Mary Lou Williams

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mary lou williams

Mary Lou Williams, M. Ed., is a retired teacher and a professional storyteller. She holds a masters degree in education from Columbia University and has spent 35 years as an educator of English and mathematics on the secondary level. She has served on the board of the Florida Storytellers Association from 2010 to 2014 and received their Distinguished Service Award for 2014. She has produced local storytelling workshops and storytelling performances featuring national tellers. She is a member of a quartet of storytellers that produce and perform storytelling showcases at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers and at Brambles English Tea Room in Naples. She conducts seminars and storytelling workshops at the Renaissance Academy of Florida Gulf Coast University. She is a member of the Tamiami Tale Tellers of Fort Myers.

Website: story-theatre.com

Mary Lou’s books

Havlin — Blue Water Red Blood

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Blue Water Red Blood

by DL Havlin

blue water red bloodWould history repeat itself? “Look what happened to our British friends at Gallipoli. Of the first two hundred men that landed at Cape Helles, only twelve made the beach alive.” As early as 1919, Marine General “Howling Mad” Holland Smith knew the US would likely be involved in another World War against Japan. He feared that it was only a matter of time. His eyes turned to the Pacific islands as the most logical theatre of war. How, he wondered, could the Marines possibly land troops and keep them alive long enough to fight? In 1928, the killer Okeechobee Hurricane strikes Florida. Don Roebling, grandson of the builder of the Brooklyn Bridge, is determined to invent a rescue boat that can conquer the swamps, the flooding and the debris strewn terrain to save lives! Together, these two Americans will face nightmares of red tape, engineering challenges, corruption and personal set-backs to train and equip the US Marines for their greatest challenges of WWII, and shape world history.

Purchase at Amazon

Havlin — The Bait Man

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THE BAIT MAN

by DL Havlin

the bait man“Wild child” Chessie Partin had enough of being branded a woman who never finishes what she starts, so when she stumbles on murder evidence implicating the local “bait man” (and her tormentor), she sets her jaw and enlists the help of her suspended policeman brother, Reading, to catch the man she’s sure is a killer. Huston there’s a problem! Not enough proof. She decides to gather enough facts on her own to convict bait man, Rooster Cocker, and to prove he is the despicable villain she believes him to be. Chessie finds she’s only partly right when she shoves her nose into a sinister enterprise that has corrupt officials protecting it and that may end up slicing and dicing her to be sold as “replacement parts” by Harlan Mengelberg, its evil owner.

Purchase at Amazon

Havlin — Escaping Skeletons

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Escaping Skeletons
(Chessie Parton, Archeologist, Mysteries) 

by DL Havlin

escaping skeletonsEver hear of Operation Paperclip? Our heroine, Chessie Partin, had not. She soon found that its unintended consequences would threaten her life and many of her associates. Before it became the CIA, the United States’ clandestine service was the OSS or Office of Strategic Services. It was a desperate organization born in WWII’s desperate times. One desperate plan was the highly secret operation called, “Paperclip.” It was concocted to beat the Soviets in the race to grab as many German scientists as possible at the end of the war. Mistakes made to expedite this operation were carefully hidden but did, and still do, haunt the US government. The danger rises as Chessie and her crew, begin unearthing 70-year-old dirty laundry. Accompany her as she narrowly escapes death and unearths secrets NO one is supposed to know. Escaping Skeletons is the second of the series of Chrissie Partin, Archaeologist adventures. The first is The Bait Man.

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Havlin — Turtle Point

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Turtle Point: Featuring Harper Sturgis In The Iron Lady Mystery/Suspense Series

