author connie may fowler is coming to tampa

Award-winning author -- and Tampa native -- Connie May Fowler is coming to town. She will hold a novel-writing seminar on March 27 in Tampa in collaboration with the Henry B. Plant Museum and the Arts Council of Hillsborough County.

Tampa is also the site of the launch of Fowler's new book How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly at Mise en Place (Lafayette Room) on April 3 from 4-6 p.m. Inkwood Books will handle book sales.

Here's the press release:

Acclaimed author Connie May Fowler will be in Tampa March 27, conducting a one-day novel writing seminar. Held at University of Tampa’s Reese Theater in the Vaughn Center, the seminar will cover many topics, including how to begin your novel; how to develop characters, plot, arc, and conflict; handling point of view, and the business of writing.

Fowler, who grew up in Tampa, has written seven highly lauded books—one memoir and six novels. Her latest, How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly, will be published April 2, 2010. The nationwide launch takes place in Tampa on April 3. Fowler is best known for Before Women had Wings, her award-winning novel set in Tampa, which Oprah Winfrey produced into an Emmy-winning film. Fowler penned the screenplay.

The seminar is being held in collaboration with the Henry B. Plant Museum and the Arts Council of Hillsborough County. Tuition is $150 before or by February 28 and $160 after that date. To reserve a spot (seating is limited), email your reservation to mail[at]writingbelowsealevel.com.

Fowler told me via email that when her publisher asked her where she wanted to launch the book, "for some reason--just something in my heart--told me that I needed to launch it in my hometown."

For more info on either the seminar or the Tampa launch of Fowler's new book How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly, visit www.conniemayfowler.com.

the joy of reading

I'm back home now after spending a few days in Georgia with my mom following her heart attack last week. Thanks for the emails and messages from those of you who saw my posts on Facebook. (My mom's doing well, all things considered, and is back at home.)

Over the last few days, I've come to appreciate and enjoy my love of reading more than ever before. Reading has always been a comfort, a hobby, a routine, a passion, a part of my every-day life, but recently I realized how thankful I am for the benefits of reading. I read while sitting next to my mother's hospital bed, passing the time until she woke up. When my mom was awake, I'd entertain her by reading her the latest Hollywood gossip from some trashy tabloid magazines. When I'd exhausted all of those, I looked up her favorite actors online and read her their biographies. When hospital visiting hours were over, I walked the aisles of the local bookstore to cheer myself up. When I couldn't sleep late at night, I'd crack open one of my recent bookstore purchases.

The past few days would have been far more miserable, lonely and boring if I didn't love to read as much as I do. Thanks, Mom, for passing your love of reading on to me.

january book releases

Thanks to the Book Swap of Carrollwood's monthly newsletter, I now know about some of the books being released this month:

HARDCOVER:

January 5:
Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler
Impact by Douglas Preston
The Wolf at the Door by Jack Higgins
Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky

January 12:
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
I, Sniper by Stephen Hunter
Treasure Hunt by John Lescroart

January 26:
Blood Ties by Kay Hooper
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ADVENTURE/SUSPENSE:

January 5:
Innocence by Hosp, David
A Knife Edge: A Thriller by Rollins, David

January 26:
Dearly Devoted Dexter by Lindsay, Jeff
Max: A Maximum Ride Novel by Patterson, James
Still Life by Fielding, Joy
The Scarecrow by Connelly, Michael
The Silent Man by Berenson, Alex
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BEST SELLER:

January 5:
Renegade by Mann, Catherine
Sexy as Hell by Johnson, Susan

January 26:
Chasing Harry Winston by Weisberger, Lauren
Curse of the Spellmans by Lutz, Lisa
Dead by Midnight by Barton, Beverly
Down River by Harper, Karen
McKettricks of Texas: Tate by Miller, Linda Lael
On Fire by Neggers, Carla
One Day at a Time by Steel, Danielle
Original Sin by Brennan, Allison
The Cinderella Deal by Crusie, Jennifer
Crossroads by Plain, Belva
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HISTORICAL ROMANCE:

January 5:
Lessons from a Scarlet Lady by Wildes, Emma

January 19:
The Truth about Lord Stoneville by Jeffries, Sabrina

January 26:
A Highlander's Homecoming by Mayhue, Melissa
Angel's Peak by Carr, Robyn
Ravishing in Red by Hunter, Madeline
To Tame a Dangerous Lord by Jordan, Nicole
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PARANORMAL ROMANCE:

January 5:
Bone Magic by Galenorn, Yasmine
Come Hell or High Water: A Broken Heart Novel by Bardsley, Michell
Death's Mistress: A Midnight's Daughter Novel by Chance, Karen
Inked by Chance, Karen
Naked Dragon: A Works Like Magick Novel by Blair, Annette
Smolder by Morel, Melina
The Taking by McCarthy, Erin
Wicked Enchantment by Bast, Anya

January 19:
Succubi Like It Hot by Myles, Jill

January 26:
Nightwalker by Graham, Heather
Spider's Bite: An Elemental Assassin Book by Estep, Jennifer
Twice as Hot by Showalter, Gena
Bone Crossed by Briggs, Patricia
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NON-FICTION:

January 5:
Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny by Orman, Suze

So many books, so little time!

great opening lines:how to love like a hot chick by jodi lipper and cerina vincent

The first thing we want to say to you is that you are a Hot Chick. Somewhere between the bastard who never called you after your fantastic first date and that old boyfriend whose head would do a complete one-eighty to check out any passing blond, you just forgot. Or maybe you never knew that you were hot. That’s okay. We forgot for a while there ourselves.

-- How to Love Like a Hot Chick:The Girlfriend to Girlfriend Guide to Getting the Love You Deserve by Jodi Lipper and Cerina Vincent

2010 resolutions

Ah, the new year. A fresh calendar, a clean slate, a new two-digit number to get used to writing on my checks. Traditionally, people make new year's resolutions about eating healthier, exercising more, saving more money and being a better person.

Blah, blah, blah. I make – and break – those resolutions every year.

This year, I’m making different resolutions. Fun, easy resolutions. I want to make up for last year's deficit of books, reading and fun in my life. So, in 2010, I plan to:

Attend my monthly book club meetings. Maybe even read the assigned book.

Read the Lord of the Rings books that I got for Christmas ten years ago and then promptly forgot about.

Read something by a classic author who I've never read before and am embarrassed to admit publicly that I haven't read (Jane Austen, *cough*).

Get involved again with the Florida Bibliophile Society and the Tampa Writers Alliance. Check out other groups that I’ve written about over the years but have never visited personally.

Stop whining about not getting magazines in the mail anymore and renew my subscriptions already.

Carry a book or magazine in my purse so I can sneak in a few minutes of reading here and there. There doesn’t seem to be a way to avoid waiting in lines, so I might as well get some reading in while standing there.

Oh yeah, and actually update this blog instead of just thinking about it.

Here’s to a good 2010!