I gave a talk yesterday at the meeting of the Florida Bibliophile Society at the University of Tampa. Afterward I signed some Swampy coloring books.

It was a large group of all ages and I did my best to modify the talk to better fit the younger people there. Overall I spoke about using my library of Florida history along with my drawing abilities to create the whole Swampy business. That’s incredibly simplifying how Swampy came about, but I wanted to also get into how much I use social media to make connection with others who might enjoy learning more about our great state of Florida.

Added to the talk was a display of Florida memorabilia from my collection. I could have spoken for hours just about everything from a large Silver Springs matchbook to an action figure of the Crocket character from Miami Vice.

Of course, part of the Swampy goal is to get folks to shop locally, so I was glad that Terisa Glover was along for the talk so she could say a few words about working with local authors at her The General Store and her Authors and Illustrators Festival in Downtown Lakeland each October.

Hard at work on the next Swampy’s Florida Coloring Book and Guide.

Headed out to Brevard County on Saturday, December 10th, and got all sorts of things done! First, got to drop off some Christmas cards to folks in the area and visit and camp out over at, my friend, Jim Fern’s house (Thanks, Jim) the night before which better prepared me for this busy day.

Went up Merritt Island to it’s northern point for the Sams House Open House. The homes and area was well decorated for Christmas and activities for everyone were everywhere.

The Sams House is part of the Pine Island Conservation area and is the earliest still standing home in Brevard County. It’s pine log construction has withstood many a hurricane since it’s 1875 construction and be well maintained today. The Sams family built a newer home at the site in the 1950s. Both are open for touring with a guide or can be self guided with interpretive exhibits. Yes, this was a Swampy’s Florida stop for me. Thanks to Ray Osbourne, local Brevard County historic advocate, for giving me the heads up about this event!

My next stop was in Palm Bay at The Shack Restaurant where I met with Fay Brewer, her daughter and art teacher friend, Janene. Fay’s daughter had a school assignment to interview a cartoonist and I was the subject. At the end of the interview, I created a drawing illustrating things Fay’s daughter likes to do, which I’m holding in the photo above.

I wrapped the day drawing a plethora of individuals at a corporate event in Melbourne for five hours non-stop. See the photos below. I later returned to Jim Fern’s home ready for rest!!!