Tampa Book Buzz

news and notes:rant online game, wallon, martini, guzzo and greco

• Random House in the U.K. has an online game centered around Chuck Palahniuk’s book Rant. Click here to learn more.
• Local author Tiva Wallon wrote to let me know that there will be a group author event at the Clearwater Barnes and Noble (US 19 and Sunset Point Road) on June 8 from 2-4 p.m. The first 25 customers will get free goody bags.

  Wallon’s 11th book, Mr. Teddy Bear, will be released on July 24. It will be available as an e-book at www.thedarkcastlelords.com, with hard copies available by request. Here’s a description of her new book:

  Ted Dorn was one of the worlds most gifted men and everyone wanted a piece of him. Was it so wrong of him to pretend to be simple-minded when the woman of his dreams came into his life?

  Sara Collins was all about work and being left alone. When she moved into her new apartment she met the very handsome Teddy Bear and immediately came to the conclusion the lights were on but no one was home! What normal man had toys scattered all over his apartment? All he wanted to do was play!

  Sara couldn’t help but fall in love with Ted. He was warm and funny and made her feel things she thought were long since gone from her life. A terrible accident in Teddy Bear’s apartment took away Sara’s memory and her eyesight. Then a top secret microchip was stolen and the only common denominator was Sara. She always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Ted and his father had the FBI haul Sara away in cuffs. She was interrogated, accused of theft and espionage and left in tears. Deep in Ted’s heart he knew Sara was innocent. He’d jumped the gun partly because of his father’s suspicions. Some how he had to find a way to make Sara see he believed in her, trusted her and knew she was innocent.

  Ted had always been able to fix anything, until now when it involved Sara’s broken heart. He’d been called the Wizard so now was the time to work his magic.

  Can love fix what mistrust destroyed?

  Join Ted and Sara as they battle their way through broken hearts, lies, espionage and more.
  Visit www.tivawallon.com to learn more.

• A copy of Steve Martini’s new book Shadow of Power has just landed in my mailbox. Here’s the description that came with it: “Author and law professor Terrance Scarborough is controversial, to say the least. His latest book presents evidence that the roots of slavery were deeply and deliberately imbedded in the Constitution. In the midst of a highly charged book tour and mass public unrest, he announces the existence of a letter written by Thomas Jefferson (the “J Letter”) revealing a deep secret about slavery at the nation’s founding. However, on the day Terrance is set to reveal the document, he’s found murdered in a San Diego hotel room. The last to see him alive - a young hotel employee with unsavory connections and radical beliefs - is quickly arrested for the murder. As a favor to the boy’s father, protagonist Paul Madriani takes the case. Although it looks like an open-and-shut conviction, he begins an unrelenting search for the truth - uncovering a shocking set of clues that leads right to the Capital. As more astonishing conspiracies are revealed, Madriani must race against time to save his young client’s life, rewriting history in the process.” Learn more about Martini’s book here.
• Local filmmaker and writer Paul Guzzo has just been commissioned to write former Tampa mayor Dick Greco’s memoirs. I’ll keep you posted on any details I receive.