The UCF Book Festival in a (rather large) nutshell

I think I've made enough of a nuisance of myself raving about the 2nd Annual UCF Book Festival here lately, but I can't let it lie until I 'splain out all the awesomeness that I experienced last weekend. 

So I talked about the Author Reception already, that was held on Friday evening.  That was a fun way to kick off the festivities. On Saturday morning at 9am, they were open for business!

The committee made a concerted effort to make this event much bigger than last year.  One of their objectives was to get local bloggers in on the fun.  Heather (Raging Bibliomania) met Susan Wegmann, an Associate Professor at UCF, at SIBA last fall, which paved our way into this opportunity.  Heather provided my name and Jenny Reed's (Take Me Away) to her, and suddenly we were the festival's official bloggers.  We were provided our own blogging suite and a full page ad in the schedule booklet.    

Above from left to right:  Jenny Reed, me, Heather Figearo

Our suite overlooked the floor of the arena, where the book signings and booths were stationed.  Before the author panels started at 10:00, we scoped out the goodies.  Heather and I bought literary t-shirts from Literary Threads, as well as some bookmarks and some books.  (We're helpless.)





The first panel on my agenda was called "Who Put the Thrill in Thriller", and was attended by mystery thriller authors Tom Lowe (The 24th Letter), Daniel Palmer (Delirious) and Tim Dorsey (Electric Barracuda).  Sorry for the low lighting...we had ambiance.     

I love crime novels, and these guys fulfilled my homicidal, blood-spattered expectations.  My first reaction was...Daniel Palmer, son of Michael Palmer, was quite the handsome dude.  I've been really wanting to read his latest book "Delirious", about which we got some juicy background.  I was more than shocked, however, when he brazenly revealed to us the bad guy of his next novel "Helpless".  How dare he?  He didn't think we would remember this fact once the book is finally published, but trust me, I will.  I wanted to run out of the room screaming with my fingers in my ears.  The real hit, to me, was Dorsey.  I've listened to one of his books (which all take place in Florida) "Atomic Lobster" on audio, and it was freaking hilarious.  His protagonist is a Dexter-ish serial killer with a conscience.  Now I know why his book was so funny.  The guy about made me pee my pants for the entire panel. I wanted to buy him a beer.

My next session, and probably my favorite (sorry I didn't get a picture), was called "Blood and Poison Across the Centuries:  True Tales of Crime & Science".  This session was attended by Holly Tucker (Blood Work), Douglas Starr (The Killer of Little Shepherds) and Deborah Blum (The Poisoner's Handbook). Have you ever wanted to know what it would be like to dig through foreign archives, old moldy boxes and autopsy notes from the 1800's and solve a cold case?  These guys have done it.  Not only that, but this trio acted like they'd been on a publicity tour with each other for three years, they were just lobbing the conversation back and forth seamlessly.  I was SO MOVED by their panel, I went out and bought all three of their books and missed half of the next session so they could sign them.  (she says as she stares at her mountain of books that threaten to fall and crush her)    

The last session I attended was called "Family Secrets", which featured Lori Roy (Bent Road), Susan Hubbard (The Season of Risks) and Eleanor Brown (The Weird Sisters).   

This was a fascinating panel because Lori and Eleanor both just published their debut novels.  Lori used to be an accountant (yay number crunchers!), Susan was a seasoned professor and a writer of both short stories and novels, and Eleanor, well, she was Eleanor!  Like I said in my post Saturday, she is real and candid and hilarious.

After all was said and done, it was time to get the Central Florida blogger community (hot damn guys, we actually HAVE one!) together for an end-of-festival celebration.  As all of you bloggers know, you don't really need to have met someone in real life to have a two hour conversation with them the first time you meet them.  We reflected on the festival, our blogging lives, the books we are reading, and about Florida's bugs.  The poor husbands sat at the end of the table and just shook their heads.      

Left to right:  Jenny's husband and Jenny (Take Me Away), me, Liz (Cleverly Inked), Heather (Book Addiction), Heather (Raging Bibliomania), and Michelle and her husband (My Books, My Life).

