Tampa Book Buzz

news and notes:neal, cheatham, odom

• The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 by Julie and Mike Neal was recently selected as the Grand Prize Travel Guidebook in the National Indie Excellence 2008 Awards. “The program is dedicated to “celebrating and promoting the outstanding work of independent publishers and authors.” The winners will be announced in the national media and at BookExpo later this month.”
• The first edition of local author Jim Cheatham’s Just One More has sold out. JimSam, Inc. has recently received the shipment of the second printing and Cheatham’s book is available again through the publisher and bookstores.
• Local author Ersula Knox Odom’s book At Sula’s Feet has also gone into its second printing. Odom has also started a blog “dedicated to collecting information about places, things, actions taken and deeds done in honor of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.”

two upcoming events at the clearwater main library

Saw some upcoming events posted at C-Scapes.livejournal.com:

• Author to Visit Clearwater Main Library — Author Lynn Marie Smith will discuss her book Rolling Away:My Agony with Ecstasy and will lecture on the dangers of drug abuse and addiction Monday, September 17, at 7 p.m. at the Clearwater Main Library, 100 N. Osceola Ave.

If you’re not familiar with C-Scapes, you should be.

book launch party for jim cheatham on may 3

Received via email:

You are cordially invited to attend a very special event!  Jim Cheatham will launch his newly released memoir, Just One More, on Thursday, May 3, from 6-8 p.m.  Join us at the University of Tampa, John Sykes School of Business building, main entrance reception hall.

Complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served.  Please contact us at 813-748-9523 if you have any questions or need any additional information.  Please feel free to pass this invitation along and invite your friends.  This is also a great networking opportunity as many Tampa Bay professionals will be attending.

Book Price: $19.95 for this first-run special edition.  Due to a high number of reserved copies, the special edition is expected to sell out during the launch.  Contact Marcia Freespirit at mfreespirit(at)jimsaminc.com to reserve your autographed copy now.

Jim Cheatham, as CEO of the Lionshare Group, has been advising and consulting for over 30 years for small to mid-sized companies with planning and structuring their growth. His experience includes President of one of the first and largest Wendy’s franchises; Director of Marketing for Holiday Inns; and currently Founder/CEO of Ragin’ Café of America. He is also on the Advisory Board for the Entrepreneur & Family Business, Sykes School of Business at the University of Tampa and Advisory Council Leader to Investment Banking Firms in New York.

Visit http://www.jimsaminc.com/ for more info.

local author marcia freespirit’s book launch party last week

I wasn’t able to attend local author Marcia Freespirit’s book launch party last week, but according to the press release I received, it was a success: 

Tampa Bay author Marcia Freespirit has much to be happy about today.  Her memoir Gladwoman was launched last night at the National Wall Art Gallery in downtown.  The event was such a success that her first edition of the book sold out.

The launch was held almost one year to the day that she quit her job to write her own story.  With well over 100 people in attendance at her launch, she is probably still celebrating her success.  “The support from the community, as well as from my friends and family has just been overwhelming,”  Freespirit admits.

Her own story is one that has been made up of many hardships, and this makes the success of her book launch that much sweeter.  Freespirit recounts surviving domestic violence, damaging relationships, anorexia and more.  Her gritty tale is told in an informal, easy-to-read style.

Priscilla Mixon, past Executive Director of the Mary Martha House in Ruskin (an abused women’s shelter) states, “So often when one does not love oneself, low self esteem becomes self destruction. Marcia tells how she survived and turned her life around.”

From sadness to success, from tragedy to triumph; Marcia’s goals for the future are broad.  She plans to re-vamp the book cover and subsequently distribute a second edition of her book.  In addition, as CEO of JimSam Inc, Tampa Bay’s newest publishing company, she is seeking other talented authors looking to publish their books as well. 

Freespirit offers the following advice,  “At JimSam Inc., we say: ‘We help women, businesses and authors reach heights not yet imagined.’  You have to dream the impossible to live it.”

JimSam Inc. is Tampa Bay’s newest publisher.  Authors retain full rights to their written works of art while receiving vital assistance and guidance.  We ensure the look, feel and format of the end product are all in alignment with the creator’s intent.   Contact us at 813-748-9523 for more information.

