Patrick D. Smith's Blog, page 6

5 Reasons Why A Land Remembered SHOULD Be Your Next Book Club Selection

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

[image error]I’ve been thinking a lot about book clubs lately since the new movie Book Club came out a few weeks ago.

If you haven’t seen it or the trailer, it’s about four older women who have a book club. One decides to spice things up a bit and introduce the other members to the racy book Fifty Shades of Grey. What ensues is adventure, hilarity, and life-changing events at a time when many think they are too old for new beginnings.

Its release reminded me how popular A Land Remembered is with book clubs throughout Florida. And while it isn’t in the same category of Fifty Shades, for many it too has been life-changing and would make a perfect pick for your next book club selection.

Here are five reasons that I think A Land Remembered is a perfect fit:

1. You are new to Florida and want to learn more about its history.

The book is the story of three generations of a pioneer family in Florida from 1858 until 1968. It is also a story portraying the tenacity of American pioneers in the Southeast of America: how they survived and prospered in an often hostile, and desolate environment. While it is a novel and the family is fiction, most of the events depicted did happen. That’s one of the big reasons the book was made into a student version and is used to teach Florida history in schools throughout the Sunshine State.

2. You love reading historical fiction.

While it is very popular with Floridians and those who love Florida, it is also an enlightening work of historical fiction that would appeal to anyone who enjoys this genre. There is much written and genres of films available depicting life in the American West. This book takes you to another American wilderness most people don’t know about. I like to say it takes you back to the time of the Wild Wild East!

3. This is a book people love to discuss.

Like any great work of historical fiction, it makes the reader think. Not just about what life was like back then but also how that history affected today’s Florida. What did we lose? Was it worth it? What qualities did these people possess to make them come to the Florida wilderness in the first place? Why do we feel they could be our family. When I am out on the road doing the Patrick Smith’s Florida IS A Land Remembered tour, after the show I get bombarded with lines of people wanting to tell me about the book and their personal Florida history and experiences. The room is abuzz with others talking about it. So many people have shared with me their different ideas about what this great book “meant” to them. Once you read it and discuss it with a group of others who have read it too, you will have a deeper understanding of not only what it means to you but what my father was trying to portray.

4. You’ll learn some cool new words.

Words like yellowhammer, coontie, fro, adze, just to name a few. Dad also had a gift of describing not only the flora and fauna but the nuances of what life was like before the Florida we know now. After reading this book, you’ll be able to drive along Florida’s roads and get a glimpse of old Florida. On your next walk through the backcountry, you’ll be able to point out the food the pioneers ate, or the foliage they used to make a life out of the wilderness.

5. There are discussion questions already written!

A few years ago we were approached by a woman wanting to know if we have a list of questions to stimulate conversation on A Land Remembered. We didn’t then but Kim went to work coming up with several. It’s proven to be very popular with book clubs. You can get the 25 book club discussion questions in a downloadable PDF format by clicking here.

If you buy 10 or more copies A Land Remembered (either hardbound or softbound) through us, you receive 20% off. And every book comes with the free DVD, Patrick Smith Answers Common Questions About A Land Remembered.

$21.95 (Hardbound)   $14.95 (Softbound)

Kim and I’ve never been in a book club before but many of our retired friends are. It looks like fun, especially the ones that have wine and food involved. It is something we’d like to do once we officially retire. And I know what book we’ll recommend to the group!

Has your book club read A Land Remembered? We’d love to hear from you – please comment below – on what you talked about and if you downloaded the questions, how helpful they were.

Newly Released Book – A Land Remembered Graphic Novel

[image error]A Land Remembered comes to life!

 

A graphic novel interpretation of A Land Remembered has been several years in the making and I’m happy to announce that it’s been released and is available now! 

The talented Graphic novelist Andre R. Frattino created A Land Remembered: A Graphic Novel as an all-ages read that doesn’t stray far from my father’s source material. 

Andre’s mission was to continue the generational theme of the book, providing a graphic novel for both older fans of A Land Remembered (who may never have picked up a comic), as well as those younger (yet more seasoned) comic book fans.

Younger readers and all age fans of comic style novels will love and treasure this graphic novel. It really brings dad’s story to life.

See for yourself in these illustrations.

Buy the softbound book for $14.95  or get the Kindle version here.

