Seashells, Gator Bones, and the Church of Everlasting Liability: Stories from a Small Florida Town in the 1930s

"Makes me wonder if God's even up there at all. And if he is, why ain't he doing a better job of things down here. Unless maybe he's doing the best he can."

Welcome to 1930s Toad Springs, Florida, where Flavey's three-legged gator bears Jesus's face, Pastor Buck perfected preaching in prison, and Sweetie's beauty shop disasters are legendary. Through sixteen interconnected tales told in the residents' own voices, Susan Adger delivers a warm, funny glimpse of small-town Southern life where gossip travels faster than lightning and neighbors know everything—except each other's secrets.

Susan Adger, M.Ed, is a mother, former social worker, web designer, and fifth generation Floridian. She's the author of two humorous books about 1930s Florida, drawn from stories told by her grandma, including her debut novel, "Seashells, Gator Bones, and the Church of Everlasting Liability." In a few of her personal adventures, Susan has found fossils in the Peace River in Florida and on Rainbow Mountain in Alaska, tramped for two days through a Philippine jungle to get medical supplies to the natives, and gone zip-lining through the jungle canopy in Costa Rica. She's sipped high tea at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, trekked to the remains of an ancient castle in the Czech Republic, and gone skydiving. She currently resides in Dunedin, Florida with her two cats, Jasper and Killer Girl.