Amelia Island Book Festival
I was so happy to participate in both days of VIVA BOOKS! Including the Author’s Festival at FSCJ in Jacksonville on April 26th, and the Reader’s Festival at the Atlantic Rec Center in Amelia Island on April 27th.
The theme of the Author’s Festival was how to get published in the 21st century. Keynote speaker Elizabeth Kostova, award-winning author of New York Times bestseller, The Historian, spoke about her experience selling her debut novel for six figures. I gave my popular talk on electronic editing tools at the writers workshop, and also participated in a five-member panel discussion at the writers workshop on how we began writing and what we did to get published.
At the writers conference I ran into a friend of Writing Your Life, Marsha Riley, who had previously purchased a copy of Eating An Elephant and liked it so much that she bought a second copy for her daughter. Marsha sent me a note about Eating An Elephant:
I have your book that I am currently using to write my life which I purchased from you add an a I genealogy meeting a few months ago you must know that I love it following your suggestions is making my book go faster and helps me create a more comprehensive storyline thanks for writing it just for me. – Marsha
On Saturday, April 27 in Fernandina Beach, more than 100 authors participated in the Reader’s Festival while numerous talks on a variety of topics were held. My talk on writing your life story and other topics, including food and arts, the poet within, crime and punishment and more, made for an interesting day.
At both the writers conference and the book festival, I ran into a friend and fellow writer, Jeff Kunerth, author of Trout: True Story of Murder, Teens, and the Death Penalty. Jeff’s book tackles a tough subject, but it is so beautifully written. If you don’t yet have a copy, I recommend you get one.
I also spoke with author and prosecutor George R. “Bob” Dekle, Sr. from Lakeland. Bob prosecuted Ted Bundy and wrote a book called The Last Murder: The Investigation, Prosecution, and Execution of Ted Bundy.
In our downtime away from the festival, my husband Bob and I enjoyed the quaint town of Fernandina Beach, its wonderful shops, beautiful sunsets, excellent restaurants, and spending time with with Writing Your Life class member Becky McGregor and her husband Bruce.
