Q and Author
Inevitably in reading you find yourself wanting to know more about an author — their inspiration for a book, what they're like, how they would read a particular passage aloud — and you're left hoping that author might someday visit your local bookstore on a reading/signing tour and then you'll have your answer.
The Florida Writers Association hopes to create this connection with readers up front. Together with Barnes and Noble-Carrollwood, they're presenting their first Florida Authors Info Expo, a full day of book-related entertainment and author info, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 22.
With the exception of an Ask the Experts Media Panel Discussion at 2 p.m., the expo is packed solid with 12 author readings and discussions.
The following are some of the highlights:
Reed Lengel, author of A Ballplayer's Choice, walks kids through the writing of a novel from 10 to 10:30 a.m., covering character, setting and plot.
Lynne Hansen, author of the Heritage of Horror series for young adults, reads from her historical horror novel The Return at 3:45 p.m. Afterward, she teaches kids 8 and older to make a 'Zombie Origami" rowboat (related to the scene she'll read).
Deborah M. LaMot, author of the forthcoming Poetry of the Heart, gives a poetry reading at 6 p.m. and discusses the events that took place the day she wrote her first poem.
Barbara Cronin Harrington, author of Give Him Back to God, explains her personal involvement with the murderess who provided firsthand info for the novel, and why she, Harrington, chose to write an 'inspired" version rather than the true story.
Big ups to Barnes and Noble for hosting the event, doing their part to promote Florida writers and proving you can't judge the nation's largest bookseller by its storefront.
Barnes and Noble-Carrollwood is located at 11802 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa. 813-962-8097. For more on the Florida Writers Association, visit www.floridawriters.net.
This article appears in Jun 19-25, 2002.