Do you want to know the secret for developing page-turning pieces that will engage your readers?

In an interactive talk with author and teacher Staci Backauskas at the Wednesday, May 7 general meeting, Tampa Writers Alliance members will identify the common elements of successful creative writing and learn how to implement them in their own work. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the John F. Germany Main Library, 900 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa. The public is invited to attend free of charge

Of interest to both fiction and non-fiction writers, Staci’s presentation will offer techniques that provide texture and structure, as well as those that assist writers in accessing their own unique voices.

Owner of Triple Moon Productions, Staci Backauskas is a writer and consultant with nearly twenty years of experience in marketing, advertising, training, and small business. She has written seven books, as well as articles for numerous national and local publications, including American Profile, Imprint, Entrepreneur Start-Ups, and The Carrollwood News. She has been widely published on the Internet as well, and currently teaches creative writing for Life Enrichment Center in Tampa.

Staci is the author of “Desiree's Dream Job - A Career Transition Fable” and “Desiree's Dream Kit – A Practical Guide for Intentional Career Transition.” She is also the author of a novel, The Fifth Goddess, which details a woman’s journey toward self-acceptance, examining what happens when we refuse to confront the pain in our lives

In addition, Staci is the founder of The Follow Your Bliss Foundation, a non-profit organization distributing scholarships and providing a support network to those living their dreams. Ten percent of all monies earned by Triple Moon Productions go to the foundation.

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June 2003
TWA PROGRAM ARCHIVES

		SPECIAL...FOR MYSTERY, CRIME, AND OTHER WRITERS, TOO... Jury-picking expert Rebecca Lynn to discuss juries June 4
How are juries selected? What are their duties? How do attorneys try to influence them? Tampa Bay litigation consultant Rebecca Lynn, whose firm Rebecca Lynn & Associates of Clearwater specializes in jury selection, will have the answers for crime, mystery, and other writers when she addresses the Tampa Writers Alliance meeting, Wednesday, June 4, at 7 p.m. in the John F. Germany Main Library, 900 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa. The public is invited to attend free of charge. Lynn has worked in the field of litigation consulting since 1980. She trained under and worked with Cathy E. Bennet, then opened her own firm in 1987. She has assisted attorneys on a wide range of civil and criminal trials in both federal and state courts and has assisted in over 400 jury selections and more than 40 death penalty cases. Lynn also lectures and conducts training seminars for attorneys.		Rebecca Lynn explains jury procedures

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July 2003
TWA PROGRAM ARCHIVES

Mystery Novelist  Ann T. Cook to unveil her new novel at TWA meeting July 2
		(Above) A cameraman from Channel 10 was a surprise guest at the July 2 TWA meeting, shooting footage for a feature on Ann Cook, who has started a new career in retirement as a mystery novelist.  (Left) Ann signs book for member Bob Schill as members Karen McKinney (left) and Sandi Scinoti look on

Mystery novelist and past-Tampa Writers Alliance President Ann Turner Cook of Tampa will present the first public talk about her new novel, “Shadow Over Cedar Key,” at the Tampa Writers Alliance meeting, Wednesday, July 2, at 7 p.m. in the John F. Germany Main Library, 900 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa. The public is invited to attend free of charge. The book is the second in Cook’s Brandy O'Bannon series set in small historic Florida towns. Her heroine, a young newspaper reporter, was introduced in her first novel, “Trace Their Shadows,” set in the Mount Dora-Tavares area, published in late 2001.

Parts of both books were critiqued in an early stage by TWA members and by TWA’s longtime mentor, the late Dr. Ed Hirshberg of the University of South Florida. Staci Backauskas, a recent TWA speaker who teaches creative writing for Life Enrichment Center in Tampa, also assisted in the editing. “The TWA critique group and contacts there have been invaluable in giving me the courage to write and to submit my work,” Cook maintains.

A retired Hillsborough High School English teacher, Cook had several mystery novels accepted by New York agents as long ago as 1991 – and she received strong encouragement from fellow writers and writing coaches. But after several years of discouragement, she gave up on the traditional publication route. When Mystery Writers of America, of which Cook is a member, made an agreement with the print-on-demand publisher iUniverse to publisher members' novels at no cost, she took them up on the offer. Both of her novels are included in iUniverse’s “Mystery Writers of America Presents series.”

In her TWA talk, Cook will explain the different publishing choices now available to writers, with special emphasis on print-on-demand. She will also discuss some of the pitfalls of mystery writing and will offer some advice.

“Writers must realize,” Cook says, “that the marketing burden in print-on-demand publishing falls on the writer, but even with traditional publishers, that is usually the case. Writers do receive advice and tools from iUniverse,” she adds.

According to Cook, the Mystery Writers of America currently recommends that even well-established writers hire their own editors prior to sending their work to an agent or publisher, “because even the big traditional publishing houses no longer provide the quality of editing that they used to.”

Cook will present her new novel as a kick-off for the Mystery Club at the Carrollwood Barnes & Noble at 7:30 p.m. on September 25, and will also speak at the Island Hotel in Cedar Key, where the owners have invited her to appear.

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"Putting A Face on Your Audience'' will be the topic of St. Petersburg Times Food Editor Janet K. Keeler's presentation at the Tampa Writers Alliance meeting, Wednesday, August 6, at 7 p.m. in the John F. Germany Main Library, 900 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

Keeler will discuss how and why she considers the reader when she writes, a daunting task when writing for a general circulation publication.

September 2003
TWA PROGRAM ARCHIVES

Booksellers from  Inkwood Books and  Book Swap  to Share Platform at Sept. 3  TWA meeting Carla Jimenez from Inkwood Books in south Tampa and Arlene Swartzman from Book Swap of Carrollwood will discuss what writers need to know about bookselling at the Tampa Writers Alliance meeting, Wednesday, September 3, at 7 p.m. in the John F. Germany Main Library, 900 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

Carla Jimenez (left) of Inkwood Books and Arlene Swartzman of Book Swap both stressed the  importance of supporting independent booksellers

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October 2003
TWA PROGRAM ARCHIVES

Members had plenty of questions for Dr. Jacqueline Lee. RETURN TO TOP

Medical examiner to discuss her work at October 1 TWA meeting  Jacqueline Lee, M.D., Associate Medical Examiner, Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Department, will discuss her work, especially those aspects of interest to mystery and crime writers, at the Tampa Writers Alliance meeting, Wednesday, October 1, at 7 p.m. in the John F. Germany Main Library, 900 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

November 2003
TWA PROGRAM ARCHIVES

Florida Author To Discuss “Writing About 
Your Own Back Yard” for Tampa Writers Alliance November 5

Native Floridian Bruce Hunt, author of many books and articles about Florida, will offer advice on "Writing About Your Own Backyard" at the Tampa Writers Alliance meeting, Wednesday, November 5, at 7 p.m. in the John F. Germany Main Library, 900 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

Writers often fail to recognize the writing opportunities available all around them, and Hunt will suggest ways to discover and use these resources. Three books by writer-photographer Hunt – Adventure Sports in Florida and Visiting Small-Town Florida, Volumes 1 and 2 – are published by Pineapple Press of Sarasota, which specializes in books about Florida.

Hunt’s articles and photographs have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines including the Tampa Tribune, St. Petersburg Times, Metro News, Backpacker, Rock & Ice, Skydiving, Parachutist, Water Ski, and Physics Teacher. His dachshunds, Rudi and Cocoa, are his faithful writing assistants.   

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December 2003
TWA PROGRAM ARCHIVES