I’m a Florida native who is a writer inspired by writers. More than a decade ago, I made it to Key West to visit the home of Nobel Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway. Later, I found myself listening to poet Nikki Giovanni speak at the Miami Book Festival. I then relocated to Philadelphia and found inspiration at the Philadelphia Writers Conference. Most recently, I took a three-year detour to Texas where I joined the San Antonio Writers Guild and Writer's League of Texas before making a stop at the San Antonio Book Festival.
Now settled in to Jacksonville and enjoying beach life, I’m preparing to take the leap from writer to author. I don’t know what the reception will be, but it’s a passion that has to be reckoned with.
I'm happy to report that inspiration and motivation are all around me. I immediately joined the Florida Writers Association and began visiting all of the independent book stores on my list. In the order of my visit, there’s Black Sheep Books in Mandarin, The Book Nook on University and San Jose Blvd., The BookMark in Neptune Beach, and The San Marco Bookstore in San Marco. I have yet to make it to Chamblin’s but it’s on my list. I also made it up to Savannah to E Shaver Booksellers and had a great motivational conversation with the owners of Wild Iris Books in Gainesville, Florida.
As I close out my first year as a Jacksonville resident, I’ve attended the Jax by Jax Literary Arts Festival where I met wonderful writers and artists. I topped off 2016 with a well needed dose of writers therapy at Women Writing for a Change, a women writer's meet up held on the fourth Friday at the Downtown Library.
I’m kicking off 2017 at the inaugural Jax Book Fest to be held at the Downtown Library on March 25. There’s more to come on that!
Here’s some great sites for local writers, fans of writers and Indie Bookstores. Our community of independent writers and bookstores need your support. I ask for support.
Harriet Beecher Stowe Community Center at the Mandarin Museum and Historical Society
James Weldon Johnson Exhibit at the LaVilla Museum of African America History and Culture at the Ritz Theater
Brenda Jackson
F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival
Amelia Island Book Festival
The Florida Heritage Book Festival
JCA Jewish Book Festival