According to my friend Google, there are 323 songs containing the word SUMMER in the title. We all have our favorites, I'm sure. From Summertime to The Boys of Summer to Hot Fun in the Summertime, these songs help us celebrate a more laid-back time, possibly when we were young and we'd put school and homework behind us for a few months. As adults, summer still evokes memories of backyard barbecues, family vacations, and days at the beach.
Today, we can say summer is a time to move forward with our lives after many months of pandemic-fed apprehension. And as writers, we can use this time to replenish ourselves and discover new ways to capture those stories bouncing around in our heads.
This summer also means most FWA writers groups are returning to a more normal schedule. Keep reading to see what's happening in NE Florida for area writers.
- Along with the heat and humidity, summer has brought change to NE Florida in the form of leadership for several writers groups. First, I'm sorry to report that Linda Feist has resigned from her position as group leader for Jacksonville's River City Writers. Linda is dealing with serious family issues so please join me in sending good wishes her way. While Linda didn't have a chance to really get started leading the group because of the pandemic shut-down, I want to thank her for volunteering and picking up the baton to keep the group moving forward. This leads me to ask who will be the next volunteer to take the baton of leadership? The group had been meeting at the SE Regional Library off Gate Parkway on the second Thursday of the month. Now that the libraries have opened their meeting spaces, it's a good time to schedule the meetings. If you are interested in being a group leader or have questions about a group leader's responsibilities, please email me at vicdig@mac.com.
- The Ancient City Writers resume in-person meetings at St. Augustine's Main Library on Saturday, July 17 at 10:00 a.m. Rik Feeney is the guest speaker and he'll discuss media kits for authors.
- Amelia Island Writers meets Tuesday, July 20 for their third annual Summer Camp for Adults. Our project is titled "The Pebble," and it involves creative writing to prompts. Summer Camp will be held at the Amelia Island History Museum, 5-7 pm. RSVP to Lee Ann, jimlee.shobe@gmail.com by July 17.
- The Clay County Writers group is part of the other change previously announced. Author Melanie Pronia is the new leader for the group, which now meets at the Orange Park Senior Center, 414 Stowe Avenue in Orange Park. The group meets on Wednesday, July 21 at 3:15 p.m. and Cyd Hoskinson, a veteran news reporter with WJCT-FM, will talk about all the authors she's interviewed over her long career. This is a good time to learn how to best prepare for an interview about your book.
- After hosting more than a dozen virtual writers' meetings via Zoom over the past year-and-a-half, I'm avoiding the Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran—1958) and decided to enjoy Those Lazy-Hazy Days of Summer (Nat King Cole—1963) by taking July and August off. So there will be no meeting of the Ponte Vedra Writers until Saturday, September 11 at the Ponte Vedra Beach Branch Library. But we're kicking off our in-person meetings with a Big Bang by welcoming Heather Whittaker as our first speaker. Heather is a developmental editor, author, writing coach, and fantastic speaker. If you attended either the 2017 or 2018 Florida Writers Conferences you probably attended one or more of Heather's standing-room-only workshops. She packs them in. Her topic is one of strategic importance to all writers, and that is "The Opening Fifteen Pages." Watch this space for more details.
And in other news:
- Get your poetry fix at the bi-monthly meetings of A Gathering of Poets, back at the Ponte Vedra Beach Branch Library on the first and third Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. All poets welcome.
- If you're an F. Scott Fitzgerald fan, specifically of his acclaimed novel, The Great Gatsby, you'll want to join the Jacksonville Public Library's virtual Lit Chat on Tuesday, July 6 at 1:00 p.m. I'm moderating a discussion with historian and author Richard Webb Jr. about his book, Boats Against the Current–The Honeymoon Summer of Scott and Zelda. Fitzgerald fans, historians, and devotees have for decades investigated and debated the origins of the Gatsby story and settled on Great Neck, Long Island, where Scott and Zelda lived for a time, as providing the spark for the novel. But Webb, after reading an article in The New Yorker proposing that Westport, CT provided the true inspiration for the book, embarked on a years-long investigative journey to find the truth. The book reads like a fascinating mystery story, and you'll learn about Scott and Zelda's five-month honeymoon stay in Westport and the reclusive multi-millionaire who lived nearby and threw elaborate parties just like Gatsby. Click here to read more about the Lit Chat and to register for the event.
- Here’s some good news for readers and writers: Jacksonville’s daily newspaper, The Florida Times-Union, is offering you an opportunity to be published on a regular basis as a book reviewer. Sunday book page editor Brandy Hilboldt Allport is seeking a few more reviewers to read and review current releases in both fiction and nonfiction. Your payment is in books and the experience and exposure you receive by appearing in print before tens of thousands of readers. Longtime reviewer Mims Cushing has all the details about how to select and obtain books. Contact her for more information at mimspvb@me.com.
- I don't know how many of you are on LinkedIn, but I've recently been receiving notices of job openings for writers. Here's a link to the latest openings in that field.
- And here's the recording link to the last Zoom session with Nancy Cohen discussing how to turn your book into an audiobook in case you missed it. https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/W4PQFN5pYJDX4sXKysNUuhuoRWIMdHBP0P_tNn-Mq72vwt6F2KCH4t7UrVA97Cxn.GJhfrjEj7c8pKAJT Passcode: E0#q@jrM
Cheers,
Vic
Vic DiGenti
FWA Regional Director
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