Dreaming a Little Florida History
By Juli D. Revezzo
Living in Florida is an odd mix of modernity and past. The history of the state goes back 12,000 years when our first human population were hunter-gatherers, then again in 1513 when Ponce De León came and officially claimed the state for Spain. He was followed in the 1550s by Hernando de Soto and Tristán de Luna who settled Pensacola.
The state boasts quite a few military forts, but one in particular became the focal point of my novel The Artist’s Inheritance: Fort Pickens, on Santa Rosa Island in Pensacola Bay. The fort was built in the early 1800s, but during the Civil War, the fort fell under Union occupation and thus, began the stand off that some folks say rivaled Fort Sumter as the first battle of the Civil War.*
A lot of people, even residents here in my home state, don’t know about this first shot of the war business. I can’t tell you how many people are surprised when they ask me why I picked Pickens. They all connect it to Geronimo and though he was held there, the fort had a history before his arrest. So, I thought, herm…what else could that little fort be hiding?
This soldier (he goes by the name of Roland) then walked into my dreams one night, and said, “Hey, You know that fort you’re reading about? I have a story for you.”
Of course, I’m not sure he’s telling me the truth. Number one, he’s a ghost; number two, he’s cursed and, more importantly, certifiably crazy. 
But I’d wanted to connect the Civil War into one of my Florida-based stories for years, and just never found the right way to do it. That is, until Roland started talking about his military record and how he came up through time 150 years to help his descendants beat a curse they’ve been trying centuries to break.
I hope you enjoy his little story of Fort Pickens and the artist who inherited Roland’s familial curse.
The Artist’s Inheritance:
Settling into their new home in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Caitlin finds strange changes coming over her husband Trevor. He seems obsessed with a beautiful chair he’s carving.
When the nightmares deepen and ghosts begin lurking—she knows something’s not right, and not just her newfound precognitive abilities. It’s the damned chair, she’s sure. Could it be just what it seems: a mundane piece of furniture? If so, why is it attracting dark forces—the forces she suspects drove Trevor’s siblings to insanity and suicide?
Before the same happens to Trevor, Caitlin must convince him to sell his art. But armed with only a handful of allies, and little experience of the supernatural, she must proceed with caution against the hellish forces besieging her family. If she succeeds, she will break the ancestral curse. If she fails, she may lose forever the one thing she cares about most: her beloved Trevor.
If you’d like to try it out, The Artist’s Inheritance is currently available for Kindle at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and at Smashwords and in paperback at Createspace.
Buy links:
http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Inheritance-Antique-Magic-ebook/dp/B008XL82IU/ref=la_B008AHVTLO_1_4
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-artists-inheritance-juli-d-revezzo/1113215283
https://www.createspace.com/3976218
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/220457
Thanks, Laura, for having me here today!
For more information on Juli and her books, see her website at:
http://julidrevezzo.com
at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Juli-D.-Revezzo/e/B008AHVTLO/
on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JD-Revezzo/233193150037011
On Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782712.Juli_D_Revezzo
on Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111476709039805267272/posts
on Twitter: http://twitter.com/julidrevezzo
About Juli D. Revezzo
Juli D. Revezzo has long been in love with writing, a love built by devouring everything from the Arthurian legends, to the works of Michael Moorcock, and the classics and has a soft spot for classic the “Goths” of the 19th century. Her short fiction has been published in Dark Things II: Cat Crimes, The Scribing Ibis, Eternal Haunted Summer, Twisted Dreams Magazine and Luna Station Quarterly. She also has an article and book review or two out there. But her heart lies in the storytelling. She is a member of the Independent Author Network. The Artist’s Inheritance is her first novel.
If you’re interested in a giveaway of Juli’s book, or a chance to enter a drawing for a $10 amazon giftcard and participate in 400 0ther blogs’ giveaways, jump over to my sister blog and the giveaway going on there.
Tweet This Post
