Tuesday, February 05, 2008
FWA Ancient City Chapter Newletter for February
Hello Ancient City Writers,
Wow, what a turnout we had last month for Carol O’Dell’s presentation on writing book proposals. We set a record with 70 attendees; many of those were first-time visitors of our Ancient City Chapter. So WELCOME to all of you first-timers! Below are pictures from Carol’s presentation provided to us from Jack Owen:
Wow, what a turnout we had last month for Carol O’Dell’s presentation on writing book proposals. We set a record with 70 attendees; many of those were first-time visitors of our Ancient City Chapter. So WELCOME to all of you first-timers! Below are pictures from Carol’s presentation provided to us from Jack Owen:
Jack also shared with me an interesting article on The New York Times website about why it takes so long for a book to get into the stores once it’s been submitted for publication. The article is called “Waiting For It” by Rachel Donadio: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/books/review/Donadio-t.html
* A reminder that this Saturday, February 9th is the second in a series of programs hosted by the Friends of the Library and the Florida Writers Association Ancient City Chapter called “A Writer’s Journey: Writing a Book of the Heart” from 1-3 p.m. at the main library. For more detailed information, see below in the Calendar of Writing Events section.
Our next meeting: Saturday, February 16th
Location: The Main Library in downtown St. Augustine (1960 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd.)
* Please try to arrive by 9:45 so that everyone will have time to get a cup of coffee or tea, socialize briefly, and get seated in time for us to begin at 10:00.
Meeting / Speaker: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Can you identify your Inciting Incident, the proper hook and the story question that will keep editors, agents and readers turning your pages? Does your story require a prologue? Did you know that perhaps your most important hook is at the END of chapter three?
Join Elizabeth Sinclair in an interactive workshop designed to answer these questions for every writer, and receive a free copy of her resource workbook, FIRST CHAPTERS which includes chapter checklists and sample cover and query letters! This workshop promised to be a very valuable forty-five minutes!
Elizabeth Sinclair will be our speaker in February. Elizabeth Sinclair has been a member of RWA since 1988 as well as The Author’s Guild. Since the thing Elizabeth loves most, next to writing, is teaching, she has given seminars and workshops locally (including Flagler College) and nationally on the craft of writing, for over twelve years. Feel free to visit her website at http://www.elizabethsinclair.com/.
Critique Sessions:
* I believe we only have our meeting room until 12:00 for the months of February and March, so the critique group sessions will either be shortened or canceled until April. If we have time for critiques, they will begin after a short break following the meeting and speaker presentation.
If you’re not already part of a critique group and wish to join one, please contact the proper critique group coordinator to be added to their mailing list (each name contains a hyperlink to their email address):
Mike BonDurant Fiction Critique Group Coordinator
(Position Open) Non-fiction Critique Group Coordinator
Dana Gregory Poetry Critique Group Coordinator
We are still seeking a new Non-Fiction Critique Group Coordinator. So if you are interested, please contact: Mike BonDurant
March’s speaker
Location: The Main Library in downtown St. Augustine (1960 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd.)
“WRITING A BOOK IN SIXTY DAYS” will be the topic of our March 15th meeting as the ACC welcomes FWA member and author from central Florida Rik Feeney. The meeting is at the Main Library and will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. as this is a 90-minute presentation. Please plan to arrive when the library opens at 9:30am. Doors will close at 10.
Are you struggling with the book you’re writing? Unable to move forward and finish? The goal of our March speaker is to provide you with the tools needed to complete it within a 60-day time period. Sometimes writers create their own difficulties (i.e. writer's block, procrastination, fear of success) because they come at a book in a "linear" fashion, literally trying to write from the Introduction to the Summary in that order. Creativity is not a linear process.
Rik will show how to use the "Top Ten Writing System" to break a book down into byte-sized chunks that are easy to accomplish, and depending on the determination and desire can help you write a book within sixty days or less.
Rik Feeney is a published author and marketing coach and has spoken at many events on writing and promotion. His books on gymnastics are used by schools and gyms throughout the country.
