July/August • 2021 • GASPARILLA MAGAZINE 17
naturally. I also borrowed a few ideas from other
locals, who assured me they didn’t care if people
thought they were the characters. They aren’t, of
course.”
In Scavenger Tides, Leslie’s search for answers
and her run-ins with the sheriff take her on a
journey that involves a fi sherman with too many
secrets, a local couple struggling to survive in a
millionaire’s playground and dangerous men who
will stop at nothing to protect their lucrative
criminal activities.
Susan started the book a couple of years ago
and polished it up during the COVID summer.
The mystery is a sequel to her fi rst novel, “Leslie’s
Voice.”
“I also wanted the book to be a sequel to my
fi rst novel, ‘Six Weeks from Tuesday,’ written under
the pen name of E. C. Thomas. If you like some
of your characters, why abandon them forever? I
moved Leslie, her mother, Ruth, and my favorite
reporter, Wes Avery, to southwest Florida and
gave E. C. his walking papers.”
Susan said she loves the fact that southwest
Florida is a treasure trove of ideas for writing
ideas.
“I’m not Carl Hiaasen or Janet Evanovich, but
there’s enough material in this part of the country
to keep a writer inspired for decades,” she said.
“Where else do you hear about a dog owner
saving his pet’s life by pulling it from the jaws of
an alligator? Or a man in Daytona who burned
down his house because he was worried about
vampires?”
Inspired by the ideas that infi ltrated her head
through island locals, she pounded away at her
computer for about eight months.
“When I fi nished about four years ago, I sent
the draft around to several friends and asked
them what they thought. Most were kind; a
few were silent. Must need work, I thought, and
plopped it on a closet shelf. When the pandemic
struck, I contacted my former boss who had
mentioned that his kids were interesting in him
writing an autobiography just for family use.
‘Now’s the time,’ I told him, knowing that I would
have nothing on my calendar for six months or
longer.
“While I was waiting for his comments on the
latest chapter, I pulled up the “Scavenger Tides”
draft on my computer and began rewriting it. At
the same time, I took a look at “Six Weeks from
Tuesday” and decided to give it a major face
lift, and re-publish it under my name. It is now
“Leslie’s Voice” and, I think, a good way to meet
the character of Leslie Elliott.”
Stephanie Williams, one of the co-leaders of
the Boca Grande Sleuth Book Club, reviewed the
mystery.
“The plot moves quickly, the characters are
realistic and believable and the dialogue funny
as well as accurate,” she said. “Read it in one
sitting with a break for dinner and then back to
Scavenger Tides.”
Susan is already working on her next book,
another mystery based on a shooting that took
place on Gasparilla Island several decades ago.
Her main character, Leslie, and reporter sidekick,
Wes Avery, will be featured in this novel as they
have in the last two.
“I had two great editors who really helped me
focus on tightening up both books. Just when I
thought I couldn’t change another word, they
slapped my wrists and made me re-think my
sentences,” Susan said.
“Scavenger Tides” and “Leslie’s Voice” are
available locally at Boca Grande’s Courtyard Hair,
can be ordered in Kindle and paperback versions
through Amazon, or by contacting Susan at
shanafee@yahoo.com.
Susan’s other books include “Rutabagas for
Ten” and “Never Name an Iguana” (essays
and observations on life) and “Rachael’s Island
Adventures,” a collection of children’s
stories.
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