February Blog Post

“The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read." ~ Abraham Lincoln

Honest Abe knows what he's talking about, and if he was still around he'd be happy to know so many people are writing books these days. And FWA is still here helping to smooth the way for writers.

Two of our FWA writers groups will not have meetings this month. River City Writers is taking Valentines Day off—awww—and those pesky income tax people are taking over the Ancient City Writers' meeting room. Both will return in March, although the Ancient City Writers will shift to other St. Johns County Libraries for a few months due to renovations at the Main Library.

Here's what the other groups have to offer this month:

• Clay County writers meet on Wednesday, February 15 at 6:15 p.m. at the Orange Park Library. Guest speaker is journalist and travel writer Kathleen Walls. Her topic, "It's Not All Glitz and Glamour, But it is Rewarding." Find out how to keep all the balls in the air: writing, travel, blogging and more.
• Writers by the Sea gathers at the Amelia Island Museum of History on Thursday, February 16 at 6:00 p.m. Attendees will be invited to wade into the memoir-writing waters with FWA Regional Director Vic DiGenti and learn why he says, "Life is Like a River."
• Wondering why some writers sell more books than others? It's usually a game of numbers, and when you attend the Ponte Vedra Writers meeting on Saturday, February 18 you'll hear Susan Kiernan-Lewis explain why, "The Key to Increased Book Sales is Writing Faster." The meeting will start at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library.
• FWA affiliate First Coast Christian Writers meets each Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at the Oakleaf Christian Fellowship on Lake Grey Boulevard.

There are two FWA critique groups in our region. They are:

• Serivilous Panerians (yes, that's their name) meets at Panera Bread at St. Johns Town Center on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 6:30 p.m. Cheri Roman is the group leader, but when last we checked they were at their maximum.
• Townie Critics is a fairly new critique group, also meeting at Panera Bread in the Town Center every other Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Krys Fenner is the group leader and she says they're still accepting writers of any genre. 

And in other news:

• Florida Sisters in Crime meets at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 4 at the SE Branch Library.
• First Coast Romance Writers meets Saturday, February 11 at 10:15 a.m. at the West Regional Library on Chaffee  Road. They will be hosting a panel of bestselling authors on "Choices, Choices, Choices – Traditional, Indie & Hybrid Authors Tell All." 
• The Amelia Island Book Festival kicks off on Friday, February 17 with an 8:30 a.m. workshop by Steve Berry, "Lessons from a Bestseller." That evening the Author Face-Off Gala Dinner brings together David Baldacci, Steve Berry, Lara Adrian, Mary Kay Andrews, Joseph Finder and R. L. Stine. There's much more including Saturday's Author Expo. Visit the website for all the details.
• Don't forget the Royal Palm Literary Awards competition is now open for submissions, and the Collections, "What a Character," will open tomorrow, February 1.
• And "What a Character!" is also the theme of the 2017 Florida Writers Conference, October 19 - 22. You'll be hearing much more about the conference soon as we unveil our National Guest of Honor, the Florida Writer of the Year and the Celebrity Workshop presenter. This will be one writers conference you don't want to miss. Stay tuned.
• Poets, you're invited to attend a Gathering of Poets critique group meeting on the first and third Thursday of each month at 2:00 p.m. at the Ponte Vedra Library.
• And on a sad note, we're sorry to hear of the passing of one of our First Coast writers. Linda Foley, a retired forensic psychologist who used her professional background to write a pair of mysteries, passed away yesterday.
• Tony Timbol has started a writing group that will meet once a month at 7:00 p.m. at Jason's Deli, 4375 Southside Blvd. The first meeting is on Tuesday, February 21. Here's a link to their Facebook page, and you may contact Tony for more information.

Since we began with a quotation about books, it's only fitting that we end with one as well.

"Whenever you read a good book, it's like the author is right there, in the room, talking to you, which is why I don't like to read good books."  -~ Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

Cheers,

Vic

Vic DiGenti

FWA Executive Vice President

FWA Regional Director

Faculty Chair, 2017 Florida Writers Conference