“Snakes of St. Augustin” brings a complex plot with a real-life inspiration

Ginger Pinholster

By Max Bowen

In Ginger Pinholster’s new book, “Snakes of St. Augustine,” we’re introduced to a diverse array of characters who underwent all sorts of changes before the writer decided it was time to say “done.”

In this book, available on Sept. 12 through Regal House, stolen snakes and a missing person set off a chain of events ranging from thrilling to romantic to deeply poignant. Based in part on the true, tragic story of Jason Harrison, a man living with bipolar schizophrenia who was killed by Dallas Police, “Snakes of St. Augustine” challenges assumptions surrounding mental illness and raises questions about the systems designed to keep communities safe.

In this interview, Ginger talks about the true story that led to this book, the many revisions it underwent, and how Florida played a strong role.


I’d like to begin with the real-life story that inspired this book. What was it and why did it connect with you?
When I saw a CNN news report of Dallas police shooting and killing Jason Harrison on June 14, 2014, the tragedy stuck in my head. Harrison’s mother had called the police because she needed help getting “Jay” to a hospital. Seconds after arriving on the scene, police shot the 39-year-old schizophrenic man five times, including twice in the back, according to CNN. Police bodycam video shows Harrison falling a few feet from his mother, who begins wailing, “Oh, they killed my son.”

Even now, this news report brings me to tears, especially because Harrison’s death was part of a broader trend: Of 994 people who were shot and killed by police officers in 2015, at least 25 percent suffered from acute mental illness at the time of their death, the Washington Post has reported. People with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be shot and killed during an encounter with police, the Treatment Advocacy Center found.

How much of the story in your book is true?
In writing my novel, I did not attempt to recreate any specific event. In no way do the family members and police officers in my book resemble the real-life players in Jason Harrison’s tragic death. All of my characters are composites, representing two trends: Individuals with mental health conditions who die during police encounters, and burnt out police officers who face dangerous situations without the proper training or tools.

This novel is fictional, so it’s largely a product of my imagination. With that said, as a former teacher once told me, “It all comes from somewhere” – that is, deeply buried memories and life events tend to wind up in the stories that we write. In my case, losing my younger brother to mental illness, and subsequently finding a partner who has neurodiversity, clearly influenced me as I was writing “Snakes of St. Augustine.”

How does the theft of three snakes coincide with Gethin’s disappearance?
“Snakes of St. Augustine” follows a woman’s quest to save her troubled brother, Gethin, and her magical, maddening entanglement with an equally complicated man named Jazz. Gethin’s disappearance coincides with the theft of Trina Leigh Dean’s beloved snakes – including a rare Eastern indigo named Unicorn, Banana Splits the yellow ball python, and Bandit the banded king snake. While Gethin’s sister Serena searches for him, she gains an unlikely accomplice in Jazz, a homeless community college student. Meanwhile, Trina’s friend Fletch, a burnt-out cop, scours St. Augustine, Florida, for the stolen snakes … and for Trina’s drug-addicted sister Chelsea. Suspecting of stealing the snakes, Chelsea is also reportedly hiding out with Gethin. Fletch’s quest puts him on a dangerous collision course with Gethin, raising questions about community, family, and the power of compassion.

Tell me more about Serena.
Serena is a fitness trainer known on social media as “Serena the Savage.” She believes strongly in “the three P’s” – Perseverance, Patience, and Pluck – the values she inherited from her late father, who was in the military. After being abandoned by her mother, Serena takes charge of her younger brother Gethin. He is living with neurodiversity, but Serena is convinced there is nothing fundamentally wrong with him. Gethin only needs to stay off drugs and focus on a goal, in keeping with the three P’s philosophy, is what Serena thinks. His disappearance and ensuing events prompt Serena to reevaluate her perspective and what she knows about her brother.

Novelist Connie May Fowler (“A Million Fragile Bones”) commended the characters in “Snakes of St. Augustine.” She described the book as “a relentlessly beautiful and compelling story,” adding that “the novel will linger with readers long after the final page is read.”

Mickey Dubrow (“American Judas”) said “Snakes of St. Augustine” is “an engaging novel about desperate love and pilfered snakes,” and “Ginger Pinholster writes about neurodiversity with empathy and clarity. Her Florida reflects both the weirdness and beauty of her unforgettable characters.”

Why does she search for Gethin, as opposed to leaving it to the police?
Without providing any spoilers – Serena and Gethin’s girlfriend Rocky urgently want to find Gethin before the police find him. They want him to go to a hospital, and not to jail.

The story sounds like it’s got a lot of twists. Did this need to be planned out?
There are indeed many plot twists in “Snakes of St. Augustine.” I wanted readers to be surprised and eager to turn pages, yet satisfied with the ending, as if it was inevitable, in hindsight.

Writers often talk about being “Plotters” who carefully outline their stories, or “Pantsers” who fly by the seat of their pants. I consider myself to be a “North Star” writer. That is, I know the book’s North Star – the climactic scene and ultimate resolution – and I write toward that outcome.

This approach allows me to learn something new about my characters every time I sit down to write. Book development becomes a discovery process, and yet (read on), this approach can also be messy.

How much does the final version differ from the first draft?
Several characters in the original version of this book were killed off in the second or third draft. One of them changed genders. Names were changed, and most importantly, I changed character’s motivations to ensure that plot twists were always plausible.

Florida has been home to some interesting stories over the years. Does that factor into the book?
I didn’t use any “Florida Man” type stories, as I was writing my book, but the environment where I live became its own character. Many works of southern fiction have historically treated the physical setting, perhaps because of the transition from farmland to shopping malls, or from Florida jungle to high-rise condominium buildings, in many regions. As a writer, I feel a need to preserve cherished natural places, at least in the mind’s eye. I love to read immersive descriptions of physical settings, and to do that, I try to engage all five senses. Florida is a wild and beautiful place, and there’s no end to the state’s weirdness, such as monkeys colonizing a state park, or giant pythons invading the Everglades, or alligators inexplicably strolling through the ocean surf. Plenty of fodder for a fiction writer.

I live on a barrier island on Florida’s east coast, which is the largest loggerhead sea turtle nesting region in the world, and I’m hardcore into volunteer Turtle Patrol work. Several times per week, I search and document sea turtle nests. In between those experiences, I sit at my home computer, trying to immerse myself into a fictional world. If I become restless, I grab a notepad and ride my bicycle to a nearby park where there is a tower overlooking a thick marsh. If there’s a breeze and the mosquitoes aren’t too bad, I can hand-write a full scene from atop the lookout tower. Snowy egrets are plentiful. Occasionally, I’ll see a bright pink roseate spoonbill or a raccoon family, searching for food in shallow water. All of these Florida sights, sounds, and smells wind up in my fiction.

What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on Draft Number Two of Book Number Three. It’s a dual-timeline historical novel set in New Mexico (“Coyotes and Cradles” is the working title). It tells the story of a wounded warrior, Jemi, who is fighting to regain her confidence, in parallel with a nursing home resident, Rose, who is struggling to have her Native American heritage verified. The historical story delves into a shameful period of American history when, sadly, many Native American children were stolen from their families. I’ve also begun to outline a fourth novel. I can’t share details yet, but suffice it to say, there are sea turtles.