What to Bring: Please bring with you a new pack of 3X5 ruled index cards so you can walk out with your book already outlined and read to go. Location of meeting: 1960 N. Ponce De Leon Blvd, St. Augustine.
Calender of writing events:
Release of Rob Ward’s novel
We are proud to announce the release of Rob Ward’s new book Dawnam: A Spy Biography!
Rik will show how to use the "Top Ten Writing System" to break a book down into byte-sized chunks that are easy to accomplish, and depending on the determination and desire can help you write a book within sixty days or less.
Rik Feeney is a published author and marketing coach and has spoken at many events on writing and promotion. His books on gymnastics are used by schools and gyms throughout the country.
What to Bring: Please bring with you a new pack of 3X5 ruled index cards so you can walk out with your book already outlined and read to go. Location of meeting: 1960 N. Ponce De Leon Blvd, St. Augustine.
Calender of writing events:
Release of Rob Ward’s novel
We are proud to announce the release of Rob Ward’s new book Dawnam: A Spy Biography!
A double agent for the Soviets!? For seven years, Lieutenant Colonel Roberta “Bert” Dawnam worked successfully for the KGB. Her activities are instrumental in exposing Soviet illegal agents operating against the U.S. Air Force in Tokyo and Washington, D.C. Though discovered, she is never punished, but instead is hired by the same covert, White House-connected organization that manipulated her into defecting. Bert helps supply arms the Mujahedin rebels in Afghanistan. Her first-hand report of a massacre, including live castrations, skinning, amputations and rape of Soviet soldiers, is forwarded to the White House where it impacts future U.S. policy. This is a story about deception and manipulation.
Order This Book On-Line at: http://www.publishamerica.com/shopping/index.htm
Search for Dawnam: A Spy Biography
February 9th
WRITING A BOOK OF THE HEART: A LOOK AT TODAY’S ROMANCE GENRE
“A Writer’s Journey: Writing a Book of the Heart,” the second in a series of programs hosted by the Friends of the Library and the Florida Writers Association, Ancient City Chapter, will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 9, 2008 at the Main Library, 1960 Ponce deLeon Blvd. This event will be free to the public and refreshments will be served.
Five multi-published authors will be participating in a panel discussion and book signing that will benefit the Friends of the Library. Award winning short-story author Nancy Quatrano will introduce and moderate the panelists who are also award winners. The panelists are Elizabeth Sinclair, award-winning author of eleven romance, romantic suspense and paranormal romance novels published in seven different languages. Her most recent release is TOUCHED BY FIRE, October 2007 and her March release INTO THE MIST promises to be another blockbuster book of her heart. Dolores J. Wilson, an Author’s Choice Award winner, is the author of the Bertie Series by Medallion Press and the moving novel LITTLE BIG HEART. Heather Waters is the much acclaimed author of THE DEVIL’S POSESSION and DESTINY’S WARRIOR. Shannon Greenland who also writes an award winning young adult series, is the author of romantic suspense titles LAURA’S SECRET, DESCENT INTO DANGER and DISCOVERING VERONICA. Tracy Montoya, author of seven spine-tingling, four-star review romantic suspense novels for the Harlequin Intrigue line, will round out this panel of talented authors who feel that writing the book of your heart is the only book worth writing.
After discussing the challenges and rewards of writing in the genre of romance and woman’s fiction, there will be a question and answer session, followed by the book signing. The public is invited to attend and meet these award-winning authors. Call 827-6940.
February 23rd
The Anastasia Island Branch Library will host Chuck Adams, Editor of Workman Publishing, on Saturday, February 23rd at 2:00 pm. He’s coming as part of the Library’s St. Johns Reads programming; this year’s featured selection is Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants. Mr. Adams will discuss the book including taking the manuscript and turning it into a best seller.
February 23rd and future Bohl book signings and events
Author couple, Sherry and Allen Bohl, recently had a book signing at The St. Johns Town Center Barnes and Noble in Jacksonville and have various book signings and speaking engagements coming up in the near future.
