{"id":7342,"date":"2020-07-01T14:25:06","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T18:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/?p=7342"},"modified":"2020-07-01T14:25:09","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T18:25:09","slug":"local-authors-aim-to-inspire-aspiring-writers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/mandarin\/local-authors-aim-to-inspire-aspiring-writers\/","title":{"rendered":"Local authors aim to inspire aspiring writers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newly published author and Mandarin resident David Gaslin recently wondered if many people know how many published authors there are living in Mandarin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf someone has the \u2018itch\u2019 to write, I thought it might motivate them to know how many authors there actually are here and in the northeast Florida area,\u201d Gaslin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a high school reading teacher responsible for bringing struggling students\u2019 reading levels up to grade level so they could graduate, he felt motivated to write a book that once people started reading, they wouldn\u2019t be able to put down. He named the first book that affected him like that as \u201cJaws.\u201d He said that especially in school, there are a lot of boring books one must read, but finding interesting books are key to keep young readers motivated so they don\u2019t fall behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gaslin said he always knew he wanted to write a story for kids about bullying, and he began by writing short stories for his grandchildren. One 30 page story led to a few more and after a friend read them all and was impressed, he decided to try to get the story published. After many rejections, he found a publisher willing to give him a chance and then the \u201chard\u201d work of page design, chapters, and illustrations began. About six months later, Gaslin finally had a copy of his book for middle school readers, \u201cThe Little Tree that Changed Everything,\u201d in his hands. He has since started writing a fantasy trilogy, also aimed at middle school readers, featuring a fairy princess. The coronavirus pandemic has slowed publishing efforts, but he is delighted that he has settled on an illustrator for the books, a local high school student. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His advice for aspiring writers? First, talk to people, especially other writers. Gaslin said he likes to go to open houses, such as at the Mandarin Museum, where local authors\u2019 books are for sale. Secondly, he said to never give up. He sent 150 letters to potential publishers and all said \u201cno\u201d before finally one said \u201cyes.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author Bob Nay, who also lived in Mandarin for many years before moving to St. Johns County, said he writes books not because of a love of writing, but because of a desire to share stories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can tell stories one time,\u201d Nay said. \u201cIf you write the stories down, they will be around for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a math major, he worked for Blue Shield. Upon his retirement he wanted to share family stories with future generations. He especially liked research, and said he initially thought about writing as merely writing a letter to someone and then adding on the details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nay\u2019s seven books include four family history books and then three others that also tell family stories \u2014 just not his family\u2019s. Perhaps most well known is \u201cI Am a Full Fledged Floridian: The Life and Times of William Webb,\u201d which is sold at the Mandarin Museum gift shop. Like his other books, Nay spent a lot of time researching museum and military records and learned that Webb moved from his home state of New York to Mandarin and operated an orange grove where the Mandarin Museum is now located. He said researching this book helped him to learn even more about Mandarin\u2019s history, and he donated all proceeds to the Mandarin Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nay said he thought it was important for aspiring writers to play to their own strengths; his is research, so his books require a lot of that. Additionally he said a teacher once gave him some good advice: just start writing and don\u2019t worry about grammar and form at first \u2014 just try to keep from being chaotic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juvenile fiction author and Mandarin resident Jane R. Wood is well known among school children for her five-book historical fiction series set largely in the southeast. Her first book in the series, \u201cVoices in St. Augustine,\u201d was purchased in bulk by the Duval County School District after teachers requested it, saying that their fourth graders liked to learn about history through fiction. The third book, \u201cTrouble on the St. Johns River\u201d has an environmental theme and is set in Mandarin. It even has a scene set at County Dock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like to weave a fun fictional story around history and vice-versa,\u201d Wood said. \u201cI know my young audience and try not to overwhelm them with the history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood said she fell in love with writing in fourth grade while working on a poetry project. She said she discovered the \u201cmagic of words.\u201d She took creative writing classes in college and eventually became a seventh grade teacher where, like Gaslin, she was responsible for getting some of her students to read up to grade level. She moved on to a corporate job and was ultimately laid off as the result of corporate downsizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had always said, \u2018one of these days\u2019 I\u2019ll write a book,\u201d Wood said. \u201cAfter the downsizing, I realized that maybe today is that day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She decided to self publish her books and created Florida Kids Press. She had help from her husband and son, but eventually had to learn all about printing, distribution, marketing and social media \u2014 the skills that many writers who use a traditional publishing company don\u2019t really need to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood recommended that aspiring writers \u201cdo their homework!\u201d She suggested calling other authors and attending book events like the Jax Book Fest and the Amelia Island Book Festival. Wood also made note of two different groups for would be authors to check out: a writers\u2019 group, such as the Florida Writers Association (https:\/\/floridawriters.net\/) and a publishers\u2019 group, the Florida Authors and Publishers Association (https:\/\/myfapa.org\/), which focuses more on the publishing aspect. Both organizations have local groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo courtesy David Gaslin
Author David Gaslin at a signing for his book, \u201cThe Little Tree that Changed Everything.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Martie Thompsoneditor@floridanewsline.com Newly published author and Mandarin resident David Gaslin recently wondered if many people know how many published authors there are living in Mandarin. \u201cIf someone has the \u2018itch\u2019 to write, I thought it might motivate them to know how many authors there actually are here and in the northeast Florida area,\u201d Gaslin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7342","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mandarin"},"yoast_head":"\nLocal authors aim to inspire aspiring writers - Florida NewsLine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mandarin NewsLineBy Martie Thompsoneditor@floridanewsline.com Newly published author and Mandarin resident David Gaslin recently wondered if many people know how many\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/mandarin\/local-authors-aim-to-inspire-aspiring-writers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Local authors aim to inspire aspiring writers - 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