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Kling is somewhat of a local celebrity. Her readings always draw a crowd, especially when she reads at the Downtowner Saloon, a favorite hang-out of both Kling and her characters. For her South Florida readers, the closeness of their reality and the fictional South Florida in her books is one of the things that keeps them coming back for more. The New River tug Hero and the fictional tug Gorda, the similarity between the plot of Bitter End and the real-life murder of Gus Boulis, and the local places mentioned in the books all give South Florida readers a reason to keep coming back for more. But don't think that her books are just for those in South Florida. Anyone who likes boats, the sea, or a good mystery will enjoy her writing.

Kling is a graduate of Florida International University's M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing—the same program that produced Dennis Lehane, Barbara Parker, Vicki Hendricks and others. Among the teachers in F.I.U.'s program are James W. Hall and Les Standiford, and the program is one of the only in the country that leans in its focus towards mystery fiction. After completing the program, Kling has taught for Broward Community College, F.I.U., and Miami Dade College's Florida Center for the Literary Arts. She has also organized Sleuthfest, a national mystery writers' conference, and has taught many other classes and workshops.

Writers' groups have historically been some of the most important influences in both the life of a writer and on the work he or she produces. But finding the right one often proves to be difficult. A group can't be too big, must consist of people who get along well, and the work has to adhere to the group's sensibilities. For example, someone writing series science fiction probably wouldn't want to workshop with a group that consisted mostly of poets. Kling's vision is to bring together people who are writing fiction about boats or the waterfront. If this seems like a small genre, just think about mystery writer John D. MacDonald's character Travis McGee. McGee lived on a houseboat at Fort Lauderdale's Bahia Mar Marina (back in the good old days) and he appeared in over twenty books.

When Kling contacted me about starting a writers' group and meeting at Bluewater, I was ecstatic. Since we come from the same writing program and have both been liveaboards and singlehanded sailors, it seemed like a perfect fit that we work together to make the group happen.

Bluewater Books & Charts seemed like the natural place for the writers' group to meet, since the focus is on writing about the waterfront. At the first meeting, it was no coincidence that the participants came from three different sailboats with the names Talespinner, Rough Draft and Short Story. After two and a half hours, much discussion about the logistics and details of the group, and two first novel chapters, we left feeling satisfied and inspired.

Workshops aren't easy. If the participants come expecting to have their egos stroked, then they have the wrong idea. A good writers' group challenges all the members while providing intelligent and constructive criticism, and this group promises to do exactly that. The goal is simply to turn out some good fiction (in this case, slightly nautical in theme) and to be supportive of and honest to each other.

If this sounds like something that might interest you, please email a five page writing sample to Christine Kling at ck@christinekling.com, or call Melanie Neale (mneale@bluewaterweb.com) at Bluewater Books & Charts at (954) 763-6533, ex 228 for more details. Since this is a valuable workshop experience and is absolutely free, we want to make sure the writers who intend to participate share the same vision and level of seriousness as the rest of the group.

Happy writing!