My Newsletter FAPA Florida Authors and Publishers Association

FAPA June 2024 Newsletter

President's Message

“When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying the trees. When you’re done, you have to step back and look at the forest.” 

Stephen King

Congratulations to our Medalists! 🥇

The following authors have earned a medal from FAPA as part of the Florida Authors

and Publishers Association’s Annual President’s Book Awards. This is a remarkable accomplishment and is a testament to their skill and talent in the literary industry.

All the listed medalists are winners! Each winning book has been scored and recommended for a medal by a panel of three judges. FAPA awards medals to authors based on the quality of their books, not by which book scored first, second, or third place. For example, one category might have multiple gold, silver, or bronze medals, while another has no gold, no silver, and only one bronze medal. There are also a few categories in which no books scored high enough to earn a medal.

For dramatic effect, specific medals (gold, silver, or bronze) won’t be announced until

the President’s Book Awards Celebration on Saturday, August 3, held after the close of

our annual conference, FAPACon 2024, in Orlando. Attending this celebration is an

excellent opportunity to meet and congratulate our winning authors. I invite everyone to come and enjoy the suspense as you await the announcement of each author’s name

and medal, and applaud them as they receive their award on stage in person!

The Awards Celebration is a separate ticketed event from FAPACon 2024. I encourage

all medalists, authors, publishers, illustrators, and anyone interested in the book

industry to attend our conference on Friday and Saturday. You don’t have to be a FAPA

member to attend. Registration for the awards celebration and the conference is very

easy. Just go to our site and click the FAPACon 2024 tab. You can also register for a

discounted room at the Hilton directly from our website.

Please join me at the Awards Celebration to congratulate our winners and at FAPACon

2024.

The FAPA 2024 President’s Book Award Medalists

Medalists are listed alphabetically in each category, NOT by score or medal placement. Every book on this list will receive either a gold, a silver, or a bronze medal!

Cover Design: Adult

Keeping Mother—Darlene Goodwin

Cover Design by Darlene Goodwin

Palmetto Pioneers: The Emigrants—Cindy Roe Littlejohn

Cover Design by Hannah Marie McDonald

Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse—Chris Coward

Cover Design by Kevin Stone

Stones of the Earth—Kolby Carrell

Cover Design by Gabriel H. Vaughn

Cover Design: Young Adult

Dragons, Monsters, and Imaginary Friends: and Peter's Field of Dreams—Clifton

Savoy

Cover Design by The Book Cover Whisperer

Cover Design: Children

A Code Red Christmas—Camille Klump

Cover Design by Beatriz del Alamo

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

Cover Design by Jason Fowler

Magenta—Sheri Fink

Cover Design by Bright Jungle Studios

Malcolm Hatches an Egg—Valerie Crowe

Cover Design by Ginger Marks

Young Adult: Fiction

Awakening: An Enchanted Romance—Diane Green

Forgotten Rebellion—A.J. Park

Magda, Standing—Christine Fallert Kessides

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

The Shadowlink Two Sides of Hexel—Stefanie Schatzman

Welcome to Mansfield—A.R. Farina

Middle Grades: Fiction

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

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

The Galaxy According to Cece—Sherry Roberts

Children: Chapter Book

A Code Red Christmas—Camille Klump and Beatriz del Alamo

A Simple Seagrass—Camille Klump

Emma Just Medium: The Beach Dilemma—Laura Wiltse Prior

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

The Secret Society of Cats & Chickens: A Key West Adventure Story for Kids and

Whimsical Adults—Margaret Meps Schulte

Children: Beginning Reader

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

Illustrations by Berrie Torgan-Randall

How Pickleball Saved Ollie Otter—Lawrence R. Blundred

Illustrations by Milt Priggee

Magenta—Sheri Fink

Illustrations by Bright Jungle Studios

Princess Sofia's Special School Adventure—Donna Frost

Illustrations by Lisa J. Michaels

Children: Pre-Reader / Picture Book

A Firefly Named Felix—Deanna Har

Illustrations by Chrish Vindhy

A Snowboy Spreads Christmas Joy—Gayle Paben

Illustrations by Reader's Magnet LLC

Boo Thunder!—Evelyn Presley

Illustrations by Judith Gosse

Caleb's Christmas Quest: Featuring Pigmuffin—Evelyn Presley

Illustrations by Judith Gosse

Hello, France!—Ekaterina Otiko

Illustrations by José Gascón

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

Illustrations by Kayleigh Castle

Malcolm Hatches an Egg—Valerie Crowe

Illustrations by Carlos Weiser

One Perfect Plan: The Bible's Big Story in Tiny Poems—Nancy Tupper Ling

Illustrations by Alina Chau

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

Illustrations by Susan Lee

Sssnake on a Ssskate?—Steven V. LeShay, Ph.D.

