28 July: Miami

Miami, Florida was Incorporated as a city in 1898. 10 things you might not know about Miami.

1. It gets its name from a Native American tribe which lived in the area in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. They were called the Mayaimi. This name translates as “Big Water”.
2. It’s the only major US city to be founded by a woman. Her name was Julia Tuttle. She was a local businesswoman who persuaded a railway mogul to expand into the area.
3. It’s sometimes called “Magic City”, because its population grew from a thousand to five million within one century – “like magic”. The population now is around 6.1 million.
4. It’s also the only city to be surrounded by two national parks – Biscayne and Everglades.
5. It’s possibly the warmest place to be in the winter with an average temperature of 21 degrees centigrade (70 degrees Fahrenheit). It has snowed there once in recorded history, in January 1977, and that was merely flurries. It’s not the place to go if you want a white Christmas. That said, Miami is home to one of the biggest snow skiing clubs in America.
6. The warm climate makes Miami a popular holiday destination. Miami has been dubbed the Cruise Capital of the World with nearly 5 million cruise passengers arriving at its port every year, and the Wreckreational Diving Capital of the World with more than 50 shipwrecks in its waters. Land lubbers will be pleased to know there are plenty of hotels, too, as the city has the fourth biggest hotel market in the US, beaten only by New York, San Francisco and Oahu. The city centre has the largest concentration of international banks than anywhere else in the country, and there’s even one in Miami Beach which had a skate through cash machine for roller bladers in the 1990s.
7. People living in Florida can’t have basements in their houses, because the land there is only a few feet above sea level. Digging deep enough to create a basement results in a pool of water.
8. It has the third tallest skyline in the US, beaten only by New York and 
9. People from Miami include the novelist Patricia Cornwell, actors Eve Mendes and Sidney Potier; and singer Debbie Harry.
10. Miami’s sister cities include Buenos Aires, Lima, Madrid, Port-au-Prince, Santiago and… Southampton.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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