Hi everyone! I am so excited to welcome author Lex Chase to the blog today! Lex is here as part of the Beach Read Bonanza to talk to us about her book, Americana Fairy Tale. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!
Life is a Beach! By Lex Chase
Hello Internet! I’m Lex Chase coming to you live from the Dreamspinner Beach Bonanza here at Joyfully Jay!
Today, I’m joined by my dear dude princess Taylor Hatfield of Americana Fairy Tale as we take you on a tour of the sugar white sands of Pensacola Beach, Florida.
Those of you from other parts of the world (or even the US) Florida beaches are the only place in the country you will find white sand.
Pensacola Beach, Florida | Photo: Lex ChaseI mean, look at it this stuff! Tourists actually buy jars of Pensacola Beach sand.
Sun and Sand | Photo: Lex ChaseOver the years, many hurricanes have come and gone over the sugary shores. We even perservered through a catastrophic oil spill. But Pensacola Beach remains a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. Taylor himself enjoys the Pensacola Peir.
Taylor on Pensacola Pier | Photo: Lex ChaseIt’s also one of his favorite places to watch the surfers brave the waves. Admittedly, our waves aren’t at all impressive. But the surfers are still a nice piece of eye candy!
Taylor takes in the surfers | Photo: Lex ChaseBut not only that, on a really quiet day is a great place for taking in a book or two.
Taylor’s beach read | Photo: Lex ChaseSome prefer Debbie Macomber, but Taylor has a thing for high fantasy horror. Did someone say effeminate gender fluid cannibals? Say that three times fast!
Chasing Sunrise | Photo: Lex ChaseIf you want to get up close and personal with the Gulf of Mexico, let the tide wash over your toes. But watch for jellyfish! Thankfully, this was a no jellyfish day.
Gulf Tides | Photo: Lex ChaseEven Taylor can’t resist the siren call of going for a dip. Don’t mind me as I keep his stuff company.
Americana Fairy Tale and Chasing Sunrise | Photo: Lex ChaseAfter a swim, Taylor’s having some munchies. So we’re headed down the street to Flounder’s. Be sure to try the Triple Decker Key Lime Pie! And bring your appetite, you’ll need it.
But before we pulled out of the parking lot, we had to get a shot of the iconic Pensacola Beach Ball.
Pensacola Beach Ball | Photo: Lex ChaseNow that Taylor and I are stuffed on burgers, fries, and pie (omg so much pie. *dead*) all good things must come to an end but not before checking out this amazing sunset.
Sunset on the Beach | Photo: Lex ChaseFrom us to you, thank you for coming along on our little tour! If you’re looking for a sweet summer getaway, bring your books and lounge in the sun and sand of my quaint little town and one of the best kept secrets in Florida.
Photo Credit: Lex Chase
Taylor Cosplayer: Mae Wynn Talley
Photo courtesy of Madison Parker Photography.
Lex Chase once heard Stephen King say in a commercial, ìWeíre all going to die, Iím just trying to make it a little more interesting.î She knew then she wanted to make the world a little more interesting too.
Weaving tales of cinematic, sweeping adventure and epic loveóand depending on how she feels that dayóLex sprinkles in high-speed chases, shower scenes, and more explosions than a Hollywood blockbuster. She loves tales of men who kiss as much as they kick ass. She believes if youíre going to going to march into the depths of hell, it better be beside the one you love.
Lex is a pop culture diva and her DVR is constantly backlogged. She wouldnít last five minutes without technology in the event of the apocalypse and has nightmares about refusing to leave her cats behind. She is incredibly sentimental, to the point that she gets choked up at holiday commercials. But like the lovers driven to extreme measures to get home for the holidays, Lex believes everyone deserves a happy ending.
Lex also has a knack for sarcasm, never takes herself seriously, and has been nicknamed ìThe Next Alan Mooreî by her friends for all the pain and suffering she inflicts on her characters. She is a Damned Yankee hailing from the frozen backwoods of Maine now residing in the burbs of Northwest Florida, where it could be 80F and sheíd still be a popsicle.
- You can find in the Intarwebz here:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LXChase - Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lex_Chase
- Tumblr: http://lexiconofkittens.tumblr.com
- Instagram:†http://instagram.com/lexachase
Giveaway
Lex is here as part of our Beach Read Bonanza! Leave a comment on any or all of the posts for your chance to win a great prize bag from Dreamspinner Press, including a Kindle! Full contest rules and information about entering (and a picture of the great prize) can be found here!
Thanks for this post. The pictures are great 🙂
Thanks Angela! I’m one of those people that’s constantly snapping pictures. My phone is full of them!
