Cigar City: Tales From a 1980s Creative Ghetto, is a collection of linked short stories about the young artists, writers, poets, musicians and actors who inhabited Tampa’s Ybor City in the 1980s. Drawn by urban authenticity and cheap rents, they created a surreal, chaotic arts scene set against the backdrop of the empty cigar factories and shotgun shacks of Tampa’s immigrant past. Ybor drew international artists like James Rosenquist, Jim Dine and dozens more, and mirrored what was happening in New York’s Alphabet City.The stories are fictional but they capture the spirit of the district during the 1980s. The collection is illustrated with photos from the era by Bud Lee and David Audet.

Cigar City: Tales From a 1980s Creative Ghetto

Literature & Fiction

Wilborn, Paul

Genre Fiction

St. Petersburg Press

Five Catholic priests have been murdered all around Tampa Bay. Law enforcement forms a task force, but is unable to find this killer, whose weapon of choice leaves clues but no answers. Father Angel, head of the Vatican's special security projects, hires Reed O'Hara to hunt down this killer. Reed is a Tampa attorney and private investigator. She is a relentless pursuer of justice in the courtroom or on the streets. Reed and her husband Jake Dupree agree to track down the priest killer, even though they are fighting a takeover of their nightclub by Russian mobster Victor Petrov.

Bad Habits: A Tampa Bay Tropics Thriller

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Fleming, George L.

Mystery

An anthology of long-lost, revealing conversations with: Tom Petty, Sir George Martin, Merle Haggard, Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, Bo Diddley, Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, Roseanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, Stephen Stills, Mary Hopkin, Jethro Tull, Dave Mason, The Bangles, Seals and Crofts, along with interviews with Robert Duvall and Gregory Peck.

I NEED TO KNOW: The Lost Music Interviews

Biographies & Memoirs

DeYoung, Bill

Arts & Literature

An insider and behind the scenes look at investigative reporting from an award-winning investigative reporter. First-hand intimate stories, not only about the workings of local television news, but also events and personalities that shaped the last 50 years including: Presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan; my experiences in Saudi Arabia with General Norman Schwarzkopf before the First Gulf War; Klan cross burnings and a Klan riot; An insider view of Florida executions including “Old Sparky”, the electric chair; Encounters with Colonel Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken Fame, Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys, Mob Lawyer Frank Ragano as well as mob chieftain Santos Trafficante Jr; Talk Show King Larry King; Cybil Shepherd; Baseball Hall of Famer, Ernie Banks; Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito; behind the scenes of several Super Bowls; Baseball expansion; Tragedies in Space; Kimberly Mays who was switched at birth; the fight to let Terri Schiavo die naturally and many more.

Bad News for You Is Good News for Me!

Deeson, Mike

Professionals & Academics

Cigar City: Tales From a 1980s Creative Ghetto, is a collection of linked short stories about the young artists, writers, poets, musicians and actors who inhabited Tampa's Ybor City in the 1980s. Drawn by urban authenticity and cheap rents, they created a surreal, chaotic arts scene set against the backdrop of the empty cigar factories and shotgun shacks of Tampa's immigrant past. Ybor drew international artists like James Rosenquist, Jim Dine and dozens more, and mirrored what was happening in New York's Alphabet City.The stories are fictional but they capture the spirit of the district during the 1980s. The collection is illustrated with photos from the era by Bud Lee and David Audet.

Cigar City: Tales from a 1980's Creative Ghetto (Revised Edition)

Going to war is a life-changing experience. COL Smith-Tillery takes you on her journey through war, her battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and her final redemption through poetry and narrative. You are left with a feeling of hope, that for service members and veterans, there can be a life of joy after coming home.

Invisible Wounds of War: My Redemption

Self-Help

Smith-Tillery, COL(Ret.) Beverly

Death & Grief

Beautiful twin sisters from a wealthy South Tampa family have been missing for ten days. Reed O'Hara, a Tampa attorney and private investigator, and her dashing husband Jake Dupree spring into action. Along with their highly specialized team, they seek answers. Did the twins voluntarily leave, seeking an escape from their perfect, privileged lives? Or was it something much more sinister? Reed and Jake learn the case is bizarrely connected to Jake's dark past, and it leads Reed and her posse across Tampa Bay , then deep into Arizona's Sonoran Desert. In George Fleming's second stunning thriller, Reed O'Hara continues to battle evil in Tampa Bay, learning it's a sunny place for very shady people.

Don Coyote: A Tampa Bay Tropics Thriller

An insider and behind the scenes look at investigative reporting from an award-winning investigative reporter. First-hand intimate stories, not only about the workings of local television news, but also events and personalities that shaped the last 50 years including: Presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan; my experiences in Saudi Arabia with General Norman Schwarzkopf before the First Gulf War; Klan cross burnings and a Klan riot; An insider view of Florida executions including "Old Sparky", the electric chair; Encounters with Colonel Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken Fame, Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys, Mob Lawyer Frank Ragano as well as mob chieftain Santos Trafficante Jr; Talk Show King Larry King; Cybil Shepherd; Baseball Hall of Famer, Ernie Banks; Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito; behind the scenes of several Super Bowls; Baseball expansion; Tragedies in Space; Kimberly Mays who was switched at birth; the fight to let Terri Schiavo die naturally and many more.

Bad News for You is Good News for Me!

Mike Deeson

A journey of simple daily haikus inspired by nature.

The View from My Deck: Haikus Inspired by Nature

Huff, Timothy

Poetry

Bill DeYoung "takes a prideful romp through some of the quirkiest carefree and fun-loving experiences of our boomer childhood. He gently reminds us that history has occurred, too, in our lifetime. For those new to our city or interested to learn more, it'll quickly help you discover the tremendous breadth of activities our city had generated to attract people to our peninsula and separate them from their hard-earned vacation pay." From the foreword by Chris Steinocher, CEO of the St. Petersburg, FL Area Chamber of Commerce.

Vintage St. Pete: the Golden Age of Tourism - and More

History

Americas

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