Tampa Book Buzz

i’ll see you back here in august

Well, book buddies, I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is that I’m taking a break from blogging.
The good news is that it’s only for the rest of the month, so I should be back around the first of August or so.

The bad news is that I was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
The good news is that it’s papillary thyroid cancer (the “good kind” of thyroid cancer), it’s Stage 1 (the earliest stage) and the prognosis is very, very good.

The good news is that I’ll get to read 24/7 while I’m laid up in bed recovering from surgery.
The bad news is … well, I can’t really think of any down side to reading non-stop.

See you all in August!

[Anyone interested in the personal, detailed info is welcome to visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/lisac2008.]

deep carnivale:a celebration of words is set for september 27

Mark your calendars! Deep Carnivale:A Celebration of Words is now scheduled for Saturday, September 27, 10 a.m. — 5 p.m.

From the Deep Carnivale website:

The Artists and Writers Group, Inc., has scheduled the second annual Deep Carnivale literature festival for September 27, 2008, in Ybor City on the campus of Hillsborough Community College, at the Cuban Club, and along 14th Street between 9th Avenue and Palm Avenue and is free and open to the public of all ages.

As an organization open to all like-minded individuals, the Artists and Writers Group respects the creative and cultural diversity of our community and is committed to equality, peace and social and economic justice. The Artists and Writers Group aspires to provide events and forums to serve the community through the exposure and sharing of these values.

Visit www.deepcarnivale.com for more as the schedule develops or to read about the 2007 festival.

Anyone interested in participating (authors, performers, food/book vendors, etc.) or volunteering is encouraged to contact Deep Carnivale director David Audet at daudet(at)hccfl.edu.

sadhguru jaggi vasudev book signing august 3

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, co-author (with Cheryl Simone) of Midnights with the Mystic will appear at An Evening with The Mystic — An Evening of Wisdom, Meditation and Bliss on Saturday, August 3, at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. The reception is at 6:30 p.m.; Sadhguru’s talk is at 7 p.m.; book signing is at 9 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required because space is limited.

A profound mystic of our time and a visionary humanitarian, Sadhguru traverses seamlessly from the ancient to the contemporary. He bridges the gap between the known and the unknown enabling all those who encounter him to explore and experience the deepest dimensions of life. An author, poet, and internationally renowned speaker, Sadhguru’s wit and piercing logic provoke and widen our perception of life. Above all, Sadhguru is an embodiment of overfull blissfulness which overwhelms all those around into nameless ecstasies, transporting them beyond limitations.

Sadhguru is a member of the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders, which he attended at the United Nations in 2000. As an active supporter of the World Council of Religious and Spiritual Leaders’ efforts to relieve suffering, foster harmony, and promote the dignity of all life, Sadhguru works to introduce people to essential changes in thought and action that support peaceful possibilities. His initiatives for world peace and his outreach programs for life-term prisoners, destitute children and rural rejuvenation are internationally renowned. By working in harmony with all spiritual traditions, Sadhguru helps transform individuals as a lasting way to establish a peaceful and prosperous global society.

Click here for the registration page. For more info, visit www.ishafoundation.org or call 813-413-1661.

terri garey’s book signing july 12

Local author Terri Garey (Dead Girls Are Easy) will sign copies of her new book A Match Made In Hell on Saturday, July 12, from 1-3 p.m. at the Westshore Plaza Waldenbooks.

A spooky old house and a closet full of family skeletons leaves unwilling “ghoulfriend to the dead” Nicki Styx wondering if her life will ever get back to anything approaching normal. Things go from bad to worse when the Devil himself shows up, on the lookout for a hot new girlfriend with the power to help him harvest lost souls. Demons may be a ghoul’s best friend, but with this particular hottie, it could be a match made in hell! A Match Made In Hell is the sequel to last year’s hauntingly funny Dead Girls Are Easy (currently nominated for Best First Book and Best Paranormal Romance by Romance Writers of America).

Visit www.tgarey.com for more info.

rough cut by vincent diamond

Received via email:

Native Floridian Vincent Diamond sets many of the stories in the newly released short story collection, Rough Cut, in the Sunshine State. From the horse farms of Ocala, the wilds of the Panhandle to the rundown motels in central Tampa, the characters in these stories are veterinarians, cops, drug dealers, animal rescue worker, horsemen, prison inmates and—lovers. These are men with real lives and real problems. Men who struggle with their own hearts as they connect—if only briefly—with one another.