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Frattino says, “I hope that the Florida I’ve illustrated makes you yearn for those times and gives you pause to consider how very important it is that we don’t blindly rush through life seeking far-off riches when the most treasured moments to remember are here and now, and all that’s come before us.”

I think you will. And I think my dad would be delighted with this adaptation. Let us know what you think by commenting below.

Read more about this Savannah College of Art and Design graduate who adapted and illustrated the A Land Remembered: A Graphic Novel.

You can buy the softbound book for $14.95  

or get the Kindle version here.

Just Discovered! Notes From The Book A Land Remembered Found!

“Then comes along the idea for that novel, A Land Remembered which covers 110 years of Florida pioneer life from 1858 to 1968. Well you can’t go out and live among people who were on this earth 150 or more years ago in order to get to know them well enough to write about them unless you’ve got a time machine, which I so happened not to have.

[image error]So I had to go about that research in a different way.

The research alone for that novel took a period of more than two years. I read about 60 books about Florida, took pounds and pounds of notes. And from all those things I read, I found a lot of things about Florida that were of real interest to me – things I knew I wanted to put into that novel, like the Battle of Olustee and the Civil War, the birth of the cattle industry, the birth of the citrus industry, the coming of the railroads, the Great Freeze in 1895 that almost destroyed this entire state, that land boom in Miami in the 1920s, that 1926 hurricane that almost blew Miami right off the map, that 1928 hurricane that swept over Lake Okeechobee and drowned more than 2,000 people in less than two hours.”

[image error]But I wasn’t really interested in historical facts, dates, times, places, that sort of thing. You can find that in the history books. What I really wanted to know was how did these things affect people – how did they survive, why did those pioneers come to Florida in the first place when it was such a wilderness, what were they looking for, what were their hopes, what were their dreams, how did they really live back in those pioneer days? And that’s the sort of thing you cannot find in a history book.

So most of that novel is told through memories, some of my own, but mostly the memories of other people. Most of the memories in that novel come from old-time Florida Cracker families.”

That excerpt is from my award-winning film Patrick Smith’s Florida: A Sense of Place about my[image error] father, the beloved Florida author Patrick D. Smith and his writing. In every presentation I make on the A Land Remembered Tour, this short clip usually produces a chuckle or two, some audible gasps, and a few “I didn’t know that.”

For years, guests at my shows have asked if I know anything about those interviews and notes he made as he wrote A Land Remembered. Sadly, I had to say no.

Just last week that changed.

I was cleaning up some things in his office and I found an entire notebook full of his handwritten notes!

Some, I assume, are from interviews with people, but he rarely gives a clue as to who he is interviewing. Some are referencing books he was reading about Florida but again, he doesn’t say what books. This is going to be challenging.

I want to share with you these notes as I discover them. Some of them may even answer a question or two you had about how he came up with the history, events, and descriptions in the book.

Here is one that definitely caught my attention: “Whipped Indians for butchering cattle. Whites posed as Indians to steal cattle. Called wandering Indians ISHMAELITES.”

Now that’s something new I didn’t know!

Another interesting note says that Key West was called Bone Key by the Spanish because of the mounds of human bones.

Click here for more good books on the history of the Florida Keys.

One sad note says “Army surveying mission at Okeechobee area. Men grew restless – found the garden of Chief Billy Bowlegs – shot the pumpkins off the vines – pulled up his beans – cut down his banana trees. No apology or compensation was offered. Next morning the Indians attacked the company.”

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As you can see, it’s a bit hard to read his handwriting. Some parts are difficult to read.

And there is so much more! In the next few months, as I go through these notes, I’ll share with you what I discovered so stay tuned. 

What questions do you have about A Land Remembered? Comment below and I’ll see if I can find the answers in Dad’s notes!

Here is Where the A Land Remembered Show Will be in February and March 2018

My A Land Remembered Multimedia Show is coming again to Florida in February and March 2018. I would love to see you at one of the shows.

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The following is my schedule of shows that are open to the public. Be sure to click on the venue’s link to get times, ticketing information, addresses and other details about a specific show.

Interested in Florida history? Check out these other books.[image error]

In my fun, fast-paced and entertaining multi-media presentation, you’ll not only learn about A Land Remembered and the Florida of yesterday, you’ll discover what led my father, Patrick Smith, to write not only this book but also about the other books that were important steps in his writing career.

