Tampa Book Buzz

michael palmer, myspace and me

For the past few weeks, I’ve been drowning in a sea of social networking site requests, spam and a million of those god-awful Facebook requests. (Please go poke, tickle, hug and zing yourself and leave me out of it.) I was actually thinking about quitting the social networking game.

Then something happened.

Someone messaged me through MySpace to thank me for listing him as one of my favorite authors. I didn’t recognize the MySpace ID and the photo didn’t ring any bells, so I looked at his MySpace profile. It was Michael Palmer. MICHAEL PALMER. New York Times bestselling author. Real-life M.D. Author of Side Effects, Silent Treatment, Extreme Measures, Fatal and more. One of my all-time favorite authors who is listed in every one of my online “Favorite Author” lists. MICHAEL FREAKIN’ PALMER.

MP saw his name on my MySpace profile and messaged me. After I picked myself up off of the floor, I sent him the goofiest, gushiest fan note ever. I got to tell him (nicely, of course) that it’s his fault that I was slightly creeped out during a recent hospital stay. (I read Flashback, The Sisterhood and Side Effects back-to-back during my teenybopper years and was scarred for life — and addicted to Palmer’s books — because of it.)

Being the ruthless, self-promoting blogger that I am, I tried to wheedle my way into an interview and onto his mailing list, his publicist’s mailing list and anything else I could think of.

And guess what?

He agreed to an interview and gave me his email address! (His email address could very well be published on his MySpace page and on his website, but I prefer to believe that it’s not and that I’m way cool for having it.)

What a great Christmas present. Thank you TPTB (The Powers That Be)!

That’s enough blogging for now. I’ve got to go check my MySpace page…and Facebook…and LinkedIn…and…

news and notes:harper, micklersmith florida book traders, sorey

• New York Times bestselling suspense fiction author and part-time South Florida resident Karen Harper (Black Orchid, Hurricane) recently wrote to say hello and to let me know that her suspense novel Below the Surface will be released January 29. “Besides being a thriller with a touch of romance, it tackles the eco-issue of clean gulf water.” Harper often sets her books in southwest Florida and her earlier books “also deal with preserving old Florida from the onslaught of tourists and weather.” Visit www.karenharperauthor.com to learn more Harper and her work.
• I heard through the grapevine that the Florida-centric St. Pete bookstore MicklerSmith Florida Book Traders has closed. Sniff, sniff.
• An excerpt of local author Barbara J. Sorey’s Florida Girl:Short Stories of Family, Community and History, 1804 to 1969 is available online. “Go to www.wusf.org, click on Learn More (under the Florida Stories logo) to hear excerpts” of Special Times, a holiday story from Sorey’s Florida Girl book.

happy holidays

I hope this holiday season is full of friends, family, food and fun. And great gifts. Can’t forget the gifts!

My holiday haul satisfied all of my personalities…my girlie-girl side got pajamas, lotions and potions, and more lip gloss than one person can use in a lifetime; my film fan side got movie tickets and a stack o’ DVDs; and the book lover in me got a Borders gift card and a huge reference book (about TV shows, for my inner couch potato).

Plus the gift basket from my sister, the culinary school grad. Fa-la-la-la-YUM.

Happy holidays everyone!

news and notes:tbabj’s new website, griot awards, beazel, smith

• The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists has a new (and much easier) website: www.tbabj.com. It looks better too (although the old site looked just fine). Update your bookmarks, everyone.
• Speaking of the TBABJ, St. Pete Times media critic and TBABJ member Eric Deggans had a great post on his blog a while back about the Griot Awards that I’ve been meaning to link to. You can read it here.
• Local writer/director Michael Beazel “has written a short screenwriting article titled Character Studies for Film and Television and he is making it available for anyone who wants a PDF copy. For a copy, email MBeazel(at)tampabay.rr.com.” (h/t to local filmmaker Paul Guzzo)
• Local author Joy V. Smith’s short story Paulie is in the December 2007 issue of Art and Prose. “It’s an offbeat story with a hint of SF at the beginning, but it’s about a man needing to find redemption. Art and Prose includes lots of art, stories, articles, poetry, interviews, tutorials, and more.” Visit www.artandprose.com/blog for more info.

local author tiva wallon and the florida published author tour group

Hudson author Tiva Wallon (Footsteps Through Time, Jack of All Trades) wrote me a while back to say hello and to tell me about the Florida Published Author Tour Group. As the founder of this group, Wallon arranges book signings and invites other authors “on the email loop” to join her. She sent me a list of her December events, which of course are all over with by now, since it’s taken me forever to post this (sorry about that, Tiva!). She told me that her group “tries to have a signing once or twice a month and we travel from Orlando to St. Pete and so on.”

In addition to the ten books she’s published, Wallon also has anthology titled Once Upon A Midnight Clear published though Dark Castle Lords and “we are featured in the Romantic Times Magazine, this issue. We were reviewed and given 3 out of 4 stars. My story Hollow Moon Castle was given rave reviews.”

Visit www.tivawallon.com for more info on Wallon, her books and the author tour group. Authors interested in joining Wallon’s book-signing email loop will want to head straight for this page.

news and notes:williams, mitchell, smith

• Jacksonville author Gary Williams (Fish of Souls, The God Tools) wrote to let me know that Half-Red Skull, his fourth novel, is now available. Here’s the description: “A serial killer is terrorizing Northeast Florida. The murderer’s callingcard: each victim has one-half of their face colored red. On Amelia Island, reporter Fawn Cortez is planning her wedding while trying to reconcile her father’s tragic death. When she learns of a startling ancestry, it will take her intuition and persistence to unravel the clues and understand the bizarre link between the severed skull of an 1800s Seminole Indian, the modern-day murders and her father’s lifelong search for a legendary treasure. But dark secrets abound. Fawn will soon discover that those she depends on the most . . . cast the deadliest shadows.” Visit www.authorgarywilliams.com or www.floridanovels.com for more info.
• Local author Maria Mitchell recently published a poetry book called Something On My Mind, which is available through AuthorHouse.com. The poems are “about love, life, friendships and God…and were written from the heart and soul.” To read an excerpt or get more info, click here.
• Local author Joy V. Smith is one of the children’s writers included in the brand new e-book I Wish Someone Had Told Me That! 64 Successful Children’s Authors Give You The Advice They Wish Someone Had Given Them. You can see a video preview at http://write4kids.com/wishbook.html. Read Smith’s interview with BestBookTour.com here.

2008 deep carnivale:a celebration of words set for september 20

Mark your calendars! The second annual Deep Carnivale:A Celebration of Words will be September 20, 2008.

“Deep Carnivale:A Celebration of Words is a daylong cultural arts event free and open to public. The event is a literary festival featuring established Florida authors, writers and poets plus the inclusion of new and emerging writers. The event is family-friendly and marketed to a diverse demographic that includes children, teenagers and adults of all ages and cultural backgrounds. The festival is scheduled for September 20, 2008, and will be concentrated at 9th Avenue and along 14th Street to Palm Avenue. Primary events will be programmed at Hillsborough Community College, El Pasjae, Cuban Club, and the Don Vicente de Ybor Inn. Related programming will be developed into the evening and occur at venues throughout the Ybor City Historical District possibly including King Corona, Czar, Tre Amici, James Joyce, among others.”

Visit www.deepcarnivale.com for more info.

happy holidays

Was kidnapped by Santa and am being forced to work in elves’ workshop. Cobbling shoes is hard work. Constant supply of cookies and milk help somewhat.

Hope to escape soon.