Saturday was a grotty miserable overcast 50's temperatures day in North-East Florida - until I ran into a pukka wedding complete with decorated elephant staged at the Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Convention.
Drums, chanting, and traditionally draped guests clapped and danced in the short "parade route" in the pick-up/drop-off zone for limos and cabs at the main entrance.
I'd guess neither the valet nor the porter anticipated their job description would include: parking a pachyderm or the "Care and Handling" of that particular type of trunk!
Happy to say the scheduled gig with Dr. Rick Wilber, newspaper editor turned SciFi author and journalism Prof. conducting a a workshop on "Turning Articles into Award-winning Novels" prior to the annual Florida Press Club awards banquet, was not totally upstaged by the reception outside.
With an audience made up of professional newsroom colleagues, Wilber comfortably cut to the chase and spelled out the reality of writing for a living.There are many more Non-Fiction books on bookshop shelves than Fiction. The glamour of top-seller and top-dollar writers hit the headlines -- as most in the room knew. But they represent only a tiny tip of the publishing industry iceberg.
The former newsman, baseball fan (his dad was a pro), SciFi writer and mass media communicator is a hands-on practical, practising, performer of a craft he teaches to students at USF (University of South Florida).
Creatively his head may be in the clouds -- but pragmatically his feet are firmly planted on the ground.
Catch him, if you can!
Thank you for coming to the workshop. I found it very informative as well.
ReplyDeleteOur website is floridapressclub.org, and we would love to have you as a member. I will have Megan, our treasurer contact you soon about joining.
Thank you again!