I’m writing as fast as I can—really!

Fans of Driftwood: Stories from the Margarita Road keep telling me they’re anxiously awaiting my next book. That makes me so very happy.

And yes, I’m writing a new book I’m hoping to publish later this year.

It’s a memoir of the time Cheri and I spent running the Luna Blue Hotel and Bar in Playa del Carmen Mexico.

It will be an entertaining tale of the ups and downs, triumphs and stumbles of our time as innkeepers in paradise. Of course, it will mostly be about the fascinating times we had and the remarkable people who shared them.

The book is tentatively titled “Mexico Without Reservations.”

My Favorite Summer Beach Reads of 2021

In the meantime, while you wait for me to finish, I’d like to suggest a few books written by other excellent writers who publish in the Trop Lit (tropical literature) genre.

This type of writing is all about our innate wanderlust and our love of adventure. It can be a mystery, a romance, a memoir, or any other type of book—as long as it involves a little rum, maybe some pirates (classical or modern), and some time on a beach somewhere.

Books about the dream of running away to find paradise have been around since Ulysses sailed home from the Trojan Wars. It is part of Treasure Island, Mark Twain’s Following the Equator, and Jimmy Buffett’s Tales from Margaritaville.

There are a lot of authors who continue this grand literary tradition today.  The following are some I recently discovered. I think their books will make for great reading this summer, while you’re swinging in a hammock or lying on a towel spread on the sand.

Here they are, in no particular order:

Chip Bell is a Midwestern boy who, like me, became an attorney. And like me, he found his true calling as a writer. Chip writes the Jake Sullivan mystery series (18 books and counting.) The series is set in Florida and other tropical places as Jake—a full-time U.S. attorney and part-time adventurer—sorts out the problems of the world in a series of books named after famous Jimmy Buffett songs. The first in the series is Come Monday.   It’s fast-paced, page-turning fun.

 

 

Josh Pachter really loves books. He writes them, publishes them, and edits them. My favorite of his several excellent anthology collections is The Great Filling Station Holdup: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Jimmy Buffett.

It is a collection of works by Parrothead authors (including Josh himself) who use Jimmy Buffett’s song titles as a jumping-off place to explore mysteries of all sorts. There is something in here for every type of mystery fan.

 

 

Lisa Mottola Hudon is a girl who just wants to have fun. At least, that’s the way she writes. Her Margaritaville-themed trilogy follows an independent, gutsy lady through a series of adventures with her rock star husband (who just happens to look and sound a lot like the real-life Jimmy Buffett). These books are part romance, part mystery, and all fun. The first in the series is Watch Your Step at the Wishing Well.

And if you’re a Buffett fan looking for Parrothead paraphernalia, Lisa has a fun website with not only all the tropical Buffettesque swag you could ever want, but a lot of her own original artwork, as well.

 

 

 

Danny Lynn spends most of his time talking. He runs the Tiki Man Radio network where he hosts the popular Tiki Man Show.  Danny, his crew, and his weekly guests (including me!) discuss all things tiki, tropical island, and Parrothead for several lively fun-filled hours every Sunday morning.

On those rare occasions when he isn’t talking, he’s writing. Danny’s books, Rambling Thoughts of a Traveling Tiki Man and Tiki Man Stories 2, are the comments, reflections, and diaries of a world traveler.  These short pieces are funny, thoughtful, and inspirational. They offer a daily affirmation that the beach is where our heart belongs.

 

Jeff Becan is a man after my own heart. He ran away from the so-called real world to operate a hostel near the sea—the cold waters of the North Atlantic—and lived to tell about it.  (It’s a great reminder that all oceans aren’t warm and all beaches aren’t sunny.) His stories of bumming around the world are an endless inspiration to me.

His Tales from a Hostel at the Edge of the World offers up the weird and wonderful times that come from a life spent with other drifters and vagabonds.

 

And of course <<shameless plug from yours truly>> if you haven’t read my own award-winning Driftwood: Stories from the Margarita Road, it’s high time you did.

Join the expats, drifters, bums, heroes, and rogues of Paradise Beach as they wander the Margarita Road.  Just be careful…you might never want to come back.

Last but not least…I’ll soon be sending out a sneak peek excerpt from my new book to everyone on my email list. Be one of the first to visit Mexico Without Reservations.

Don’t worry; I won’t sell your info to anyone. I wouldn’t know how to do that even if I wanted to! My list is private—just for me to be able to keep in touch with all of you out there on The Margarita Road.

If you haven’t signed up yet, you can do so at www.themargaritaroad.com.