FWA August 2018 Post

Not that I have a one-track mind, but everyone seems to have had something to say about the heat, be that real or metaphorical heat. Ronald Reagan said, "When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat." Dante Alighieri, of Dante's Inferno fame, is quoted as saying, "Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The Eternal." And, of course, President Harry Truman famously said, "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen." Yogi Berra's take was, "It's not the heat, it's the humilty."

Enough with the heat quotes. Let's get on with the FWA show.

• Are you wondering what's happening at the River City Writers in August? Ask Gregg Golson what he has planned for the Tuesday, August 14 meeting at the SE Branch Library off Gate Parkway. The meeting will commence at 7:00PM.
• There will be no meeting of the Clay County Writers this month. Look for them to reconvene in September.
• Swim on over to the Writers by the Sea meeting on Thursday, August 16. This month's meeting location has been changed to the island Art Association's Education Classroom at 18 N. 2nd Street in Fernandina Beach at 6:30PM. Award-winning author and editor Emily Carmain is on hand to present, "Editing Your Prospects of Success." Emily will point out many of the common flaws found in too many manuscripts sent to publishers and agents.
• The doors opens at 10AM at the St. Augustine Main Library, and members of the Ancient City Writers flood in on Saturday, August 18 to hear author and former NCIS Special Agent Jeff Walton. Jeff is the author of Final Departure: Death is Never on Time, and spent nearly 30 years fighting crime, including catching spies and terrorists around the world.
• While we may all want to write a bestselling novel, there are myriad other ways to make money as a writer. On Saturday, August 25, 10:30AM at the Ponte Vedra Library, the Ponte Vedra Writers welcome Brad Kuhn and his workshop, "So You Want to Be a Freelancer." Brad will show us how to make a good living writing things that other people don't want to write, and teaches you how to fish where the fish are.

But that's not all ...

• Today, Tuesday, July 31 is the deadline for early conference registration. Tomorrow the conference fee increases and you will have to pay extra for the Thursday evening "Boot Camp" workshops, which cover creative nonfiction, Facebook advertising, poetry, and the opening pages of your novel. So don't delay. Register now!
• And while you're registering you should consider attending Chuck Sambuchino's full-day workshop, "Everything You Need to Know About Agents, Submissions, Queries, and First Pages." Registration for this Celebrity Workshop includes lunch and benefits the Florida Writers Foundation.
• The Florida Heritage Book Festival has announced that Tim Dorsey is its 2018 Literary Legend. There will be a reception to honor Tim on Saturday, September 14, preceding the free Book Festival at Flagler College on September 15. The day-long writers conference is also on the 14th, and features seven presenters, including Laura Lee Smith, James O. Born, and Jeff Klinkenburg. Visit the FHBF website for more information.

I'll add one more heat quotation to end this month's NE Florida FWA blog post. This one is by Steven Wright, who asks, "If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?"

Cheers,

Vic

Vic DiGenti

FWA Regional Director

2018 Conference Faculty Chair

July 2018 Post

Glenn Frey had it right when he sang "The Heat Is On!" And not just on the streets, but throughout the nation with record highs. A good time to enjoy an air conditioned writing room. Am I right?

Despite the heat many of you will be visiting one of the FWA writers groups here in NE Florida, so read on to find out specifics.

• Gregg Golson leads the River City Writers. They meet the second Tuesday of the month at the SE Regional Library off Gate Parkway. The next meeting is Tuesday, July 10 at 7PM. Send Gregg a query email for details.
• The Clay County Writers are still enjoying a summer break. Meetings will resume in August.
• Writers by the Sea meets on the third Thursday of each month at 6:30PM at the Amelia Island Museum of History in Fernandina Beach. Truth in advertising requires me to say that this is not really "by the Sea," but close enough. Nadine is putting the July 19 program together and will send you information when you contact her at nvaughanwilliams@gmail.com.
• You can visit the nation's oldest city on Saturday, July 21 and take in a meeting of the Ancient City Writers. They meet at St. Augustine's Main Library at 10AM. I'm guessing Nancy Quatrano will have information about this month's meeting. 
• Science fiction/fantasy author Tim Robinson discusses how to use real world knowledge to create your fictional worlds and characters. Tim is the featured speaker at this month's Ponte Vedra Writers meeting, Saturday, July 28 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ponte Vedra Beach Library. 

In other news ...

• Cheri Roman will lead a critique group at the Florida Writers Conference in October. This small group of ten people will have their ten pages critiqued, as well as critique one another's work. The class will fill up quickly, so you might want to register for the conference now, if you haven't already, and register for Cheri's workshop.
• The early bird conference discount is in place through the end of this month, and it includes Thursday night's Boot Camp Workshop.
• Are you ready to pitch your book to an agent, editor or publisher? Then you have another good reason to attend this year's Florida Writers Conference. You can make an appointment to sit down with agents from Writers House, Fuse LiteraryAgency or Folio Literary Managerment. Or speak with acquiring editors from University Press of Florida and St. Martin's Press, as well as publishers from Twisted Road Publications and Sunbury Press Books.
• We've told you before about the outstanding faculty at this year's conference, including National Guest of Honor Linda Fairstein, Florida Writer of the Year Heather Graham, and Florida Poet Laureate Peter Meinke. But good news bares repeating, doesn't it? And don't forget Chuck Sambuchino's Celebrity Workshop, "Everything You Need to Know About Agents, Submissions, Queries, and First Pages."
• Northeast Florida Sisters in Crime chapter meets Saturday, July 7 at 10AM at the SE Branch Regional Library to hear from author Robbie Cox on cross promoting your book.

I intended to end this edition with a couple of lame joke a la Johhny Carson's "How hot is it?" routine. For example, It's so hot that cows are giving evaporated milk. Or chickens are laying boiled eggs. Why don't you send me your favorites and I'll share them in August's post, when I'm sure it will still be so hot.

Until then, stay cool and keep on writing.

Vic

Vic DiGenti

FWA Regional Director