Illustrations by Matthew V. LeShay and Santi Jurado

The Little Monster's Big Birthday—Sheri Fink

Illustrations by Bright Jungle Studios

Wrigley at the White House—Karna Bodman

Illustrations by Susan Spellman

Zoey and Max: Best Friends Forever—Zandria Bastian

Illustrations by Queen Smith

Travel / Geography

Timisoara 23: 23 Secrets You’ll Love About the City and the Romanian Banat—Andreea

Sepi and Claudia Tanasescu

Sports / Recreation

How Pickleball Saved Ollie Otter—Lawrence R. Blundred

Science / Nature

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

Whitetail Secrets: Bachelor Life—Susan Lindsley

Wild Florida: An Animal Odyssey—Kirsten Hines

Religion / Spirituality

20 Ways to Increase Your Psychic Abilities—John Russell

Finding Love and Purpose: Our Journey to Healing through Connection—Sarina

Baptista, Vickie Hays, Carrie Hackwelder-Longo, and Kimberly Latta

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

Keeping Mother—Darlene Goodwin

Prophetic Redemption—Paul Headworth

Wolves Unseen: A Theological Excavation of Christianity, Cults, and Ideologies—Tekoa

Manning

Political / Current Events

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

Poetry

Driving The Lost Highway—Jeff Weddle

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

Inspirational / Motivational

Bridges Between Our Hearts—Jennifer Collins

Finding Love and Purpose: Our Journey to Healing through Connection—Sarina

Baptista, Vickie Hays, Carrie Hackwelder-Longo, and Kimberly Latta

Keeping Mother—Darlene Goodwin

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

Gordon

Humor / Comedy

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

The Gullwing Colony—Antonio Simon, Jr.

How-To / Instructional / Self-Help

Five Doors of Success: How to Build a Future Without Luck, Money, or Friends in High

Places—Joshua Candamo

From the Boxing Ring to the Ashram—Deborah Charnes

The Game: Winning by Virtue One Move at a Time—Her Royal Majesty Princess

Merrilee of Solana (Merrilee Sweeney)

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

You’re on Fire, It’s Fine: Effective Strategies for Parenting Teens with Self-Destructive

Behaviors—Katie K. May

You're Driving Me Crazy!—John Reinhardt

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

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

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

Golardi

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

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

Fitness / Health

From the Boxing Ring to the Ashram—Deborah Charnes

Geriatrics Handbook: Practical applications for healthcare professionals and

patients—Venkit S. Iyer, and MD David Bernstein, MD

Coloring / Activity Book

Color Me Culture: Explore Paris—Séverine Chanay-Savoyen

Color My World—Ginger Marks

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

Business / Technology

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

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

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

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

Why Brand Protection Matters—L.A. Perkins

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

Biography

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

Autobiography / Memoir

An Apparently Normal Person—Bonnie R. Armstrong

CSI: The Casey Anthony Child Murder Case—Gerard Bloise

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

Stuff—Cynthia D. Bertelsen

Divine Restoration: Life After Manic Depression—Alan Lantieri

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

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

The Killing Closet—V.L. Brunskill

Adult Fiction: Thriller / Horror

Blue Magic on Mushroom Island—David C. Edmonds

The Murder Plague—Scott Michael Powers

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

Adult Fiction: Sci-Fi

The First HumAIn—Robert Lewis Heron

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

Adult Fiction: Romance

Matching Melissa—Dianna Dann

Roads To Run—Ronni Miller

Adult Fiction: Mystery / Suspense

Dangerous Undercurrents - FBI Affairs: Book 4—Suzanne Baginskie

It's a Good Day to Liquidate—Ed Borowsky

Model Suspect—T.K. Sheffield

Prophetic Redemption—Paul Headworth

Strange Timing—Jeffrey C. Bruce

The Snake Traders—Brenda Spalding and Aubrey Joy Rosales

Three Dead Freds—Linda Marie Guecia

Adult Fiction: Historical

Alice's War—William McClain

An Island Long Ago—Julie Burnette

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

Lizard of Transition—Edward Borowsky

Southern Crosses—Victoria Laurienzo

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

The Peculiar Affliction of Thomas Wade Duncan—Kip Koelsch

The Puppet Maker's Daughter—Karla M. Jay

Adult Fiction: Fantasy / Occult

Atlanta's Guide to Cryptids—Kevin A. Davis

Forgotten Rebellion—A.J. Park

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

The Acros Raiders—Sara Tunder

The Peculiar Affliction of Thomas Wade Duncan—Kip Koelsch

Adult Fiction: Anthology / Collection

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

Adult Fiction: Adventure and General

Double Haul—Bill Bishop

Heartbreak Guitar—Janice Dodgeyour

Save the date! August 2 & August 3 FAPACon 2024. MyFAPACon 2024.