What wonderful photos! I wish I could be in the beach right now (instead of in my gloomy office…) 😉
Thanks Susana! It’s pretty dreary today too. Have some storms rolling in and I just want to crawl back under the covers and nap the day away. ZzzZzZzZzzz…
What beautiful beach pictures. I love fine grained sand, but what hit me the most is how clean they look. Where I live a lot of the beaches have fine white sand too, but they almost never look as clean. There’s always some amount of seaweeds piling up and then there’s the trash and the cigarette butts a lot of the time. Your pictures make me want to go to the beach now …
Thanks Sara! And I appreciate your kind words! That actually means a lot since Pensacola Beach was hit by the BP Oil Spill five years ago. There was a massive clean-up effort to get it back to good as new!
Thanks for sharing the beach photos.
Glad you enjoyed them Alexandra! 😀
I’ve been to Florida 3 times, but not once have I made it to the beach. I think I need a beach vacation ???? Great photos…love that sunset!
OMG Marla! I think you’re due for a beach vacation! Though I admit, Disney World is a pretty big draw. I went earlier this year for the first time in over ten years. I totally felt like a kid again. <3 <3 <3
Your awesome pics made me want to visit Pensacola :3
Thanks Loren! 😀
Now I want to go to the beach… but it’s winter! Nice pics, by the way. =)
Oh come on now, you can always visit the beach year round. 😀 I for one don’t go in the ocean because I have a fear of there are things in the water that can KILL you. O_O
Beautiful pictures and wonderful white sand and such clear water I’d love to be on that beach now!
ShirleyAnn(at)speakman40(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk
Thanks Shirley! 😀
Taylor reminds me a little of Redd Kross’s Steve McDonald–awesome! The beach looks gorgeous…
Thanks Trix! My Taylor cosplayer will be back over on my blog and the DSP Blog cosplaying a few more of my boys. I can’t wait to show the world the photos of Sevon from Chasing Sunrise. <3 <3 <3
I was last in Florida maybe 20 years ago – loved those beaches! Thanks for the great photos
Thanks Suze! You should come on back! It’s built up quite a bit since 20 years. 😀 Omg the Wal-Marts are open 24 hours! So modern! Okay that’s not exactly a draw to the place. LOL
Thank you for the fantastic pictorial post! Although I am jealous of your white sand beaches and Triple Decker Key Lime Pie. I want some of both now!! 🙂
OMG does the pie sound amazing? I want to just dive face first into a piece!
You should see it in person Jay. It is magnificent. And full of diabetic shock. <3
LOL, I am sure! I am a nut for Key Lime pie!
Thanks Jen! Yes. Come for the pie. Stay for the Bushwacker Festival with everyone’s favorite knock you on your butt bushwacker cocktail. 😀
The pictures are gorgeous.
Thanks Marilyn!
Great pictures. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks! 😀
I have never been there but now I want to go!
You should Debra! An excellent tip is to go during the off-season where everything is a LOT cheaper. 😀
Beautiful photos. The sand is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks! 😀
Thank you for the great post! The pictures were amazing! I haven’t been to any beaches in Florida yet, but I love them in Hawaii. 🙂
I’ve never been to Hawaii! It’s totally on my bucket list. Lost is one of my all time favorite show and it was filmed almost exclusively on Oahu. I SO want to see the areas they filmed!
Thanks for the great post and the pictures!
Thanks Antonia! 😀
Wow, really really gorgeous pictures! Thank you for sharing them =)
Thank you for dropping by H.B.! 😀
Love the pics! Makes me miss Florida. I’m a former Gator! 🙂
Thanks Chloe! Oh man, in my area you have two choices for a football team: Alabama or Auburn. I’m not a football fan, but I’ve seen friendships and even families melt down if they were fans of the opposite team!
I can’t wait for the July 4th weekend, I am going to the beach 🙂
Good choice Annmarie! 😀
I am embarrassed to say that I’ve lived in FL for the last seven years and haven’t really heard much about Pensacola. I will definitely attempt to visit this summer with the kids! Thanks for the great post and the chance in this giveaway.
Hahah. Pensacola is one of those secret places that no one really hears about. Folks drive two hours away out to Destin and San Destin for all the super hyped up beaches. We’re a small town and definitely not a bustling metropolitan area. But hey! We have IMAX movie theaters with 16 screens! <3 <3 <3
I loved the pictures! Reminds me of the days when my in-laws lived there!
Thanks Ree Dee! 😀
Such gorgeous pictures, Lex! Love that your and “Taylor” could give us a tour. 😀
Thanks Ashley! <3 My Taylor cosplayer will be back in July over on my blog and the DSP Blog cosplaying another one of my boys. In July it'll be Sevon of Chasing Sunrise, I'm pumped for that one. <3
Gorgeous pictures! I live minutes away from miles of beaches so I don’t often find myself travelling for a beach vacation, but Pensacola seems like it would be a nice spot for one.
