Tampa Book Buzz

usf’s upcoming university lecture series

The University Lecture Series at the University of South Florida has an intriguing lineup of authors for the spring semester.  (OMG — Peter Straub will be here!)  Here’s the schedule according to the website:

• February 6 — Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat (The Farming Bones)
• February 15 — horror legend Peter Straub (Ghost Story, Shadowland)
• March 28 — physician, anthropologist and writer Paul Farmer
• April 10 — actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler (autobiography Wise Girl)

According to an email I recently received from USF, lectures are currently free of charge for the public as well as for USF students.  Visit www.ctr.usf.edu/uls for more info.

ohio author marcia james’ risque new book

I’ve never read an e-book before.  I prefer the tangible, tactile sensations of a “real book” made of paper and ink over the impersonality of a computer screen any day. But the times are a-changin.’  Ohio author Marcia James sent me a copy of her e-book At Her Command, currently available from Cerridwen Press, so it looks like I’ll be reading my first e-book really soon.  Here’s the description she sent me:

DEA agent Domino Petracelli is chasing a career-making promotion and nothing will keep her from getting her man.  Okay, so she’d rather infiltrate a Columbian drug cartel than go undercover as a dominatrix at D.C.’s Xecutive Branch sex club.  But she’s up to the task.  As the leather-clad Mistress Bella, Domino investigates the club’s drug ring while juggling a surreal roster of kinky submissives — and resisting one sexy client who’s not what he seems.

Police detective Dalton Cutter is a man with a mission — avenging his partner, who was murdering while investigating the Xecutive Branch.  Retracing his partner’s steps, he goes undercover as a club client.  Dalton’s handled killers, junkies and pimps, but can the alpha-male cop act submissive long enough to fool Mistress Bella?  And will their sexual chemistry, crackling louder than Bella’s whip, derail Dalton’s investigation?

At Her Command, a comic romantic suspense, pokes fun at the alphabet soup of D.C. law enforcement agencies.  When the DEA, the FBI and the D.C. police unknowingly put operatives undercover at the same club, sexy sparks fly.

At Her Command will be available as a trade paperback in April.  NOTE: RATED R FOR RISQUE.  Visit www.marciajames.net to learn more.

please help me raise money for the american cancer society

I’m raising money for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of South Tampa, which will take place May 4-5 here in Tampa.  If you’re interested in helping me in the fight against cancer, please visit my ACS page and make a contribution:

http://www.acsevents.org/relay/fl/southtampa/lisaciurro

Together, we can make a difference.  Thank you!

miscellaneous library chatter

Time recently had two interesting tidbits about libraries:

47 — Number of years Robert Nuranen kept a copy of the book Prince of Egypt borrowed from the public library in Hancock, Michigan, before finally returning it last week.

$171.32 — Amount he paid in late fees for the book.

–from the January 22 issue of Time.  Hell, I’m impressed with the library’s record-keeping skill.

“We’re being very ruthless.  A book is not forever.” — Sam Clay, director of the library system in Fairfax County, Virginia, about the threat to remove thousands of books from its 21 libraries, including classics like Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom The Bell Tolls and Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, because they haven’t been checked out in two years.

–from the January 15 issue of Time. I don’t know which saddens me more: the fact that no one has checked out those classics or that the library is going to ditch them.  Sigh..

i want to read…

…Talking Right:How Conservatives Turned Liberalism into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show by Geoffrey Nunberg

No matter what your political affliation, you’ve gotta love the title.

tampa writers alliance

On Wednesday, January 3, the Tampa Writers Alliance announced the winners of the 2006 Annual Writing Contest. They are:

Children’s:

• 1st Place: Martha McIntosh, Timmy Gets His Wish
• 2nd Place: Jan Evans, Harry the Hedgehog
• 3rd Place: Ella Conarton, A Home For Mrs. Carolina Wren
• Honorable Mention: Angela Masterson Jones, What Goes Around

Fiction:

• 1st Place: Richard Aellen, Riding Backward
• 2nd Place: Jo-Ellyn Guggino, The Stamp Collection
• 3rd Place: Gregory McColm, Tall Grass
• Honorable Mention: Warner Conarton, Orderly, 1952
• Honorable Mention: Sandra Kischuk, The Legend of the Lupins

Ed Hirschberg Award for Excellence in Florida Writing:

• 1st Place: Kal Rosenberg, Out From Under The Bus
• 2nd Place: Sandra Kischuk, Clem’s Valet Service
• 3rd Place: Terra Pressler, Surrendering Names
• Honorable Mention: James A. Young, The Privy

Non-fiction:

• 1st Place: Warner Conarton, Dowsing Stonehenge
• 2nd Place: Judy Mancuso, Change of Heart
• 3rd Place: Angela Masterson Jones, One Degree of Kevin Bacon
• Honorable Mention: Terra Pressler, Gifts

Novel:

• 1st Place: Richard Aellen, Sleeping Dogs
• 2nd Place: Warner Conarton, Gatemaster
• 3rd Place: Sue L. LaNeve, The Adventures of Spanky McDougal
• Honorable Mention: Charrie Hazard Moscardini, Of Angels and Archangels

Script:

• 1st Place: Richard Aellen, Surprise Visit
• 2nd Place: Warner Conarton, Period Piece
• 3rd Place: Eugene Orlando, The Importance of Having a Good Handbasket
• Honorable Mention: Sandra Kischuk, What Was Your Price?

