Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

Taking characters on new adventures is part of Odessa mystery novelist James Swain’s daily routine — but now he’s the one exploring a new terrain.

At the beginning of October, Swain plunged into the world of electronic self-publishing by releasing four new eBooks: “Jackpot,” “Wild Card,” “The Program” and “The Man Who Cheated Death.”
The move comes after years of success in the conventional publishing world. Swain’s books have been published in the United States, France, Japan, Russia, Germany and Bulgaria. The author also has received writing accolades for his work and has created characters, such as Tony Valentine and Jack Carpenter, who have developed a following of their own with readers.
The Valentine books are in development in Hollywood for a television series, Swain said, adding that he wrote a script last year.
Even with his solid track record, Swain is enthused about the possibilities of electronic publishing.
“This is empowering,” Swain said. “So many people have books they want to put out there.”
He said he saw evidence of the growing interest in electronic publishing during the recent St. Petersburg Times 2010 Festival of Reading.
Swain sat on a panel at the festival with Carla Jimenez, co-owner of Inkwood Books, an independent bookstore in south Tampa. They discussed a topic that’s near and dear to readers: “The Future of Books.”
The conference room, designed to seat 100, was packed well beyond capacity, Swain said.
“Probably 80 percent wanted to know how to do this (electronic publishing). The other 20 percent was already part of this (electronic publishing) community,” Swain said.
He said he became attracted to the possibility of publishing eBooks in August, after listening to author Joe Konrath speak on the topic at a mystery writers’ conference in Sarasota.
Swain said he’d already written some books, and had already been paid for two of them – but the rights had reverted to him for those books because they had not yet been published.
Electronic publishing offers enormous potential for authors, Swain said. But in order to be successful, a book must be able to attract an audience and the author must have an entrepreneurial bent, Swain said.
“When I launched these books, I sent out about 1,500 e-mails to fans and people we know,” Swain said.
The sales began immediately and he’s now selling books at a clip of about 75 to 100 books a day, he said.
The books can be read on a Kindle or by using an app that’s available for free from Amazon, Swain said.
He thinks that reading devices, such as Kindle, have much more to offer than simply allowing people to read books.
“They’re stores. They’re libraries. You have access to so much when you own one. Even (if it is an app) on a computer. The world is at your fingertips.”
The great thing about Kindles is that Amazon has thousands of eBooks that are available for free, including classics such as “Pride and Prejudice,” Swain said.
“It’s like I handed you a library,” Swain said. “Culturally, it’s absolutely fantastic. For writers like myself who are waiting for books to get out, it is fantastic.”
Amazon rewards authors who offer books at an affordable price, Swain said. Amazon pays authors 70 percent, if they price their books below $10, he said.
“I price the books inexpensively, $2.99,” Swain said. That seems to be the sweet spot – it is about how much someone spends for a cookie and a cup of coffee, he said.
By comparison, the same book would cost more than $25 in hard cover and at least $7.99 as a paperback, Swain said.
Swain said his previous work gives him an advantage over unknown writers. “I have a connection with readers. I have a following.”
That being said, Swain thinks eBooks can offer an outstanding avenue for finding new readers and for giving new authors a chance to get their work published.
Electronic self-publishing allows readers to buy books at lower prices. It also gives authors more control over their final product, including the design of the book cover and blurbs promoting a book.
“I can’t tell you how many times my publisher put things up that were inaccurate,” Swain said. The covers have also been a problem sometimes, he said. Too often they’ve been based on what sells, rather than whether they convey the book’s content, he said.
Swain said he doesn’t know where his quest into electronic self-publishing will lead, but he’s certain the industry will grow.
“I think what we’re all seeing is – this (eBook) business is expanding and the book sales business is contracting.”
He hopes people will give eBooks a try.
“People are pointing at them saying, “Oh, they’re going to ruin the book business. They’re not. The book business was already having a lot of problems well before it started. This is going to save the book business.”
To download a free app for reading eBooks or for more information about Swain or his books, go to www.jimswain.com

By B.C. Manion

Quilt lovers who want to add to their collections will have plenty of choices at a quilt auction Nov. 6 at the “As Our Garden Grows 2010 Quilt Show.”

