Sammy Tigertail, the fugitive halfbreed Seminole, is a new character who is related to one of your old ones. Why did you connect the generations in this novel?
Tommy Tigertail was the young Seminole bingo millionaire who joined Skip Wiley’s gang of misfits in TOURIST SEASON. It’s been 20 years since that book was published, so I thought it would be nice to peek in on him again. Sammy is Tommy’s earnest but confused nephew. In the begining of NATURE GIRL, a tourist croaks on Sammy’s airboat, so he frantically calls his uncle for advice. Tommy tells him to ditch the body, and that sets off the chain of events that eventually leads Sammy to Dismal Key, and to his encounters with Honey Santana, Boyd Shreave and other unusual white people. Nothing that happens there couldn’t really happen in Florida. Trust me.
