Tampa Book Buzz

quote of the day — for gene

“You can be at ease only with those people to whom you can say any damn fool thing that comes into your head, knowing they will respond in kind, and knowing that any misunderstandings will be thrashed out right now, rather than buried deep and given a chance to fester.”
— from Darker Than Amber, by John D. MacDonald

Today’s quote is in honor of my best friend Gene, who died a few days ago. He loved books and talking about books even more than I did. He loaned me all of his John D. MacDonald “Travis McGee” books about fifteen years ago and I never got around to giving them back. I’m glad now that I still have them.

I’ll get back to blogging soon. My heart is broken right now and I don’t feel much like writing at the moment.

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.

norman mailer has died

Pulitzer prize-winning author Norman Mailer (The Executioner’s Song) died today at age 84. The Guardian’s book blog has a nice tribute with some interesting links.

in memoriam:schneider, gallo, griffith, kempowski

• Children’s science book writer Nina Schneider (Science Fun With Milk Cartons) has died of a stroke at age 94.
• Travel writer Nick Gallo has died at age 57.
• Screenwriter and director Charles Griffith (Little Shop of Horrors) has died of a heart attack at age 77.
• German author and diarist Walter Kempowski (Das Echolot) has died of cancer at age 78.

robert jordan has died

Bestselling sci-fi/fantasy author Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time series) has died at age 58 of a rare blood disease.

in memoriam:umbral, hollies

• Spanish author Francisco Umbral (A Mortal Spring) has died from respiratory failure at age 72.

• Bestselling author and Methodist minister Dr. Linda H. Hollies (Sister Save Yourself! Direct Talk About Domestic Violence) died unexpectedly while on her recent book tour.

children’s author madeleine l’engle has died

Award-winning children’s author Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time) has died at age 88 of natural causes.  Although her writing spanned many genres, L’Engle was primarily known for her mythic, supernatural juvenile fiction series.

in memoriam:paley, nabb

Short-story writer and poet Grace Paley has died at age 84 of breast cancer.

British mystery writer and children’s author Magdelan Nabb has died at age 60 of a stroke.

writer/director melville shavelson has died

Oscar-nominated writer/director Melville Shavelson (Houseboat, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying P.S. You Can’t!) has died of natural causes at age 90.

in memoriam:forsell, sowards, whiting

• Swedish poet, playwright and author Lars Forsell has died at the age of 79.
• Screenwriter Jack B. Sowards (Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan) has died at the age of 78.
• Best-selling author and military historian Charles Whiting died this past week of renal failure at age 80.