7 Questions With Michael Tucker, author of the Cracker series

Born and raised in rural central Florida, Michael Tucker has lived and absorbed the very fabric of the Crackers. He embodies the voice of his Scots/Irish and Creek Indians in his novels about old Florida. His books are available on Amazon.com and at other booksellers, or you can visit his website:  http://www.michaelcalhountucker.com/ 

1. How and/or when did you get you hooked on history?

Born in 1943 in Pasco County, lived in orange groves, country, or in small villages ( Cedar Key, Gulf Hammock, Otter Creek etc. ) Until I was 13 we had wood cook stoves and fire place for heat ( It was a constant hunt for fire wood )  and  carried water from a well, hand pump or creek. Once a week my brother and I had to fill Mother's wash pot and two #2 tubs for rinse water before school. And "out houses". We had gardens and chickens, Mother and Grandmother caned vegetables that people brought to them for shares, until I was thirteen and we moved to Williston Fl. where I saw my first miracle "Propane cook stove", running water, indoor bathroom and elec. lights. No more hunting fire wood or hauling water ! Went to school with no shoes until Williston. (7th grade)

2 What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

The rules we were taught growing up was simple--You didn't bother other peoples things, when you went fishing or quail hunting in other peoples farms/ranch you made sure the gate was closed behind you and you don't shoot at the cows. Your neighbor didn't have to ask for your help, you just gave it when needed. I have spent my life trying to live by that independence.

3 How is/How was history a part of your professional life/career?

 I was taught that if you wanted something you made it happen yourself.

4 Why is studying/knowing history important?

Your values came from somewhere.  I raised my two daughters with the values I was taught by my parents, who was taught by their parents, etc.

5 What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

The period after the Civil War, when the south had to survive and rebuild.

6 Tell us about the Cracker book series and how it came into being.

I have always wanted to write as long as I can remember, I would write short stories and then throw them away because they weren't finished. I started the Cracker series when my wife and I was cruising on our sailboat ( we spent twenty years living and cruising the Eastern Caribbean ) and after our last cruise ( almost eight years ) we found out my wife's mother had Alzheimer's and we came back to care for her. ( My wife was the only child ) I decided it was time to finish my novel and had decided to write about all the things I had heard from my Dad and Uncles around a fire at night at family reunions. Between stories around the fire and researching my family history in Florida it turned into a historical fiction series. I am now working on the third novel in the series. Cracker Stories are unique to Florida's history.

7 What makes the Florida Crackers unique and worth reading and writing about?

Cracker stories are unique to Florida. The Crackers were a group of people after the civil war, who rounded up wild Spanish cows left to roam wild for over 300 years with cow whips cracking over the cows head to move them out of the scrubs and palmettos and push them to Tampa or Punta Rassa where they were bought with Spanish gold doubloons and then sold to Cuba. ( Confederate money was no good after the civil war ) Gold from the sale of cattle was the only hope for money for many.