SMP

The men and women with their various talents and pursuits who have made the town of Venice, Florida, the gem it is today and deserve the recognition as “Venice Dreamers.”

Salt Marsh Publications is an independent publishing house with thirteen current titles. We specialize in historical fiction, mystery, and children's books.

We also provide editing, ghost writing, re-writing, and consult on self-publishing.

Our eight novels--seven historical fiction and a mystery--are designed for late teen and adult readers:

The historical novels, Defending Hillsborough and Reconstructing Hillsborough, have been selected by the North Carolina Public Schools Department of Public Instruction as appropriate for secondary school resource reading on the Civil War.

Defending Hillsborough covers the antebellum period in Hillsborough, NC, through Sherman's invasion at the end of the Civil War. Reconstructing Hillsborough begins with the Peace Talks and continues through the first years of the Reconstruction period. Both novels are written from the home front perspective. The stories are based on real characters and events.

Lorinda's Legacy, a mystery, is based on an actual murder and the ensuing trial, although the events have been fictionalized. The story is set in two locations--eastern North Carolina and Gainesville, Florida--and in two time periods--1918 to the present. Part I tells the tragic events surrounding the first Lorinda, while Part II tells the story of her granddaughter, the second Lorinda, and her attempt to find the grandmother for whom she was named.

Florida Shadows is an historical novel set in Southwest Florida in 1918. The story follows a young woman who--in an attempt to escape her tragic past--arrives in Fort Ogden, Florida, to start a new life. In her new home, Delia Delaney learns to appreciate Florida's unique flora and fauna--while living through the tragic Spanish Flu epidemic and World War I. The novel follows the completion of the railroad from Arcadia to Boca Grande and the construction of the fashionable Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande.

Florida Secrets is set in both Southwest Florida and the northern Florida city of Ocala--where Delia and her son must flee to protect them from one who is determined--despite the consequences--to keep the past alive. During their exile, however, both Delia and her son discover the family they have both been seeking and return at last to the tranquility of their own "Peace River" home.

Florida Sunset is set in Venice, Florida, in 1925--when Boston lawyer, Jeremy Worthington, offers Rev. Adam Wilson a chance to relocate to the new town being designed by his client, city planner John Nolen. Adam falls in love with Dr. Fred Albee's vision for the town and moves his wife, Delia, and their family there to start a church. As the family moves to town, Delia's childhood sweetheart, Tom--newly released from prison--also arrives to find a job. While offshore the Cuban pirate, Romero, who had faked his death, anchors his "rumboat" and swears revenge on Delia and Tom, the only ones who can identify him. The new town abounds with beauty--and danger--both natural and man-made.

Surviving Sarasota is set in Southwest Florida in 1851 and tells the story of the first settlers in both Manatee Village and in William and Mary Jane Whitaker's home at Yellow Bluffs on Sarasota Bay. Having allowed the feared Seminole Chief Billy Bowlegs to recover from a bout of malaria behind her family's home, Mary Jane gains the man's friendship--which continues when Mary Jane marries William Whitaker and moves to his home on Sarasota Bay. The friendship ends abruptly, however, when the Third Seminole War breaks out and the Seminoles loot and burn homesteads from Fort Myers to Manatee Village. Shortly after the Seminoles are moved to Oklahoma, the advent of the Civil War brings new woes to the citizens when the Union sends gunboats to surround the state and cut off all attempts to gain supplies for the citizens.

Over the Bridge is a fictionalized account of five high school seniors in a small town in West Virginia in 1941, who are discussing their plans for graduation--when they will go "Over the Bridge" into nearby Maryland and the rest of the world. As they discuss their plans, the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor comes over the general store's radio and subsequently changes all their hopes and dreams. The story relates life in the 1940's, recounts the first joint British/U.S. combat in North Africa at the Kasserine Pass, and reflects the mores of the era--ending in the present day.

Little Green Monkey Stories are a collection of five picture books for three to eight year olds--written and illustrated by the author. Each tells a story of Little Green Monkey, his family, and friends, and each one teaches a childhood lesson.

Alone is a poetry collection which contains poems and photos on a range of subjects.