VERO BEACH — A standing-room-only crowd attended Randy Wayne White’s appearance at the Vero Beach Book Center on Sunday, to hear him talk about his new book “Gone.” This is the first book in a new series, and features fishing guide-turned-private investigator Hannah Smith.
White is the Florida-based best-selling author of the popular Doc Ford novels. Fans of that series will be happy to see Doc Ford and Tomlinson make cameos in “Gone,” and recognize the southwestern coast of Florida where “Gone” is set.
White is an amusing raconteur who kept the crowd laughing before he began talking about “Gone.” The inspiration for a story about a strong female protagonist came from his mother, her seven sisters, and the other women on the maternal side of his Southern family.
Using real-life Florida pioneers Big Six Hannah Smith and Sarah Smith as examples of formidable women, White created Hannah Smith. Part of Big Six Hannah Smith’s legend includes hunting feral hogs, which plays a part in “Gone.”
White’s experience on the water and love of the area shine in his writing. His description of Hannah outrunning a storm is lyrical and paints a vivid picture.
Based on White’s 13 years as a fishing guide, Hannah is best when she is in action on the water. She is approached by a client with knowledge of Hannah’s investigation experience to locate his missing niece, an heiress set to inherit a substantial fortune.
Hannah is a native Floridian, the fourth in a line named after the original Hannah Smith. Hannah has little of her forebear as the story begins, but searching for the missing heiress forces her to dig deep and find the strength to find the missing woman and rescue her from an abusive situation.
Hannah is also dealing with her mother, who requires care after a stroke. Hannah pays for her mother’s care, and with the end of her guiding season approaching Hannah is concerned about having enough money to continue providing adequate care. Reluctant to take on the investigation, Hannah is swayed by the promise of a bonus when the heiress signs the paperwork for her inheritance.
Doc Ford sold Hannah her guide boat; she relies on some of its extra features during her search for the missing woman. The climax of the story is a page-turning thrill ride as Hannah eludes two men who would kill her to prevent her from telling law enforcement about their illegal activities.
White’s strong suit is the story at hand: Hannah’s guide business and the search for a missing heiress. Despite some curious notions White has about female behavior and bonding, he accurately portrays an abused woman’s attitude and behavior towards her abuser.
While Hannah is not as developed a character as Doc Ford or Tomlinson, she is more fleshed out than several minor characters that seem more caricature than character.
An audience member asked if it was a challenge to write a female protagonist, given the general advice to write what you know. White said, “No, I have a feminine side.” He gave some background information about the women in his family, and said that writing Hannah “was a joy, an absolute joy.”
White answered another question from the audience, about whether he was tired of writing about Doc Ford and needed a change. White explained that his editors at G.P. Putnam’s Sons asked for a standalone book, and after he turned in “Gone” they asked him to write Hannah Smith as a new series character.
White told the crowd, in response to a question about research, that he does his own research. He has gone to all of the exotic locales featured in the Doc Ford series, and has the same guide experience Hannah does in “Gone.”
White explained that research should be like the tip of an iceberg: he should know the information so well that when he writes, he can use a little of the research or information about a character and make it believable because of the rest of the material the reader doesn’t see.
Not wanting to get into politics per se, White did answer a question about whether he would address ecological issues such as red tide or oil spills in future books by saying that “the first casualty of a failed economy is the environment.” For that reason, he feels that everyone should be pro-business.
White encouraged every reader present to write. Invoking the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, he said that was baloney. He could look at a photo from 15 years ago that might jog his memory about that moment, but writing a description of what happened that day is what kept the memory alive.
He said, “Writing is an anchor in what is a rocket-sled of a life.” White made the point that writing down a snapshot of the author’s life didn’t mean they had to publish to make it worthwhile, but that the only way future family members would know what their life was like was if they wrote it down.
White finished writing the next Doc Ford book, “Night Moves,” in early September. Hannah Smith is in it, as she and Doc Ford continue a relationship that begins in “Gone.” In response to a question about writing two series he said, “I write seven days a week.”
A quartet of Doc Ford fans, Vero Beach resident Dave Smith, Frank Howard, Mardie Smith, and Sue Sharpe, sat in the front row. Howard and Dave Smith said they’ve been fans since the beginning of the Doc Ford series. Sharpe said, “I haven’t read ‘Gone’ yet, but I’ve heard it’s great. I can’t wait to get into it.”
Chad Leonard, the manager of the Vero Beach Book Center, said he was happy with the turnout for White. Season doesn’t start for several more weeks, and he said the capacity crowd was buying White’s book.
White will return to Vero Beach when “Night Moves” is released in spring 2013.
