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Suncoast Pasco News
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Local author's 'Tommie Turtle' wins again
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Published: December 10, 2008
NEW PORT RICHEY - Not unlike the title character of his children's book, author Bob Z. Hicks slowly, steadily keeps on achieving.
Just over two weeks ago, Hicks' wife Betty went to the mailbox and found two boxes. They opened the boxes, and that's when they found out the Florida Writers Association had not only named Bob's "Tommie Turtle's Secret" the best self-published children's book for 2008, but the Book of the Year grand prize winner in the FWA's annual Royal Palm Literary Awards Competition.
The boxes contained the trophies for those awards, which had been announced at the FWA's annual conference, held Nov. 14 - 16 in Lake Mary.
Betty said she and Bob had almost forgotten about having entered the contest last summer when an invitation to the conference came in October.
"We opted not to go," Betty said. It was a long drive, and there was nothing in the invitation that hinted their book was even a finalist, much less the winner of either award.
They were pleasantly surprised when they saw the book had won in the children's literature category, though they were confident in the book's quality. In addition, they had received steady positive feedback from parents and educators.
The book had been picked up by a local distributor, making it available at area bookstores, including Books-A-Million and Barnes and Noble outlets.
"The biggest surprise was being named book of the year," Bob said. "To win over all the adult fiction, the novels, all those categories."
A former educator, Hicks tried a new take on Aesop's "The Tortoise and the Hare" fable in writing "Tommie Turtle's Secret." He reworked the story so it could be used by parents and teachers to not only introduce children to an appreciation for literature, but to instill in them personal development concepts such as individuality and social responsibility.
The FWA awards follow honors from the 2005 Florida Christian Writers Conference for Best Submission for Children's Writing and the 2007 DragonPencil Silver Medal for Children's Literature.
Hicks' book also recently got glowing reviews from the judges at the Writer's Digest 16th annual International Self-Published Book Awards. It earned high marks in areas such as structure, design and grammar. It was also praised as an educational tool.
"This reader would certainly recommend this book not only to families, but to teachers in the classroom," one judge wrote, listing several ways it could be used as the basis for various classroom projects.
With these latest awards and endorsements, the Hicks hopes "Tommie Turtle's Secret" is accumulating enough credentials to take the next step, getting the attention of school districts and booksellers around the country.
In the meantime, the couple are putting the book to good use in the area. They are offering it at a discounted rate to schools and nonprofit groups for fundraisers, basically splitting the proceeds 50-50 from each sale at book-signing events.
To get more information about the special rate call 727-842-8314.
Klint Lowry can be reached at 727-815-1067 or klowry@suncoastnews.com
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