by DL Havlin

turtle pointIt’s ironic that the portion of their lives sea turtles go to the most pains to keep secret is the part we humans know most about. It’s equally ironic that humans and sea turtles share a trait…they bury things they wish to remain undiscovered. It’s this common “burying” instinct that allows me to introduce my mystery novel, Turtle Point. DL Havlin’s new mystery/suspense novel, Turtle Point, explores this possibility. Benny Dupree, the main character, lives with the constant threat of the exposure of a deed committed thirty years in the past. Living in a paradise of white sand beaches and warm tropical waters, Benny is enjoying his senior year in college when a beautiful co-ed turns his world upside-down. Her dedication to ecology and saving sea turtles becomes his. They encounter poachers. Benny finds his new love being buried by the two criminals. Benny kills and buries them in island sands. The threat of having his crime discovered fades during the next thirty years, but suddenly is forcefully revived by two mysterious “treasure” hunting men who threaten to penetrate all the defenses he’s erected to protect his secret. As they snoop and get close to exposing him, Benny becomes frantic and seeks help from a friend. Enter Harper Sturgis! A friend refers Benny to this lawyer/private investigator who specializes in tough cases. A retired Marine Intelligence Officer, Harper takes no prisoners. Benny finds “she” is as tough as any “he” he’s ever met. Harper takes the case and exhumes secrets and surprises that Benny isn’t even aware. Is Harper able to save Benny from spending the rest of his life in jail? Read and find out. Set in the beautiful Sanibel-Captiva, Pine Island area in Southwest Florida, Turtle Point will captivate the mystery/suspense reader who craves differences in characters, plot, and story resolution.

Purchase at Amazon

Havlin — A Place No One Should Go

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A PLACE NO ONE SHOULD GO:
Keana-eno-pa-watchee

by DL Havlin

a place no one should goA Place No One Should Go is a gripping tale set in Florida’s wilds. The book weaves historical information in this suspenseful story highlighting one of today’s most timely topics, modern man’s ambivalence between morality and sexual infidelity. Canoeing into the Florida wilderness is a near weekend ritual for the Callison family. Even the youngest of their three children at five years old knows how to safely navigate the dangers of the wild. But what happens when the wilderness they are required to traverse is contained within a man’s soul? Ben Callison and his family’s latest camping trip takes a strange and sinister twist when they meet a mysterious Indian where they elect to pitch their tent. The Seminole warns Ben he’s camped in a place that evil calls home. Is the terror that lurks there a resident of the mound Ben’s camped on or does it reside within him? Ben must find out if the shapeless dread he faces is from within or without, and if he makes it out alive, does anyone ever really return from A Place No One Should Go? Anyone who enjoys finding out how a tale that reviewers state “requires the light be left on when reading at night”, learning about Calusa Indian spirituality, and adventures set in the Florida outdoors will love this novel.

Purchase at Amazon

EYELANDS BOOK AWARDS 2021

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eyelands book awardsWe are glad to announce our international book awards for 2021.
Opening: June 10, 2021
Closing: October 20, 2021 at midnight PST.

Submit your book or manuscript online $30.00 (27 euros)
Early bird submission $ 22 (20 euros) till September 1st, 2021.

Final results are to be announced on Wednesday, December 30, 2021.

Submit your manuscript to: eyelandsmag@gmail.com
Or/ strangedaysbooks@gmail.com

PRIZES & PUBLICITY
Section: Published books
Grand Prize: A five-day holiday in Athens

Section: Unpublished books
Grand prize: Translation in Greek and Publication from Strange Days Books.

See more prizes at:
https://eyelandsawards.com/

Keynote Speaker for FAPAcon

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Steve Berry

WORKSHOP SPEAKERS!

Don’t forget that Steve Berry will be the Keynote Speaker at this year’s FAPA Annual Conference in Orlando. He is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of 20 novels. To learn more about Steve Berry, go to https://steveberry.org  Steve will speak at 11:45 am on July 31, 2021, at the FAPAcon2021 conference at the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace.

1:00 PM Workshop speakers are:
Brenda M. Spalding will present “Choice for the Independent Author.” She is a prolific author with children’s books and several adult novels. She has won awards from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association and the National League of American Pen Women.

Michael L. Joy brings us “Catching an agent’s attention 101”. He a board member of the Florida Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America, where he is the co-chair of their annual mystery writing conference, SleuthFest. (SleuthFest.com).

Check back next month to see more workshop speakers!

To register for the conference, go to https://myfapa.org/fapacon2021/.
Members: Log in to get your discount!
Masks are still required in public areas of the hotel. This may change and if so, we will notify you.