This damn pandemic is also an opportune time to kick back and catch up on our favorite reading material, especially books written by local authors. Whether you’re looking for a deep mystery, a heartwarming fairytale or a mix to figure out life, these native authors who you may or may not have heard of are sure to satisfy any literary craving.

Kristen Arnett Kristen Arnett perfectly captures the heart-wrenching feelings of loss and love in her novel Mostly Dead Things. The book focuses on Jessa-Lynn Morton who loses her father to suicide and is forced to take on the family business, while the rest of her family struggles with strange coping mechanism, revealing their true identities. Photo via Kristen Arnett
Bob Morris Bob Morris’s five new eBooks Short Road to Hell, All Over The Map, Gut Check, The Man With The Fish On His Foot, and The Whole Shebang each come with a collection of short stories that make readers laugh, shed tears and embrace life lessons. Photo via Bob Morris
Teege Braune Teege Braune displays humor in his articles for The Drunken Odyssey that presents his creative writing in “Top Takes a Top,” which was featured in the Bridge Eight literary magazine. Photo via Adult Literacy League
Kristin Harmel Kristin Harmel’s most recent work, The Winemaker’s Wife, is set in 1940 during some of the most gruesome days of World War 2, that teaches how one decision can impact others lives forever, yielding to serious consequences for the cost of freedom. Harmel is also known for her novel The Room on Rue Amelie, which tells the story of World War 2 from three different perspectives that eventually cross paths in the turmoil. Photo via Kristin Harmel
Suleika Jaouad Suleika Jaouad is known for her New York Times column “Life, Interrupted” and her first debut novel Between Two Kingdoms which focuses on Jaouad’s true story of survival in coping with leukemia and her journey of healing and self-discovery. Photo via Suleika Jaouad
Heather McPherson Heather McPherson is known for her time in Orlando as a food editor for the Orlando Sentinel and has two published cookbooks; Field to Feast and Good Catch. Photo via Heather McPherson/ Twitter
Kacey Kowars Kacey Kowars’s A Celebration of Words is a collection of the stories he learned in interviewing various literary heroes on his radio show, “The Kacey Kowars Show,” including guests such as David Baldacci, Michael Connelly, Lawrence Block and more. Photo via Kacey Kowars/ Facebook
Norine Dworkin-McDaniel and Jessica Ziegler Norine Dworkin-McDaniel and Jessica Ziegler’s books Science of Parenthood, The Big Book of Parenting Tweets, and The BIGGER Book of Parenting Tweets all use both science and humor to help parents understand why children do the things they do with the help of their signature cartoons. Photo via Science of Parenthood
Tez Brooks Tez Brooks is known for his book The Single Dad Detour: Directions for Fathering After Divorce which focuses on his journeys and lessons on the rocky road of single fatherhood. Brooks has also written three other books on family and spirituality including Four Easy Ways Your Church Can, Minister to Single Dads, and The Door. Photo via Tez Brooks/Amazon
Bob Kealing Bob Kealing’s most recent book Elvis Ignited, The Rise of an Icon in Florida tells the role that Florida played in Elvis’s life and career and the influence of rock and roll. Kealing has also written other books including Life of the Party: The Remarkable Story of How Brownie Wise Built, and Lost, a Tupperware Party Empire and is a four-time Emmy award-winning journalist. Photo via Bob Kealing/ Facebook
Jeff Dixon Jeff Dixon explores non-fiction in The Disney Driven Life, about his experiences as a former Disney cast member and shows off his fiction writing in his three part book series starting with The Key to the Kingdom, that unlocks mysterious hidden Disney adventures. Photo via Key To The Kingdom Book
Robert James Robert James’s Next!: The Search for My Last First Date, leads the reader into the world of dating from a man’s perspective, where Bob struggles to learn the rules of modern dating. James uses humor to illustrate the perils of romance which will leave the reader hoping for a comical happily ever after. Photo via Goodreads/ Robert James
Gary John Bishop Gary John Bishop’s books Stop Doing That Shit and Unfu*k Yourself are honest and no nonsense books that discuss self-imposed limitations and self-sabotage as well as ways to cope with it. Unfu*k Yourself is a New York Times Bestseller that encourages readers to take their lives in their own hands and start to live the life they want to have. Photo via Gary John Bishop/Twitter
Jess Kunerth Jeff Kunerth shows off his investigative journalism skills in Trout: A True Story of Murder, Teens, and the Death Penalty and informs readers on local nature and bike trails in his Florida’s Paved Bike Trails: An Eco-Tour Guide and Florida’s paved bike trails. The story of Trout illustrates a sad and disturbing look into an impulsive crime while the guidebooks point out the perfect trails for an afternoon of exercise. Photo via Jeff Kunerth/Twitter
Gary Monroe Gary Monroe shows his passion for art, photography and history in his books The Highwaymen: Florida’s African-American Landscape Painters and Extraordinary Interpretations: Florida’s Self-Taught Artists. Monroe’s eye for photography and words helps readers to get a glimpse into the many communities of Florida. Photo via Matheson History Museum/Facebook
