Book Quote: Gibsonton

 

   

One of the great things about living in Florida is that you can't throw a rotten orange for hitting a weird story. I wanted very much to write about Gibsonton, a town just outside of Tampa where carnival folk used to make their winter home. I knew of a tragic tale in Gibsonton but I knew there were some marvelous love stories as well and I tell them both in Crazy Little Thing: Why Love and Sex Drive Us Mad. Here's a sample:

     "She was a little, living doll," Ward says.,"and always had a great personality. She also had two sets of teeth and black silky hair growing over her face and her body had a complexion that was kind of brownish-green in color." He remembers her as a marvelous dancer."     

      There is a love story that goes with that description and another between Al and Jeanie Tomaini, the giant and the half-lady, who married and opened a cafe. That's them on the left - I couldn't find any attribution for the photo. But anyway, this seems to be a classic case of opposites attract. ;)

Survivors of 'Dirty John' - Debra and Terran Newell at CrimeCon

Got to go to CRIMECON in New Orleans this year and meet crime analyst Dr. Laura Richards (far left) and Terra and Debra Newell (third and fourth from left). The Newells were at the center of the  Dirty John story, one of the craziest, scariest love and crime stories ever. 

I've met a lot of famous people but I was really flustered when I met Terra Newell who a hero / shero of mine. This petite, soft-spoken, gentle woman was attacked by her mom's ex-husband. She fought him off - fought for her life - and she won. That makes her a modern dragon slayer. It was exciting to meet her and to hear these three women talk about their story.

Even though I literally wrote the book on crazy love (which you can buy here!) I struggled to understand how Debra got tangled up with John, maybe because she seems so in control. These three women did a panel, though, in which I learned a lot about her predicament. Trying to outfox a psychopath is something I don't think most of us can imagine --  like running through a wet golf course in spiked heels carrying an open container of nitroglycerin.

Anyway, it was a thrill to meet these women and I can't wait till next CrimeCon. It's just like TV except when you wonder things out loud like "How'd that happen?" you get an answer.