Novelist Steve Berry Helps Adult Literacy League Raise Money at Reading Between the Wines

Everyone has an annual something that’s fun to attend. Or one that’s regarded as must-do.

A barbecue on July 4. A visit with Santa at mall Santa at Christmas. A New Year’s Eve party.

I have more than one on my annual calendar. Among them: Reading Between the Wines, a yearly fundraiser put on by the Adult Literacy League, a non-profit in Orlando.

Every year, ALL brings in a renowned author to speak and answer questions to a group of donors in a hotel ballroom or another event venue. There is, as the name suggests, wine served. Local eateries and chefs donate food. And close to 75 people or businesses in Central Florida donate items for a silent auction.

The goal is to raise as much money as possible for the league, which recruits tutors to teach adults how to read. A noble cause.

Full disclosure: I give to ALL. I believe the more educated we are as a society, the better off we are. And someone cannot be become better educated if he or she cannot read.

What’s the longtime PSA? “Reading is fundamental?” Reading is essential. It’s a pillar of a civilized society and one that has hopes of being governed better today than it was yesterday.

Berry's Persistence Pays Off

This year’s guest was thriller writer Steve Berry, whose new Cotton Malone book, The King’s Deception, hits the market on June 11.

Berry’s staple anecdote is that it took 85 rejections for him to become a published author. The 86th time was a charm. He sold The Amber Room to Ballantine Books. Why?

[caption id="attachment_275" align="alignleft" width="349"] Thriller writer Steve Berry signs one of his books at Reading Between the Wines[/caption]

"I was lucky. The world changed," he said. "There was a little book called The Da Vinci Code that you may have heard of."

Dan Brown’s historical thriller was an international best-seller. And it was exactly the kind of book that Berry wrote.

“Every time I pass The Da Vinci Code in the bookstore, I stop and bow,” Berry said, clasping his hands in prayer.

The first career for Berry, Georgia born and raised, was as a lawyer. With a law degree from the Mercer University School of Law, Berry had a his own wide-ranging law practice.

The day after his ALL appearance, Berry led a three-hour writing workshop at the University of Central Florida. He talked to about 20 future authors about story structure, point of view and dialogue. Then he added his 11 rules of writing.

"When we started doing these there were eight rules," Berry said, alluding to wife Elizabeth. "We’ve added three more as we’ve gone along."

Berry's Passions: Writing, History

Berry’s passion, besides writing, is history. He and Elizabeth created the non-profit History Matters "to assist communities around the world with historic restoration and preservation." Berry’s books are steeped in history.

He also has another commitment, one that came through during his workshop. He wants other to succeed in his footsteps. "Writers helping writers" is the credo of the Florida Writers Association, and Berry is all about that.

"I want people to learn from my mistakes, all the things I did wrong," he told participants in the workshop.

His overriding message to would-be writers is two-fold: write and finish.

"Ninety percent of writers never finish," he said. "I want you all to finish."

2,600 Helped Last Year

All Daniel wanted to do was start. Daniel is a young father who, a few years ago, did not know how to read. And now he can, thanks to ALL volunteer tutor Hugh Mills. Daniel and Mills were featured in this year's ALL video that played during the fundraiser.

ALL Executive Director Joyce Whidden said the league has 450 active volunteers and 50 more served at Reading Between the Wines, including some former students.

During 2012, she wrote in an email, the league helped 2,018 adult students about 600 children and parents benefited from the league's family literacy service.

Like Berry, I hope they all finish.