April Brings Showers of Possibilities

 

If you're a writer you know how important it is to take advantage of every opportunity to improve your craft. Much of it comes from continued writing and reading, but learning from our peers also provides benefits. And this month brings us even more of those special opportunities. Read on.

• Join us in welcoming FWA Executive VP Arielle Haughee (pronounced Hoy) for this month's NE Florida Zoom workshop. Arielle is an editor, author, and consultant, and owner of Orange Blossom Publishing. She will present a session aimed at demystifying two of the major indie publishing
  
  platforms: KDP and IngramSpark. They offer similar services but have different benefits. In this workshop, Arielle will compare publishing costs, user-friendliness, book options, publishing requirements, and distribution. You'll learn which service is better for experienced indie authors, who provides better distribution for bookstores and libraries, and how to get started on each publishing platform. Previously an elementary teacher, Arielle is the author of The Complete Revision Workbook for Writers, the children’s books Grumbler, Joyride, and Pling’s Party, and the editor of the How I Met My Other anthology series. Use the link below to access the meeting on Saturday, April 24 at 10:30 a.m. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82062856008?pwd=K1ZrRkl5eVQwLzVBZElUMlFTcldTZz09 Meeting ID: 820 6285 6008 Passcode: 539126
• Last month, we teamed up for a joint meeting with the Orlando Area Writers Group and group leader Rik Feeney presented a session on "Creative Writing Techniques." In exchange for his presentation, Rik demanded reciprocity and we agreed that I would be his guest for his meeting on Wednesday, April 14 at 7:00 p.m. My presentation will be "Seven Secrets to Writing the Thriller." During my talk, you'll learn the basic conventions of this popular genre, how thriller writers keep readers on the edge of their seats. To participate in this hour of thrilling talk, just use the following link. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89086781161?pwd=dnkzS2VUSzR3OFF2SnJuSVVWUGJZdz09 Meeting ID: 890 8678 1161 Passcode: 195493
• A Gathering of Poets continues to meet outside in the Ponte Vedra Beach Library gazebo overlooking Bird Island. Poets gather on the first and third Thursday of the month at 2:00 p.m. Contact Sharon Scholl if you're interested in joining the group. Email her at sharonscholl527@comcast.net.
• The Amelia Island Writers will hold a special workshop on "How to Build Your Author Platform" on Thursday, April 22 at 12:00 noon at the Story and Song Bookstore Bistro. Nanette Najimy of Beansprout Productions will give an overview of effective ways to build or strengthen your author platform. Registration is limited; social distancing required. Contact Katherine Hoehn to RSVP: kat@katwritesandsnaps.com.
• First Coast Christian Writers meet on the third Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at Jacksonville's Maranatha Church.

And in other news:

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  We're saddened to report that prolific local author, and all-around nice guy, Walter J. Schenk, Jr. passed away on March 31. Walter wrote in many genres including poetry, stageplays, fiction, and nonfiction, winning multiple awards for his many projects. In 2018, he won FWA's Dahris Clair Memorial Award for his play, Hamlet, Reimagined. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, April 15 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Joseph's Historic Old Church at 4214 Loretto Road in Jacksonville.
• Find out how the pandemic has impacted how books are published, sold, and discovered during a special webinar panel discussion sponsored by IngramSpark. You may register for the April 14 presentation, "Covid-19 & The Book Publishing Industry: A Year in Review" by clicking here.
• Also on April 14 at 6:30 p.m., the Amelia Island Book Festival offers a free online presentation by bestselling author Steve Berry about his new Cotton Malone thriller, The Kaiser's Web. Registration is required. Find it here.
• The 2021 Royal Palm Literary Awards competition is nearing its cutoff point. Although the submission deadline is April 30, there is a limit of 500 submissions, and we have been alerted that they are getting close to that number. If you have a book, story, poem, or screenplay you had planned to enter, then there's no time like the present. Here's the link to register.
• The Authors League Fund has announced that money is available for struggling writers hit by the unexpected financial impacts of the past year. Writers experiencing hardship due to illness, COVID-related income loss, recent storms, and power outages, or other difficulties are encouraged to apply. Eligibility guidelines and a link to the application form are at www.authorsleaguefund.org/apply.
• The Florida Author Project has opened a competition for indie-published books by Florida authors. The novel should be in either adult or young adult genre, written by a Florida resident, and available in either ePUB or PDF file. Visit the site for more details.
• Paula Hilton served as group leader of the Clay County Writers for only a few months (replacing the inestimable Maureen Jung) when Covid shut things down. She has spent more time this past year with her family out of state and has decided she can no longer lead the group when it returns to in-person meetings. This leaves a void in Clay County that needs to be filled. If you live in Clay County and wish to see this group remain viable, I encourage you to contact me and we'll discuss the responsibilities of a group leader.
• Congratulations to retired naval officer and Fernandina Beach resident R. W. Herman for his newly released book, The Unopened Letter,  a coming-of-age book set during the Vietnam War.
• And kudos to Patricia Daly-Lipe on her historical, Miami's Yester'Years: It's Forgotten Founder, Locke Tiffin Highleyman. The book chronicles Highleyman's efforts at turning a swampy wilderness into a paradise.

Next month we'll welcome tech guru Nate Hoffelder talking about how to take your author website to the next level. Until then, I hope to see you at one of this month's Zoom sessions.

