Jeri Magg, author and historian, published "Historic Sanibel and CaptivaIslands - Tales of Paradise,"in November of 2011.
Her second book "The Remarkable Women of Sanibel and Captiva" was released onNovember 28, 2016. Jeri's stories this time are about some of the women who made history on Sanibel and Captiva, beginning with the first Calusa woman who "supposedly married" Pedro Menendez in the 1500s to the current city manager, who helped salvage the islands after Hurricane Charley.
FEBRUARY 14, 2019 --- TELLING LOVE STORIES AT MACINTOSH BOOKS -15 FOLKS ATTENDED!
It was a great afternoon, and lots of questions about Sanibel's history
Thanks to all who attended. Sold 12 books beforehand and eight after my talk. Super day.
They're still listening!
Both of these books are avaiable at island bookstores and Bailey's General Store, Island Store in Captiva, Mucky Duck, Bailey/Matthews Shell Museum, and Sanibel Historical Museum and Village as well as Target and Costco. Order online at www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com
Jeri with luncheon co-chairs at Captiva Island Yacht Club.
by Megan McCoy
An author who has been on the island for 36 years, has released another book sharing the deep history of the women of the island. "The Remarkable Women of Sanibel and Captiva" was released on November 28. To celebrate the release of Jeri Magg's second book, she will make an appearance at MacIntosh Books & Paper from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, December 9 for a book signing.
"I have been here for so long, so I knew a lot of these people before they passed away. Being a writer I interviewed many of them so I have a kind of a different slant," she said.
Since there were so many individuals to highlight, Magg focused on women that were not always front and center.
"They did the things that other women didn't do, " Magg said of why she chose certain women. Some of these women were individuals who put in the bike path on Periwinkle, did plays to put electricity into the Community House, as well as the first women who was president of the City Council.
The book took about two years to complete. Her first book, "Historic Sanibel and Captiva Islands, Tales of Paradise," provides the history while sharing the sites to visit on the island. Magg said that visitors can go to the Lighthouse and follow her book to the end of Captiva.
"Basically, I tell tales, many are true, some are legend, " she said. "I'm a history buff, a history major in college. I am interested in everything historical," she said. Magg is now hoping to finish a book of fiction.
Her first experience with writing was typing on a Remington typewriter when she was 4 or 5 years old. Magg said she used to write little stories. My grandfather, who was Irish, said 'oh, she's going to be a writer, " Magg said, "I always liked to write."
Her professional writing careen began 35 years ago when she began writing articles for local newspapers, one of which was the Island Reporter and the Sanibel-Captiva Islander. She also took classes at what was then known as Edison Community College.
"A couple of the gals said if you want to get into fiction, you want to get into nonfiction first," Magg said. "The old story, write about what you know. I knew a lot of history and knew a lot of people."
She was also one of the founding members of the Gulf Coast Writers Association in Ft. Myers. "It went from six people in 1995 and I think they now have close to 200 people."
She first visited the island in 1977, and it was love at first sight. After her husband had an opportunity to retire early, and their daughters were still young, they moved to Sanibel from New York.
"It was an interesting experience because there were so few people then, "Magg said. "We easily fit in. Everyone was so friendly, and the girls made friends. We have seen a lot of changes, but the traffic was still bad."