Indian Rocks Beach, Florida

My family moved to Tampa from a small town in Georgia when I was four. That summer - and several summers after that - we spent a week at Indian Rocks Beach on Florida's Gulf Coast. I can remember as a small child wondering where the Indians were. Ditto the rocks. I still don't know the origin of that name. Google wasn't much help.

Back in the day, this was a relatively sleepy community where families would rent rustic cottages on the beach. Not quite as nice as Jimmy Stewart's place in "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation," but something along that line. All of those cabins are gone now, of course, replaced by high-rise condos and multi-million dollar McMansions.

Two things I remember about that first summer: We played Crazy Eights a lot.
The old man (although in retrospect, he was probably around forty) who ran the place let me flip the switch that turned on the neon sign every night. Oh, come on! I was four! It didn't take much to amuse me.

Still doesn't take much to amuse me, come to think of it.

Anyway, many years later, after my father passed away, we were struggling to find something fun to do because there was precious little to smile about in our lives for a while. My sister's family and my family, which included two children each by then, along with my mother and some family friends, headed over to Indian Rocks Beach for two weeks. Most of the quaint little cottages were gone, but we did manage to find a two-story house complete with tin roof and wide wooden deck.

We didn't recapture the magic of those first few years in Florida, but we did have a good time being together with our friends, our memories and our laughter.

And that's the house where Dylan and Amberly spend their haunted summer together in BLAME IT ON THE GHOST. In their own way, they're also seeking a measure of peace and healing.

Here you go again. Another answer to that constant question, "Where do you get your ideas?"

It's been a good week for me. I got a great cover. My latest book released. I laughed with people I love. I hope it was good for you too.

What I'm Reading - DANCE OF THE GODS, Nora Roberts
What I'm Listening to - Frank Sinatra Classics
What I'm Watching - Sex and the City, the Complete Series

Have a wonderful weekend!
Susan