Haley's Work Honored Nationally

The National Indie Excellence Book Awards are dedicated to celebrating and promoting the outstanding work of independent publishers and authors. It has just been announced that one of our own FWA Group Leaders, Susan Haley of the Sarasota Chapter, was honored as runner-up Finalist in the 2008 Indie Excellence competition for the Audio Book version of her novel Rainy Day People. The audio was produced by Spoken Books Publishing.

In addition to now being able to affix the 2008 Gold Award Sticker on her books, Susan will be included in a National Publicity Campaign that reaches over 700 publishers, buyers, editors and producers culminating in recognition at the 2008 Book Expo America in Los Angeles, California in July.

Congratulations, Susan!

For further information about Susan's work, experience her beautiful website at http://www.sucarha.com.

Russ Heitz
FWA-Sarasota

Amazon's "New Deal"

You've probably heard that Amazon.com is now jumping into the Print On Demand world with all four feet! As a result, the news and rumors are flying from one end of the publishing world to the other. And that includes traditional publishing, do-it-yourself publishing, vanity publishing, POD publishing, cooperative publishing, and just about every other kind of publishing. It could have an effect on anyone who now has a book listed for sale on Amazon.

One of the most comprehensive collections of explanations about this new development can be found at http://www.writersweekly.com/amazon.php/. Check it out. And if you have any questions about how your OWN Amazon-listed book will be affected, check with your own publisher.

Russ Heitz
http://www.russheitz.com/

Best Selling Author to Visit at April Meeting

Melanie Sue Bowles, the best selling author of "The Horses of Proud Spirit", will be the guest speaker at our April 23rd meeting. Melanie and her husband Jim are retired Sarasota Firefighters who started their horse rescue operation on fifty acres in Myacca City. They have since saved over 100 abused and abandoned horses and have now moved to a new facility in Mena, Arkansas. Her new book, "Hoof Prints - More Stories From Proud Spirit" has just been released by Pineapple Press and already honored to be the featured book at Jacksonville's Literary Fair the weekend of April 26th-27th.

The PBS Documentary filmed at the Myacca City location has since went on the win an Emmy and is now shown Nationally.

Melanie, the most down to earth lady you'll ever want to meet, will capture your heart with stories of her horses. A special event for our Sarasota Group. You won't want to miss it! She'll also be signing her books at Barnes and Noble on Saturday, April 19th. Call the store for the exact time. That, I don't have yet.

Adult Tutors Needed

Dear Sarasota FWA Members -

I received the following email from Kristin Szafraniec, Executive Director of the Sarasota Literacy Council in response to a query I made concerning volunteering after seeing an ad in "Betty Says". Since the FWA takes an active role in Literacy, I thought this may sound interesting to our members or as a group project. I'll bring handouts of the information I receive from Kristin to the next meeting on March 26th. Look forward to seeing you then.

Dear Susan

Adult and family literacy is an extremely important need in our community and I’m hoping to join forces with area organizations like FWA to work on literacy initiatives.

We are celebrating our 30th year anniversary this year, and the need for our programs is growing. We have three programs with over 150 tutor/student pairs and need additional help. Although we do have students from other counties/areas, our organization services learners in the City of Sarasota and the northern half of Sarasota County. LCS is a not for profit 501c3 and we are supported by volunteers, members and donors/small foundations.

I will send you a sheet via email that will provide you with more information about who we are and what we do. In the meantime, feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I look forward to meeting you and collaborating together.

Warm Regards,
Kristin Szafraniec

Executive Director
The Literacy Council of Sarasota, Inc.
Tel: 941.955.0421
www.sarasotaliteracy.org

Borders Enters POD Market

Borders announced on Valentine's Day that it is now entering the "publish it yourself" independent publishing market with their new BORDERS PERSONAL PUBLISHING imprint. They will be working with Lulu and will also offer editorial support, book design, printing, e-commerce, and other features, for a fee, either bundled or ala carte.

One of the most attractive features of this program is this. Borders Personal Publishing books can also become eligible to be carried by Borders both online and ON THE SHELVES of hundreds of Borders stores. A recent press release stated, "By using the strength of its worldwide chain of bookstores, Borders is offering writers the potential of getting their work featured on the shelves of real bookstores -- a very attractive feature, compared to services that only make books available to order online. Basic prices start at $299 to $499."

For details, go to http://publish.bordersstores.com/?u-pub.

ARTICLE RE PROS AND CONS-AMAZON SHORTS

Author J.A. Konrath (http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/) has an article over at http://writersdigest.com/articles/konrath_amazonshorts.asp
those of you with books for sale on Amazon might be interested in. Check it out!

Madeline Mora-Summonte
www.MadelineMora-Summonte.com

Two Quick Announcements

John P. Strelecky, the International Best-Selling author of The Why Café, and now a highly sought after Inspirational speaker will be the Keynote at Dahris Clair's Pasco/NPR Mini Conference at the New Port Richey library on April 6th. Through John's writings and subsequent appearances on television and radio, he has positively impacted the lives of millions of people.
In addition to being translated into seventeen languages and sold in over forty countries on all seven continents, John’s inspirational book has been distributed to employees of numerous companies including IBM, American Express, Boeing, American General Finance, USANA Health Sciences, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, and others. It has also been made required course reading at universities around the country.
With a full roster of workshops and activities, this is an FWA event worth marking your calendar for. Sunday, April 6th! Contact Dahris Clair for more information as to early bird fees and special rates for FWA members. dclair@verizon.net

Also, congratulations to our own Michael Durr on the publication of his new book "Your Brain, Your Future" This is an excellent exploration into the 'realm' of the power of critical thinking. Available on Amazon.com and Bbotw.com in addition to local bookstores.

Excellent Crime Writer's Book

With the publication of POLICE PROCEDURE & INVESTIGATIONS by Lee Lofland, Writer's Digest Books has a sure-fire winner on their hands. The subtitle for this book indicates that it was written primarily for the writers of crime books and crime-related short stories. But that is a much-too-narrow focus. This book is for anyone who is interested in police work, criminal investigations, and all of the aspects that fit under those two general categories. And it delves into these areas to a much greater depth than the ever-popular and every-growing list of television programs that claim to be "reality-based" crime shows.

Nearly everyone is now familiar with terms such as crime scene investigation, autopsy, the exclusionary rule, blood spatter analysis, flash-bangs, DNA evidence, and the Miranda warning. But if you want to know what kind of equipment crime scene investigators need, what kind of training goes on in police academies, how long rigor mortis effects a corpse, what a "sally port" is, what kind of chemicals are used to make meth, or the difference between ASPs and shock sticks, this is the book for you.

Author Lee Lofland is well known to writers of crime-related books mainly because of his expertise in the field, but also because of his clear, concise, and jargon-free writing style. He is a writer's writer, but he is also a reader's writer. His prose is clean and direct, his organization logical, and his coverage comprehensive.

I highly recommend this book for anyone--writer or non-writer--who wants to know what REALLY goes on during a criminal investigation, inside a courtroom, or behind prison walls.

Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com