May Meeting - Tight Writing, with Abigail Sharpe

Join us on May 24 for a workshop on Tight Writing. Abigail is a Boston-bred Yankee now eating grits and saying "y'all" in North Central Florida. She dreamed more of being a stage actress or joining the CIA than being an author. While she still enjoys participating in community theater productions and singing karaoke, the secret-agent career was replaced by hours at her computer, writing passionate and playful contemporary romance. 

Her first book, Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy? was a 2010 Golden Heart finalist in the contemporary single title category and was released by Grand Central in 2013.  Who Wants to Marry a Doctor? releases July 1.

Abigail lives with her husband, two kids, and one crazy princess puppy. You can keep up with her on Goodreads or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/AbigailSharpeBooks or on her website - www.abigailsharpe.com.

ACRA meets on the 4th Saturday of each month at the Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd, Jacksonville, FL. Phone (904)-996-0325. Bring your lunch and socialize from 12:30 - 1 pm, followed by a workshop.

Upcoming Meeting & Workshop with Diane Burke ~ April 26, 2014

Diane Burke will join us this month or present Gems From the Treasure Chest, words of wisdom from herself and other successfully published authors. She'll share tidbits of information on plotting, characterization, and other topics she has picked up from her own experience as well as a variety of authors with whom she has formed bonds.

Diane is a multi-published author who has won several awards such as first place in the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She was one of three finalists in the prestigious ACFW Carol Award (previously book of the year).

Diane lives in Florida nestled between the excitement of the theme parks and Daytona raceway and the quiet historical streets of St. Augustine. When she isn’t struggling with never-ending writer’s block and procrastination, she spends her time, preferably on windy or cold days, at the beach when few people are nearby and she can just sit and appreciate the peaceful beauty of nature.

She loves to read, is learning to crochet, has dabbled in painting with watercolors, and hopes to someday travel the country teaching classes, meeting people, and helping them make their dreams come true.

ACRA meets on the 4th Saturday of each month at the Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd, Jacksonville, FL. Phone (904)-996-0325. Bring your lunch and socialize from 12:30 - 1 pm, followed by a workshop.

Turn Passive Writing Into Active Reading

The March 22, 2014, workshop TURN PASSIVE WRITING INTO ACTIVE READING addresses the ubiquitous rookie mistake of telling instead of showing. Through examples and exercises, Cheryl Norman shows you the red flags of telling and teaches the author's bag of tricks in revising passive writing into an engaging story. Cheryl bases her workshop materials on years of contest judging and editing, as well as her experience in leading novel writing and self-editing workshops. 

Cheryl Norman grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, where she wrote her first mystery at the age of 13.  She earned a BA in English at Georgia State University in Atlanta. After a career in the telecommunications industry, she returned to fiction writing and won the 2003 EPPIE award for her contemporary romance, Last Resort. Her debut with Medallion Press, Restore My Heart, led to a mention in Publisher's Weekly as one of ten new romance authors to watch. Running Scared, a romantic suspense set in Jacksonville, Florida, and Washington D.C., received a Perfect 10 from Romance Reviews Today. Reviewer Harriet Klausner calls her writing "Mindful of Linda Howard ... " She just signed a six-book contract with Turquoise Morning Press for a category “sweet” romance e-book series. The first, Return to Drake Springs, will be available in October, 2014.

Her non-fiction writing includes four cookbooks and an award-winning blog, Hasty Tasty Meals. In addition to writing, Cheryl works with breast cancer survivors to raise awareness about early detection and treatment of the disease. She also helps writers with grammar via her Grammar Cop blog, newsletter articles, and workshops.

Visit Cheryl's Website, connect with her on Twitter and Facebook, and check out recipes on her award-winning blog, Hasty Tasty Meals.

ACRA meets on the 4th Saturday of each month at the Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd, Jacksonville, FL. Phone (904)-996-0325. Bring your lunch and socialize from 12:30 - 1 pm, followed by a workshop.

Q&A with JSO Detective Tommy Herrington ~ September 28, 2013

Detective Tommy Herrington was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida and is a graduate of Andrew Jackson High School. In 1991 Detective Herrington joined the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office as a Correctional Officer working at the Duval County Jail. In 1993 Detective Herrington joined the department's police force as a street patrolman.

After working five years on the street, Detective Herrington joined the Detective Division as a Sex Crimes Detective. Throughout his career Detective Herrington has been a detective in the following divisions: Homicide, Undercover Narcotics, Undercover Vice, Major Crime Narcotics (Wire-Tap Investigations), Integrity Unit (Investigating crimes committed by police officers), and was a media spokesman for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.  Detective Herrington has currently been employed with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for 22 years. He is married to his wife Tina and has six children.

