Tampa Book Buzz

inkwood books closed saturday

Inkwood Books will be closed on Saturday, January 28, “in surrender of our neighborhood to the clamoring hordes of pirates and their followers.”

They will resume their regular business hours on Sunday, January 29 at 1 p.m.

an evening with stephen king

The movers came again last weekend, so in the midst of packing, cleaning and moving, The Husband and I weren’t able to make it to An Evening With Stephen King at Eckerd College last Saturday night (sniff, sniff). Local author Wendy Boucher had a great time and was kind enough to share her experience with TBB:

Saturday night I attended the reading/lecture by Stephen King. He lives part of the year in Florida and he came out of hiding at the request of Dennis Lehane (author of Mystic River and Shutter Island, among others), who is part of the Writers in Paradise writers’ conference happening at Eckerd College this week. So really it was a two-fer. Lehane spoke first and introduced King, who then read to us a short story called Willa that hadn’t been read or heard by anybody else before Saturday night. I felt like he was giving us a present. After that, he spoke a little and answered some prescreened questions put to him by Lehane. The first question was one he gets asked a lot: “Were you a weird little boy?”There wasn’t anything too surprising for those of us who have followed his career. We all know he loves rock and roll. Most people probably knew that he likes to read poetry before he goes to bed each night. What sometimes surprises those who aren’t King fans is that he has written a very good book about writing and the writing profession (my personal favorite) called On Writing. Lehane mentioned his reputation for being among the most generous when it comes to giving back to the writing community. Lehane also said what I’ve always thought was true, very few authors have created such an amazing array of well-developed characters as King. Lehane mentioned Dickens as another of the few. Apparently public appearances by Mr. King are very rare. I read in the paper about people who had flown from other states just to see him. I brought my limited edition The Gunslinger book just in case he changed his mind and offered a book signing, but no such luck. He doesn’t seem to like that much attention and I thought he seemed just a little uncomfortable at times on stage with thousands of people looking at him. He delighted the crowd when he said he’s got a book set in Florida in mind. He was great and my only regret is that at the last minute, Lisa of Tampa Book Buzz was unable to attend herself.

–Wendy Boucher is a travel writer, a hepcat blogger and author of Parvenue Throws A Party. She’s busy working on her next book, traveling around the world and being the envy of those of us stuck at home.

local author news

Some local authors have checked in recently. Here’s their news:

Local author, blogger, and fellow Serenity fan Joy V. Smith has posted some recent news on her blog. Her short story Seedlings came in #8 in the SF & Fantasy category of the Preditors & Editors Poll, while her interview with Lyn McConchie tied for #11 in the non-fiction category.

Local author J.C. DeLaTorre’s book Ancient Rising is now available in hardback through www.lulu.com.

The St. Pete Times recently wrote about local author Kendall Smith-Sullivan’s speaking and book signing schedule. Her book Soulmate Logic was recently reviewed in Midwest Book Reviews.

Congratulations Joy, J.C. and Kendall!

news from local author keisha bell

According to local author Keisha Bell, her book Emerging…Free is “a thought-provoking book that looks at the issue of parental abandonment through the eyes of two teenage girls. It encourages the reader to discover what “forgiveness” really means.” A native of St. Pete, Bell is a local attorney and is busy promoting Emerging…Free and working on her next book. She has some book signings coming up:

January 25 from 11 a.m. — 1 p.m. — the Gibbs Campus Bookstore of St. Petersburg College

January 27 from 1 p.m. — 3 p.m. — the Barnes & Noble on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando

Learn more about Bell and read an excerpt of Emerging…Free by visiting her website at www.keishabell.com.

upcoming author events at inkwood books

Inkwood Books has added some new book signings to their events calendar:

January 17 at 6 p.m. — Paul Dorrell will discuss and sign Living the Artist’s Life:A Guide to Growing, Perservering and Succeeding in the Art World.

January 25 at 6 p.m. — Tampa author Laura Reiley will discuss and sign her book Moon Handbooks Florida Gulf Coast.

January 26 at 7 p.m. — N.M. (Nicole) Kelby will read and sign Whale Season:A Really Good Story.

February 2 at 7 p.m. — Christine Rosen will read and sign her book My Fundamentalist Education:A Memoir of a Divine Girlhood.

February 9 at 7 p.m. — Peter Meinke will read and sign his new book The Contracted World:New and More Selected Poems.

Visit Inkwood Books’ events calendar for more information.

the shadow of the wind — a book about books

I must admit that when the TBB Online Book Club members suggested The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon as this month’s reading selection, I was unfamiliar with the book. When the book club members tell me to read a book, I don’t ask questions. I go out and get the book and start reading.

It’s a good thing, too, or I never would have found out about this gem of a book. According to the inside of the dust jacket, The Shadow of the Wind is:

The international literary sensation about a boy’s magical journey through the secrets and shadows of postwar Barcelona in search of a mysterious author whose book has proved as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget.

There are several beautiful passages in the first chapter about the magic of books. One of my favorites is:

Once, in my father’s bookshop, I heard a regular customer say that few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart. Those first images, the echo of words we think we have left behind, accompany us throughout our lives and sculpt a palace in our memory to which, sooner or later — no matter how many books we read, how many worlds we discover, or how much we learn or forget — we will return. For me those enchanted pages will always be…

You’ll have to read the book to find out.

I look forward to hearing what you thought about this book when I post my review at the end of the month.

gary mormino at tarpon springs public library on january 24

Gary Mormino, author of Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams, will present “A Social History of Modern Florida” at the Tarpon Springs Public Library on January 24 at 7 p.m. Visit the library website for more information.

i think i own too many books

The Husband and I have spent the last four days moving to a new apartment. Fun, fun. Our phone service was transferred to the new place before our computer made it over, so I wasn’t able to write one of those “back in a few days” posts. But I’m back now, although my posting schedule will be a little light as I’m setting in and figuring out where in the world I packed everything.

I can’t believe how many books we own! At the same time I was regretting owning so many books (because of having to pack and then later unpack them all), I enjoyed revisiting my collection. I have hundreds of books that I’ve never even read. Looks like I’ll be busy reading in 2006. Hope you are too. (And if you’re not busy reading and you want to help me unpack, come on over and I’ll put you to work.)

florida bibliophile society meeting january 15

The next meeting of the Florida Bibliophile Society is January 15 at 1:30 p.m. in Heritage Village in Largo. Historian and rare newspaper collector Fred Farrar will speak about “Living During the Revolution.”

If you missed my previous post about the FBS and want to know more, click here.

south tampa barnes and noble

My meeting on Friday with the Community Relations Manager of the South Tampa Barnes & Noble went really well. She has started lots of new programs at that store and is really working hard to make sure the local community knows about them. If you live in that area, visit their website for an updated calendar.

Of course, my favorite part of our talking about books and blogging and authors was when she called me “witty” (tee hee hee)! Although I think by typing “tee hee hee” I might have just downgraded myself from witty to dorky.