Chasing Xaris by Samantha Bennett is available here in paperback and here in ebook!

Chandler Bloom starts her day like every other—on her surfboard and away from her smothering grandparents. It’s the only way she’s been able to cope since the hit-and-run that killed her parents two years ago. But when a shark nearly turns Chandler into breakfast, a loner surfer named Ari saves her life. Which is great, except that he also triggers new questions about her parents’ deaths. Before Chandler can ask him more, Ari disappears.

Desperate for answers, Chandler decides to track down Ari with the help of her best friend Jordan, a surfer guy who’s totally in love with her. The search leads to Ari’s home—a hidden island that can only be found with a form of light called xaris. But Chandler isn’t the only one searching for the island or the unearthly elements found there. Her parents died protecting it, and if Chandler doesn’t come to grips with what she’s really chasing, she could be next. (YA inspirational urban fantasy.)

Through December 16, 2013

City of Orlando, City Hall, Mayor’s Gallery

400 South Orange Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32802

Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Closed Major Holidays

The City of Orlando Public Art Program is please to present “Vistas”, recent landscape paintings by Orlando artist Donne Bitner.  Donne Bitner graduated with honors from Pennsylvania State University with a B.A degree and a major in art.  She maintains a studio at McRae Art Studios in Winter Park, FL, where she paints and chats with other artists.  Ms. Bitner teaches watercolor, acrylic painting and abstract exploration at Crealde School of Art and gives workshops throughout the South.  Those include Arrowmont School of Art, The Museum of Florida Art, Rollins College and Vero Beach Center for the Arts.  Her work can be seen at Arts on Douglas Gallery, New Smyrna Beach, Bennett Gallery, Knoxville, Clayton Gallery, Tampa and Amy Schelling Gallery, Telluride among others.  Collections include The Huntsville Museum of Art, The Springfield Museum of Art, Fl International Museum, Rollins College and the cities of Atlanta, Melbourne and Orlando.  Honors include a Florida Individual Artist Fellowship, a Florida Professional Artist Grant, three Professional Artist grants from United Arts. and 7 Best of Show Awards.  When asked about her new work, Donne replied, “Landscapes are a recurring subject for me. I have been using oil pastels for years on paper but landscapes on canvas are a new approach.  I rarely use a reference for my paintings.  Rather these are imagined landscapes.  I aim to capture the impact of remembered images.

Sailor’s Delight, acrylic on canvas, by Donne Bitner.