What Authors Need to Know About Copyright in July

For our Thursday, July 13th Meeting, author Gary "Dutch" Hinkle will be speaking. We'll meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6:00 PM. Networking/mingling begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is open to the public.

Topic: Facts, Rules, and Myths of Book Copyrights

BIO:

GARY "DUTCH" HINKLE is a three-time #1 Bestselling Author internationally on Amazon. Dutch has an extensive martial arts background that spans fifty years and includes training and teaching internationally in over two dozen different martial arts in the U.S., Europe, South America, and the Orient. Master Hinkle is also an author of many published books and articles in self-defense, martial arts, Oriental philosophy, Oriental tactics and strategies, and Oriental pressure point defense.

Website: http://garyhinkle.wixsite.com/books

Talking Points - Writing Great Dialogue in June

For our Thursday, June 8th Meeting, author and musician
Ricko Donovan will be speaking. We'll meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6:00 PM. Networking/mingling begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is open to the public.

Topic: Talking Points - Writing Great Dialogue

BIO: 

RICKO DONOVAN is an award-winning singer/songwriter who plays a variety of stringed instruments, a hammered dulcimer virtuoso, silent film composer, and a critically acclaimed novelist. His debut novel Sunnyville made Nashville Lifestyle Magazine’s 2014 Summer Reading List Picks. His second novel, The Broken Promised Land, begun in 1994, was completed and published in 2015.

Website: www.rickodonovan.com

Crafting Characters in January

For our Thursday, January 12th Meeting, author and former CIA agent T.J. Waters will be speaking. We'll meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6:00 PM. Networking/mingling begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is open to the public.

Topic: Creating a Cast of Characters Your Readers Can't Resist

BIO

Author T.J. WATERS resides in St Petersburg with his wife and their two children. He previously worked as a Senior Consultant in Intelligence Operations for U.S. Special Operations Command. Prior to that he was a Sr. Counterintelligence Analyst for U.S. Central Command, served undercover for the Central Intelligence Agency, and was Vice President for an intelligence consulting firm. He enjoyed a successful private sector career before his government service, including with Celotex Corporation, Lexis-Nexis, and BASF. Waters spent five years as an adjunct professor in the Intelligence Management and Analysis program at Eckerd College. When he's not working, he enjoys volunteering with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Tampa Bay.

T.J.'s website: www.tjwaters.com

FWA St. Pete November 10th Meeting with Author Bonnie Paull

For our Nov. 10th Meeting, author and professor Bonnie Paull will be speaking. As usual, we'll meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6 PM. Networking/mingling begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is open to the public.


Topic~ Curiosity Kills Cats, Not Writers: How to Find Inspiration and Interesting Subjects to Write About

BIO:

Bonnie E. Paull is a professor emeritus in English from the College of Alameda in California. In addition to her 40 years as a classroom teacher, she has been a dean of students, consultant, writer, researcher, and public speaker. During her years as a teacher, Ms. Paull wrote and published articles, poems, and books, reflecting her teaching experiences and her study of the history of education. Her concern for the declining quality of education, particularly in the basics, led her to establishing an award winning program for students called “The Little Red Schoolhouse for Adults.” Here her college students were able to study and learn their missing basics. Now, in her retirement, Ms. Paull has more time to devote to research, writing, and to studying music, another passion. “As much as I love good fiction, my interest as a writer is in telling real stories of real people who by their courage and persistence overcame obstacles and achieved their goals in life. They inspire us to reach for the stars.” Her most recent book, Lincoln’s Springfield Neighborhood, published by The History Press, reflects this interest.

Visit Bonnie's website: www.bonniepaullwriter.com

FWA St. Pete Aug 11th Meeting at 5:30 PM with Barbara Harrington

For our Thursday, August 11th Meeting, screenwriter and producer Barbara Harrington will be speaking. We'll meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 5:30 PM. This is earlier than our usual start time. Networking/mingling begins at 5:15 PM. This meeting is open to the public.

Topic: From Novel to Cocoon to Screenwriting

BIO: BARBARA HARRINGTON is a novelist, a screenwriter, and a producer. She worked as Assistant Casting Director in several feature films with Beverly McDermitt (Cocoon, Absence Of Malice, Stick) and still cast for Indie Productions. She has conducted many writing/publishing workshops, and formed FSAC, the Florida Screenwriters & Actors Connection about 15 years ago. She had a short lived radio show, Take One Talk. She's earned several awards, such as the Florida State Group Merit Award for the filming production of the International Association Of Personnel. For fun, she went on Safari in Africa and was almost thrown in jail by Idi Amin.