Mrs. Bohl has been an elementary teacher for the St. Johns County School District since 2003, and has been teaching for over thirty years. Her first children’s book, Mary’s Lamb, was released in December by Advantage Media Group. “I am extremely pleased to sign at Barnes and Noble,” Sherry said in St. Augustine. “Barnes and Noble is a great company and provides a super atmosphere for children to get engaged with books.
Dr. Bohl, adjunct professor at Flagler College and former athletic director at Toledo, Fresno State, and Kansas, had his second novel, Getting to Thanksgiving, published in November. Getting to Thanksgiving, which he wrote with his oldest son, Brett, is an inspiring tale about parents trying to pass on their values to their children and acknowledging what truly brings them gratitude. “I look forward to sharing my new book and I have always enjoyed signing at the Town Center,” Bohl stated. “Their staff provides excellent customer service.”
His first novel, Back Porch Swing, is a rousing story about a young man getting recruited to play college basketball. Dr. Bohl uses sports as a backdrop, but he illustrates a clear message about the importance of family values, character, integrity, and growing faith.
February 23: Book Signing, Barnes and Noble, Ocala, Florida
March 2: Book Signing, Barnes and Noble, Daytona Beach, Florida
March 22: Book Signing, Barnes and Noble, St. Augustine, Florida
June 19: Featured Speaker, Grove City Rotary, Grove City, Ohio
June 21: Book Signing, Barnes and Noble, Dublin, Ohio
June 24: Reading and Fundraiser to Benefit Nuhop Center, Ashland, Ohio
June 27: Keynote Speaker, Florida Boys State, Tallahassee, Florida
July 2: Reading and Benefit for Methodist Church, Lakeside, Ohio
July 11: Featured Speaker, Winchester Rotary, Winchester, Kentucky
July 12: Book Signing, Barnes and Noble, Lexington, Kentucky
July 11: Featured Speaker, Winchester Rotary, Winchester, Kentucky
July 12: Book Signing, Barnes and Noble, Lexington, Kentucky
February 28th – March 1st, 2008
The Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America presents Sleuthfest 2008 located at the Deerfield Beach Hilton starting Thursday, February 28th through Sunday, March 1st, 2008.
For more information: http://www.mwa-florida.org/sleuthfest.htm
Writing Contests:
The Florida Senior Playwright Festival
* Deadline: Postmarked by Feb. 11th, 2008!
Be a part of Florida’s statewide playwrighting festival exclusively for residents ages 50+. This free, grant-based project is run through the Hippodrome Theatre in Gainesville, Florida. Plays will be read and adjudicated by representatives from the Hippodrome Theatre, the University of Florida School of Theatre and Dance, and Santa Fe Community College. Three winning plays will be presented in staged readings at the Hippodrome during the Florida Senior Playwright festival weekend May 9-11, 2008.
Deadline for submission is February 11, 2008. Complete guidelines and additional information is at www.thehipp.org/senior
Questions? Call 352.373.5968 and ask for Kate McConnell.
The Vocabula Well-Written Writing Contest
Eligibility: The Vocabula Well-Written Writing Contest is open to all.
Write 200 to 500 words of readable, well-written, even beautiful writing. Send your entries to editor@vocabula.com. Along with your submission, you must include your name, address, and email address.
Contest Dates: Entries for the Vocabula Well-Written Writing Contest are accepted year-round. Each contest ends on May 30. The next contest begins the following day.
Selection: We accept nonfiction submissions only. Entries are judged on readability, beauty, and creativity -- in that order. Submissions not meeting the word count requirements are disqualified.
For more information, go to: http://www.vocabula.com/popupads/VRWritingContest.asp
See you all at the next meeting and keep writing,
Jeff Swesky
Ancient City Chapter Website: http://www.floridawriters.net/dnn/Regions/NorthEasternFL/tabid/79/Default.aspx
Ancient City Chapter Blog: http://fwaancientcity.blogspot.com/
