My Newsletter FAPA Florida Authors and Publishers Association

FAPA August 2024 Newsletter

President's Message

“The most beautiful things are not associated with money; they are memories and moments. If you don't celebrate those, they can pass you by.”

Alek Wek

Dear Friends, Members, and Colleagues,

We had a fabulous conference last week with the largest ever awards celebration we have ever experienced! Congratulations to each and every one of you who won an award for their excellent work.

FAPACon 2024 provided an excellent opportunity for each member to collaborate with other members and to learn from their collective experience. It also offered abundant opportunities for socialization and meaningful engagement with fellow members and professionals and for making new connections and friends. But most importantly, it afforded us the time to reflect on FAPA’s successes and to make plans to meet the future needs of members.

As I enter my Presidential year, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to FAPA’s Board of Directors, who have contributed so much of their time and energy over the past year to help this organization grow. Also, please join me in welcoming our newest board members, Jessica Hamilton and Evelyn Presley, and also welcoming back Bibi LeBlanc. During our annual membership meeting, we were able to update our bylaws to include the new digital election process. Each year, we continue to experience an increase in membership.

FAPA draws its real strength from our members, representing the absolute finest in literary and publishing excellence. I am incredibly proud of each of you and your accomplishments. You make a profound impact on our organization and our profession. Your enthusiasm and active participation are inspiring, and I am honored to serve as your President this year.

As the premier professional literary and publishing organization in Florida, our association is responsible for shaping the future landscape of this industry. Over the next year, I predict that FAPA will continue to grow in exciting, inclusive, and innovative directions, and I greatly appreciate the opportunity to be a part of it. 

✨Congrats to the FAPA 2024 President’s Book Award Medalists✨

 Cover Design: Adult

Keeping Mother—Darlene Goodwin

Cover Design by Darlene Goodwin (Bronze)

Palmetto Pioneers: The Emigrants—Cindy Roe Littlejohn

Cover Design by Hannah Marie McDonald (Silver)

Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse—Chris Coward

Cover Design by Kevin Stone (Gold)

Stones of the Earth—Kolby Carrell

Cover Design by Gabriel H. Vaughn (Silver)

Cover Design: Young Adult

Dragons, Monsters, and Imaginary Friends: and Peter's Field of Dreams—Clifton Savoy Cover Design by The Book Cover Whisperer (Silver)

Cover Design: Children

A Code Red Christmas—Camille Klump

Cover Design by Beatriz del Alamo (Bronze)

Lost and Found: The Adventures of Marco the Cat—Austin J. Bell

Cover Design by Jason Fowler (Gold)

Magenta—Sheri Fink Cover Design by Bright Jungle Studios (Gold)

Malcolm Hatches an Egg—Valerie Crowe

Cover Design by Ginger Marks (Gold)

Young Adult: Fiction

Awakening: An Enchanted Romance—Diane Green (Bronze)

Forgotten Rebellion—A.J. Park (Gold)

Magda, Standing—Christine Fallert Kessides (Silver)

The Claddagh: Book 1: The Loyalty of the Leprechauns—M.R. Street (Bronze)

The Shadowlink Two Sides of Hexel—Stefanie Schatzman (Silver)

Welcome to Mansfield—A.R. Farina (Bronze)

Middle Grades: Fiction

Cruel Nature: Seven Terrifying Tales to Trouble Your Sleep—D.B. Albiza (Bronze)

Harry and the Hurricane—Dr. Robert A. Ernst and Rose E. Grier Evans (Gold)

The Galaxy According to Cece—Sherry Roberts (Silver)

Children: Chapter Book

A Code Red Christmas—Camille Klump and Beatriz del Alamo (Gold)

A Simple Seagrass—Camille Klump (Silver)

Emma Just Medium: The Beach Dilemma—Laura Wiltse Prior (Silver)

Harry and the Hurricane—Dr. Robert A. Ernst and Rose E. Grier Evans (Gold)

The Secret Society of Cats & Chickens: A Key West Adventure Story for Kids and Whimsical Adults—Margaret Meps Schulte (Bronze)

Children: Beginning Reader

Bella & Blue: Bella Meets Blue—Berrie Torgan-Randall

Illustrations by Berrie Torgan-Randall (Silver)

How Pickleball Saved Ollie Otter—Lawrence R. Blundred

Illustrations by Milt Priggee (Gold)

Magenta—Sheri Fink

Illustrations by Bright Jungle Studios (Gold)

Princess Sofia's Special School Adventure—Donna Frost

Illustrations by Lisa J. Michaels (Bronze)

