Thanks to everyone who made my Florida book tour experience last week such a treasure. Here is my public schedule of Walkin' Lawton events for May.
The second leg of my Florida book tour for Walkin' Lawton begins this week and continues through May. Below are the public events that I wish to advertise:
Hotelier Tom Staed, one of Lawton Chiles' premier supporters in Daytona Beach, Florida, has passed away.
Staed helped on both Chiles' Senate and gubernatorial campaigns.
I interviewed Staed a few years ago. We sat in his office at one of his oceanside hotels in Daytona. We talked about the Chiles campaigns and how unique they were. It was a privilege to hear so many details from a partner in these pioneering campaign strategies.
I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to record so many insights from elders while they lived, and print the best of them in Walkin' Lawton.
My paternal grandfather was a WWII veteran and an ace pilot. He would relate story after colorful story about life in the skies, life in rural Virginia, life as a storyteller and newspaperman. I'm fortunate to have learned the nuances of oral history from such a talented practitioner. So many of his stories are seared in my memory for all time.
When I sat down with elder Chiles associates like Staed, I did my best to apply the lessons learned at the knee of my Grandpa. Mostly, in my grandfather's living room, I learned how to listen effectively. Many of his stories were told twice or thrice or many times more. For me, the game was to listen for what new shade of intrigue my grandfather offered during his new telling. That novelty was an adventure always.
The political legacy of Tom Staed and many other luminary Chiles associates--a great oral history--lives on in the pages of Walkin' Lawton.
Just received my schedule for the University of Central Florida Reading Festival in April. I will be joining a panel discussion about "Making an Impact in the Political Process" with 2 political experts.
I'm looking forward to a great event.
It's just been confirmed that Walkin' Lawton will be one of the
featured titles at the University of Central Florida Book Festival on
Saturday, April 13th. The event will be all day at the UCF Arena in Orlando, Florida.
Here is a link to the author page for Walkin' Lawton: http://education.ucf.edu/
I'm excited to participate in the festival and meet other authors.
The Politic, a Yale undergraduate publication, has published an interview with me about Walkin' Lawton. I'm proud of this collaboration. I wrote an article for The Politic when I was a student at Yale College. It was excellent practice for me as I worked at my wordcraft.
Reading some of the other articles online now at The Politic, I'm impressed by the journalism. They have been able to attract some very significant interview subjects, too.
Here is a LINK to this latest interview about Walkin' Lawton.
The Tampa Bay Times has just published their book review of Walkin' Lawton. I'm delighted for the Chiles legacy to receive such significant coverage. And I'm pleased that the reviewer found it "compelling."
I did years of research into the St. Petersburg Times (the former name for The Tampa Bay Times) archive to unlock the reams of information necessary to complete my biography. I think it's a fine newspaper that holds the state's governors accountable.