This is the best possible way to meet the author and understand his work more deeply as I take the stage and share the extraordinary experiences that enabled him to write such unforgettable stories about the “river rats” of Mississippi (The River is Home), the Seminoles of South Florida (Forever Island and Allapattah), the plight of migrant workers (Angel City) and ultimately, the pioneers so accurately portrayed in A Land Remembered.

A Land Remembered Show Schedule for 2018



 2/23/18
 5:00 pm
  IMAG Museum , Fort Myers [FEE]


 3/2/18
 5:00 pm
 Forest Park United Methodist Church, Panama City


 3/4/18
 2:00 pm

4:00 pm
 Pioneer Park, Zolfo Springs [FEE]


 3/8/18
 1:00 pm
  North Lake Presbyterian Church , Lady Lake


 3/8/18
 6:00 pm
 Bruton Memorial Library, Plant City


 3/14/18
 5:00 pm
  The Elliott Museum , Stuart


 3/21/18
 2:00 pm
 Leesburg Library, Leesburg


 3/22/18
 6:00 pm
 Brannon Center, New Smyrna Beach


 3/23/18
 TBD
 Venue To Be Determined, St Augustine


 3/28/18
 7:00 pm
  St James Civic Center , Pine Island

I love taking this show on the road and audiences all over Florida have raved about my show. I hope to meet you along the way this February and March.

$21.95 (Hardbound $14.95 (Softbound)The post appea...

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$21.95 (Hardbound

 

$14.95 (Softbound)

The post appeared first on A Land Remembered.

$21.95 (Hardbound $14.95 (Softbound)

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$21.95 (Hardbound

 

$14.95 (Softbound)

This Story About the Civil Rights Movement Had to be Told

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Order your copy now for $16.95

Some of you know this, but my father, Patrick Smith, was never a full-time writer. He spent his working career in public relations.

In 1962, he landed his dream job as the public relations officer at his alma mater, the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).

Only two weeks later, he found himself in the middle of the violence of the civil rights movement when James Meredith became the first African-American to enroll there. Riots ensued and it took some 30,000 U.S. troops, federal marshals, and national guardsmen to get James Meredith to class after a violent campus uprising. Two people were killed and more than 300 injured.

It became known as the “Battle of Oxford” and is regarded as a pivotal moment in the history of civil rights in the United States.

Dad would walk Mr. Meredith to class, hoping nobody hiding behind a tree or bush would jump out and take a shot at them. That didn’t happen but Dad did suffer for the rest of his life from being tear gassed. His eyes were always red and irritated.

Having grown up in Mississippi and having both black and white friends, he had a unique perspective on the issues. Following that experience at Ole Miss, he wrote a novel that most people haven’t heard of. He titled it, The Beginning.

Be forewarned … this book is not suitable for younger readers. The language is harsh and some of the scenes are violent. He never talked much about this novel; I think he was afraid it would offend people. I rank it among his best.

You can read a synopsis and more about The Beginning here.

On this past Martin Luther King Day, we are reminded of the struggle against segregation and discrimination that is still continuing. My father’s novel, according to the Clarion Ledger in Mississippi, was “the most vivid and most violent and most accurate reflection of the time.”

Related Reading on the Battle of Oxford: The Battle of Ole Miss: Civil Rights v. States’ Rights (Critical Historical Encounters – an Ole Miss student’s perspective on the riots.

A Look Back At Our Fall Speaking Tour

My fall, 2017 tour ended and I flew home to California on Thanksgiving Day. With 235 shows under my belt in Florida alone, I keep thinking that the well will run dry, but we’re already getting booked up starting in February and ending in March.

Here are a few highlights from this past journey:

First things first – one of my hobbies is playing the guitar. It helps me relax and gets my mind off business. I didn’t have a guitar in Florida so I started looking on Craigslist and found this beautiful Regal Resophonic Guitar. My obsession is playing Delta Blues, the early acoustic blues from the 1920s and 1930s, and this fit the bill perfectly. I couldn’t bear to leave it in my storage unit in Florida and brought it home with me. Guess I’ll have to find another guitar for the next tour. Right, honey?