Thanks Debra! I’m the same way! Since I live close to the beach, I actually don’t go out there very often. It’s what the tourists do you know? 😀 Like New Yorkers don’t go to the New Years Eve Ball Drop. LOL
Wow, I have never been to Florida and Pensacola Pier and beach looks so peaceful as well as beautiful. Normally I have to wear a high factor sun block and walk along with a parasol. Also the beaches near me are mostly pebbled ones rather than sandy ones and far too cold to even tip my toes into. Thank you for sharing your wonderful day at the beach 🙂
Pensacola Pier is actually one of the longest piers! I prefer walking along the pier to walking on the sand and seeing what the fishermen caught. Also you get better shots of hot lifeguards. Priorities. 😉
I’m from up north originally, where the beaches are just a shoreline with flat rocks. No sand at all!
I have never been to Florida. It is on my bucket list. I have been to the Jersey Shore and I currently live 30 minutes from Rehobeth Beach in Delaware. The sand looks nothing like FL. That Florida sand looks light and fluffy and not sandy. Because of the crowds I generally go to the beach. They are huge tourist attractions.
I’ve never been to the Jersery Shore, a little bit of it appears in Americana Fairy Tale where the MCs have a close encounter with Lucy the Elephant. One of my favorite parts!
I hope you make it down to Florida some day. 😀 Come for Mickey Mouse, stay for the margaritas!
My niece and her husband go to Florida just about every year but I’ve never been. I would love to go see the sites in your photos. It looks beautiful. 🙂
Thank you Barbara! 😀 I could give you a tour. 😀
I’ve never been to Pensacola Beach, but it sounds quite interesting.
Thanks Courtney. 😀
Those photos make me want to jump on a plane. It’s been dreary and rainy here. My grandparents used to live in Ft. Lauderdale but when they died, my dad and uncle sold the place.
Our weather has been a little wacky. Sunny one minute, pop-up hurricane the next. I’m not very fond of the rain like I used to be as a kid. It’s good today! Hop yourself a Concord and get over here!
I’ve been to beaches in Mexico, Hawaii, California and Florida. Each is different and all are beautiful.
Hawaii is so on my list! I lived in San Francisco when I was much younger and I remember those days of the cold, foggy beaches! Also whale watching!
Your pictures are fabulous! The color of the ocean… *dreamy sigh*
Thanks Nico! It’s so funny when I travel to other places with different colored oceans I’m like “OMG LOOK AT THAT. SO PRETTY!” You never notice your slice of paradise here at home. 😀
Sounds amazing. Loved the pics
Thanks Janie! 😀
so loved the pictures.
Thanks Roger!
These pictures are gorgeous! I was in Pensacola a number of summers ago, and I remember the beach being absolutely beautiful.
Thanks Cody! I’ve been going out there a lot more lately. I’ve lived here for years, but sadly never learned to appreciate the wonders around me until recently. Like I’m such a nerd for all things Americana, and Pensacola is swimming in it. Such kitsch! I love it!
loved the pics
Thanks Hemi!
Thank your or sharing the pictures!!! It looks so beautiful! I’d love to visit Florida one day!
Thanks Sonal! Come on down for the Southern Hospitality. Come for the beach, stay for the red snapper and Gulf shrimp!
Loved the pictures. My in laws used to live in Destin and I remember the white sand so well. However, my favorite beaches are along the Great Lakes. Fresh water. No jellyfish or sharks.
Thanks Karen! I go up to Destin once a month and it’s fantastic. It’s two hours up, and two hours back for me, but the sunset views make it all worth it! Now… The schools letting out for the day and hitting all the school zones are not. LOL
I love the pictures of this beach. They make me wish I lived near a beach or even a lake. I happen to live in very, very HOT Tucson, AZ. We have been in 100’s for temp’s for for a few days now.
Thanks Felicia! Right now it’s 91F and feels like 101F. And I’m sitting here in the house in my hoodie and slippers! I’m a very cold natured person. I’d love to lay out across my driveway like a lizard and absorb the heat. LOL
I loved the pictures. They are beautiful.
Thanks Marilyn!
Oh my those pictures! I live right near the beach in the northeast, but that just puts our sad little sandy bit to shame!
Hahaha! Thanks Julia. One of my favorite beaches if you could call it that are the shores of Maine where they’re just flat shelves of rocks. No sand at all! It’s on my bucket list to see the beaches in Hawaii, I heard a few of them are black from the volcanic ash. 😀
Thanks for sharing! The pics are great.
Thanks Lira!