July 19, 2014 Guest Speaker - Evelyn Rainey

Evelyn has been published in over a dozen magazines and newspapers.  She wrote a weekly column for veterans for BellaOnline for three years and now writes the ScienceFiction/Fantasy Books column there.  Occasionally, she find time to post on her blog http://writingrainey.blogspot.com/.

Plus, she facilitate a group for writers: Writers for All Seasons.

Over her thirty-one years as an educator, she taught elementary, middle, high, and adult schools and in alternative school sites like DJJ and Teen Pregnancy Centers.  She’s certified in Early Childhood, Elementary, English for Speakers of Other Languages, Middle School Integrated Curriculum, Gifted, and Journalism.  Right now, she is teaching the greatest kids in the world - at Jewett School of the Arts.

Her home – Fern Cottage – is certified as a natural habitat by the National Wildlife Federation (which means it provides food, shelter, water, and breeding areas for wildlife and does not use fertilizers or pesticides) and is a haven to many endangered birds, lizards, and plants.  Currently, she’s foster mother to over a thousand tadpoles (“I can differentiate three separate kinds”) and share her home with Daisy – her mostly yellow lab and Moonbeam – her mostly Siamese and their mini-panther Shadow and hunter extraordinaire Sterling. 

The Tampa Chapter of FWA meets the third Saturday of the month at the Carrollwood Barnes and Noble  - 11802 North Dale Mabry. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. with lunch afterward.

June 21, 2014 Guest Speaker - Ginger Marks, CEO of DocUmeant Publishing

Born in Lansing, Michigan Ginger Marks moved to the Tampa Bay Area of Florida in 1978. She began her career as a business owner in partnership with the medical profession. Marks owned and operated a multi-million dollar surgical facility for 23 years with her late husband. After his passing, Ginger’s drive to succeed led her to become a Financial Advisor while working on the side, for her own purposes, in the field of design with the founding of Graph Inc., which eventually became DocUmeant.

Her love for writing and design has been the catalyst for her successful career in the publishing area. Coming from a family of published authors and speakers, it was no surprise when she, herself, embarked on the writing journey. Having helped numerous authors and business owners, as well as students, Ginger shares her expertise as a published author and business owner. She is an Expert Authorfor EzineAuthors.

The Tampa Chapter of FWA meets the third Saturday of the month at the Carrollwood Barnes and Noble - 11802 North Dale Mabry. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. with lunch afterward.

Vicki M. Taylor - Guest Speaker FWA Meeting May 17, 2014

Vicki is the author of Out for Justice, available for the Kindle on Amazon.com. Will speak on "finding the time and making the commitment to write" You can check out her other books at her website.

 

 

The Tampa Chapter of FWA meets the third Saturday of the month at the Carrollwood Barnes and Noble  - 11802 North Dale Mabry. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. with lunch afterward.

Joe Jacobson, Guest Speaker, April 19, 2014 Meeting

Please join us Saturday, April 19, from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.

Joe Jacobson will be our guest speaker.  Joe is the author of How To Build Your WordPress Author's Website, available for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He also offers free classes on website design and blogging for authors using Wordpress.   For more information, go to http://joejacobson.com/

 
Florida Writers Association meets on the third Saturday of each month at the Barnes & Noble, Carrollwood, 11802 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa, FL 33618. The meetings are free and open to the public. You can find us in the back of the store, right hand corner (where all the tables and chairs are located).

Guest Speaker – Rodney Smith – Little Pond Publishing – March 15, 2014 – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Please join us Saturday, March 15, from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.  Rodney Smith will be our guest speaker.  He is co-founder of Little Pond Publishing from Satellite Beach, Florida. Little Pond Publishing offers e-book and bound book publishing packages. Rodney will speak on self-publishing, publishing packages, and dealing with rejection letters.

For more information about Little Pond Publishing, go to http://www.littlepondpublishing.com/.

Florida Writers Association meets on the third Saturday of each month at the Barnes & Noble, Carrollwood, 11802 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa, FL 33618.  The meetings are free and open to the public.  You can find us in the back of the store, right hand corner (where all the tables and chairs are located).

March 15, 2014 Meeting - 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Our next meeting will be held on March 15, from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, with lunch afterwards at a nearby restaurant for those interested. 

We hope to see you at Barnes & Noble, 11802 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa, FL.    Please check back soon for details on the guest speaker and topics to be discussed.

February 15 - Guest Speaker - Gregg E. Brickman

Gregg E. Brickman is a long-term Florida resident, nurse, and educator. Her stories involve strong, creative nurses who use all of their skills to help others, confront danger, and stay alive. Credits include the lord, Imperfect Daddy, Imperfect Contract, Illegally Dead, Chapter 14 of Naked Came the Flamingo, and On the Edge, a short story [MiamiARTzine.com]. Gregg has been an associate member of MWA since 1999 and credits the organization and membership with helping her learn the craft of writing.Gregg E. Brickman, Nurse& WriterWebsite & blog: http://www.GreggEBrickman.com. 


Please join us Saturday, February 15, at the Carrollwood Barnes and Noble - 11802 North Dale Mabry. We meet in the back right corner of the store.  The meeting starts at 10 a.m. with optional lunch after.

Guest Speaker – Tirena Say – January 18, 2014 – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Tirena Say’s life is an open book - this book. She is a writer whose experiences include owning a small business and being an administrator in a busy patent office. She is married and living contentedly in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she devotes her time to writing, her family and volunteer work for various charities and civic organizations.

Tirena has written an inspirational self-help/autobiography entitled seeing colors.  In her self-published book, Tirena gives a blunt, honest account of her ordeal with serious challenges in her life, and how she overcame them, against all odds. For years, Tirena suffered severe depression and a chemical imbalance in her brain scrambling her thinking and emotions. Other obstacles preventing her from a joyable, fulfilling life, included: trying to earn a living with little education, substance abuse, coming to grips emotionally with her early childhood abuse and witnessing domestic violence in her home.

Tirena will talk to us about how she went about writing this book and give us important tips when it comes to self-publishing. Although much of what she has to say will pertain to whatever book you are writing and the method of publishing you have chosen to pursue.

So what does it take to write a book? When do you know it is complete and ready for print? Where do you go for its cover design? What else is involved when it comes to printing the book? How do you go about promoting the book when you are the publisher? To answer these questions and more, come out and listen to our guest speaker.

For more information about Tirena Say, visit http://www.thecreativepen.net/why.htm.