Upon graduating from Elon University with a B.A. in elementary education, Connie Nelson took a sales job with the Hasbro/Milton Bradley Toy Company. However, her outside interests turned toward community theater and acting. She was cast as one of the original O. Henry Players at the Greensboro Historical Museum and in various community theater roles, including Meg in Beth Hensley's Crimes of the Heart, staged by the Burlington Gallery Players. This newfound passion for acting led her to pursue a M. Ed. in theatre education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she worked on a number of student films through the school's broadcast/cinema department.

From the first film project, she was hooked. In spite of long days, often in less than ideal conditions, being on a movie set was thrilling. Just three courses shy of a masters degree, she moved briefly to Honolulu, where she worked as an extra on Jake and the Fat Man and Island Son. From there she moved to Boston, where she got a job with Houghton Mifflin,  in the School Reading division. Connie next landed a job with an educational travel company. