I have always been a prolific writer, primarily on real estate analysis and related topics designed to assist land developers, builders, sales managers and related professionals. Most of my writing has been in the form of articles for trade magazines, including “Urban Land”, “Builder”, “Florida Homebuilder”, etc., as well as three books published and marketed by The Builder Press on marketing and selling new homes, and one Amazon book: Six Success Steps To Selling Your Own Home. With the help of many friends and family, I also authored Live Every Day . . ., the biography of our second son and business partner, Stephen Parker, who succumbed to cancer at age forty-six.
Now, I am publishing my first novel. Why?
As a development marketing analyst consultant for the past 33 years, I have worked on assignments in over 50 of Florida’s 67 counties. I learned about the greed-driven mistakes of Florida developers, land investors and public officials over 150 years that have contributed to thousands of acres of sparsely inhabited wasteland under multiple private ownership. Conversely, I admired the far-fewer responsible developers and site planners who created innovative new communities. So, I planned to write a book about the Florida conundrum of devoting attractive natural habitats to “economic progress”.
As I gathered Florida historic information about this land development topic, family members suggested that I was appealing to a very limited readership of land developers and academics, whereas my research could reach a much wider audience, including urban planning students, if set in the framework of a novel with interesting fictitious characters pursuing higher professional ideals. Furthermore, the story would be far more interesting with realistic criminal and/or romantic themes woven into the fabric of my critical appraisal of actual Florida land development history.
Thus, in the vocational holiday provided by the housing slump and The Great Recession, I set to work on this novel to keep my hands and brain busy with my favorite topic, now in a mixture of fictional characters discovering Florida’s checkered history in land development. I eventually replaced the academic “Florida Conundrum” title with the action-oriented title of Florida Land Grab. My objective was to provide an interesting and even exciting story within the underlying theme of actual real estate development history. Initial reviews have been complimentary. I hope you will enjoy it as well, and perhaps send me your reaction through my new website at www.floridalandgrab.info.
DFP 7/13
For more information, contact Dr. David F. Parker or go to our web site at www.parkerassociates.com.