Speaker
Series
The first Tuesday of every month, featuring local Brevard authors
10:00AM-Noon
Coffee and water provided
The mission of Field Manor Foundation is twofold: To conserve the historic homestead and educate the public about the culture and customs of East Central Florida's native inhabitants and early settlers. This mission is achieved through various educational programs and initiatives, which aim to engage and inform visitors about the region's unique history and its people.
One of the foundation's notable initiatives is the "Speaker Series." This series was created to broaden the organization’s outreach and to provide a platform for discussing a variety of interesting subjects, including history, the environment, art, and literature written by local authors.
By inviting experts and authors to share their knowledge and insights, the Speaker Series enriches the educational experiences of guests and fosters a deeper appreciation of the arts.
For our 2025 season, we are featuring five local Brevard authors. The authors will share their works and process, followed by a Q&A session, and culminate with a book sale/signing. A portion of your purchase will be donated to Field Manor.
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Upcoming Speakers:
January 7th, 2025
Joanne Fisher
Joanne Fisher is a Canadian-Italian-American author and is renowned for her steamy romances, historical fictions & murder/mysteries (two of which are set in Florida). She has written 5 Christmas novellas giving them an Italian fl air. She has also penned 3 non-fiction travel guides titled “Traveling Boomers”. She loves writing short stories & has collected 13 in “Baker’s Dozen Anthology”. She was the President of the Space Coast Writers Guild & lives in Central Florida with her hubby, Dan & Dachshund Wally.
February 4th, 2025
Thomas Belisle
Thomas Belisle is the author of the Matt “Ace” Black series thrillers, Secret of the Crimson Sun, Taking the Dream Spinner, and Raptor Bloom. His heart-pounding, action-packed, real-world novels deliver to his readers everything from international intrigue, mystery, suspense, and plenty of plot twists. He relies on deep research and knowledge gained from years of experience as an Aerospace and Defense executive and career in the Air Force. He makes it a point to place his readers in the middle of the action, in parts of the world they may have never visited, and stretches their imagination to comprehend potential frightening, future possibilities. While his main character, Matt “Ace” Black, is pivotal in each novel in the series, the books can be read in any order. Thomas Belisle is a resident of Viera, Florida where he is writing his next two thriller novels.
March 4th, 2025
Jessica Broyles
Jessica Broyles is the author of The Matryoshka’s Hidden Legacy Series. The first book, The Nested Charmer, follows newlyweds Eric and Audrey, who, while honeymooning in The Bahamas, come into possession of a mysterious Russian nesting doll. They soon discover that it holds a power so great it changes their lives forever. In the second book, Charmed Echoes, the story continues with Izzy, a rock band's lead singer, who inherits the doll and must navigate the dangers of those willing to kill for it. Jessica is currently working on the final installment, Wilderness Charmed, where Izzy travels to Alaska to uncover the secrets of the doll’s power while staying one step ahead of the Russians who
seek it.
In addition to her fiction work, Jessica has written The Canine Cure: A Guide to Breaking Your Dog's Bad Habits, drawing on her extensive experience raising and training dogs of various breeds. She has successfully trained her dogs using positive reinforcement techniques and bred American Kennel Club-registered Cocker Spaniels and Rottweilers. Jessica has also penned numerous short stories and plans to publish an anthology of her work in 2025.
April 1st, 2025
Sarah Younger
Sarah A. Younger is a native Floridian whose ancestors settled Florida in the post-Civil War period,
with some branches on the the family tree traced to the 1820’s. The stories Sarah has passed on in
the novel, ”A Bend in the Straight and Narrow,” were told to her by her grandmother (Granny O’Steen). This is a three-book historical fiction series, “A Bend in the Straight and Narrow,” “Ye Who are Weary, Come Home,” and “Cry, Whippoorwill.” A fourth book, “Windstill Night” centers around 1926 impoverished Florida, taking place mainly in St. Augustine. Since the stories were a mere skeleton, she filled in the gaps with historical fiction. Not only did the inspiration come from family narratives, but after studying the picture of the real Sarah,
the author thought that as a young girl, she could not have looked that stern. From that reflection
“flowed the story like water over a broken dam.” Much of the research done for this project was
accomplished by visiting graveyards in the Bradford and Alachua County areas. The search for
Jacob Henry’s and Sarah’s graves is ongoing. Many of the markers revealed things not known
previously in family history, such as an epidemic that killed three people in the family, including her
grandfather’s mother, one week after he was born. The last names in the book have been changed,
but many of the given names remain the same. Sarah has a BA degree from Baylor University and an
Education degree from the University of Southern Colorado. She has an avid interest in history and
quilting. She lives in Merritt Island, FL with her husband.
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May 6th, 2025
Cynthia Hall
The Happy Muse is a transformative guide for the visionary spirit, brilliantly weaving personal
insights with the visceral experiences of the creative process. Its engaging narrative and practical
exercises promise to unlock a wellspring of inspiration and serve as a companion through the highs
and lows of artistic endeavors. Drawing from a lifetime of personal exploration and heartfelt conversations with fellow artists, this book offers a deeply personal and insightful look into the creative journey, making it a uniquely enriching companion for all who seek to understand and embrace their artistic flow. With over 25 tips and tricks to keep creative blocks at bay and journal pages for customizing your own creative pathways, this book is a must-read for anyone looking to reignite their spark and navigate the challenges of expression with grace and resilience.