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Welcome to the Sea Legs Lounge
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No, this isn't a new hot spot on the South Florida bar scene, and you won't find any salty dogs or flirty mermaids at Bluewater's new Sea Legs Lounge. What you will find is a whole lot of good books. Bluewater's head book buyer, Lisa Koss, has dedicated a special corner of the store to books that are just plain good and fun.

Bluewater has always carried nautical fiction and a few bestsellers, but since we've been in our new store we've been gradually expanding our fiction section. Now, it's grown to the point where we felt it was time to designate a new section of the store to fiction and call it the Sea Legs Lounge. Paperbacks, hardcovers and trade paperbacks sit side-by-side, and the selections are based on much more than the bestseller list.

Bluewater's crew has always made a point of reading most of the books the we decide to carry. Working at Bluewater means that books are available to employees to check out and take home, so it's easy for customers to call or come in for a good recommendation. The crew is used to hearing things like, "Do you have any fiction about sport fishing?" or, "Can you recommend a novel set in the Bahamas?" Luckily, these questions will now lead people straight to the Sea Legs Lounge.

Florida fiction is, of course, prominent in the Lounge. For fun reading this summer, try Tim Dorsey's books. If Carl Hiaasen shocks you, Dorsey will blow you away. His writing is good—it's very fast-paced and reminds the hard-core mystery fan of Elmore Lenoard. How can you resist a character named Serge A. Storms? In Torpedo Juice, Serge (who, in previous novels, has been a homeless roadside psychic and, of course, a serial killer) moves to the Florida Keys where he plans to reinvent himself and find a wife. A host of other wacky characters end up funneled to the very bottom of the state, where they converge like bad weather into an explosive mix of personalities. Dorsey's newest book, The Big Bamboo, has just arrived. Call for more recommendations!

Another hot Florida crime author right now is James O. Born. Born has the right background for it—he's a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, where he's involved with a variety of criminal investigations, from public corruption and economic crimes to drug cartels and homicide. He has also been a deputy marshal with the U.S. Marshals Service and an agent with the DEA, and he brings all of these experiences into his writing. Born's character, Bill Tasker, is an FDLE agent who, in Escape Clause, is sent up to the Manatee Correctional Facility to investigate an inmate homicide. He discovers that there is a lot more going on at the facility than anyone had suspected. Escape Clause is Born's latest book; look for Shock Wave as well.

The Sea Legs Lounge is expecting visits from both Tim Dorsey and James Born later this summer, so stay posted for dates!