news

Book Three Status

April 2008: For those of you anxiously awaiting The Taking of the Dawn, Book Three of the Souls of Aredyrah Series, the author wishes to extend her sincere
apologies--it is not yet finished. Her goal is to complete the manuscript by the end of this summer (fingers crossed,) but as to the date of publication...well, that is very much up in the air. Please check back for future updates.

Florida Library Association Honors Book Award Winners

April 24, 2008, St. Pete Beach, Florida: Winners of the 2008 Florida Book Awards
were invited to attend a dinner in their honor at the Florida Library Association's
Annual Conference held at the Tradewinds Resort. Tracy A. Akers, whose second book in the Aredyrah series, The Search for the Unnamed One, won for YA Literature, was delighted to attend. While there, she met many wonderful members of the library association, as well as several very talented Florida authors. Mr. Wayne Wiegand, Professor of Library and Information Studies and Professor of American Studies at Florida State University, introduced the winners and explained the exciting plans being made to promote the Awards Program and its winners. Award winners are scheduled to be guests at several literary festivals including the Miami Book
Festival, Vero Beach Book Festival, Amelia Island Book Festival, the St. Pete Times
Festival of Reading, and more. In addition, Florida Book Awards winners (and
excerpts of their works) will be highlighted in the Summer 2008 issue of FORUM, the magazine of the Florida Humanities Council.

Governor of Florida Presents Medals to Book Award Winners

April 3, 2008, Tallahassee, Florida: Gold Medal winners of the Florida Book Awards
were honored at the Florida Heritage Month Awards Ceremony held at the R.A. Gray Building in downtown Tallahassee. Tracy A. Akers, winner for Young Adult Literature, attended the gala event where she and other winners were presented their medals by Governor Charlie Christ and Secretary of the State Kurt Browning. Other Gold medal winners included David Kirby, for poetry; Enid Shomer, for general fiction; Thomas B. Cavanagh, for popular fiction; Cynthia Barnett, for nonfiction; German Guerra, for Spanish language; and Adran Fogelin for children's literature. The following Floridians were also recognized for their contribution to Florida heritage: May Mann Jennings and Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr. received the 2008 Great Floridian Awards; William R. Adams, Ph.D. received the Secretary of State Historic Preservation Award, 2008 Senator Bob Williams Award; William Dreggors received the Secretary of State Historic Preservation Award, 2008 Mary Call Darby Collins Award; Joseph Johnson, Luis Ezequiel Torres, Nicholas Toth, and Michael K. Wilder received the 2008 Florida Folk Heritage Awards. Florida Artists Hall of Fame Inductees were given to sculptor Augusta Savage and filmmaker Victor Nunez.

The Search for the Unnamed One Wins the Gold!

March 4, 2008: The Search for the Unnamed One, Book Two of the Souls of Aredyrah Series, has been named the Gold medal winner for Young Adult Literature by the Florida Book Awards. Last year, Book One, The Fire and the Light, received a Bronze in the same category. This awards program is coordinated by the Florida State University Program in American and Florida Studies, and co-sponsored by the Florida Center for the Book, State Library and Archives of Florida, Florida Historical
Society, Florida Humanities Council, Florida Literary Arts Coalition, Florida Library Association, "Just Read, Florida!," Governor's Family Literacy Initiative, Florida Association for Media in Education, Florida Center for the Literary Arts, and the Florida Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. Ms. Akers is honored to be recognized by this prestigious awards program.

Tracy A. Akers to be a Guest Author at Ancient City Con

March, 2008: Tracy A. Akers, as well as other authors published through Aisling Press, have been invited to be guest authors at Ancient City Con, a science fiction/fantasy convention to be held August 2 and 3rd in Jacksonville Florida. This is Ms. Akers first time at the event, and she is very much looking forward to it!

Tracy A. Akers Again a Guest Author at DragonCon!

February 2008: For the second year in a row, Tracy A. Akers has been invited to be a Guest Author at DragonCon, the largest Science Fiction/Fantasy Convention in the US. The event will be held Labor Day weekend (August 29-September 1, 2008) in Atlanta, Georgia. For information about this fantastic event, visit
http://www.dragoncon.org

The Fire and the Light Highlighted in FORUM Magazine

July 2007: The Fire and the Light, and other winners in the 1st Annual Florida Book Awards, will be highlighted in the Florida Humanities Council July '07 "Summer Reader" issue of FORUM magazine. FORUM is an award winning publication, having been named "Best Overall Magazine" by the Florida Magazine Association. The Florida Humanities Council is a co-sponsor of the Florida Book Awards. Their active support of the program, as well as their generous offer to recognize the winning
titles in their quarterly publication, is greatly appreciated!