So there you have it.  I am already getting excited about next year, and what the festival will bring.  The bigger it gets, the more authors we will attract, and the more attendees will come.  If you are within a driving distance of Orlando (or can figure out a way to coordinate a trip down here at the same time) you must come in 2012.   

 

The UCF Book Festival begins with a bang: The Author Reception

OK maybe I'm just a little bit giddy about being part of the UCF Book Festival, the only cool literary event we've got going on in Central Florida.  I've always been so jealous of all the bloggers that have book festivals happening in their backyard.  The authors!  The signings!  The panel discussions!  The blogger get-togethers!  Heck, we don't even have an indie bookstore in Orlando anymore.

So God bless the folks at UCF for making this grass roots event a reality, and working their tails off to try to make it a huge success.  In the process of their planning, they made a conscious decision to embrace book bloggers, and I'm proud to be a part of it!  You won't find a greater lover of books and supporter of reading than a book blogger.  Joining me in the official blogging capacity is Heather at Raging Bibliomania and Jenny at Take Me Away.

    

The event was kicked off with an author reception held at the UCF Barnes and Noble on Friday evening from 6pm to 8pm.  The bloggers three arrived not really knowing anyone.  As we stood scoping out the crowd, my eyes bugged out and I whispered to my friends:  "Oh my God, Eleanor Brown (author of "The Weird Sisters") is standing RIGHT BEHIND US!".  She was deeply engaged in a conversation with another woman who had her back turned to us.  So with the ruse of getting a glass of wine, I meandered by and struck up a conversation.  My eyes bugged out again when I realized that Eleanor's friend was Lori Roy, who just released "Bent Road" (reviewed a couple of days ago by Jenny here, and ordered on audio from the library by me yesterday).  Soon the five of us were chatting, gushing over their novels.  Eleanor was SO incredibly happy and open, she felt like an old college buddy.  And both authors love to participate in book club call-ins, so take note! 
We also were thrilled to catch up with Susan Gregg Gilmore, who Heather and I met at SIBA.  She was as gracious and beautiful as ever, I had to tell her how much I loved "The Improper Life of Bezelia Grove", and we promised to meet up on Saturday.  

There was a formal presentation as well, given by the President of UCF, John C. Hitt, and Dean Sandra Robinson.  They talked about the construction of the Morgridge International Reading Center at UCF, and about their plans for the festival going forward.  We were then treated with a reading by Maxine Paetro, a collaborator with James Patterson, of the creepy prologue from The 7th Heaven. 

The best part of all, however, in my opinion, was a group of local children (aged approximately 12 to 15) who performed a little singing, acting performance about the love of reading.  It was spectacular!  And of course I am kicking myself for not taking a video.  You would all have been extremely impressed with these young men and women.  We are hoping that maybe we will catch their act again sometime during the day today.

As bloggers, we felt like we were treated like royalty.  We were given a full page ad in the event booklet, and will have our own blogging suite available all day during the festival.  Stay tuned for more excitement and updates on the UCF Book Festival! 

Spotlight on the UCF Book Festival: The Double Human - James O'Neal

 The last book I will highlight for the UCF Book Festival is "The Double Human" by James O' Neal.  I originally received this signed book at SIBA last fall.  Unfortunately, when I agreed to read and review a number of books for the festival, I bit off more than I could chew and was not able to read this book prior to the event.  Not to worry...I will most definitely be reading it.  But until then, here is the summary from inside the front cover.

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Tom Wilner is a cop.  At least what passes for a cop in this shattered world.  Plague and nuclear war have left most of the United States uninhabitable.  Many have fled to safer zones, forcing what's left of the government to wall off cities in an attempt to control mass migration.  The city of Miami is just one of these contained prison states.  But it's the outskirts of this forsaken realm that Tom Wilner calls home.

Amid this chaos, Wilner stumbles into the path of a wild and brutal adversary.  Forced to go undercover in the most frightfully ravaged corners of the Miami Quarantine Zone, Wilner uncovers something he hasn't seen in decades...a serial killer.  But this killer's path is not like any other; he has been active for nearly fifty years without any repercussions.  People call him "the Vampire".  Indeed, this serial killer is not human...and neither are his victims.

