Welcome Guest Blogger Barbara Levenson

Today I am excited to welcome my very first guest blogger who happens to be releasing her very first novel this month. Judge Barbara Levenson was born in Ohio but has lived in Miami for the past 32 years - guess she was tired of these Ohio winters, too! Before she left, though, Barbara not only served as the first female president of the Columbus Board of Education, she earned the distinct honor of being named the first female "Man of the Year" by the Ohio Newspaper.

Since graduating from the University of Miami, Barbara has had a plethora of experience in the legal field working as a prosecutor, owning her own law practice and serving as a judge, where she still presides today.

And if all that wasn't enough accomplishment for one lifetime, Barbara is releasing her first novel this month which is aptly titled, Fatal February. Fatal February stars Mary Magruder Katz, an attorney starting her own law practice and netting Lillian Yarmouth as her very first client. What's special about Lillian? Well, she only happens to be the prime suspect in Miami's social murder of the year!

So, without further ado, here is Barbara Levenson to talk about why setting is an important element in her first novel, Fatal February.

One question that I am often asked centers around Miami and South Florida. Friends who live in the Midwest or New England know little about Miami except from unflattering news accounts of crime, election problems, immigration, or South Beach tourist sites. “Why do you continue to live there?” Or “How can you stand living among all the Spanish immigrants?”

Readers of FATAL FEBRUARY are amazed to discover that real people populate Miami and its surrounding areas. They go to work, to school, raise families, and do not spend every day at the beach. The difference between this ordinary life and life in, say, Des Moines, Iowa, is that we go about our business in brilliant sunshine, without coats, earmuffs, boots, and long underwear. We drive without snow and ice.

Part of the reason that my books are heavy on setting is that I wanted my readers to know more about Miami than what they read in newspapers or travel brochures. Life here has changed over the 33 years that I have resided here. We now have four professional sports teams, the Miami Dolphins, The Florida Panthers hockey, the Heat basketball, and the Florida Marlins baseball. We have a world class ballet company and a performing arts center that rivals the top European venues. We have restaurants and food markets that supply Asian, Italian, Korean, Vietnamese, Cuban, Kosher and more menus and ingredients. We have the University of Miami, Florida International University, Miami-Dade College, Barry University, and St. Thomas University. All of this and great weather.

When we have visitors, the first thing they ask to see is South Beach. We fool them. First we show them around south Dade County: Pinecrest Garden, Fairchild Tropical Garden, small bistro type restaurants, outdoor cafes, The Redlands where fresh strawberries and tomatoes abound all winter. Then we tell them to go to South Beach. Invariably, they return less than enthusiastic. “You live in a real place with real neighborhoods,” is almost everyone’s comment.

Many travelers to Miami from other parts of the United States are annoyed when they hear a great many Spanish speakers. It is true that some residents resented the waves of immigrants who settled in Miami after dictators took over countries in the Caribbean and South America. Some long time residents moved north to Broward and Palm Beach Counties only to find that patterns of mobility brought new immigrants to those areas, as well. “You can run, but you can’t hide,” the old adage goes. Those of us who have remained in Miami have found that diversity adds to life style, bringing new artists, musicians, and opportunities for expanded horizons. Looking at immigration patterns overall, each wave of new citizens in the U.S. has enriched all of us, and each ethnicity has melded into the whole within few generations.

Of course, no place is perfect. We have horrendous traffic problems during rush hours, as you will read in my book. We have hurricanes or the threat of hurricanes as you will read in a later book in the series. We have suffered from unethical politicians (crooks), but we’ve never had a governor who had to resign like New York, or be impeached like Illinois. My educated guess is that wherever one chooses to call home, the good usually outweighs the bad in the mind’s eye or else a person would eventually move.

My personal reading preference is to read books that make place a necessary component. I would prefer to read a work of fiction that delivers a picture of a location rather than reading a guide book when contemplating a trip. My hope, in writing FATAL FEBRUARY and other books in the Mary Magruder Katz series is that my readers will feel that they have visited Miami and South Florida whether they ever come here in person.

Finally, I picture readers of FATAL FEBRUARY who live in colder climes settling in for a good read in front of the fireplace. By the third chapter they will feel as if they’ve been transported on a tropical vacation. I’d enjoy knowing what readers think about settings in novels. You can let me know how you feel by contacting me through my website, barbaralevenson.com.


Many thanks to Barbara for stopping by and giving us a little insight into the WARM, SUNNY setting of Fatal February. I know I, for one, could use a WARM, SUNNY setting to escape to! If you could also use a Miami escape, Barbara is giving away a signed copy of Fatal February to one lucky tour visitor. Go to Barbara’s book tour page, http://barbara-levenson.omnimystery.com, and enter your name, e-mail address, and this PIN, 2954, for your chance to win. Entries from this blog site will be accepted until 12:00 Noon (PT) tomorrow (that's February 20, 2009). No purchase is required to enter or to win. The winner (first name only) will be announced on Barbara’s book tour page next week.”

Fatal February from Oceanview Publishing is available now.