About

Laura Meacham Keane graduated from Eckerd College in 1983 with a degree in literature and no ambition beyond paying rent. Her first job led to an accidental career in marketing and advertising. In 1994, she fled corporate America and rebelled by studying mathematics, earning an MA from the University of South Florida and then teaching until 2004. Since then, she’s rebelled by starting a non-profit that told the country and the world about Tampa Bay’s original music scene. Now, she’s telling her own stories.

Sex & Drugs & Real Estate: Coming of Age in the New Age* tells the inside story of how an ignorant 21 year-old goes from fairly nice girl to corporate Jezebel and back again in an industry that challenges the stoutest of convictions. Set against a background of New Wave and the New Age, it’s a true fairytale about betrayal and lust and the consequences of finding and wielding power. It’s also a love letter to  a state that is constantly challenged but never quite tamed. The opening 25-page section was published in the 2013 issue of the Sabal literary journal.

* Nearly every name has been changed to respect the privacy of “all the men and women merely players.” That goes for companies, too.

Otherwise Good and Honorable People, the working title of her work-in-progress, mixes historical research, family genealogies, and contemporary contemplation to explore her family’s multi-generational relationship with slavery.

Get in touch! You can reach me by writing: Laura H M K [at] gmail.com (have to space out so bots don’t drown me; no spaces in real email addy, which also includes real @ sign).

1965 with Daddy in his Study

 

 

 

 

Sid Vicious dance, 1981

Sid Vicious dance, 1981

Taken immediately after the deposition described in Chapter 1. August 1984

Taken immediately after the deposition described in Chapter 1. August 1984

Toasting friends in March 2014

head shot SJ 2

St. John USVI July 2015

 

6 Comments

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  1. Dear Laura,

    I absolutely love Hurricane Swimming. Now that I’ve visited Pass-a-Grille I can picture the place and the storm exactly. Your writing paints the rest of the picture: You and your beloved daddy fighting for your lives! You are a marvelous writer and I very much enjoy reading your work. I’m looking ahead to more of the same dazzle.

    With love,
    Patricia

  2. Laura
    We should meet/talk about our friend Bud.
    S

  3. I will be one of the lucky friends who can say I knew you when . . . after Lena Dunham, HBO, and the rest of the honchos start bidding on movie rights. Am woefully behind on your “episodes” and look forward to getting new posts by e-mail. xxoo

  4. You’re such a wonderful writer. I look forward to reading more, more, more!

  5. Hello, I have 2 reasons for writing. First, thank you for “Fresh Eyes, the Freshman Eng Essays of MUR 1907.” Lovers of libraries here in Knoxville love all things Topie. Second, the Friends of the Knox Co Public Libraries are honoring Topie with a public event proclaiming her birthday, MUR Day. As a member of FOL and chair of the planning committee, I hope you will be able to attend and, if you wish, speak briefly. The event will be held in Old Gray Cemetery where Topie is buried on Weds, Sept 19, at 4:00pm. I am also a member of the Board of Trustees for OG and derive enormous pleasure in posting bios of significant OG residents on our FB page, Topie’s being one of the pleasurable. Thank you again for sharing Topie with the world.

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