From 10:00 am until 1:00 pm
At West Branch Regional Library and on Zoom
1425 Chaffee Rd S, Jacksonville, FL 32221
Donna M. Gray-Banks is the Founder and Director of the F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival (Fiction, Romance, Erotica, Spiritual and Health), one of the largest book festivals for minority and indie self-published authors in Florida. The Festival began in 2011, and the City of Daytona Beach, Florida, began sponsorship of the Festival in 2012. She is also an officer of the Ormond Beach Jazz Society and is looking forward to more jazz appreciation events that include mentorship of musicians who are in high school and college; using jazz as a calming method of relaxation for young children; and developing a historical booklet that spotlights local musician who have made an impact on the jazz society.
Gray-Banks is the author of a highly successful suspense erotic series, Ila’s Diamonds I, II, III, and Ila’s Diamonds IV The House that Jack Build”. Donna is a guest columnist for Blackmeninamerica.com, the Daytona Times newspaper, and is a book broker.
Donna hosts two successful YouTube channels – Zoom In On A F.R.E.S.H. Conversation Monday night from 8-9 p.m. where she features authors and entrepreneurs. And, Zoom In On A F.R.E.S.H. Conversation After Dark, where she interviews spicier subjects, music, and film makers monthly. Currently is the host for the beautiful City of Daytona Beaches’ Radio Show, on Joy 106.3 FM, every Wednesday at noon. Gray-Banks is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Midtown Community Development Corporation in Daytona Beach, Florida. Donna is the proud Mother of Gregory Taylor Banks and resides in the City of Palm Coast, Florida.
CONTACT INFORMATION
F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival
https://www.freshbookfestivals.net
WORKSHOP ONE: “Just when you think you’ve said enough, you might need more.”
When writing you must give the readers a vivid sense of where and when events take place by anchoring action and dialogue. Each participant will be given a city or a state. Without saying which city or state, they will describe visiting a friend for the first time and entering their home or apartment and feeling a sense of……. No more than 200 words – 3-4 paragraphs. Depending upon the number of participants we will read aloud their words and see if the group can tell what state or city the scene was written in.
WORKSHOP TWO: “Building Tension in a Love Scene”
Participants will write 5 sentences that describe a building tension situation, and the group will decide if it was enough or not enough verbiage to build tension and talk about how to improve the sentence. Each participant should bring a notepad and pencil/pen or laptop, laptop preferred.