We stayed in a very cute little cottage on Nokomis Beach. Kim tried to re-heat some tortilla chips in the oven and started a fire. The nosy neighbors across the road must have enjoyed watching us fan the smoke out the front door.

Over 1,000 students attended the show in Okeechobee. They bussed them in from all over.

 

 

Many schools in Florida use A Land Remembered to teach literature and Florida History. I was amazed at a show in Okeechobee when over 1,000 students showed up. They were bussed in from schools all around the area. That set a new record for me for audience size. I have to say that it was a very polite, attentive audience, especially since so many were sitting on hard bleachers. I don’t know how the people in back could see the screen.

 

Receiving the proclamation making it “Patrick Smith’s Florida Is A Land Remembered Day” in Okeechobee.

 

I was also presented with a proclamation from the Okeechobee County Board of County Commissioners making it Patrick Smith’s Florida, A Land Remembered Day. I always feel like royalty when I’m in Okeechobee.

Cocoa Beach is usually our “home base” and when possible we enjoy catching a show from our friend Sybil Gage. We lucked out this time and brought some friends along for a great evening of good old New Orleans style jazz.

We spent two days participating in the Frank Thomas Florida Music and Heritage Festival. This is a great annual reunion with some very talented musicians from all over the state. I feel honored to be part of this.

Then we headed down to the Florida Keys. Have you ever tasted Hogfish? Me either, until we ate at Hobo’s Cafe in Key Largo. Hogfish is a type of wrasse and I’m a convert. Despite the name, this was one of the best fish I’ve ever tasted (I had it fried and loved their batter, too).

I presented my show at the Keys History & Discovery Center. They put us up for two nights in a fabulous townhouse type apartment. It was so comfortable, I could have stayed there a month. In fact, I’d like to do that sometime. Islamorada has a lot of restaurants and nice hotels but doesn’t have the throngs of tourists and the last night buzz of Key West. I like that. I want to go back, sooner than later.

On to Key West, I had the pleasure of presenting my show in a regular movie theater, the classic Tropic Cinema. I love Key West, but we had only one evening there. We enjoyed meeting some friends after the show at Louie’s Backyard, a wonderful restaurant and bar right on the water. It one of our favorite stops in Key West.

I have to say, they Keys were really walloped by Hurricane Irma. Key West was pretty well cleaned up, but throughout most of the islands, especially Pine Key, there were huge piles of debris along the highway. I think a lot of people were taking advantage of the situation to dump old furniture, mattresses, junk, and appliances, and cut down unwanted trees foliage to basically get free hauling. Many businesses were closed and may not re-open. It will take years to get everything put back together. I feel for the people there.

Then we headed to Everglades City. I did an evening show and an arts festival the next day. We saw the “Skunk Ape” while in the area, along with a lot of alligators. We went to the Big Cypress Oasis Visitor Center. They had A Land Remembered displayed with a small collection of books for sale. I told the ranger that my father was the author and you would have thought Tom Hanks walked in. Everyone behind the counter wanted to shake my hand. The ranger said he used to teach and used my DVD, Patrick Smith’s Florida, A Sense of Place. He knew it very well, along with most of Dad’s books. It was gratifying to hear how much that book and my video were appreciated.

Just a couple of miles south of Everglades City is Chokoloskee, where you’ll find the Havana Cafe of The Everglades. If you are ever in the area, do not pass up the opportunity to eat here. It was fabulous, and the outdoor seating is divine.

 

We were thrilled to see that the historic old Rod and Gun Club had just re-opened the very day we were in Everglades City. This classic old hotel and restaurant is a throwback to earlier, slower times when people with money came here. It took a bad hit in the hurricane and was just barely open. I wish them well because this is really a unique establishment and I hope it survives for a long time. When I was shooting the video about Dad, he told me specifically that if we were in Everglades City, we had to visit the Rod and Gun Club.

I should also mention that Everglades City is ground zero for the stone crab industry. Of course, I had to have some. They were delicious.

Over the course of a month I did 16 shows, stayed in 17 different hotels, drove over 2,500 miles, ate about 80 restaurant meals each, spoke before thousands of people, made a bunch of new friends, visited with old friends, both of us caught colds, overall had really great weather, missed our kitty, lost things along the way … and are gearing up to do it again beginning in February. You can see that evolving schedule here.