The show, presented by the Cypress Creek Quilters’ Guild, is slated from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the University of South Florida’s Botanical Gardens, at Pine and Alumni drives at the southwest corner of the USF Tampa campus.
The auction will feature more than 90 quilts. In addition to quilts being sold, about 200 quilts will be on display in the show. The event also features a boutique and items for sale by vendors.
Bidding for most of the quilts will begin at $20, with all of the proceeds from the auction benefitting USF’s Hope House for Eating Disorders.
An event rain date has been set for Sunday, Nov. 7.
Many quilts in the show have interesting names, such as “Every One Loves a Sharp Dressed Man,” by Cathleene Kiel Tokish; “It May Be a Zoo in Here, But it’s a Jungle Out There,” by Pat Reeves; and, “Clowns to the Right, Jokers to the Left,” by Paula Lewis.
While many of the 116 members of the Cypress Creek Quilter’s Guild will have quilts on display, the show is just one of many of the guild’s activities throughout the year.
Guild members come from many communities, including Land O’Lakes, Lutz, Wesley Chapel, Odessa, New Port Richey, Tampa, Brandon and Mulberry. The vast majority of members are women, but there are three male members – and the group welcomes more.
The youngest member of the guild, Katie Nagel, is a teenager; the oldest member, Katherine Coffey, is 89.
Coffey’s daughter, Polly Batista, also belongs to the guild, though she acknowledged she never thought she’d be a quilter.
“My mother started quilting when she was 7,” Batista said. “I wasn’t going to do that. Period.”
As it turns out, however, she had a change of heart and now Batista, Lynn Herndon and Dr. Pauline Powers are co-chairwomen of this year’s quilt show.
During a recent interview, guild members said they came to quilting in different ways.
Powers said she took up quilting years ago as a way to relieve stress caused by a particularly difficult job. She likes the fact she can get lost in her quilting as she concentrates on the work. She likes being able to fit quilting into her schedule when she has a few minutes to spare.
Guild member Joyce Bartholomew said she and her daughter took up quilting as a diversion when Bartholomew’s daughter broke up with her boyfriend.
That was 25 years ago. The ex-boyfriend is long gone, but both women still love quilting. In fact, Bartholomew is showing seven quilts in this year’s show.
Another guild member, Diane Juranko, said she decided to give quilting a try at the encouragement of a friend. Once she took up the craft, she never looked back.
Guild member Cathleene Tokish, who will be showing five quilts at the show, said she was drawn to quilting after seeing gorgeous quilts at a show.
Besides quilting, guild members said they enjoy trying new tools of the trade, attending workshops to learn new techniques and designs, shopping at fabric stores to add more material to their stash and using their talents to help various charities.
They make Quilts of Valor, for instance, to give to service members who have been injured in the war on terror. They also make Breast Cancer Heart Pillows for patients recovering from mastectomies; walker caddies for people in nursing homes; and quilts for kids at Hope Children’s Home.
The guild meets at 6 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at the Lutz Community Center, 101 1st Ave., N.E. in Lutz. Anyone who is interested in joining the guild or learning more about it should go to www.cypresscreekquilters.org.

As Our Garden Grows 2010 Quilt Show
Where: The University of South Florida Botanical Gardens, at Pine and Alumni drives on the USF Tampa campus.
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 6 (Rain date: Nov. 7)
What: Quilt show features more than 200 quilts, a boutique and an auction of more than 90 quilts. The auction will be from 1-5 p.m. and will benefit USF’s Hope House for Eating Disorders.
Who: The Cypress Creek Quilters’ Guild is presenting the show and auction.
For more information about the show go to www.cypresscreekquilters.org

By B.C. Manion

When Patrick Hunter wants to go fishing, he just heads out behind his house and casts a line into the Lake Heather Pond.
If he wants a lovely view, he simply gazes at the beauty of the placid pool of water.

