Author Draws Hometown Inspiration from Ditmas Park

Though she has only lived in the neighborhood for six months, Ditmas Park has quickly become home for author Crissa-Jean Chappell, who says this part of Brooklyn has all the fixings of her Miami, Fla. home. 

"You know those childhood secrets where you're peaking in the closet hoping that Narnia's there, but it's not; it's just clothes?" Chappell said. "In this case, you get off the subway and you peak and there is this other world, almost like a fantasy. It's so amazing to hear the cicadas buzzing. There are these little [pieces] of the south, the things that feel like they belong to you. It's like sense memory."

The similarities between Miami and Ditmas Park, although unexpected, came as a welcome surprise to Chappell, who drives inspiration for her young adult novels from her home setting. 

Her most recent novel released this month, Narc tells the story of Aaron Foster, a 17-year-old stoner given the choice of going to jail or going undercover to find the dealer who's funneling drugs into Miami's Palm Hammock High School. 

"I want to write more stories about the real Florida and not the stuff you see on T.V.," she said. "[People] think of the beach and palm trees and that's part of it, but I always encourage people to explore." 

Like Miami, New York's unexplored side is so much richer than people would expect, Chappell said. "My aunt just came here and I was like, 'You can stay at a B&B in my neighborhood and visit wherever you want. She stayed at a B&B and was so comfortable and loved seeing different things." 

In addition to offering an unbeaten-path-way of living, Ditmas Park has also become a community and base that Chappell said is important for an artist.

"In Miami it felt more like urban sprawl; things were spread out and there wasn't such a connection at times," she said. "There are other writers that live in the neighborhood, we're all starting to discover each other.

"I think that [community] is important when you're writing, and it begins to feel more like family; like we're sharing this neighborhood with each other."