Local Author Captivates Life to North Central Florida

Local Author Captivates Life to North Central Florida

Local author, Jeanette Pekala, is a resident of north central Florida. "I went to UF and fell in love with the area and never left". Her debut series, Culture Shock, has been receiving excellent reviews since its released in March 2013. She's put NC Florida on the map in her Young Adult Paranormal novel.

Culture Shock is a series with the first book being titled just that. It takes place in a small country town, very fitting to the towns surrounding the area's main hub, Gainesville and the University of Florida. Pekala is now a resident of High Springs and says that the area has inspired her to write.

"The nature is just so pure. From the majestic old homes, the springs, the prairie, and the locals all fuel my writing." Bougainvillea is the name of the city she created which is located between Micanopy and McIntosh on Highway 441.

"Bougainvillea is not modeled after just one town is a mixture of the different flavors of NC Florida. There are some scenes that take place around Gainesville as well because as all locals know, sometimes you just have to go to Gainesville."

Images from North Central Florida that have inspired Jeanette Pekala:

CULTURE SHOCK is a witty tale of mystery and romance with a large helping of southern hospitality.

Macy Holmes is a seventeen-year-old socially-isolated introvert since her best friend's death a year ago. When her family decides to move from Manhattan to the quaint country town of Bougainvillea, Florida, Macy finds she's in a completely different world. Macy is no longer the outsider hiding behind designer clothes when she is sought out by three strange students, one of whom she is particularly interested in. The more time she spends with Chad the more things don't add up. When his true identity is finally revealed, Macy is pulled into a supernatural society with its saturation of inhabitants residing in Bougainvillea.

You would think she has enough on her plate, but no, then her dreams become infiltrated by an external magical force, Macy and her band of supernatural misfits must find the culprit behind the magic-induced nightmares. They must dodge zombie assassins, shifty shape-shifters and high school bullies in order to stop this perpetrator before Macy, her friends or her parents pay the ultimate price. Especially when Macy has the sneaking suspicion that these dreams are reality...

After finishing her degree in Sociology from the University of Florida, Jeanette Pekala had no idea what she wanted to do with her life.

While her husband was deployed overseas, she focused on what she loved to do, write, where she has finally found an outlet for her overactive imagination.

 She lives a not so normal life just a wee bit north of Bougainvillea where she resides with her husband and two children working on Shock Wave, book 2 in the Culture Shock Series.