And, if he wants to get up close with nature, he strolls around the pond’s perimeter to check out the blooms on the magnolia tree, to capture a photo of the purple pickerel weed or to watch a red-shouldered hawk make a circle in the sky.
The pond is teaming with life and it offers an excellent spot for enjoyment for Hunter and his neighbors.
It wasn’t always this way.
Just a few years ago, the pond was choked with coattails, torpedo grass and Brazilian pepper bushes. It was drying up in places and filling in with weeds.
It was on its way to becoming marshland, Hunter said.
But he and his neighbors joined forces with the Adopt-A-Pond program to restore the pond to good health. Instead of being an eyesore, the pond now provides a bit of beauty for people living around it or passing by.
The pond’s good health is no accident, said Hunter, whose group is maintaining just one of the 260 ponds that have been taken on by groups in the Adopt-A-Pond program. The program is funded by Hillsborough County and the Hillsborough River and Alafia River basin boards of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
The program, which began in 1991, helps homeowners learn how to manage their storm water pond in order to create a functional wetland system.
Keeping storm water ponds healthy is important because they prevent flooding, they provide water treatment and groundwater recharge and they are part of the network of waterways.
Lake Heather Pond, unlike most ponds, does not flow into other waterways unless there is an unusual flood event, Hunter said.
But it does pick up pollutants that are carried into the pond from nearby yards, streets and parking lots.
It’s important to minimize pollutants and to use vegetation to provide cover for baby fish, said Hunter, whose group known as Lake Heather Pond Keepers has been helping to keep the pond healthy since 2006.
Those wishing to participate in the Adopt-A-Pond program must submit an application, which can be found on the Hillsborough County Water Atlas at www.hillsborough.wateratlas.us.edu/AAP. The application explains the program’s requirements.
Pasco County also has a volunteer program aimed at keeping ponds healthy. Information about that program can be found at www.adoptapondpasco.org.
The website explains the criteria used for acceptance into the program, offers suggestions on vegetation, includes a form people can fill out if they would like a presentation on the program and offers other useful information.
The nonprofit Pasco organization lists its partners and supporters as Florida Lake Watch, Hillsborough River Watershed Alliance, Pasco County Government and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Keep your pond healthy:
Don’t let yard waste and falling leaves wash into your storm drains. Compost them or use them for mulch.
Fertilize wisely. Twice a year is often enough and spring and fall are the best times to fertilize.
Learn about your dirt. You can have your soil analyzed by the Hillsborough County Cooperative Extension Service. Once you know more about your soil, you will know what it really needs. When using fertilizer, think “slow” — as in slow release or insoluble. That way the fertilizer you put on your yard will stay there instead of ending up in your pond.
Establish fertilizer-free zones. Stay at least 50 feet away from your pond and a few feet away from your pavement with fertilizer applications.
Source: Hillsborough County Adopt-A-Pond program

Prevent the introduction or spread of invasive plants:
Avoid disturbing natural areas. This means you should avoid clearing native vegetation, refrain from planting non-native plants and steer clear of dumping yard wastes.
Do not use exotic species in your landscaping, for land restoration or for erosion control projects.
Use plants that are native to your local region, as much as possible, for your landscaping projects. If the plant is not native, make sure that it is not known to be invasive. Your cooperative extension service can advise you on that.
Source: Hillsborough County Adopt-A-Pond program

By Kyle LoJacono

The Land O’ Lakes Rowing Club’s Row and Paddle for Hospice event brought about 60 people to Lake Saxon Park in Land O’ Lakes Oct. 23.

The goal was to raise money for the HPH Hospice and the club brought in $1,550 for the organization.
“The atmosphere was fun and exciting and everyone wants to do it again next year,” said Mary Jane Kranendonk, founder of the club. “The Stewards Foundation brought their crews and were nice enough to leave another rowing shell for our Land O’ Lakes team to use. Overall it was a wonderful day.”
The event included rowing and paddling demonstrations, races, food vendors and massages for those who wanted to loosen up their muscles before or after the exercise.
The money raised will go to the hospice, which helped the Kranendonk family deal with the loss of Kranendonk’s oldest son, Thomas, three years ago.
Laura Finch, of Wesley Chapel, is HPH’s manager of bereavement services and children assistance programs. She said it is the generosity of people like Kranendonk and the club that make it possible for them to help families in grief.
The club has about 15 members who are mainly from Land O’ Lakes, but also has rowers from Lutz, Odessa and one from Brooksville. The group started earlier this year and rows Saturday or Sunday mornings at 7:30 a.m.
For more information on the club, e-mail .