Tracy A. Akers to be a Guest Author at This Year's Dragon*Con

June 12, 2007: Tracy A. Akers, author of The Souls of Aredyrah Series, has just received the news: She has been invited to be a guest author at this year's Dragon*Con Science Fiction/Fantasy Convention to be held August 31-September 3 in Atlanta, Georgia. Dragon*Con is the largest convention of its type in the United States. This is a don't-miss for anyone who loves the genre (and wants to have a great time celebrating it.) For more information about Dragon*Con, visit:
www.dragoncon.org

Author William F. Nolan Wins Silver

June1, 2007: Author William F. Nolan has been awarded the Silver Medal in the “Writing and Publishing” category of the 2007 Independent Publisher Book Awards (the Ippys). His book, Let’s Get Creative, Writing Fiction That Sells!, is a complete guide to writing a selling fiction. I have personally read the book, and highly recommend it as a tool for anyone interested in learning more about the craft.

Winning Authors Invited to FLA President’s Reception

April 12, 2007: Winners in the 1st Annual Florida Book Awards were invited to attend the President's Reception at the Florida Library Association's 83rd Annual Conference that was held in Orlando, FL. I was thrilled to attend the event, (The Fire
and the Light received a Bronze Medal for YA literature), and had the opportunity to
meet hundreds of professional from libraries across the state. The Florida Library Association was a co-sponsor of the Florida Book Awards. Their support is greatly appreciated, especially by first-time authors like me!

Friends of FSU Library Host Banquet for Winning Authors

March 23, 2007: Winners in the 1st Annual Florida Book Awards were recognized at a banquet hosted by Friends of the FSU Library in Tallahassee, Florida. My book, The Fire and the Light , was named a Bronze Medal Winner in the Young Adult Literature category! Other winners for Young Adult Literature included: Gold Medal, The Real Question, by Adrian Fogelin (Peachtree Press); Silver, Headlock, by Joyce
Sweeney (Henry Holt Publishing); and tied for Bronze, Adios to My Old Life, by Caridad Ferrer, (Simon and Schuster.) My husband and I attended the banquet, where we met authors, contest judges, and dozens of other people with a passion for books. Thanks to the FSU Friends of the Library for their support of the Florida Book Awards and its recognition of Florida authors!

Author Kate Constable Offers Blurb

February 21, 2007: Author Kate Constable has offered to provide a blurb for publication in Book Two of the Souls of Aredyrah Series! Kate Constable, author of the Chanters of Tremaris Series (Scholastic Books,) lives in Australia. After receiving a copy of the Fire and the Light from me, she agreed to offer a quote in support of the series. For those of you who are not familiar with the process of obtaining blurbs, it can be a real challenge, especially for new authors. Many seasoned authors are too busy, or don’t want to risk lending their names to untested works. All I can say is, Ms. Constable is one fine lady: Not only was she willing to take a look at an unknown author’s book, but even agreed to write a blurb for it. Her generosity is greatly appreciated. For more information about Ms. Constable’s wonderful Chanters of Tremaris fantasy series, visit her website at www.kateconstable.com
(And if you like her work, please drop her a line and tell her so! I know she would love to hear from you.)

Award Winning Author to Write Introduction for Book Two

February 2007: William F. Nolan, award winning author of the Logan's Runseries, has agreed to write the Introduction for The Search for the Unnamed One, Book Two of The Souls of Aredyrah Series! Mr. Nolan is a prolific author, having sold more than 1500 books, short stories, articles, and other works. His series, Logan's Run, is a Science Fiction classic that was made into a major motion picture by MGM and was later turned into a CBS television series. Logan’s Run has also spawned comic books, and Warner Brothers is currently in negotiations to do a remake of the movie. Mr. Nolan has been a great supporter of the Aredyrah Series. He not only provided an out-of-this-world endorsement for The Fire and the Light, but after reading my manuscript for Book Two (The Search for the Unnamed One,) agreed to write an Introduction for it! For more information about Mr. Nolan, visit:
www.williamfnolan.com or www.nolansworld.com.

Character illustration by Annah Hutchings