South Florida Writer Alan Williamson
Featured in New “Chicken Soup” Book
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Fort Lauderdale writer Alan Williamson finds family life fertile turf for stories that explore the flaws and follies that unite people in their humanity. That focus on humor grounded in real-life experience is on full display in the latest edition of a bestselling book series, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Matters.
In “Reno Salutes Hal and Midge,” Williamson regales Chicken Soup readers with the story of his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, a comic chronicling of a family’s quest to give their parents a once-in-a-lifetime experience to celebrate a milestone occasion.
“I remember thinking a really nice dinner out, maybe at Olive Garden, would mark the occasion,” Williamson recalls. “But as several more worldly members of the family pointed out during the planning phase, the restaurant didn’t have slot machines, which severely limited its appeal to a couple whose chief means of shared recreation was playing slot machines. Eventually we settled on a casino in Reno.”
Equal parts travel misadventure and a sentimental tribute to an improbable 50-year marriage, the story combines the warmth, wit and wisdom that have gained the Chicken Soup books a worldwide following and marked much of Williamson’s work.
After an award-winning run as an advertising copywriter, Williamson launched a second career in 2009 as a nationally-published humor writer. His recent work includes a piece that appeared in the March 2010 issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine, an article in the Summer 2010 issue of Hearing Health Magazine, a travelogue scheduled to appear in the March 2011 issue of Houseboat Magazine, and a story appearing later this year in the holiday collection Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Gift of Christmas. His humor column, “,” has appeared monthly in Lighthouse Point Magazine () since 2003 and on since 2006.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Matters is available in bookstores October 19 and online at . For more information on the book, visit . Mr. Williamson can be reached at or .