When I decided a few weeks ago, right after finishing the first draft of Dying Days 3, to write a serialized batch of interconnecting stories that were what would be considered Contemporary Fiction and not Horror or even Thrillers, I decided the perfect setting for them wouldn’t be a fictitious town, but the place around me… after all, I spend most of my day sitting in a quaint place, overlooking the beach, and seeing the locals and tourists coming in and out. Why create a fictional world when the real one was so interesting?

Kokomo’s Cafe is the name of the first set in the Flagler Fiction Series and not only the setting for the stories but an actual place in Flagler Beach Florida, and where I sit in and write all day (and talk about constantly on Facebook). My ultimate goal is to do these 10-story 5-release eBook stories and then bundle them into a Print book, and use every location in Flagler Beach if possible. Not just cafe and restaurant spots, but surf shops, specialty stores, comic book and fitness places… anywhere interesting in Flagler Beach to have these characters visit and interact. The goal would also be to do a book signing in each place once they are released. 

I’m almost done with the sixth story out of the ten I need for Kokomo’s Cafe, and they are in the 2,500-3,000 word range. There will be two per serialized release, and they’ll begin next Friday May 17th… more information about each specific story and details will come some other day. 

I wrote a story about a struggling (and distracted) writer named Reba Port, which might have a slight commonality with a certain Becky Pourchot. OK, there are a few things in the story that made her laugh and ring true. 

The owners of Kokomo’s Cafe (Mark and Tina) were gracious enough to let me set the stories there, and put owners Mac and Ginny in the stories. You might recognize some local people in and out of the stories, and I’ve had fun letting people read the first drafts and ask ‘Is that Marybeth from upstairs?’ or ‘Is this the Creepy Guy who sits in the corner seat all day?’

Even if you don’t live here, these are fun beach-reading stories, but you can enjoy them sitting in Iowa or Nebraska (that is the hope, anyway). I wanted character-driven tales, and I think I succeeded. I guess, once they start going live next Friday, I will find out if I’ve hit on something new and special for me, or if I missed the mark. Scary and exciting at the same time.

Armand