Stiltsville is Susanna Daniel's first novel.
From Daniel's Q & A with The Reluctant Floridian:
I’m fascinated by Stiltsville logistics: Was there a lot of socializing between houses or did families stick to one place? Did you spend nights there or just go for the day?Learn more about the book and author at Susanna Daniel's website and blog.We always went for at least one or two nights, and sometimes came home early Monday in time for school. My family knew a lot of other Stiltsville families casually, but for the most part we didn’t socialize while we were out there. I think my parents considered Stiltsville a place to be together as a family. Maybe once a weekend there was a party at another house and we’d watch the boats pull up, and we could hear the music. But we didn’t host big parties ourselves. But my friends were always invited to come with us to spend the weekend, and most weekends we had one or two guests.
Is there anything left of your grandfather’s original stilt house?
Nothing. After Hurricane Andrew, there were still a few pilings, but there was no dock and no house. Now even the pilings have been removed.
Why did you decide to set your novel in the past, and partially at Stiltsville?
Miami has changed a lot in the years since I’ve lived there. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t set a novel in Miami in the year 2010, but I wanted to write about what it was like to live there in the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s— during the years when Miami was really growing into the city it is today. I wanted to write about the tumult and crisis and excitement of that period—this was the time of the Mariel boat lift and the McDuffie riots and the cocaine cowboys, and of course Hurricane Andrew.
As for Stiltsville, I knew...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: Stiltsville.
--Marshal Zeringue