Hiddennode

Okay, I knew I wasn’t the only writer in the area, but it is finally nice to actually sit down with a few of them. Last Saturday, the 2^nd of May, I had the pleasure of attending Wesley Chapel’s 2^nd Florida Writers Association meeting. They meet monthly on the first Saturday of the month and have various speakers come to guide and instruct the writers that show up.

Oh and the writer’s that showed up!

None of us wrote quite the same thing. Some wrote fiction, some erotica, some about collecting hat boxes. One woman was there to find a way to publish her late son’s books. Another in her 80′s had just celebrated the publication of her first novel. It was amazing the variety of people that had arrived. The speaker was pretty good too. Julie Ann Howel,  publisher for a self-publication company, Peppertree Press. She had some great insight and offered a valuable service to many of the people there. It’s not the route I want to take for my publication, but hey, each of us has our own path to forge and her company offers a very good path to those who would need it. For all that she said, it sounds like if you want someone who is a very reliable and talented guide for self-publication, Peppertree can handle it for you. Don’t worry if you’re not in Florida, they have customers from across the world.

The best part, however, was the luncheon afterwards. It was only 5 of us from the meeting (including the guest speaker), and one guest spouse, and the conversation we had over lunch was just great. We talked about new media, authors, writing styles, novel specifics and sizes. I kept talking about the greatness of JC Hutchins (and I’ve recommended that we should attempt to bring him in as a speaker. So JC, if some folks in Tampa ask you to come speak, that’s cause of me) when speaking of pimping out your novel and really taking it far with advertising in new and old media.

I’m so looking forward to next month’s meeting.

Now excuse me while I hop over to the Florida Writer’s Association website and pay a year’s dues to become a full fledged member.

jdiehl