod and Jubal Prescott and is not intended for fledgling, unseasoned readers of A Tropical Frontier.

Patrick D. Smith Award, 2021, Florida Historical Society.

Born in one world, then violently removed from it to be raised in another, young Haley Addison never suspected the truth, that her entire life, everything in it, was built on lies.

But then, as they say, Ignorance is Bliss.

Pappy and Buddy were living the life, no problems, all smooth as sweet cream; that is until that fateful day, the day Uncle Joe called, and said, "I got puppies. Ya want one?"

"Sometimes I can just sit and stare at my dog." - Luke Tucker.

"The problem was that Bucky Joe wasn't as stupid as he looked. He clearly had a plan, and that plan was to play stupid."

"It seemed to be Luke's lot in life, to rescue everyone else from theirs."

Patrick D. Smith Award, 2018; Florida Historical Society.

"In war people die; and they kill."

Series: Indian Fighter / Jubal Prescott