Book Your Hotel Room Today!

Rooms are going fast! Book by June 30 to guarantee your room in the conference hotel. The address for the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace is 1900 East Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830. To make a reservation at the discounted FAPA conference rate, call the Hilton reservations hotline at 1-(855)-757-4984 and reference the code “FAC” or click on the button below.

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

Join the FAPA Board! Calling all memebers! We need your help! If you want to share in the planning of FAPA's direction for the future, we need you! If you have a passion for publishing and want to make a meaningful difference in your community, we want to hear from you! Contact us today to learn more about this exciting volunteer opportunity Apply now. myFAPA.org/board-of-directors.

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

International Pirate Hall of Fame 2023 Inductee

🎉 Congratulations Robert! 🙌

FAPA President Robert Jacob is the newest inductee into the International Pirate Hall of Fame, a non-profit organization that recognizes leaders devoted to the study of famous pirates throughout history.

The selection committee seeks diverse candidates that represent the global pirate community of performers, authors, musicians, and more, and only selects ten finalists per year.

Additionally, Robert is pleased to announce the release of his third book, Blackbeard: The Truth Revealed, which is an accurate, comprehensive, and well-researched book on the world’s most famous pirate.

For more information on Robert, please visit his website at https://www.robertjacobauthor.com or

Share Your Successes!

We want to hear from you. Send a photo of a recent book signing or event with a short caption to Anne.Jacob@myfapa.org and we will feature you in a future newsletter!

Regional Events

Precious Publishing Academy – July 2024

Poetry Summer School at the West Melbourne Public Library

Poetry Summer School 2024

Poetry in the Sun

In Florida’s summer, where the sun does shine, Poetry’s magic unfolds when stanzas align. Words dance and swirl in the golden light, Crafting lyrical verses that take flight.

Join us, and let your creativity ignite!

This summer, embark on a poetic journey in the heart of Florida’s sunshine. Our 4-week course is perfect for individuals new to poetry and writing but eager to explore the world of verse, but it’s also suitable for practiced poets looking for a refresher and a chance to interact with fellow wordsmiths.

Participants will delve into the fundamental elements of poetry, learn essential techniques, and discover how to express themselves creatively. With a blend of engaging lectures, hands-on exercises, and interactive workshops, you’ll find your unique voice and let your words dance in the golden light.

Whether you’re a budding writer, a curious student, or a retiree, join us and ignite your imagination in this enchanting setting. Let the magic of poetry transform your summer and inspire you to craft stanzas that fly like the SpaceX Falcon 9—and have some fun!

The course runs for four weeks on Tuesday afternoons from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., on July 9 (Introduction to Poetry), July 16 (Imagery and Sound in Poetry), July 23 (Developing Your Poetic Voice), and July 30 (Revising and Sharing Your Work), at the West Melbourne Public Library.

The course is free, but please enroll in advance by contacting the instructor, Scott Tilley, at stilley@preciouspublishing.biz or (321) 604-1294. Participants who complete the course will receive a certificate recognizing their achievement and dedication to mastering the art of poetry.

“I would define, in brief, the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty.” ― Edgar Allan Poe, The Poetic Principle

Scott Tilley is president of Precious Publishing, an emeritus professor at the Florida Institute of Technology, president of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida, a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Authors and Publishers Association, and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow. His recent books include Systems Analysis & Design (2024), Poems of the Moment (2023), AFTERMATH (2022), and PETS (2021). He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Victoria.

Full details are available online at https://www.preciouspublishing.biz/academy/poetry/summerschool.html.

If you are interested, please enroll in advance by contacting Scott Tilley at stilley@preciouspublishing.biz or (321) 604-1294.

Participants who complete the course will receive a certificate recognizing their achievement and dedication to mastering the art of poetry.

www.PreciousPublishing.biz/join

🖐️ 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.

A Warm Welcome to Our Newest Partner Member!

We are pleased to welcome Téa from The Calm Creative to our FAPA partner community!

Téa runs an online digital marketing agency from Ontario, Canada specializing in social media marketing and content creation. She has been working with authors and publishers for the last year, allowing them to grow like-minded communities online and build awareness for their businesses.

We are excited to welcome her to the team!

Support our FAPACon Sponsors!

Visit our FAPACon 2023 Sponsors!

DocUmeant Publishing 

4Horsemen Publications Inc. 

CHG - Colorhouse Graphics 

NRK Designs 

BiblioGarden 

Books International

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. Use the link on the 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.

Copyright © 2022 Florida Authors & Publishers Association. All rights reserved. 

FAPA's Board of Directors is entirely comprised of volunteers.