Jessica Argyle

The Florida Keys is a storyteller's paradise where no one minds fiction blending seamlessly with fact so long as it makes for a better story. By the time I moved to the tiny island of Key West in 2009, we had a finished highway, grocery stores and all important air conditioning, although Key Westers are fond of letting everyone know that we live closer to Cuba than to a Walmart.

My novel is named after a small Florida Key about thirty miles north of Key West. Try as I might, No Name Key, proved to be a tamper resistant name. Nothing to do but embrace the mystery and quirkiness the name suggested. No Name Key began life as the winning entry for The Studios Key West's "Writes of Spring" contest in 2012. In 2014, "No Name Key", the novel, was born.

Earlier, I published "Arrest Me (before I write again)" a collection of four twisted short stories. The title for this collection is an obvious take on "Arrest me before I kill again," the chilling and infamous message scrawled in lipstick on a mirror at a crime scene. I hope to put another collection together soon, including "I Thought we were Friends," a short story that placed first in the 2017 Key West Tennessee Williams Exhibit Short Story Contest.

In April 2018, I received an Anne McKee Artist Fund Grant to finish the sequel to "No Name Key." I am at the finish line and hope to release the sequel in Spring 2020.