Children: Pre-Reader / Picture Book

A Firefly Named Felix—Deanna Har Illustrations by Chrish Vindhy (Silver)

A Snowboy Spreads Christmas Joy—Gayle Paben Illustrations by Reader's Magnet LLC (Bronze)

Boo Thunder!—Evelyn Presley Illustrations by Judith Gosse (Bronze)

Caleb's Christmas Quest: Featuring Pigmuffin—Evelyn Presley Illustrations by Judith Gosse (Bronze)

Hello, France!—Ekaterina Otiko Illustrations by José Gascón (Gold)

Lost and Found: The Adventures of Marco the Cat—Austin J. Bell

Illustrations by Kayleigh Castle (Gold)

Malcolm Hatches an Egg—Valerie Crowe Illustrations by Carlos Weiser (Bronze)

One Perfect Plan: The Bible's Big Story in Tiny Poems—Nancy Tupper Ling Illustrations by Alina Chau (Silver)

Periodic City: The Table Without Chairs—Joyce O’Malley Bradford and Susan Lee Illustrations by Susan Lee (Silver)

Sssnake on a Ssskate?—Steven V. LeShay, Ph.D. Illustrations by Matthew V. LeShay and Santi Jurado (Silver)

The Little Monster's Big Birthday—Sheri Fink Illustrations by Bright Jungle Studios (Gold)

Wrigley at the White House—Karna Bodman Illustrations by Susan Spellman (Silver)

Zoey and Max: Best Friends Forever—Zandria Bastian Illustrations by Queen Smith (Gold)

Travel / Geography

Timisoara 23: 23 Secrets You’ll Love About the City and the Romanian Banat—Andreea Sepi and Claudia Tanasescu (Silver)

Sports / Recreation

How Pickleball Saved Ollie Otter—Lawrence R. Blundred (Silver)

Science / Nature

Periodic City: The Table Without Chairs—Joyce O’Malley Bradford and Susan Lee (Silver)

Whitetail Secrets: Bachelor Life—Susan Lindsley (Bronze)

Wild Florida: An Animal Odyssey—Kirsten Hines (Gold)

Religion / Spirituality

20 Ways to Increase Your Psychic Abilities—John Russell (Silver)

Finding Love and Purpose: Our Journey to Healing through Connection—Sarina Baptista, Vickie Hays, Carrie Hackwelder-Longo, and Kimberly Latta (Bronze)

God's Good Works: Stories to Treasure and Tales to Ponder—Lorilyn Roberts (Gold)

Keeping Mother—Darlene Goodwin (Silver)

Prophetic Redemption—Paul Headworth (Silver)

Wolves Unseen: A Theological Excavation of Christianity, Cults, and Ideologies—Tekoa Manning (Silver)

Political / Current Events

Flaming Moderate: A Riveting Journey and Quest to Save Democracy—Bo Roberts (Bronze)

Poetry

Driving The Lost Highway—Jeff Weddle (Gold)

Listening to the Silence: Poems of Love, Remembrance, and Survival—Linda Kraus (Silver)

Inspirational / Motivational

Bridges Between Our Hearts—Jennifer Collins (Bronze)

Finding Love and Purpose: Our Journey to Healing through Connection—Sarina Baptista, Vickie Hays, Carrie Hackwelder-Longo, and Kimberly Latta (Silver)

Keeping Mother—Darlene Goodwin (Silver)

Mixed up with Me: A Journey through Adoption, Pregnancy, Loss, & Renewal—Sallie Gordon (Silver)

Humor / Comedy

The Great Mongolian Bowling League of the United States of America—Ed Borowsky (Gold)

The Gullwing Colony—Antonio Simon, Jr. (Silver)

How-To / Instructional / Self-Help

Five Doors of Success: How to Build a Future Without Luck, Money, or Friends in High Places—Joshua Candamo (Silver)

From the Boxing Ring to the Ashram—Deborah Charnes (Gold)

The Game: Winning by Virtue One Move at a Time—Her Royal Majesty Princess Merrilee of Solana (Merrilee Sweeney) (Bronze)

Variations on the Theme of Chess—George R. Dekle Sr. (Gold)

You’re on Fire, It’s Fine: Effective Strategies for Parenting Teens with Self-Destructive Behaviors—Katie K. May (Silver)

You're Driving Me Crazy!—John Reinhardt (Silver)

History

1696 Jonathan Dickinson: A shipwreck and a perilous trek through Spanish Florida during the desperate dying days of its Native Americans—James D. Snyder (Silver)

