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Each November, thousands of authors and readers converge on downtown Miami, Florida, for the nation's premier literary festival —the Miami Book Fair. This year, Four Seasons Writers' Club member James Cloud was invited to attend in recognition of his new novel. James had the opportunity to spend significant time with hundreds of authors, publicists, agents and literary professionals. Enthusiasm was felt throughout the week as the authors socialized in the hotel lobby, restaurant, and cocktail lounge. James was able to mingle with fellow authors from around the world in an atmosphere filled with tales of writing despair, triumphs, tragedies, and a constant exchange of tactics. In Friday's private invitation-only seminar, trade secrets were dispensed like candy by some of the industry's top professionals and best-selling authors — book marketing, website design, illustration, social media strategies, editing, audio book formatting and much more. James met the CEO of Allen Media Strategies, one of the nation's premiere media, marketing and PR consultation firms, where he was presented with a free training course in marketing and book promotion. In the climax of the evening, James was personally invited to be interviewed by best-selling author Lisa Proulx. For the highlight of the weekly events, James was presented with an award for fourth place in the Reader's Favorite International Writing Contest for his novel, Brandenburg – A Story of Berlin. This is a very prestigious recognition, with tens of thousands of entries from authors around the world. This was James' first novel, which he began to write after surviving cancer and reaching his 80th birthday. It is the culmination of his life's work following a 40-year career as a teacher and educator. When you see Jim around the Four Seasons community, please congratulate him on a job well done. If you are interested in writing stories or becoming an author, join us at our next Writers' Club meeting on the second Tuesday of the month in the RCN Conference Room at 1:30 pm. For more info, email mlarchibald@mac.com, or zehnercorked@gmail.com. ~ Steve Huffaker FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JANUARY 2020 41 The rainbow is a powerful symbol that represents beauty, balance, peace, and hope. As such, we believe it is a perfect representation for our group. We are residents of Four Seasons Beaumont who also happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. The rainbow is so perfect because it really fits our group's diversity in terms of race, gender, ages, and beliefs. While we strive to serve the interests of our members, we do welcome all supportive homeowners and encourage everyone to attend any of our functions. We believe you'll enjoy our company. Everyone leads busy lives (even at our age!) and we often find it difficult to stay connected with our neighbors. Therefore, the Rainbow Group has monthly get-togethers on the fourth Thursday of each month in the Card Room at The Lodge, at 6 pm. Our next gathering will be on Thursday, Jan. 23. Our monthly get-togethers are mostly informal social gatherings which give members an opportunity to meet new neighbors, catch up on member and community activities or news, and just chat — no stuffy agenda items, roll calls, minutes for us! If you are hungry, feel free to bring your own food items and adult beverages, or order from the new Kopper Kettle Bistro. The Rainbow group also hosts periodic gatherings for socializing (such as BBQs, potlucks and holiday parties), LGBT-themed movie nights in The Lodge Theater, and other events the group may sponsor. Maybe you'd even like to suggest your own activity for the group. We are always open to new ideas. Please direct any questions to Dale at (951) 797-0364, dalebeckes@gmail.com, or go to Facebook and search for Four Seasons Beaumont Pride. ~ Dale Beckes Rainbow Group Writers' Club Seasoned Solos If you are single and enjoy a variety of activities, then Seasoned Solos just might be the group for you. At each meeting we discuss what is going on in the Inland Empire and plan activities, from local lunches and dinners to excursions to presidential libraries, the Redlands Bowl, Metro Link trips into LA, and the beach train to San Juan Capistrano. There's not much that we won't consider doing. We meet on the first Friday of each month in The Lodge Arts & Crafts Room at 6 pm. For further information, call Joyce at (951) 850-3055. ~ Joyce Olson