Poetry:

• 1st Place: Terra Pressler, Unburied
• 2nd Place: Evelyn Ann Romano, At the Back Door
• 3rd Place: Sandra Kischuk, Playground
• Honorable Mention: Dennis Pupello, Sea Sights Forged Like Gold Coins
• Honorable Mention: Lynn V. Sadler, Monkey Frowns
• Honorable Mention: Eugene Orlando, Swimmers and R and B

Science Fiction/Fantasy:

• 1st Place: Warner Conarton, Total Power Corrupts Totally
• 2nd Place: Dennis Pupello, Snake Eyes
• 3rd Place: G. Thomas Gill, An Ill Wind
• Honorable Mention: Eugene Orlando, The Great Red Spot

Bouncing Ball Books awarded the Tampa Writers Alliance/Bouncing Ball Books publishing contract to Uthaya Kumar for his anthology A Ticket to the Moon.  Finalists in the contest included Barry Newberger (Honorable Mention for Family Jewels), Sandra Kischuk (Honorable Mention for Lucky 13), Phillip Schneider (winner of the Ink Award for his anthology), and Jim Chaplin (Editor’s Choice winner for Meandering Thoughts of a Curious Mind). 

Congratulations, everyone!

At the February 7 general meeting of the Tampa Writers Alliance (7 p.m., John Germany Library), the Carrollwood Players will be on hand to read the four winning plays from the TWA’s October contest:

• 1st Place Script — Surprise Visit by Richard Aellen
• 2nd Place Script — Period Piece by Warner Conarton
• 3rd Place Script — The Importance of Having a Good Handbasket by Eugene Orlando
• Honorable Mention — What Was Your Price? by Sandra Kischuk

Visit www.tampawriters.org for more info.

quote of the day

Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words.  –  George Eliot

book buzz:between, georgia by joshilyn jackson

I picked up Between, Georgia because the title caught my eye and ended up reading it from start to finish in one day.  Author Joshilyn Jackson tells the quirky story of Nonny, a woman stuck in the middle of a family feud in her small, Southern town without succumbing to the usual insulting stereotypes. Her characters are eccentric but not irksome.  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was right: “hip…sassy…endearing.”

It’s been a long time since a book reminded me of Olive Ann Burns’ masterpiece Cold Sassy Tree.  But when it happens — as it did with Between, Georgia — it’s a wonderful feeling.

dr. daniel goleman january 25 and mark simon january 29

From Creative Tampa Bay’s newsletter: 

*Gulf Coast Community Foundation invites you to a luncheon (January 25 at noon) with psychologist, science journalist, and best-selling writer Daniel Goleman, PhD. Author of the international blockbuster Emotional Intelligence, Dr. Goleman will discuss and sign copies of his latest book Social Intelligence:The New Science of Human Relationships. Admission is $35, and advance reservations are required. Seats for this community education event are filling quickly, so visit www.gulfcoast.org to learn more and to make a reservation.

*Make plans now to attend a talk by Mark Simon, an artist, animator, and author (January 29 at 1 p.m.). He will be speaking about his book for artists called Your Resume Sucks! He will also talk about beginning a career in animation. The presentation will take place in Room 407 at The International Academy of Design and Technology.  RSVP to svesselov(at)academy.edu. 

Visit www.creativetampabay.com/newsletter for more info.

Update on 1/24/07: Thanks to eagle-eyed reader Eric Sturm, I’ve discovered that the link in the first paragraph is incorrect.  Info about this Sarasota event may be found at www.gulfcoastcf.org.  Unfortunately, however, this event is now sold out.

book buzz:the family:the real story of the bush dynasty by kitty kelley

If you like Kitty Kelley’s other books, you’ll love The Family:The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty. If you want to see the end result of years of meticulous research into the secrets of a powerful, political family, you’ll love this book.  If you want juicy gossip on Barbara’s cattiness and George Sr.’s affairs, you’ll love this book.  If you are a staunch Democrat and want to get the scoop on how on earth George Sr. and George W. both managed to get elected President, you’ll love this book. If you’re a die-hard Republican and Bush fan who wants to delve into the Bush family history going back several generations, you’ll love this book.

Since I don’t want to be audited by the IRS, have my phone bugged, have my email tracked or have my U.S. citizenship mysteriously cancelled, I will say that I HATED this book.  I didn’t find it fascinating and frightening and hard to put down.  Nope, not at all.  I swear.