Palmetto Pioneers: The Emigrants—Cindy Roe Littlejohn and Hannah Marie McDonald (Gold)

Racers in the Sun, Volume One: The Story of Florida's Sprint Car Legends—Richard Golardi (Silver)

Touchstones of Tradition: Insights from the Material Culture of Miccosukee and Seminole People—William H. Marquardt, Sandra L. Starr, Brent Weisman, Stacey L. Huber, Patsy West, and Austin J. Bell (Silver)

Wings of Freedom - The Story of the Berlin Airlift—Bibi LeBlanc (Gold)

Fitness / Health

From the Boxing Ring to the Ashram—Deborah Charnes (Gold)

Geriatrics Handbook: Practical applications for healthcare professionals and patients—Venkit S. Iyer, and MD David Bernstein, MD (Silver)

Coloring / Activity Book

Color Me Culture: Explore Paris—Séverine Chanay-Savoyen (Silver)

Color My World—Ginger Marks (Bronze)

Wings of Freedom - The Story of the Berlin Airlift—Bibi LeBlanc (Gold)

Business / Technology

100 Livestreaming & Digital Media Predictions, Volume 4: Top Content Creators Help You Succeed in an Era of Rapid Change—Ross Brand (Silver)

The 80/20 CEO: Take Command of Your Business in 100 Days—Bill Canady (Bronze)

The Revenue Acceleration Framework: A Proven Roadmap to Transform and Dynamically Grow Your Business—Doug Davidoff (Gold)

The Value Equation: A Business Guide to Wealth Creation for Entrepreneurs, Leaders and Investors—Christopher H. Volk (Gold)

Why Brand Protection Matters—L.A. Perkins (Gold)

Your Multimillion-Dollar Exit: The Entrepreneur's Business Success(ion) Planner: A Blueprint for Wealth Guide—Wayne M. Zell, JD, CPA (Silver)

Biography

Palmetto Pioneers: The Emigrants—Cindy Roe Littlejohn and Hannah Marie McDonald (Gold)

Autobiography / Memoir

An Apparently Normal Person—Bonnie R. Armstrong (Gold)

CSI: The Casey Anthony Child Murder Case—Gerard Bloise (Silver)

Dispatches from a Kitchen Table: Exploring Life, Love, and Lots of Other

Stuff—Cynthia D. Bertelsen (Bronze)

Divine Restoration: Life After Manic Depression—Alan Lantieri (Silver)

Fever of Unknown Origin: A True Tale of Medicine, Mystery, and Magic—Judith M. Ford (Bronze)

Tales From An Asylum: A Memoir Unlike Any Other—Steven V. LeShay, Ph.D. (Silver)

The Killing Closet—V.L. Brunskill (Gold)

Adult Fiction: Thriller / Horror

Blue Magic on Mushroom Island—David C. Edmonds (Bronze)

The Murder Plague—Scott Michael Powers (Silver)

The Street Between the Pines: A Southern New England Horror—J.J. Alo (Silver)

Adult Fiction: Sci-Fi

The First HumAIn—Robert Lewis Heron (Bronze)

The Song of Immaru: Earth's Door—P.J. Dudek (Silver)

Adult Fiction: Romance

Matching Melissa—Dianna Dann (Silver)

Roads To Run—Ronni Miller (Gold)

Adult Fiction: Mystery / Suspense

Dangerous Undercurrents - FBI Affairs: Book 4—Suzanne Baginskie (Bronze)

It's a Good Day to Liquidate—Ed Borowsky (Bronze)

Model Suspect—T.K. Sheffield (Bronze)

Prophetic Redemption—Paul Headworth (Silver)

Strange Timing—Jeffrey C. Bruce (Bronze)

The Snake Traders—Brenda Spalding and Aubrey Joy Rosales (Gold)

Three Dead Freds—Linda Marie Guecia (Silver)

Adult Fiction: Historical

Alice's War—William McClain (Gold)

An Island Long Ago—Julie Burnette (Gold)

Full Naval Honors: The Final Novel of Peter Wake and his Descendants—Robert N. Macomber (Silver)

Lizard of Transition—Edward Borowsky (Bronze)

Southern Crosses—Victoria Laurienzo (Gold)

The Crystal Ball Chronicles—JM. Naughton and G.L. Pedersen (Silver)

The Peculiar Affliction of Thomas Wade Duncan—Kip Koelsch (Bronze)

The Puppet Maker's Daughter—Karla M. Jay (Gold)

Adult Fiction: Fantasy / Occult

Atlanta's Guide to Cryptids—Kevin A. Davis (Gold)