As always, our biggest selling item was hardbound and paperback copies of A Land Remembered. A lot of people were buying them for Christmas gifts and wanted me to dedicate them to someone specific in the autograph. I am happy to do that for you as well.

With Best Wishes,

Rick (Patrick D. Smith, Jr.)

A Land Remembered Shows Coming November 2017

The A Land Remembered Multimedia Show is going to be in Florida this month! If you haven’t been to one of my shows, now is your chance. Audiences all over Florida have raved about my show about my father, Patrick D. Smith, and his beloved books, like A Land Remembered. I call the show Patrick Smith’s Florida IS A Land Remembered. It isn’t a stuffy “lecture” or a “talk.” I call it visual storytelling and it’s a fun, fast-paced and entertaining “show!”

Interested in Florida history? Check out these other books.[image error]

While A Land Remembered is a key theme of my show, in order to understand what led him to write this book l also talk about the other books that were important steps in his writing career. In my opinion, every one of them is a gem and this is the best possible way to meet the author and understand his work more deeply as I take the stage with this multimedia show about him and the extraordinary experiences that enabled him to write such unforgettable stories about the “river rats” of Mississippi (The River is Home), the Seminoles of South Florida (Forever Island and Allapattah), the plight of migrant workers (Angel City) and ultimately, the pioneers so accurately portrayed in A Land Remembered.

I love taking this show on the road and I hope to meet you along the way in November 2017. Below the schedule of where the A Land Remembered tour will be. Be sure to click on the link for to get times, ticketing information, addresses and other details about a specific show. These are the public shows. There are several school presentations too.

RICK’S UPCOMING PUBLIC APPEARANCES IN NOVEMBER 2017



 11/1/17
 7:00 pm
  LaBelle High School , LaBelle


 11/2/17
 6:00 pm
 Osceola Middle School Gym, Okeechobee


 11/3/17
 5:30 pm
 Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast, Jensen Beach [FEE]


 11/6/17
 6:00 pm
 Bradford County Public Library, Starke


 11/7/17
 6:00 pm
 Cocoa Beach Library, Cocoa Beach


 11/11/17
 TBD
  Frank Thomas Folk & Music Festival at Dade Battlefield , Bushnell [FEE]


 11/15/17
 TBD
 Keys History and Discovery Center, Islamorada [FEE]


 11/16/17
 6:00 pm
 Tropic Cinema, Key West [FEE]


 11/17/17
 5:30 pm
 Venue To Be Determined, Everglades City


 11/18/17
 10:00 am-2 pm
 Art in the Glades at MacLeod Park **, Everglades City


 11/21/17
 1:30 pm
  Rookery Bay Preserve , Naples [FEE $15 – includes lunch]

** There won’t be a show but I will be there signing and selling books

A Land Remembered Tour Spring 2017 Schedule

Audiences all over Florida have raved about the A Land Remembered Multimedia Show about my father, Patrick D. Smith, and his beloved books, especially A Land Remembered. I call the show Patrick Smith’s Florida IS A Land Remembered. It isn’t a stuffy “lecture” or a “talk.” I call it visual storytelling and it’s a fun, fast-paced and entertaining “show!”

While A Land Remembered is a key theme of my show, in order to understand what led him to write this book l also talk about the other books that were important steps in his writing career. In my opinion, every one of them is a gem and this is the best possible way to meet the author and understand his work more deeply as I take the stage with this multimedia show about him and the extraordinary experiences that enabled him to write such unforgettable stories about the “river rats” of Mississippi (The River is Home), the Seminoles of South Florida (Forever Island and Allapattah), the plight of migrant workers (Angel City) and ultimately, the pioneers so accurately portrayed in A Land Remembered.

I love taking this show on the road and I hope to meet you along the way in March 2017. Here is where the A Land Remembered tour will be. Be sure to click on the link for to get times, ticketing information, addresses and other details about a specific show. These are the public shows. There are several private and school presentations too.

Sebring, March 2

Punta Gorda, March 4

Merritt Island, March 8

Lake Wales, March 9

Melbourne, March 11

Bartow, March 13

Jupiter, March 18

Naples, March 23

West Palm Beach, March 25

Advent Christian Village, March 30

Live Oak, March 30