Doesn't this sound incredible?  Seven of the ten reviews on Amazon are five star.  If only I had one more week to read this before the festival!  Have any of you read this one?
 

Spotlight on the UCF Book Festival: Trail of Blood - Lisa Black

The next book that I am highlighting for the UCF Book Festival is "Trail of Blood" by Lisa Black.  I originally received this book at SIBA last fall, and even was able to get it signed by the author.  It has been on the "must read soon" stack" since then, and I'm thrilled to be able to bring it to you today.

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Synopsis:  In 1935, amidst Elliott Ness's shakedown of a corrupt Cleveland police department, the Torso Killer slayed and dismembered over a dozen victims, and was never caught.  One police officer, James Miller, attempting to resist a crooked life like his partner, is hot on the trail of the killer.  One night, however, he becomes another victim, is beheaded and sealed in a hidden closet.  All assume he has abandoned the force and his family.

Seventy-five years later, when the building is scheduled for demolition, his body is discovered.  Theresa McLean, forensic scientist, is assigned to the case with her cousin and police officer Frank.  Soon after the discovery, a new series of murders begin that emulate the Torso Murders so many years ago.  In alternating and synchronized narratives, we follow James Miller in his last days investigating the original murders, and at the same time accompany Theresa in her pursuit of the modern-day copycat.

My thoughts:  Here I am again, picking up a book that is third in a series.  You'd think I did this on purpose!  That being said, the book stands alone fine on its own, with a few references to events that occurred in the first and second installments. 

I loved the way the author wove the two stories together.  I've not seen many murder mysteries where we not only discover long-dead bodies, but then go back and get to walk in the victim's shoes and understand how they met their fate.  Additionally, the murders committed by both the original and the copycat were perfectly choreographed between the two narratives.  Therefore the plot flowed perfectly. 

I also thoroughly enjoyed the characters.  I was almost immediately in James Miller's corner, an honest man, dedicated to his family and doing what was right. His fate, known to us from the very beginning, was heartbreaking.  It was easy to fall into step with Theresa as well.  In this installment, she turns forty, and is fighting the effects of age and moving past her prime.  I am intrigued enough to dip into the back list.

BUT.  I'm not bragging or anything, but people, I guessed the modern-day killer within fifty pages.  I sniff out literary evil-doers I guess.  And this was a little disappointing.  I like to be surprised.  And why OH WHY does the protagonist always have to come head-to-head with the killer at the end, and survive magically when others have not?  Argh. It's not just this book, but 90% of them fall into this trap. 

This complaint, however, was eclipsed by a very solid and compelling narrative, some grisly murders, and the atmosphere of Elliot Ness's Cleveland...very noir, very intriguing, very entertaining.

And you true crime lovers are going to dig this.  There really WAS as Torso Killer in the 1930's in Cleveland, and some of the evidence discussed in the story really existed.  Also very cool tidbit...one of the present day victims in the novel, Kim Hammond, was the name of a woman who won a character name auction in 2009.  Very similar to the auction I won with Connie May Fowler last year (do you think Connie will kill me off?). 

4 out of 5 stars
   

Spotlight on the UCF Book Festival: The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove - Susan Gregg Gilmore

The second book I'm highlighting for the UCF Book Festival is one that I originally picked up at SIBA, where I also was lucky enough to meet the author, Susan Gregg Gilmore. Susan was not only drop-dead gorgeous, but the epitome of graciousness and friendliness, and incredibly easy to talk to. I'm hoping we will get to cross paths at the Book Festival next month!

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Rich and saddled with the baggage of an generations-old family name, Bezellia is not living the life that society would think. With a father who works at the hospital more than he is home, and a mother who cares more about her standing in society and her gin and tonics than her kids, Bezellia and her younger sister are raised by their black servants. They grow to fear their mother's drunken temper, and breathe a sigh of relief when she is ushered off for "vacations". As a result, Bezellia learns to fend for herself and is forced to accept adult responsibilities long before she should.