The website (www.jimsaminc.com) should be up soon.

upcoming events:mcree, schupbach

• Local author David McRee will sign copies of his book Florida Beaches:Finding Your Paradise on the Lower Gulf Coast on February 25 from 2-4 p.m. at the Largo Public Library.
• Local author Neal Schupbach sent me some more info on his upcoming event:

On Saturday, February 17, Hillsborough Florida Writers hosts its monthly meeting at Barnes and Noble in Carrollwood.  Our membership drive comes under the banner Florida Writers Helping Florida Writers.  In the words of a popular food network show, we will have “good eats.” Invite anyone you know who wants to learn or polish their craft.  It is a wonderful opportunity to network.  All are welcome.

Our featured speaker is Neal Schupbach, a self-published author who is retired from the Navy.  His book Flying the Canyons of the Sky is a memoir which describes what he witnessed from his global exploits.  He saw the crumbling of the Berlin Wall and the shattering aftermath communism left behind.  You will see an eighty-five pound remnant of the Berlin Wall.

Self-publishing is becoming more mainstream.  But to do it successfully, it’s important to understand the do’s and don’ts.  Neal Schupbach will share from first-hand experience what works and what to avoid.  We will also have the luxury of having Billy Ashby, a representative from A and A Printing to show us samples of books printed.

10 a.m. — noon, Carrollwood Barnes and Noble (11802 N. Dale Mabry).  Following the meeting, those interested will gather at Perkin’s Restaurant for good food and good fun.

Visit the FWA website for more info.

local author’s marcia freespirit’s book launch party march 8

Local author Marcia Freespirit is launching her new memoir Gladwoman on Thursday, March 8, from 5-8 p.m. at the National Wall Art Gallery.  This event is free and open to the public.

The National Wall Art Gallery is located at 401 N. Ashley Drive. Parking is available at the parking garage on the east side of the block.  The entrance to the parking garage is on Tampa Street next to Kinko’s.

Contact Freespirit at 813-748-9523 if you have any questions or need additional information.  Limited copies of the first run special edition of Gladwoman will be available for $12.95.  Due to a high number of reserved copies, the special edition is expected to sell out.  Email Freespirit at ms1free(at)aol.com to reserve your autographed copy.

Freespirit’s website www.jimsaminc.com/ will be up soon.

local author neal schupbach

Neal Schupbach, author of Flying the Canyons of the Sky:Navigation of an Aviator’s Soul, wrote to let me know that he will be speaking to the Florida Writers Association, Hillsborough Chapter, at 10 a.m. on February 17 at the Carrollwood Barnes and Noble.

His website describes Flying the Canyons of the Sky as “the true-life adventure of becoming a Naval Aviator-airborne prosecutions of the Cold War, Soviet submarines, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and life inside many third-world countries. High technology, wealth, and power are confronted by the fallen, the deprived, and the destitute within the cold walls of sanctified indifference.”

Schupbach told me via email, “I flew the world for 24 years and wrote to remember the less fortunate, the three billion people life left behind.”

Visit Schupbach’s website to learn more.

local author and publisher marcia freespirit

Talk about amazing coincidences…

After seeing an article in the Creative Tampa Bay newsletter, I recently began drafting a post for TBB about local author Marcia Freespirit’s new publishing company.  Later that day, I received an email with the subject line “Eric Strum referred me to you” from a local author named … you guessed it … Marcia Freespirit. (Thanks, Eric!) Here’s Freespirit’s press release:

JimSam Inc., Tampa Bay’s newest book publisher, has opened its doors.  JimSam Inc. welcomes two new authors to its lineup in 2007.  Kristi Kennedy, CEO of NuLife Solutions, and Jim Cheatham, CEO of The Lionshare Group, will be releasing new titles by mid-2007.

This comes on the tail of great success of other budding authors such as Christopher Paolini of Eragon fame.  Christopher began writing this now famous fairytale in his young teens.  With the help of his family he self-published the book, which was later picked up by a major publisher and consequently made into a major movie.  The author is now only 23 years old.

JimSam Inc. offers publishing services to authors who need assistance writing their own stories of success and triumph.  With five books to be released in 2007, JimSam Inc. is set to become one of Tampa Bay’s premier book publishers.

