I've been thinking about how much potential Florida has as a setting for historical and Gothic fiction. The state is often portrayed through sunshine, beaches, and tourism, but there's also a fascinating tension between its older communities, rapid development, changing landscapes, and the traces of earlier eras that remain.

Buildings disappear, neighborhoods are transformed, and the stories attached to particular places can become less visible even while the landscape itself remains. I find that tension between what a place was and what it becomes particularly compelling.

It's something I've been exploring in my own writing. I'm an indie author, and my Southern Gothic horror novel, Dead Zone, takes place partly in a fictionalized version of DeLand in Central Florida. Writing it got me thinking more about the relationship between Florida's history, its built environment, and the atmosphere that makes a place feel as though it has a past of its own.

If you're curious, Dead Zone is available on Amazon, with a sample to read here:
https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Zone-H-P-Reed-ebook/dp/B0HMWYSH4H

For those interested in Florida history, are there particular towns, historic buildings, or periods of the state's development that you think deserve more attention in fiction?