We follow Bezellia as she grows up in the South in the '60's, from her first kiss, to a summer love, to the love of her life who happens to have the wrong color skin. She encounters racism in her home, in the community, and throughout her young adulthood, which is confusing and frustrating since her servants are the closest family she has. In college, she is exposed to feminism and equal rights, and she grows to be a flawed but empowered woman that you can't help but love.

While this is a coming-of-age tale, Southern style, Gilmore gives it to us straight and unadorned. She not only captures the sticky, humid feel of the deep south, the euphoria and confusion of young love, but the hatred and turmoil of the era, and all characters, black and white, are flawed and human.

My thoughts: I really had no expectations going into this novel, except that it was Southern fiction. Imagine my surprise and delight when I read it in record Sandy-time, which was about two days. I couldn't put it down, the writing was so compelling. It swept me up in it's depth of emotion, it's serious historical value, and it's charm.

I've seen some criticism for the character of Bezellia, accusing her of being an unrelatable character. I really don't get this at all. I think Gilmore nailed her as a plucky, teenage girl who grew up wanting love, wanting to please her parents, wanting independence. She was no puritan either - she was curious about boys and she experimented. She made mistakes, her relationships were complicated, and she didn't necessarily ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after. All of this was refreshing as hell.

I also appreciated the historical references...Martin Luther King Jr., Vietnam, an impassioned speech by Gloria Steinem, and even Loretta Lynn singing out of a garage studio in her early years, all seen through Bezellia's eyes. It makes the story relevant and helps us better understand the environment that influenced our heroine.

Although this book could be considered Young Adult (although I'm not sure if it has been officially categorized as such), I would suggest some caution for young teens as there are some sex scenes, though not graphic.

Bottom line - read it. Now.

5 out of 5 stars

Spotlight on the UCF Book Festival: Zora and Me - Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon

The first book I'd like to highlight for the UCF Book Festival is "Zora and Me" by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon. I reviewed this book for the OKRA Challenge last November, so this is a re-post of my thoughts.

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I don't think anyone would argue that Zora Neale Hurston is one of the most influential writers of the Harlem Renaissance, and maybe even of literature in general. Her book Their Eyes Were Watching God was pure magic. She is an icon down here where I live, as she spent her childhood years in the first all-black town in the US called Eatonville, just on the north side of Orlando.

I find it natural and expected that writers and best friends Bond and Simon decided that they needed to craft a book about Zora as a child - she was such a compelling personality. Instead of writing another biography, though, they gathered as much factual data about her as possible, observed pictures of where she lived, learned about her friends and mentors, read her short stories to capture her spirit, and wrote a fictional middle grade novel. Thus came the highly anticipated debut novel "Zora and Me".

Synopsis: Narrated by Zora's best friend Carrie, the girls, along with the third musketeer Teddy, have adventures in Eatonville in the early 1900's. The presence of a mythical alligator named Ghost, and it's maiming and killing of one of Eatonville's residents, fuels the children's imagination. Zora, an inquisitive, precocious little firecracker, is the ringleader of the trio. She is convinced that Ghost is really half man, half beast, and the kids play detective to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Unfortunately, they stumble into something that is bigger than all of them. Instead of catching the evil man-gator, they receive a harsh education on the chasm between blacks and whites.

My thoughts: Bond and Simon have created a precious novel on several counts. They have obviously done their homework, and have resurrected Zora as she must have been as a youth - vibrant, curious, and a great storyteller. They have also stayed true to her environment and recreated Eatonville as it was: the boisterous, gossipy men on the front porch of Joe Clark's store, the closeness of the community, the transient workers passing through town, the trips into Maitland for shopping, the wise guidance of Zora's white godfather. (By the way, all of these elements have been included in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" as well.) It is a loving tribute to a very talented lady.

It is also a coming-of-age story. Carrie begins to have confusing and warm feelings towards Teddy. The children also lose a bit of their innocence as a result of the tough life lessons they learn about race and class. It is tender and bittersweet.

Whether you are a fan of Zora Neale Hurston, a fan of Southern fiction, or a 10 to 12 year old looking for something interesting to read, this book is a must.

I normally don't like to burden reviews with a video, but this one gives you an excellent feel for the passion behind Zora and Me. Take a look:






4 out of 5 stars