Local Color with Mickey J Corrigan

 

When I was a kid growing up in Boston, my father used to describe our strange neighbors as "local color." (Or in Boston-speak, local cullaaah.) Now that I live in south Florida, where all the neighbors are strange, the real local color comes from the flora and fauna of the tropics.

The variety of trees and flowers that flourish here is vast. Without much effort, you can grow palms of many types, flowering plants in a multitude of brilliant colors, and perennials that will pop up in new spots. The growing season is all year round. Only occasionally does the temperature drop enough to kill anything off.

Frangipani

The insects, birds, and animals that are attracted to tropical flowers and fruits are also varied and widespread. Some are beautiful, others dangerous, while certain species are just annoying. For example, iguanas from Central and South America are imported as cute little babies for pets, but once these reptiles grow to their mature lengths of five or more feet they are often abandoned by their shocked owners. With few cold winters to kill them off, the non-native iguanas are able to breed quite successfully in Florida's neighborhoods and parks. Just try to keep your yard vegetation flowering when there are dozens of vegetarian iguanas feasting on your blossoms!

Iguana

Another imported pet gone wild is the Burmese python. These monster snakes eat mice, rabbits, raccoons, even small cats and dogs. They can grow to lengths of sixteen or more feet, and are thriving in the Everglades and surrounding suburbs. Imagine heading out to the local pool to swim and finding it occupied by a sunning python!

Florida has all sorts of other interesting imports, both plants and animals. The people are pretty odd too, lots of escapees from troubles elsewhere, and miscreants who (as we like to say) come on vacation and leave on probation. This is why I set most of my fiction here, in weird Florida. And snap a lot of photos too. Why travel when the local people, plants, and animals are rich in variety and full of surprises.

  

                                          Bufo (Cane toad)                                           

  Cuban tree frog

 

I can't travel much now anyway because of covid-19 restrictions. But that's okay, there's always lots to see around here. I guess I'm enjoying the local color because it is strange—and strangely wonderful.

Black bellied whistling duck

 About the Author

Mickey J Corrigan

Originally from Boston, Mickey J. Corrigan writes tropical noir with a dark humor. Novels include Project XX about a school shooting (Salt Publishing, UK, 2017) and What I Did for Love, a spoof of Lolita (Bloodhound Books, UK, 2019).

Social media links:

www.mickeyjcorrigan.com

http://mickeyjcorrigan.tumblr.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/Mickey_J_Corrigan

 

Me Go Mango Anthology: Two Women Find Their Bad Selves 

Two novellas in one fun anthology: a group of college friends revisit their past, and a young woman gets a job that launches her into a very surprising future. Who doesn’t want a chance to rewrite their past?

ME GO MANGO
Erin Monahan reformed her bad girl ways, only to discover the good girl act can’t save her marriage. Hiding out in a love hotel with a bottle of Two Buck Chuck, she calls for reinforcements. Her college friends organize a weekend reunion in small town Vermont.

Ellen has money from suspicious sources. Maggie seems perfect, but she's got a big dark secret. And Sandy's a mess—plus she's hiding something. When Ellen proposes the four of them go in on a business venture, a retreat for middle-aged bad girls, Erin thinks she’s crazy.

Then Erin meets Roberto, a hot Cuban chef. Soon she decides she doesn’t want the mango to end.

DREAM JOB
After Adrianna sleeps with her hunky boss, she has to face him every day at the office. She has to test the company’s software with him in the office hot tub. She has to ignore the fact that she’s fallen madly in love with him—but is her infatuation only a dream?

To make Adrianna's life in tropical Florida even more confusing, Davis, a geeky guy from her past, is stalking her—but only in the murky dream world they appear to share.

Something strange is happening to Adrianna. And it’s making her wonder about her dreams. Could it be that dreams are the entry way to another world? A real world? A hyperreal world?

Available from Amazon and Champagne Books.