Jesse Bradley Jesse Bradley’s talent for literary fiction is evident in his poetry collection DODGING TRAFFIC, his novella Bodies Made of Smoke and his graphic poetry collection The Bones of Us. One of Bradley’s most popular books Jesus Christ, Boy Detective tells the mysterious story of Jesus Christ who is trapped in the body of a boy detective and the journey that is taken with the help of his uncle to get home and find answers. Photo via Jesse Bradley/Instagram
Vanessa Blakeslee Vanessa Blakeslee’s poems, short stories, essays and book reviews have received numerous prestigious awards including 2018 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award for Short Stories, the 2019 IPPY Silver Medal for Short Story Fiction, the NIEA, and was a Chicago Tribune “Summer Reads” Pick. Blakeslee’s most recent book, Perfect Conditions tells the various stories of characters from across the globe that struggle to find control when they face unexpected circumstances. Photo via Vanessa Blakeslee
Tison Pugh Tison Pugh, a UCF professor in the English department has twelve published books and focuses on medieval english literature and queer and gender studies. Pugh’s most recent book, The Queer Fantasies of the American Family Sitcom, focuses on family sitcoms and how they portray sexuality. Photo via UCF Department of English
Rayyan Al-Shawaf Rayyan Al-Shawaf’s book When All Else Fails, tells the story of an Iraqi college student who lives in Orlando when his whole life chances on September 11. Readers will feel loss, hope, love and courage in Al-Shawaf’s novel. Photo via Weam Namou
Jake Wolff Jake Wolff’s The History of Living Forever, is thoughtful and insightful in nature as readers meet Conrad Aybinder, a chemistry student who falls in love with his teacher and uncovers a hidden secret from the past. Photo via Jake Wolff
Jenny Torres Sanchez Jenny Torres Sanchez’s four books, The Fall of Innocence, Because of the Sun, The Downside of Being Charlie and Death, Dickenson and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia, explore a range of subjects from loss and grief to family and hope. Sanchez’s style is raw and true in every word which will leave readers churning in the pages. Photo via Jenny Torres Sanchez
Akbar Shahzad Akbar Shahzad is known for his reading of his short story “Influence” that won the Salam Award for imaginative fiction in 2018. “Influence,” tells the tale of a mystic poet on the hillside of a city who meets a stranger and learns a hidden lesson. Photo via Burrow Press/Facebook
Sarah Pinsker Sarah Pinsker’s novel Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea is a short story collection that explores a wide range of scenarios that are insightful, funny and imaginative. Pinsker’s new novel A Song For A New Day, is set to debut in September which will take on a science fiction aspect in which the main character Luce Cannon fights for her love of music in a world where public gatherings are illegal. Photo via Sarah Pinsker/Facebook
Micah Dean Hicks Micah Dean Hicks’s novel Break The Bodies Haunt The Bones, follows a ghost girl Jane and her mission to save her haunted family when new arrivals come to town and steal precious jobs. Hicks is a teacher at the University of Central Florida and mainly writes fantasy, horror and fairytales. Photo via Micah Dean Hicks
Rochelle Hurt Rochelle Hurt’s book The Rusted City and In Which I Play The Runaway are collections of hypnotic poetry that is honest and transformative. Hurt often focuses on family, place and relationships, earning her the Barrow Street Poetry Prize. Photo via Rochelle Hurt
David James Poissant David James Poissant’s book The Heaven of Animals is a collection of short stories that covers tenuous bonds between family members, including father and son relationships and husband and wives, as they are continually tested. Readers will follow along with a girl who helps to conquer her boyfriends fears in “The End of Aaron,” and watch as two friends race to save an alligator in “Lizard Man,” with a fresh and lively tone only Poissant could perfect. Photo via David James Poissant
Nathan Holic Nathan Holic is the author of The Things I Don’t See and American Fraternity Man and teaches writing classes at the University of Central Florida. The Things I Don’t See is about a struggling cable technician named Craig who earns a life changing decision for his family and learns that even the happiest destination can’t fix a fractured family. Photo via Nathan Holic/Amazon
Susan Lilley Susan Lilley is known as Orlando’s first poet laureate for her collection of poems Venus in Retrograde. Venus in Retrograde combines striking images and metaphors to create a unique voice that leaves readers wanting more. Photo via Susan Lilley/Facebook
Linda Buckmaster Linda Buckmaster’s Space Heart is a biography and autobiography all in one as she tells her story of growing up in Space Coast Florida and the open heart surgery that she conquered as a child. Space Heart combines a personal story with space technology in this beautifully put together novel. Photo via Linda Buckmaster
Kimberly Lojewski Kimberly Lojewski’s Worm Fiddling Nocturne in the Key of a Broken Heart provides eleven short and compelling stories of love, horror and fairytale that teach community, acceptance and self-discovery. Photo via Kimberly Lojewski/Facebook
Pat Rushin Pat Rushin’s books Quantum Physics & My Dog Bob, The Call, and Puzzling Through the News are only part of Rushin’s work as he has also been part of several screenplays and also teaches at the University of Central Florida. Rushin’s writing is energetic, original and humorous as he escorts readers into his own world. Photo via Pat Rushin/University of Central Florida