Libraries

Way back, the Collier County library was located in what is now the upscale Third Street shopping area, backing up to the old Naples Hotel and the pier area. This was pretty much the original 'downtown' part of Naples. It moved to its current location near what was then the junior high school in the mid-Sixties.

the old library

 

The protagonist trio of my 'Sun' novels are just old enough to have been there for the change, and would have visited the library at both locations. For Joey and Ronnie, it would have been a favored after-school location (and Kris would have gone along with it as a meet-up spot, at least sometimes). As I remember the old library, it was cramped and a bit chaotic, and really could not fill the needs of a growing Naples.

The new building was a considerable improvement, at least in function. Very modern in its architecture, a big change from the old one. Eventually, it was also expanded and a shopping center-like facade added. Not an improvement in my opinion!

Home Sweet Home

This is a picture (via Google Street) of the house in Naples FL where I lived from when I was about two to six years old. It's in the Lake Forest area but I won't give the exact address. I used it as the model (even the location) for Joey's house in my Women in the Sun novels, with a few small adjustments (such as giving it an old-school Florida flat roof). It was a brand-new neighborhood back then and very barren; none of that greenery that has grown up around it since!

Incidentally, I have been reading through both novels and fixed a very few typos that persisted in 'One Summer.' Haven't found any yet in 'One Christmas.'

Distribution

We—meaning me and Arachis Press—decided a while back to remove our print novels from general distribution. They will, of course, remain available at the AP store (https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/arachispress). This allows much lower pricing, a third to a half less than books purchased through various online retailers. We never expected physical bookstores to carry them, though in theory they could have ordered copies for their customers. Here are links for the two current novels (or one may find them at the Arachis Press site (arachispress.com):

One Summer in the Sun: https://www.lulu.com/shop/sienna-santerre/one-summer-in-the-sun/paperback/product-p8kz7g.html

One Christmas in the Sun: https://www.lulu.com/shop/sienna-santerre/one-christmas-in-the-sun/paperback/product-dwz4z9.html

The ebooks (EPUB and PDF) remain free downloads at Arachis Press. There will also continue to be regular discounts on the print books, posted at the Arachis Press blog (https://arachispress.blogspot.com/).

Naples Airlines

Lockheed Electra

When Harold ‘Mackie’ Macklin flies out of Naples in One Christmas in the Sun, headed back to college in Ohio, he might well have been in ‘this’ plane, operated by Naples Airlines and Provincetown-Boston Airline. The picture here is of a Lockheed Electra in 1966. The airline was founded in 1946 and served Naples for decades (though the Naples Airlines part of the name was dropped in the Eighties).

There was no reason to name the carrier in the novel, of course. Maybe I’ll find a reason to in a sequel, if someone flies again! After all, Lin Summerlin should be coming in for some summer vacation once more in the next planned book. But she flew into Miami in her last appearance and was driven to Naples. Larger carriers flew into Fort Myers, too. I recall seeing big Constellations on the field there when I was a kid. They looked big to me, anyway!

The field in Naples was built during the Second World War as a training facility. The barrack buildings still stood during the time my Sun books are set, the late Sixties. I wouldn’t be surprised if some do yet. They were remodeled as businesses and residences in the post-war period. I have Mackie remember living in one of them when he was a little kid. Admittedly, that was one of my own memories.

Marine Medic

A bit of information I only brushed upon in the two SUN novels, not finding a good spot for expansion (who needs info-dumps, after all?), was that Will Booth did not, strictly speaking, join the Marines. Marine medics are provided by the Navy, even combat medics that end up serving with units in the field. So Will would have been directed to the proper service by his recruiter, undergone basic training with the Navy, and then taken further training as a combat medic at Fort Lejeune.

It is likely I will be able to fit more about this into the next novel. By the summer of 1969, Will will be in Vietnam. He is most unlikely to show up in person in the narrative but will, of course, be a topic among his friends. His romance with Kris is likely to survive at least that long. Long term? We’ll have to find out—which means the author hasn’t quite decided!

I have always intended him to survive the war, however. Killing Will would be a definite cop-out (do folks still use that expression?). He and Kris will have to work out their future eventually. So I suppose I am committing to further sequels, aren’t I?

Continental

 

Continental Mark.IV

When I mention elderly attorney Conrad Summerlin—grandfather of Jam and Jelly—driving an ‘ancient Continental,’ this 1959 Mark IV is pretty much the sort of car I had in mind. Conrad makes a brief in-person appearance in ‘One Christmas in the Sun’ but is mentioned here and there in both Sun novels. I remember just such a car in the early 60s in Naples, stopping to pick up a student at St Ann School (which both Joey and the Summerlin kids are supposed to have attended).

Trains

 

Naples train

The photo is of a passenger train rolling into (or maybe out of) Naples, sometime in the last century. Train service continued into Naples into the early Eighties (but never went much beyond it). There were definitely passenger trains still pulling into Naples at the start of 1969, when I have James Summerlin board one to carry him back to college after Christmas vacation. That, of course, happens in ‘One Christmas in the Sun.’ James is just quirky enough to take the slow way from Naples to Boston. The train depot (and, to some extent, the tracks) does show up from time to time in both my Women in the Sun novels. It was very much of a landmark and now serves as a museum (or something of that sort).