By Shannon Edinger

The changing of the season marks the return of AutoFest, hosted by Zephyrhills Festivals Inc. and Zephyrhills Auction Inc. The 26th Annual Fall AutoFest will take place Nov. 11-14, and will open at 8 a.m. each day.
Tim Sierra, who works for Zephyrhills Festivals and Auction, says the Fall AutoFest will have an antique collector car auction, swap meet, car corral and exhibition racing on a quarter- mile dirt track.

The antique collector car auction will take place Friday, Nov. 12 and Saturday, Nov. 13.  The auction will begin at 11 a.m. on Friday and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.  It will be a gathering of buyers and sellers with special vehicles such as street rods, muscle cars, classics, racecars, specialty trucks and motorcycles up for auction.  A total of 290 cars, both domestic and foreign, will be accepted at the auction for both days.  There is an array of consigned auction vehicles so far ranging from Ford coupes to fully loaded Chevy Corvettes.
The swap meet is one of the festival’s highlights.
“There are a lot of new and used auto parts and accessories found here,” Sierra said.  The swap meet is held in a massive area where people can find car parts and collectibles ranging from engines and transmissions to souvenirs such as T-shirts and old gas pump signs.
The car corral area of the swap meet is where there are vehicles for sale.  There are primarily domestic and some foreign cars ranging from fair to excellent condition for sale at the car corral.  “Unlike the auction, the car corral allows people to deal with the owner directly,” Sierra said.
There is also a vintage auto-racing event that takes place Friday through Sunday at 10:30 a.m.  Warm-ups will take place on Thursday.  There will be stock cars, sprint cars and midgets racing in the event.
Stock cars have the appearance of typical family sedans, but are built to race.  Sprint cars are single-seated, open-wheeled racing machines that vary in appearance, and midgets are similar to sprint cars, but they are more compact.  The older midgets are typically narrower and taller than the newer midgets.
General admission grants access to all events.
The festival park is located at 2738 Gall Blvd. (US 301) in Zephyrhills.  Admission is $8 Thursday, $10 Friday and Saturday and $5 Sunday.  There is free admission to children 12 and younger with paying adult.
For more information about the festival or to find out how to register, visit www.zephyrhillsauction.com or call the park at (813) 782-0835.

By Gary Hatrick

Buying a car at Wesley Chapel Toyota or Wesley Chapel Honda will also help the cause of finding a cure for breast cancer as a result of a community initiative begun by the Toyota dealership.

Proof was offered in dollars Wednesday as WC Honda Managing Partner David Williams presented Moffitt Cancer Center representative Shaina Sine with a check for $35,000 accumulated through car sales.
“We take a small percentage out of each car sale and donate it to Moffitt,” Williams said. “We started out with Toyota and we just recently acquired Honda across the street so they gave a small percentage in the few months that we’ve owned it. Next year it will be a larger check because we’ll have both stores doing it all year.”
Williams said that the effort began about a year ago as the Toyota dealership sought ways to get involved and give back to the community. They felt there was no better partner in the local community to help than Moffitt.
“Everybody has been touched in one way or another by cancer, especially breast cancer,” Williams explained. “We’ll continue to build and try to get more each year. Our goal next year is $50,000 to $60,000.”
Both Toyota and Honda dealership employees have worn pink shirts all through October to highlight breast cancer awareness and plans are to do so every year.
“We thank Wesley Chapel Toyota and Honda for partnering with Moffitt Cancer Center to spread awareness of breast cancer and helping with our mission of education treatment and detection,” Sine said.
The money will go a long way to fund research initiatives and patient care initiative, Sine continued, as well as enabling Moffitt to get out in the community and help underserved populations and women throughout the region.