January FWA St. Pete Meeting

For our Jan. 14th meeting, radio host Patzi Gil will be presenting. As usual, we'll meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6 PM. Networking/mingling begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is open to the public.

Topic: Dreams You Don't Even Dream Can Come True
(How reading five thousand books turned into a career)

BIO

PATZI GIL is the host of a talk radio program called Joy on Paper – a program for writers and those who dream of writing. Patzi has interviewed some of the most prestigious writers and bestselling authors in the world, including Sue Grafton, Brad Meltzer, Robin Cook, Eloisa James, Douglas Brunt, and Ann B. Ross. During the past few months she has formed a close working relationship with many major publicists and agents. Three of her film scripts have been optioned by Hollywood and have appeared in the Hollywood Reporter. She also wrote the screenplay for The All American Boys based on Apollo 7 Astronaut, Walt Cunningham’s book. In addition to her work on Joy on Paper, she is developing two television projects: History? It’s Food (http://www.historyitsfood.com/) and Forgotten F-105 Warriors ( http://www.forgottenf- 105warriors.com/). Patzi is a proud Yooper – which means she was born in Michigan’s Northern Peninsula. She is married and the proud mother of two sons.

Website: www.radio-joyonpaper.com

Next Meeting Sept 10th with Ford Easton

September FWA St. Pete Meeting

For our Sept 10th meeting, author Ford Easton will be presenting. As usual, we'll meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6 PM. Networking/mingling begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is open to the public.

Topic: Targeting Your Audience

This is the perfect follow-up to last month's meeting on self-publishing tips. Ford will teach us how to target to our audience with book, title, and correct mix of text, stories and pictures while operating on a low/limited budget.


BIO

75 years young, FORD EASTON grew up in Friendship, NY in 40s and 50s, He attended Alfred Tech (now Alfred State College), Gamma Theta Gamma Fraternity and received an AAS degree in rural engineering, He's a Vietnam combat veteran. In his professional career, he has worked as a junior engineer at Dresser Clark Olean doing experimental engineering projects, and also worked in the mechanical field he loves with Bently Nevada Corp for 25 years in various capacities. Eventually, he became the regional manager in the NE and then in Florida, retiring in 1996. From 1988-94, he raced a 36 Ford modified stock car here in the SE as a hobby with 30 other friends with the same interests. In 1992, he won a feature 25 lap race with that car. He now collects and restores antique kerosene railroad lanterns. His book, Stock Car Racing in the '50s, was a labor of love.

Ford's Website: www.racersreunion.com/new-book-release-stock-car-racing-in-the-50s

FWA St. Pete Meeting May 14th with Velva Lee Harety

May FWA St. Pete Meeting

For our upcoming meeting on Thursday, May 14th, author and Jungian depth psychotherapist Velva Lee Harety will be speaking. As usual, we meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6 PM. Networking begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is always open to the public.

Topic: Getting Your Writing Game On

Writing a book and bringing it to market takes heart and guts. The obstacles and set-backs can be challenging.  Even more challenging can be your Internal Saboteur creating what the Irish call “a rat in the skull”, i.e. doubt. What to do? What to do?

This intriguing presentation by Velva Lee Heraty MSW, author and Jungian depth psychotherapist, will be an open forum for questions and concerns about how best to resist the negative vibes, stay on track, and trust yourself to do the next right thing for your Inner Author.

BIO

VELVA LEE HARETY, MSW is an experienced depth-psychotherapist with 20+ years of experience in a full private practice in Chicago, IL. Velva earned a Master of Social Work, a Certification in Addictions from the state of Illinois, and eventually a Certification in Depth-Psychotherapy from the C. G. Jung Institute in Evanston, IL. She is a world-recognized expert on dreams and was a volunteer resource for the National Nightmare Hotline created as a result of 9/11. In her private practice Velva created a dreamwork model called the Subjective Symbol Immersion Method (SSIM) to efficiently help people understand their dreams. That model is the heart of the book, The Dream Belongs to the Dreamer, which was accepted into the Oxford Exchange Book Fair. Velva is from Chicago, IL and has lived in St. Petersburg for the past eight years.

Website: www.dreammomma.com