A Tale Of Two Authors in Key West

When my British bestie, Julie came to visit me in Florida recently, we decided to hit the road and keep going South till we couldn’t go any further. As regular subscribers to my blog know, Julie usually comes to visit for the U.S. Open in New York, but this year we decided to take in the tennis at the Miami Open, visit South Beach and the Versace Mansion (pictured above) — and then drive all the way down Route 1 to Key West.

Hemingway House

Naturally, the #1 attraction on our list in Key West was the Ernest Hemingway House and Museum on Whitehead Street. The author lived there from 1931-1939, and the house is full of his memorabilia from that era.

Among the classics he wrote in Key West are For Whom The Bell Tolls and A Farewell To Arms.

He wrote in a study (above) in the carriage house which was attached to the main house by a second-floor catwalk. I wondered if I could pick up some decor tips in the study that might provide the right atmosphere for my own writing. But the room was viewable only through a wrought-iron gate, and I couldn’t even read the titles of the books on the great man’s shelves.

Julie was interested in the author’s huge bed (above), and the ptodactyls, the six-toed cats (descendants of the original Snowball) running around the property.

We both wondered if Hemingway would have been so prolific — he wrote 500-700 words from 6 a.m. to noon every day — if he had lived in present-day Key West.

Book Peddler on Duval Street

The town has become somewhat seedy and honky-tonk, and the week Julie and I were visiting it was overrun by Spring Break-ers and thousands of tourists who swarm off the huge cruise ships which are now allowed to dock at Mallory Square.

But that’s exactly what self-published author, Brett Dean McGibbon (above), loves about it. He sets up his stall on Duval Street four days a week and claims to make $300-$400 a day peddling his novels to this “captive” audience. He brings the printed pages in a box and binds them himself as need warrants.

What else can you do when even Amazon has banned your self-published novels? McGibbon doesn’t know why Amazon banned him because Amazon didn’t tell him (see photo above), but he drives to Key West from his condo in Naples to sell his books which he prices from $70 – $35.

Of course, I had to buy one — but not for $70 or even $35 even though Brett read us excerpts from his fiction and his poetry, proclaiming himself as the “best living author in the U.S.” I bargained down the tiny, abbreviated version of The Fisherman and the Mermaid to $20, and handed over the cash. Not much of a bargain, considering my bestie picked up The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway (as a gift for my hubby, Joe) at the Hemingway Home and Museum for just $21.75!