ACRA meets on the 4th Saturday of each month at the Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd, Jacksonville, FL. Phone (904)-996-0325. PLEASE NOTE: the meeting time for this month ONLY is 11 am - 3:30 pm..Bring your lunch and socialize from 11 - 11:30 am, followed by the workshop.

Medical Q&A Workshop, July 27: Critical Care, Pediatric Intensive/Neonatal, Trauma, Hazmat

Join us this Saturday as Tracy Provenzano answers your medical/trauma/pediatric writing questions!

Tracy has worked as a nurse for 25 years.  During that time, she has worked in the following units: Pediatric Critical Care Team, Pediatric Emergency Center, Pediatric Intensive Unit/Trauma Unit, General Pediatric Unit, Hospital-based Gynecological/Infertility Practice, Neonatal Critical Care Unit, and Postpartum Unit. 

She holds the rank of Major in the Florida Air National Guard Unit, 125^th Fighter Wing Medical Group.  In the Guard, she serves as a Critical Care Nurse in the group responsible for pre-deployment and routine care of our nation’s airmen: The unit’s CERF-P (CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Package) Team is responsible for all state and federal disaster/hazmat response.

Major Provenzano is the director of the BLS program for over 600 personnel. As a CERF-P Team member, she is Hazmat certified and Hot Zone Triage trained.  She has completed the entire rescue training course and is qualified to provide nursing care for all triaged levels of Emergent Disaster Care.

She lives with her husband, Paul in Ponte Vedra.  Their son, Paul attends University of Central Florida.  Their youngest son, Christopher, recently enlisted in the US Navy.

ACRA meets on the 4th Saturday of each month at the Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd, Jacksonville, FL. Phone (904)-996-0325. Bring your lunch and socialize from 12:30 - 1pm, followed by a workshop.

Valerie Bowman Joins Us for the April 27 Meeting

Join us on April 27 for a fun workshop with author Valerie Bowman of Jacksonville. She'll be encouraging aspiring authors and sharing her experiences with the publication of her Secret Brides Regency series.

Valerie has a B.A. in English Language and Literature with a minor in History from Smith College and has been writing and editing professionally for over 15 years. She is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), and a member of The Beau Monde, Regency special interest chapter.

Originally from Rantoul, Illinois, Valerie lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her rascally dog, Roo. When she’s not writing, she keeps busy reading, traveling, or watching Hoarders.

Valerie is represented by Kevan Lyon of the Marsal-Lyon Literary Agency.

ACRA meets on the 4th Saturday of each month at the Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd, Jacksonville, FL. Phone (904)-996-0325. Bring your lunch and socialize from 12:30 - 1pm, followed by a workshop.

Maria Geraci ~ A Heroine to Root For

Welcome to Ancient City Romance Authors in 2013! We hope you are as excited about a new writing year as we are, and we invite you to visit us, attend a workshop, get to know us, and hopefully join us. Here is our first workshop for the year, on January 26 at 1pm:

A Heroine to Root For (or how not to be a Scarlet)

Scarlet O'Hara might be one of literature's most famous characters, but she's not exactly the kind of heroine romance readers will root for. Learn how to create a heroine worthy of your plot (and your hero!).

Maria Geraci was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised on Florida’s Space Coast. Her love of books started with the classic, Little Women (a book she read so often growing up, she could probably quote). She writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction with a happy ending. Her fourth novel, A Girl Like You, was released last August by Berkley, Penguin, USA. You can connect with Maria by visiting her website, MariaGeraci.com

August Workshop & Meeting: Q & A With Keith Nazworth, Deputy, JSO

Join us for our August 25 meeting. This month's workshop will be a Q&A with JSO Deputy Keith Nazworth. Jot down the questions you've always wanted to ask a law enforcement officer, and come be a part of what is sure to be a fantastic meeting.

The Ancient City Romance Authors meet at the Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd, in  Jacksonville. Meetings are held each fourth Saturday of the month, January through October. Bring your lunch and socialize from 12:30pm - 1, then workshops begin.




Keith Nazworth
Graduate of Andrew Jackson High School C/O 1983.
Attended college at FCCCJ.
Worked in the private sector prior to being hired by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in 1990.
Married for 20 years ( Teresa ) and have one daughter ( Shelby ).
Worked 2 years in Patrol, 10 years of Canine, 7 years in Marine Unit and currently assigned to Traffic Division ( Motor Unit ).
I attended 840 hours of training to obtain my basic law enforcement certification .
Canine Certification was 640 hours of training ( dual purpose K9 – patrol/narcotics ).
I obtained my OUPV ( Merchant Capt License with a towing Endorsement ).
I completed the JSO Solo motorcycle program in July 2010 ( 120 hours ).

I am currently assigned to Zone 5 in the traffic unit ( Northwest Jacksonville area ), my primary function is handling vehicle crashes and traffic complaints.

I look forward to seeing you this weekend and will do my best to answer all questions or concerns.