Sixteen stories sparkling with cut, color, and clarity. Slip under the covers with this gem: Rough Cut:Vincent Diamond Collected.

Visit www.vincentdiamond.com for more info.

book clubs in the st. pete area???

Someone emailed me recently to ask if I know of any book clubs in the St. Pete area. Unfortunately, I don’t. If anyone reading this knows of any, please post a comment with the info. Thanks.

update about local author ann turner cook

I received an email from the Tampa Writers Alliance about local author and TWA member Ann Turner Cook. Micanopy in Shadow, Cook’s fourth murder mystery in the Brandy O’Bannon series, has just been published. She’s got some book signings coming up: Saturday, July 12, from 6-8 p.m. at the Carrollwood Barnes and Noble (11802 N. Dale Mabry Hwy.), and Tuesday, July 22, at 2 p.m. at the auditorium at University Village (12401 N. 22nd St.).

For more info, visit www.annturnercook.info.

news and notes:haase, smith, darling, mize, lynsky

• Local filmmaker and author Eric Haase recently received some well-deserved attention from the Tampa Tribune.
• Local author Joy V. Smith interviewed Nancy Fulda, creator and editor of Anthology Builder, in the June issue of Expressions.
• Local author and Tampa Writers Alliance president Michael Darling (Hoplite Renegades) is trying to build an organization that “pairs non-profits with local authors for a win-win situation. During these times of economic uncertainty, charitable organizations find it harder and harder to raise the funds they need for community programs. Local authors are often looking for effective, inexpensive methods to sell their books and get exposure. Authors can help organizations draw interest to what they are doing. Organizations can help authors obtain more exposure and sell books.” For more info on Darling’s idea, contact him at darling(at)HopliteRenegades.com (h/t JimSam, Inc.)
• Local author William Mize is recording an audiobook of his book Resurrection Angel one chapter at a time. Check it out at www.williammize.com/audiobooks.
• Author Ed Lynskey wrote to let me know that his third P.I. Frank Johnson mystery, Pelham Fell Here, is due out this month from Mundania Press. Here’s the synopsis: “MP and part-time gunsmith Frank Johnson finds his cousin Cody Chapman killed by a twelve-gauge shotgun. Enraged, Frank wants some answers, and fast. Was Cody involved in an arms smuggling scheme? The mystery grows when a pair of murderous deputy sheriffs ambush Frank. Killing them in self-defense, Frank must take it on the lam while he continues his investigation. Eventually he discovers a group of Neo-Nazis, holed up at a remote castle, who may be behind his cousin’s murder. Luckily, a couple of bounty hunter pals throw in with Frank to even up the odds.” For more info, visit www.mundania/com/books-pelhamfellhere.html.

opposition research:stealing the white house by d.r. spice and j.b. azneer

Clearwater physician J.B. Azneer and Tennessee journalist D.R. Spice (past resident of St. Pete) wrote recently to tell me about their new book Opposition Research:Stealing the White House. It’s “a fictional work drawn from the political maneuverings of recent presidential elections. Flawed candidates and voting problems seem to pop out of the pages of the daily newspaper and into this book. The lead character is a former state investigator from Florida, a state that is no stranger to election irregularities. Barron Childress is hired to do background checks on opposing candidates by a North Carolina Senator who seeks the Oval Office. What Childress soon learns is that not only is his boss trying to throw the election, but other candidates are doing the same thing.”

J.B. Azneer said “We wanted to write a novel about the presidential election cycle, and we wanted to create characters that mirrored the imperfect and often contradictory personalities we’ve all seen strutting on the political stage.” Adds co-author D.R. Spice, “I think many of us have voted against people more than we‘ve voted for a candidate. We’ve written a novel, but the scary truth is that all of this could happen.”

Opposition Research:Stealing the White House is available in soft cover and e-book formats from Barnes and Noble (online), Amazon, and select local booksellers. Visit www.oppositionresearch.info to learn more about the authors and their characters.

quote of the day — for gene

“You can be at ease only with those people to whom you can say any damn fool thing that comes into your head, knowing they will respond in kind, and knowing that any misunderstandings will be thrashed out right now, rather than buried deep and given a chance to fester.”
— from Darker Than Amber, by John D. MacDonald

Today’s quote is in honor of my best friend Gene, who died a few days ago. He loved books and talking about books even more than I did. He loaned me all of his John D. MacDonald “Travis McGee” books about fifteen years ago and I never got around to giving them back. I’m glad now that I still have them.

I’ll get back to blogging soon. My heart is broken right now and I don’t feel much like writing at the moment.