Event Schedule for January

We are off to a busy start at Paragraphs for the New Year. If you are looking for something different to do, please take advantage of one or more of the following opportunities. I think we have some talented and interesting authors lined up and an interesting schedule of book signings, discussions and readings, planned.

All events at Paragraphs are free and open to the public. We provide refreshments and no purchase is ever required. You are welcome to come, listen and visit with our guests. We just provide the venue and the speakers. It is your participation that makes these evenings worth the effort.

Saturday, Jan 1st 2-4pm – What a way to start the New Year and give your resolutions a chance! Come out and join us for some New Year’s cheer and spend time with Kathy Sparrow, a life coach, trainer and inspirational speaker. In addition to her presentation on her book, she will help inspire us with ways to keep our resolutions that so often fall by the wayside with the hectic and pressured lifestyle we lead.

Her book, On the Mother Lagoon: Fly Fishing and the Spiritual Journey (Wish Publishing, 2003), chronicles Sparrow’s development from novice saltwater fly fisher to a fully fledged, US Coast Guard Captain and saltwater fly fishing guide on the Lower Laguna Madre. In it, she shares her psychospiritual development, as well as the technical aspects, of mastering this quiet sport. Both male and female readers will identify with her ability to honestly share her struggles, setbacks, and successes of her fly fishing experiences.

Tuesday, Jan 25th 2-4 PM – Venselaar, who writes poetry and prose will be signing her novel, Musical Voyage. Musical Voyage demonstrates the enormous feeling and self-discipline which artists, musicians, writers and painters need to possess in addition to the great love for their art.

Nelly Venselaar, who also writes under the pen name Petra Van Slooten, has won awards for her poetry. She is a member of the Valley Byliners.

Friday, Jan 28th 6-7 PM – Poetry reading and reception with poet Kamala Platt.

Dr. Kamala Platt's first decade was shaped by family legacies in human rights work and life on the prairie in rural Kansas. She began writing as she learned to read, and her mother, herself a writer, encouraged her daughter’s interest through a summer class with octogenarian poet Cora M. Nicodemus.

Subsequently, Platt has studied poetry with Bienvenido N. Santos, Victor Contoski, Keith Ratzlaff, Raylene Hinz-Penner, Howard McCord and Al Young, among others.

Thursday, Feb 3rd 1-2 and 5-7 – Jenne Savery and Betty Hanawa romance writers and authors of numerous works will be at Paragraphs to sign and discuss the trials and tribulations of writing romance novels.

Thursday, Feb 10th 5-7 –Author, Daniel Dinges will return to Paragraphs to discuss and sign his novel Get Out of the Way. The book gives a front row-view of a young man's fight to stay alive during the cultural revolution of the legendary sixties. A panorama of the times, Tom struggles to endure the personal battles of love and family while avoiding being in the cross hairs of another man's gun. In a time when many would not survive either battle, Tom is determined to Get Out of the Way!

Author Daniel Dinges currently resides in the Rio Grande Valley after a varied career in business, consulting, and management. He holds degrees in economics and business. He is the father of two, grandfather of two, and enjoys golf, movies, music, reading, and travel.

Wednesday, Feb 16th 1-2PM and 4-6PM - Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas is for All Ages. Written by Jeanette Larson and published by Charlesbridge Publishing.

Jeanette Larson is a children's literature and library services consultant and trainer, currently serving as an adjunct professor for Texas Woman's University. She's the former Youth Services Manager at Austin Public Library and former Director of Library Development for the Texas State Library where she also served as Manager of Continuing Education and Consulting.

Jeanette's professional accomplishments include work with the Texas Reading Club, the Texas Book Festival, the "Mother Goose Asks Why" program, and the Reach Out and Read program. She has experience as a Children's Services Librarian as well as extensive community involvement with reading and education initiatives. The Texas Library Association honored her as Librarian of the Year in 1998 and awarded her the Siddie Joe Johnson Award for outstanding contributions to children's librarianship in 2002.

We are excited about having the opportunity to have Jeanette join us while she is in the area doing some work at the Port Isabel Public Library.

Ongoing Events:

Play Readers Anonymous:
The second Monday of each month (except March) the Anonymous Play Readers Group meets at 7PM. All are welcome to join us for this monthly evening of fun. Why not join us as we explore and read the character parts in a casual atmosphere? Everyone is welcome and scripts are provided. The next date is January 10, 2011.

Author’s Round Table:
With the beginning of the new year Paragraphs will be hosting a monthly gathering where experienced or beginning authors can meet, discuss and share their experiences with writing and getting publishing. Whether you have a manuscript prepared, have already been published, or still have all your ideas in your head waiting to be transcribed to paper, this is an ideal opportunity to meet others with similar interests and to get or give advice about anything to do with your writing life.

Held on the fourth Monday of the month at 7PM. The first meeting will be January 24th.