Tampa Book Buzz

inkwood books’ 3rd annual get caught reading contest

From Inkwood Books’ website:

Inkwood’s 3rd Annual Get Caught Reading Contest!

2006 GET CAUGHT READING PHOTO CONTEST- We are now accepting photos for our 3rd annual Get Caught Reading contest. Send, bring, or email us your favorite original photo of a reader in action for a 20% off coupon and a chance to win big prizes! The Grand Prize includes a $100 Inkwood gift certificate and a poster on our wall. Winner will be chosen August 15.

Visit www.inkwoodbooks.com for more info.

i’m speaking wednesday night to the tampa writers alliance

Yep, you read that correctly. I’m speaking at the Tampa Writers Alliance meeting Wednesday, August 2, at 7 p.m. at the John F. Germany Public Library in downtown Tampa. Here’s the write-up from the TWA website:

TWA’s August 2 General Meeting…In our ongoing commitment to present relevant informative programs beneficial to all interested writers during our first-Wednesday-of-the-month general meetings, we are pleased to have Lisa Ciurro, originator of the Tampa Book Buzz blog addressing us on Wednesday, August 2, 7:00 p.m., in the Downtown Tampa John Germany Public Library auditorium, 900 Ashley Street.

OMG! I’m a “well known and highly visible Tampa literary icon!!” I think I want that engraved on my tombstone. (Which might be sooner rather than later, if I die from fright in the middle of my presentation!)

Hope to see you Wednesday night.

great opening lines:the lovely bones by alice sebold

My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.

–The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

and how was your week?

What have I been up to, you ask, since I obviously haven’t been blogging lately? Well, among other things, I:

*Read this month’s TBB Online Book Club pick The Lovely Bones almost non-stop because it’s that compelling.

*Bought a new computer and began planning my defection from Blogger.

*Kept busy with things related to my film blog.

*Worked on my notes for my presentation Wednesday night at the Tampa Writers Alliance.

*Started worrying and getting nervous about my presentation.

And how was your week?

lessons from joan, living and loving with cancer, a husband’s story

University of Syracuse professor and author Eric Kingson read about the TBB Online Book Club recently reading Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking and wrote to let me know about his book Lessons from Joan, Living and Loving with Cancer, A Husband’s Story (Syracuse University Press, November 2005). He told me that:

Lessons from Joan speaks primarily to life and hope and to insight–spiritual, emotional and otherwise–following a cancer diagnosis that ultimately leads to death. It tells of how my late wife’s strength, warmth, humor, and love - - and that of many people we met along the way - - helped extend life and make it worth living. It also provides lessons for dealing with logistical and emotional hurdles following diagnosis with a life-threatening disease. And it contains some humor…If you have the time to look at Lessons From Joan, I think you will find that it is a compelling and useful story – one that addresses many of themes addressed in Joan Didion’s book in an equally open but gentler manner.Kingson will be in Tampa in early September to speak at a conference and will have a book signing at the Barnes & Noble in Clearwater. For additional information, visit www.syracuseuniversitypress.syr.edu/fall-2005-catalog/lessons-joan.html.

Kingson will be in Tampa in early September to speak at a conference and will have a book signing at the Barnes & Noble in Clearwater. For additional information, visit .

book news:lawson, upper story books, cowling

*Seattle author Mike Lawson wrote to let me know that his latest thriller The Second Perimeter – a story of espionage and revenge — is now available. His first book, The Inside Ring, has been nominated for this year’s Barry Award at Bouchercon in the best thriller category and was listed as one of top ten thrillers of 2005 by the Seattle Times and other publications. Visit www.mikelawsonbooks.com to learn more.

*The Imperial Book Lodge has a new home! Now called Upper Story Books, it will share space with Tampa Antiquarian Books in Seminole Heights. (Thanks go to David at the Seminole Heights blog for this wonderful news!)

Local author Jerry Cowling has some upcoming speaking engagements. He will talk about Abraham Lincoln to the Maitland Historical Society on August 20 and to the Tampa Newcomers Club on August 29. He will begin another round of Civil War shows and book and gift fairs in the fall, beginning with the Dade City Pioneer Days the first week of September.

tbabj poetry slam july 27

The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists is presenting their second poetry slam Off the Record II:A Spoken Word on July 27, from 7 to 11 p.m. at Studio(at)620, 620 1st. Ave. South, in downtown St. Pete.

Here’s the detailed information I received via email:

The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists is organizing a poetry slam on July 27 to bring together some of the area’s best poets and artists with some of the area’s best-known journalists of color. This is our second time presenting such an event, and we’re extending invitations to artists throughout the Tampa Bay area. It’s scheduled for July 27 at Studio(at)620, with a $50 cash prize and gift certificates for second and third place.Off the Record II: A Spoken Word event…your take on people of color, news, life and more

Studio(at)620
620 1st. Ave. South
downtown St. Petersburg

July 27, 7 to 11 p.m.

Door Charge: $3 donation

Theme: Off the Record, Again…your take on people of color, the news, life and more.

Format: 5-minute maximum for performers. $50 cash first prize, $15 gift certificates for second and third place. All poets welcome. Sponsored by the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists, a group of media professionals dedicated to improving and celebrating coverage of people of color.

For more info, email digdog(at)aol.com or visit www.freewebs.com/tampabaynabj/ or www.thestudioat620.com.

read the lovely bones before you die

Thanks to Miss Snark, I found this list of 100 books you should read before you die. This month’s TBB Online Book Club pick — The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold — is on the list. Now I’m even more excited about reading it (um, no, I haven’t started it yet).

blogs for readers

Fellow book lover and blogger Alice Anderson (who lives in Georgia, where I’m from, so you know she’s great) has a wonderful new website called www.blogsforreaders.com. She’s building a directory of online resources for readers and authors alike.

I’m honored to announce that she kicked off her “Blog Tour” with Tampa Book Buzz! How cool is that? Makes me look all official and like I know what I’m doing.

Definitely bookmark www.blogsforreaders.com. But don’t forget about me (I’m very sensitive, you know.)

florida author j.b. preston

Author J.B. Preston lives in central Florida, but hey, that’s local enough for me to include here. He wrote me to let me know that his adventure-romance novel Autumn Under the Papagalos is now available through Authorhouse. Visit www.jbpreston.com to learn more about his book or to read an excerpt.