Forgotten Rebellion—A.J. Park (Silver)

Stones of the Earth—Kolby Carrell and Gabriel H. Vaughn (Gold)

The Acros Raiders—Sara Tunder (Bronze)

The Peculiar Affliction of Thomas Wade Duncan—Kip Koelsch (Silver)

Adult Fiction: Anthology / Collection

These Strange Matters: Eyes in the Storm & Other Tales—Scott Turick (Bronze)

Adult Fiction: Adventure and General

Double Haul—Bill Bishop (Silver)

Heartbreak Guitar—Janice Dodge (Gold)

Would you like to be spotlighted? There are a number of spots available for myFAPACon. Each sponsorship level includes an ad in our conference program and comes with dozens of benefits that will help grow your business. Order now. https://form.jotform.com/MyFAPA/fapacon2024-AD-offerings

Member Spotlight. We want to hear from you. Share your successes.

Send a photo of a recent book signing or event with a short caption of Anne.Jacob@myfapa.org

Wild Florida: Winner of FAPA’s First Sunshine State Award

I stared in disbelief when I received my first published copy of Wild Florida: An Animal Odyssey – could this sleek, effortless-looking book with a serene fox gazing back at me really contain all the hard work I had put into it? I’d slogged through piles of scientific literature. I’d spent three years hiking and camping around Florida, wilting under the weight of my camera gear and sweat-laden anti-insect apparel. I’d panicked when, one month to my deadline, I still had no Florida bear photographs despite all my efforts. How could I publish a book on Florida’s wildlife without its iconic bear? I persisted and got my bear photos in a whirlwind of adrenaline at the last possible moment. When I rushed back to the desk to finish my manuscript, I realized that I had a new perspective on Florida and its animals. I wanted to bring readers alongside me into the wilderness, to share the journey of wonder I’d just experienced. I got a few-month deadline extension, deleted all the text I’d previously written, and started over, pairing words and images in a marathon of sleepless weeks.

As I flipped through that first copy of Wild Florida, I couldn’t help but wonder—would anyone else appreciate the magnitude of labor that had gone into this book? Would anyone take the time to look beyond the images and read my equally hard-earned words? As if in reply, I heard my name called at the recent FAPA Awards Banquet—Wild Florida had won the brand-new Sunshine State Award. Receiving a gold medal in the Science and Nature category had been validating, but listening to outgoing President Robert Jacob describe this new prize as a reward for the highest-scoring Florida-themed book felt like an even greater accomplishment. I was light and giddy as I approached the stage to the news that my book was the only one to score a perfect 100 in the contest, but I found myself choking back tears as I learned at the ensuing reception that 4 different judges, all vetted professionals in the literary world, had deemed my book worthy of their perfect scores.

Thank you FAPA for reassuring encouragements like this, inspiring me and so many others to soar to new heights.

Regional Events

🖐️ Participate in an event! 🎉

If you know of any future events of interest to authors or publishers, please share the information with a FAPA board member or email Robert Jacob, FAPA President, at Robert.Jacob@myfapa.org.

Upcoming regional events are listed below.

myFAPA is looking to partner with YOUR organization!

Partner Members

Support FAPA's Partner Members!

Learn about their products, services, and exclusive member deals on the FAPA website.

For more information about partner membership, contact Tashena Anderson-Place, FAPA's partner member chair, at Tashena.Place@myfapa.org.

Support our FAPACon Sponsors!

✨ Visit our FAPACon 2024 Sponsors! 🙌

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Martin Pearl Press LLC

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The store is open! Support your FAPA and shop myFAPA.org!

Update your FAPA profile today!

Networking is one of the main benefits of FAPA membership. Partner, Standard, and Student members are encouraged to complete their profiles and utilize the FAPA directory to find and connect with authors, publishers, and other industry professionals. We would like to have as many profiles as possible updated before the start of FAPACon 2024.

Each Conference or Awards Ceremony attendee who updates their FAPA profile before the conference will receive one free raffle ticket at the registration desk.

Just log in to the FAPA website, click on your name, and then click on membership subscription and complete any missing account and profile information. Remember to add your profile photo and your about info.

Get your Book Listed!

Add your book to the FAPA online bookstore today!

For FAPA members who are in good standing, you can add your books to FAPA's online bookstore for free. Fill out the form on the myFAPA website or contact Donna.Armillei@myfapa.org.

Please include your book title, Amazon link, and any FAPA awards your book has received. The book description and cover photo are uploaded directly from Amazon.

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