By  TONY SIMMONS  
News Herald Writer 

Hurricane Michael has passed, and while the region’s residents struggle to put together their lives, writers and other creatives have risen from the wreckage.

Best-selling author Michael Lister, who rode out the storm in his native Wewahitchka, incorporated the hurricane into the latest novel in his John Jordan Mysteries series. “And the Sea Became Blood” will debut at a pair of events on Saturday, Feb. 9, and will benefit hurricane relief efforts.

‘AND THE SEA BECAME BLOOD’

Lister will have a book launch party at the Panama City Center for the Arts, 19 E. Fourth St., from 1-3 p.m. Saturday. The event will include a benefit concert by Atlanta singer-songwriter Lexi Street, as well as readings, interviews, signings, a video presentation by The Public Eye, and a silent auction. Other local musicians, authors and artists will participate, including singer-songwriter Aaron Bearden, artist Jayson Kretzer, and this reporter presenting “Survivors,” the anthology of local poetry, prose, photos and artwork created immediately after the hurricane.

“And the Sea Became Blood,” the 21st John Jordan thriller, centers on an investigation into the murder of a retired Catholic priest that is interrupted by Hurricane Michael. Lister said writing “And the Sea Became Blood” was like reliving the hurricane over and over again.

“My last few John Jordan novels have been pretty topical,” Lister said. “But nothing is more topical for those of us in the Panhandle at the moment than Hurricane Michael and its aftermath. ... I was actually working on this novel before Hurricane Michael hit, but the moment it made landfall and I realized the scope of its devastation, I knew it had to be a big part of this book. In the same way, the hurricane has interrupted and disrupted our lives here, the storm interrupts and disrupts John’s case and makes solving it all the more problematic.”

In addition to the Center for the Arts event, Lister will also host a debut party at the Lister Family Dairy Farm in Wewahichka from 6-9 p.m. (EST). Both events are free and open to the public. Donations for hurricane disaster relief will be accepted.

“I can’t wait to share this book with everyone and to introduce people in this area to Lexi Street’s music. She’s such a great singer and songwriter,” Lister said. He added that the next three John Jordan novels will address the hurricane’s aftermath. “I really tried to write a novel that places people right in the middle of the storm — but then also lets them experience what the aftermath is like and how much life here in the Panhandle has been altered by the storm.”

For instance, after the storm tragedy continued to strike. Lister lost a good friend one week and one day after Hurricane Michael made landfall when Brad Price, firefighter and emergency services coordinator, was killed when a tree fell on him while clearing debris. The launch party will include a special tribute to the fallen firefighter.

“Brad was in my band in high school and was a very dear friend,” Lister said. “He meant a lot to me and to this community. I do my best to honor him in the book, and I have dedicated this novel to him.”

All of the proceeds from the launch event and benefit concert are going to hurricane disaster relief, and a quarter of all profits from the book are going to the same cause. The author’s charity has been busy since the storm, providing generators, food, water, clothes, tarps, and supplies to those in need.

“We are all in this together and nothing feels better than being able to help a neighbor whose desperate need you get to see firsthand,” Lister said. “I have been so moved and impressed — and at times overwhelmed — by the service and generosity of people who do not live here but care about us in this area. Many of my readers from all over the world have sent in contributions to help with the recovery, and best-selling author Michael Connelly has been particularly generous. We have such a long way to go. We’re really just getting started in terms of recovery.”