Kristi Kennedy will release the V Factor, Truths, Lies and Myths of Hormone Replacement Therapy.  With her own experiences and over 7 years in the field, Kristi’s wealth of research and information will undoubtedly provide valuable information that will change the lives of many men and women. Yes, men too!

Jim Cheatham’s experiences and tremendous wealth of knowledge in the business sector will be compiled in his book, Just One More:The Non-Textbook Approach to Success for the Entrepreneur.

Marcia Freespirit, CEO of JimSam Inc., will also be releasing her memoirs, Gladwoman, in February and has two additional books in the works. JimSam Inc. is located in Riverview at 10818 Cedar St. and Marcia Freespirit can be reached at 813-748-9523.  The company website, www.jimsaminc.com, will debut in mid-January 2007. Details about Freespirit’s upcoming book launch party will be posted here soon.Details about Freespirit’s upcoming book launch party will be posted here soon.

Details about Freespirit’s upcoming book launch party will be posted here soon.

book buzz:know where you going? you gotta know where you been! by barbara j. sorey

Know Where You Going? You Gotta Know Where You Been! by Barbara J. Sorey ISBN 978-0-595-37610-0

Barbara J. Sorey’s love of history, family and geneology is evident in her book Know Where You Going? You Gotta Know Where You Been!, in which she shares stories of her life as an African-American growing up in Clearwater, Florida, during segregation. Sorey writes about family vacations, how her parents met, the excitement of moving to a new home, the bonds of family and neighborhood, and her experiences at church and school. She often provides too much information for the casual reader, however, with passages like:

The Davis family lived next door to us. Mr. Jessie Davis was the head of the family. His wife’s name was Sally. They had two daughters, Alma and Gertrude. Gertrude, the eldest daughter, was married to Mr. Fred. They had no children. Alma, it seemed, was always between marriages and had a whole lot of children! Her eldest children were two boys around the same age as Jeannette and I, Ricky and Robert Samuel. The other children, Larry, Thad, Alma, Sally and Jessica, were born later. There were two houses on their property. Mr. and Mrs. Davis lived in the main house with Alma and her kids. Gertrude and Mr. Fred lived in the second house behind the main house.

Such detail, while admirable, makes this book a sometimes-difficult read for someone who is unfamiliar with Sorey’s family or neighborhood. Those readers who share this familiarity, or who have a strong interest in local history, will find Know Where You Going? You Gotta Know Where You Been! to be a richly-detailed trip down memory lane.

Book Buzz Barometer: C-

Sorey blogs at http://goldanddiamond.spaces.live.com/.

book buzz:at sula’s feet by ersula knox odom

 At Sula’s Feet by Ersula Knox Odom, ISBN 189209648X 

The me that is too shy to be spoken
Comes alive on stage

I opened At Sula’s Feet, author Ersula Knox Odom’s story of her beloved grandmother Sula and her memories of growing up in the rural South, expecting to find short stories and essays. Instead, I found poetry.  Funny, mesmerizing, nostalgic, moving poetry!

Thankfully, Odom avoids strained rhyming schemes and forced patterns and instead simply writes from her heart.  Some of her poems are only a sentence or two, others are two pages; some rhyme, some don’t; some are silly and others are deeply profound. Lessons Odom learned from her grandmother Sula include how to survive the loss of a child (Black Grandmother, Bearable Grief), the importance of hard work (Making Butter, Last Night Home), the meaning of faith (Church on Sunday, Goodbye Auntie), and the importance of family love and support (The Way To My Heart, Greetings That Matter).

Reading At Sula’s Feet made me recall long-forgotten memories of my Southern grandmother, Mema, and my own experiences with Southern cuisine (How Do You Like Your Grits?) and hearing rain on a roof (Tin Roof). But Odom’s poetry will speak to you, even if you don’t have a sweet and spunky Southern grandmother of your own.  Her reflections on Sula’s life lessons are touching, indelible and show what a great teacher her grandmother really was.

The greatest joy
Of an only child’s day
Is the sound of
A new child with which to play.

Book Buzz Barometer: A+ 

Odom’s website is http://www.sulatoo.com/.