Tampa Book Buzz

great opening lines:beautiful lies by lisa unger

There were times when she wished he were dead.  Not that she’d never met him, or that he’d never been born, but that he’d get hit by a car or get himself killed in some other violent way like a bar fight, or his arm would get caught in a machine and he would bleed to death before anyone could save him.  And she wished that in those final moments, when he felt his life draining from him, that he’d understand what a bastard he was, what a waste of life.  She could envision him, his blood pooling in a black kidney-shaped puddle beneath him as he repented in terror, understanding with a final clarity that he was about to pay for the man he was.  In those dark moments he’d be sorry, so sorry.  But it would be too late.  That’s how she felt about him.

—-Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger

news from inkwood books

• Inkwood Books now has a MySpace page in addition to their standard website: www.myspace.com/inkwood
• OMG!!! Inkwood Books is bringing Anna Quindlen to Tampa on April 26!!  (Location TBD.)
• They have some enticing titles on their Book Sense Picks page.

npr reporter doing story about the year of magical thinking

Krissy Clark is a reporter with a National Public Radio show called Weekend America.  (The show airs on Saturdays on NPR stations around the U.S.).

She’s working on a story about people who’ve read The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion and those who found it especially helpful in dealing with grief after losing someone close to them.  She’s especially looking for people who are now planning to go see the play on Broadway this spring, after having found solace reading the book. (I wish I were going…Vanessa Redgrave is starring in it, so it should be wonderful.)

If you know of anyone Clark can talk to for her story, please email her at kclark(at)americanpublicmedia.org.  Also, if you know of any book blogs or book clubs in the New York area that she could talk to, please let her know.

alley cat players march 24 and 31

Received via email:

Please join the Alley Cat Players for Irish mythology and art:

3 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, St. Pete Main Library, 3745 9th Ave. North, St. Petersburg

3 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, Seminole Heights Library, 4711 Central Ave, Tampa

Art for Everyone – All our shows are free.

Call (813) 231-8478 for more info.

The Alley Cat Players will present a chamber reading of Irish playwright Mary Elizabeth Burke-Kennedy’s Women in Arms colloquial, contemporary version of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. The reading will be accompanied by related digital art – projections of Deirdre O’Reilly’s “Myths and Legends” paintings; illustrations and engravings from various collections of the Ulster Cycle myths, centering on the stories from the Book of the Dun Cow and an exhibit of hobbyists’ photos of cows in the Irish landscape.

“Then she was told of the existence of another bull in Ulster. A big brown one, the Dun Bó Cúailinge, bigger, fiercer, more stupendous than Ailill’s white one. If she got the seed of that for her herd, she’d be equal to anyone.”

Visit www.alleycatplayers.org for more info.

do all book bloggers have sexy voices or is it just me?

At the recent Tampa Bay Blogger Meetup, I was forced drafted volunteered encouraged to participate in a podcast interview with Ryan Price from www.FloridaCreatives.com.  Ryan is a great guy who helped me figure out how to do my first podcast (which ended up not happening, because interviewee writer/director Mark Fergus was running behind schedule on interview day, so I ended up interviewing Fergus on my cell phone at 11:30 a.m. hiding in an empty office at my Real Job, which means I couldn’t record our conversation to post as a podcast).  Ryan interviewed me, Ryan X. from www.Groover.net and Derrick Daye from www.BrandingStrategyInsider.com.

Here’s the link.  The interview turned out way better than I expected.  The good news is that I don’t sound nearly as goofy as I thought I did.  The bad news is that living in Tampa for 10 years seems to have wiped away pretty much all of my charming Southern accent.

i’m reading ann coulter’s godless:the church of liberalism and haven’t spontaneously combusted (so far)

I did something crazy in the library a few days ago.  I checked out Ann Coulter’s book Godless:The Church of Liberalism.  I was minding my own business and just happened to see it out of the corner of my eye, I swear.  I’m about halfway through it and my eyes haven’t bled once.  Coulter actually makes some good points and raises some interesting questions, once you get past all the vile, abusive, abhorrent, repugnant and odious craziness.

veronica lions’ book release party april 25

There will be a book release party April 25 for local author Veronica Lions’ new book Lions’ Den:A Book of Poetry and Art.  It will be “a jazz, neo-soul, wine and cheese event…a night of pure fun and relaxation.”

WHEN: April 25 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Culture Lounge, 1327 West 7th Ave. (corner of 14th St. and 7th Ave. in Ybor City) 

Visit www.myspace.com/veronicalions for more info.

(Thanks go to local author Eric Sturm for sending this my way.)

great opening lines:dishing hollywood:the real scoop on tinseltown’s most notorious scandals by laurie jacobson

Lives tragically cut short, unsolved mysteries, dramatic suicides, steamy affairs — Tinseltown serves them up in generous portions.  The town’s full of tales like that; always has been, always will.  The town is also full of people who pay big dough or pull strings to make sure certain details of those stories never reach the light of day.  But they always surface eventually…if you know where to look.  I’ve been writing about Hollywood for close to twenty-five years.  I got the straight scoop.  But stick around, I got more than that.  Pull up a chair, bring your appetite, and get it while it’s hot, kiddo.

—Dishing Hollywood:The Real Scoop on Tinseltown’s Most Notorious Scandals by Laurie Jacobson

tcm’s march book giveaway

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is giving away copies of Ingrid, Charlotte Chandler’s new biography of Ingrid Bergman.   To learn more about this book or to enter the sweepstakes, click here.

quote of the day

One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.  — Iris Murdoch