Cheers,
Vic

Vic DiGenti
FWA Regional Director

March Gladness

We're approaching the one-year anniversary of Pandemic Pandemonium, and I hope there's nothing but good news ahead. My wife and I have joined the ranks of the fully vaccinated and are counting the days until we can travel to visit loved ones again. That's one reason why I titled this blog post "March Gladness." The other reason is that we've continued to meet monthly via Zoom and receive excellent instruction and motivation to help us with our writing. As you'll see below, we have more great Zoom sessions in the months ahead, and I'll provide a hat tip to several of you who have been so productive during these months. So, read on.

• Tune in on Saturday, March 20 at 10:30 a.m for an eclectic session with Rik Feeney. Rik will present "Using Creative Techniques to Develop Story Ideas." We're billing this as a joint meeting of the Ponte Vedra Writers group and Rik's Orlando Area Writers group. Here's Rik's description of his presentation: What can you do to give your book some pizazz, a sense of uniqueness; literally
  
  make it stand out from the crowd? It has been said that “…there is nothing new under the sun. It has been already in the ages before us.” (Ecclesiastes 1:4-11). It is only the unique spin your imagination puts on the topic that will draw the reader’s interest. In this talk, author, book coach, and speaker, Rik Feeney will show several creativity techniques you can use to kick your writing up a notch and make your books truly unique. After the presentation, we'll have some Q&A time so please come willing to share your ideas on creativity with other writers and authors. 

        As always, our waiting room doors will open at 10:20 a.m., and once the meeting begins we ask that you please mute your microphone. Here's the link to participate in the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82590941347?pwd=WitFMEZKc0hvU0F1MWd1WjlGM2VIdz09

Meeting ID: 825 9094 1347

Passcode: 430670

• We have two more outstanding Zoom meetings scheduled for April and May. On Saturday, April 24, FWA Executive VP Arielle Haughee (Hoy) will bring her expertise to the topic "KDP or IngramSpark: Which is Right for You?" And for those of you thinking about creating or upgrading your author website tech guru, Nate Hoffelder will present "DIY Author Websites: From Blah to Boss." Nate's scheduled for Saturday, May 29. Watch this space for details of these meetings in coming blog posts.
• Most of our NE Florida FWA groups are still hibernating because our libraries have still not opened their meeting rooms to the public. One exception is the Amelia Island Writers group. On March 30, 3-5 pm at Story and Song Bookstore, the group holds its first general meeting of the year, aptly named First Impressions, with the topic being 15 Title Types. Several authors will discuss how they arrived at their titles. Due to space restrictions still in place, rsvp to Lee Ann at jimlee.shobe@gmail.com by March 25.
• A Gathering of Poets continues to hold socially distanced meetings on the first and third Thursdays of the month at 2:00 p.m. in the gazebo behind the Ponte Vedra Beach Library. Contact Sharon Scholl at sharonscholl527@comcast.net for more information.
• The First Coast Christian Writers group is making a change to meet once a month on the third Thursday of each month. The time (7:00 p.m) and location (Maranatha Church) remain the same.
• Jacksonville Public Library presents another Writer's Lab series, this time with author M. M. Schill. She will present a four-part Zoom workshop on selling genre short fiction. The series begins Saturday, March 13 and you can register here.

Competitions and Opportunities

• I hope many of you are submitting your work to this year's Royal Palm Literary Awards competition. This is a great opportunity to have your work judged and receive valuable insights from the judges' rubrics. The deadline is April 30, the same deadline holds for the annual FWA Collection. This year's theme is Footprints. Visit the new FWA website for all the details.
• The Masters Review Anthology is open now through March 28, offering a $1,000 prize to ten finalists. Visit this page for details.
• The Women's National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter, is holding an Agent and Pitch event called Virtual Pitch-O-Rama 2021 on Saturday, April 10 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Click here for details. And if you have a short piece of fiction or nonfiction ready they also have a literary contest open until the end of the month. Herre's the web page.
• Craft Literary has announced another short fiction contest for unpublished works up to 5,000 words. The deadline is May 2. There is $2,800 in prize money and a $20 submission fee.

A Tip of the Hat

While some of us have been binging on Bridgerton and Yellowstone (so a friend tells me) others have been busy completing and publishing their books. A tip of the hat and an atta-boy to these writers.

• Melissa Kosciuszko (writing as Melissa Koslin) co-wrote a Christian romantic suspense novel with her former agent, Mike Nappa. Publisher Revell is offering a limited number of free copies in exchange for an honest review on Amazon and Goodreads. The novel, Never Miss, involves a former CIA sniper and bioterrorism. Contact Melissa at activevoice09@gmail.com if you're interested.
• Retired US Navy officer, physician, and prolific author Bill Yancey has published another novel. Exploded View: Nightmare Cruise takes us aboard the luxury liner Marilyn Monroe for a voyage that turns deadly.
• Dr. Debora G de Farias has published Standing Tall, historical fiction about a woman who beats the odds to become Argentina's first female physician.
• Neuropsychologist Dr. Norman Plovnick published a concise and easy-to-read guide to better mental health, AIYOBI: Act In Your Own Best Interest—Five Principles to Live by Because There is No Future in Staying the Same (Windrusher Hall Press).

Congratulations to these and all the other productive writers in NE Florida. Let me know if you have a recently published book and I'll highlight it in a future blog post. Until then, stay safe and keep writing.

Cheers,

Vic

Vic DiGenti

FWA Regional Director