I was on Cape San Blas last week and visited some of the settings of my new murder mystery entitled Secrets of San Blas. My son, Sam, a budding, 12 year-old film-maker, captured some of my visits with friendly local folks, and has posted them on YouTube.
Our first stop was at the No Name Cafe, Books & More in downtown Port St. Joe. Barbara Radcliff the store's co-owner introduced us to a charming couple who were there having coffee: Pat Ward Dandridge and Norman Allemore. They remembered what Port St. Joe was like in 1938, when the Secrets of San Blas was set and pointed out where the doctor's office was, not more than a paperback's throw away from the bookstore. Their interview is on YouTube: Recollections on Reid Avenue Charles Farley. Here I am in the present-day bookstore there on Reid Avenue.
Our first stop was at the No Name Cafe, Books & More in downtown Port St. Joe. Barbara Radcliff the store's co-owner introduced us to a charming couple who were there having coffee: Pat Ward Dandridge and Norman Allemore. They remembered what Port St. Joe was like in 1938, when the Secrets of San Blas was set and pointed out where the doctor's office was, not more than a paperback's throw away from the bookstore. Their interview is on YouTube: Recollections on Reid Avenue Charles Farley. Here I am in the present-day bookstore there on Reid Avenue.
We next drove out to the Cape San Blas Lighthouse and chatted with Beverly Douds, the current keeper of the Lighthouse and the Sleeping Beauty Gift Shop. She surmised who had actually hacked to death the assistant lighthouse keeper back in 1938. To hear her theory, go to YouTube: Lighthouse Interview Charles Farley. Here I am at the top of the Lighthouse.
The Indian Pass Raw Bar is not too far from the Lighthouse. At the Raw Bar, old Doc Berber, the hero of Secrets of San Blas, was wacked by an oyster rake. To find out what the Raw Bar actually was in 1938, watch my interview with the famous restaurant's current owner, Jim McNeill, at YouTube: Indian Pass Raw Bar Charles Farley. Here's how the Indian Pass Raw Bar looks today.
We stayed at a great little place near Indian Pass called the Turtle Beach Inn. It's not far from where Gator Mica, the doctor's best friend, had a camp. My interview with the owner, Trish Petrie, is on YouTube: Gator's Camp at Turtle Beach Charles Farley. Here I am at the Inn, relaxing after another hard day in paradise.
We ended up at Indian Pass where the Secrets of San Blas ends. There, we met an artist and fisherman named Willie Brooks Williams who didn't know a thing about the murder, but a hell of a lot about painting and fishing. Hear what he had to say on YouTube: Indian Pass Charles Farley. Here's a view of the Gulf of Mexico near Indian Pass.
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