Tampa Book Buzz

local author neal schupbach has died

It’s with great sadness that I share the news that local author Neal Schupbach has died.

Neal A. Schupbach 50, of Tampa, Florida, died Thursday, December 13, 2007, in Tampa. He was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on July 9, 1957, to Paul H. and Phyllis G. (Greer) Schupbach. He was a U.S. Navy Pilot, a graduate of the University of Nebraska Lincoln and served 21 years in the U.S. Naval Reserve, retiring as Lt. CMDR. After active Naval service, Schupbach served as a pilot for Pan Am airlines in Europe, then as a pilot for Eastern Airlines and completed his career at World Airlines. He authored the book Flying the Canyons of the Sky.

Condolences or personal reflections may be made online at Roper and Sons Chapel.

I never met Neal, but we had corresponded by email a few times and he sent me a copy of his book a few months ago. He was a very nice person who lived an interesting, adventurous life. He will be missed.

local author valerie washington

Local author Valerie Washington wrote to let me know about her new book Soul Passion, a compilation of the stories Forever and Queen of the Jungle. “Forever exemplifies pain and struggles, while Queen of the Jungle embodies passion and fantasy. In Forever, Washington shares her thoughts and knowledge of personal pain and struggle in hopes of giving insight and comfort to those experiencing their own personal fight for life.” Visit Washington’s PublishAmerica page here.

book buzz:darkness falls by kyle mills

Darkness Falls by Kyle Mills

Have you ever wondered what would happen if the world’s supply of oil was suddenly unavailable? Author Kyle Mills has, and it’s scary as hell.

In Darkness Falls, bioterrorists have discovered a way to quickly wreak havoc and panic on a world-wide level: using a nasty strain of crude-oil-eating bacteria to wipe out the world’s oil fields. High gas prices are nothing compared to not having gas or oil at all. The inconvenience of useless individual automobiles is minor. Think about delivery trucks, military vehicles, barges, planes, fire trucks and ambulances. Without oil, grocery stores have nothing to sell, factories can’t use plastic in their products and medical personnel can’t rush to victims’ homes. There’s nowhere to go, no way to get there, and nothing we can do about it. Society breaks down and chaos ensues. The terrorists win.

Unless the good guys can stop them first, of course. Because genetic engineer-turned environmentalist Erin Neal had previously used similar bacteria to clean up toxic spills, he is now the only person with the knowledge and expertise to thwart the bioterrorists’ attack. Neal is a reluctant hero, tucked away in his desert home, quietly mourning the death of his environmental activist girlfriend. He sets aside his personal demons, however, to work with Homeland Security to try to trace the source of bacterial infestation and to minimize its effects. Neal discovers a tangled knot of conspiracy, lies and madness that is far worse than any personal demons he has.

Mills has done some amazing things with this book. Sure, he’s created a suspenseful thriller that’s fun to read. But he’s also presented a powerful ecological argument for living a conscious, earth-friendly lifestyle without being preachy, whiny and judgmental about it. (Darkness Falls inspired me far more than all the current “Go Green” campaigns and Al Gore combined.) Mills examines both sides of important, complex issues — global warming, energy dependence, activism, the U.S. military, consumerism, large corporations, the environmentalist movement, dependence on technology, social constructs — in a thoughtful and respectful manner. His characters are flawed and conflicted, which makes them realistic and compelling.

Darkness Falls entertained me, freaked me out and even inspired me a little. Pumping gas in my car will never be the same again, that’s for sure.

Book Buzzometer: A

You can read an excerpt of Darkness Falls here.

a glitch by any other name…

…is still annoying.

Damn computers and the glitches that go with them. After weeks of fighting over coding issues and database tables and other exciting things, my blog and I have declared a truce. The coding war is over. Regular posting will resume shortly.

upcoming events from local publishing company jimsam, inc.

Local publishing company JimSam, Inc. has several events coming up in the next couple of months, both in the Tampa Bay area and in Sarasota:

• Wednesday, January 9, 2 p.m. — Karen Card presentation; Seminole Library, USF St. Pete
• Friday, January 18, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Karen Card book signing; Circle Books, 478 John Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236, 941-388-4379
• Sunday, January 20, 1-3 p.m. — Jan Gidley book signing; Circle Books, 478 John Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236, 941-388-4379
• Friday, January 25, 5-8 p.m. — Karen Card book signing; Wahoo Mortgage, 2433 Central Ave., St. Pete, FL 33713, 727-522-0039; complimentary refreshments provided
• Friday, February 8, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Jim Cheatham book signing; Circle Books, 478 John Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236, 941-388-4379
• Friday, February 8, 1-3 p.m. — PZ Power book signing; Circle Books, 478 John Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236, 941-388-4379
• Sunday, February 10, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Terri Vazquez book signing; Circle Books, 478 John Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236, 941-388-4379
• Sunday, February 10, 1-3 p.m. — Michael Darling book signing; Circle Books, 478 John Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236, 941-388-4379
• Sunday, February 17, 1-3 p.m. — Stefanie Cole book signing; Circle Books, 478 John Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236, 941-388-4379
• Wednesday, February 20, 2 p.m. — Karen Card presentation; Gulf Beaches Library, Madera Beach

The Bay area events have been added to my Event Calendar page. Visit the JimSam events page for more info.

…hello 2008

It’s the fifth day of 2008 and I’ve already broken several of my new year’s resolutions. How about you?

Most of my resolutions can be summarized in one word: MORE.

I want to read more books, attend more local book/author events, meet more people. Get better at small talk for when I meet those people. Be healthier, happier, richer, nicer. Write more often. Be a better writer, better friend, better person. Laugh more, play more, enjoy life more, get out of the house more. Read more books — have I mentioned that one yet? It’s pretty high on the list.

THANK YOU all for being bored/crazy/interested enough to visit this blog. I appreciate all your email: the updates (whether your own event or something you saw in the paper and wanted to make sure I knew about), the questions (it’s a terrific ego boost that anyone wants my opinion), the invitations (wish I could say yes to them all), the jokes, the constructive criticism, the corrections, the holiday/birthday/get-well wishes, the suggestions and everything else.

I even appreciate the crazy person who posted an illegible rant — calling me a bitch, no less — on one of my social networking homepages. A lot of my blogger and online writer friends get hate mail, death threats, insulting/crazy emails, stalkers, marriage proposals, etc. (And book deals, speaking invitations, media attention…) I’m not eager to attract any crazies, but I’m relieved to finally have my first online insult out of the way. Hopefully my blogger badge will arrive in the mail soon.

Here’s to a happy, book-filled 2008 for us all!

goodbye 2007…

What a year! What a crazy, tumultuous, hectic, bizarre, interesting year. And I’m just talking about my personal life. (Ha ha.)

There are a few book-related items on the Best of 2007 and Worst of 2007 lists that I did for CrazedFanBoy.com. Here are a few other 2007 wrap-up lists from around the web to finish out the year:

• TIME’s top 10 fiction books
• The LA Times‘ list of favorite books of ‘07
• Entertainment Weekly’s list of the worst books of 2007
• The top ten books of 2007 according to the New York Times
• Boston WBUR’s On Point’s list of the year’s best books
• Pulp Secret’s list of worst comic books of ‘07
• SFFWorld’s favorite books of 2007
• The best book covers of ‘07 according to the Book Design Review
• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s blog The Book Page announced the World’s Worst Book Title this year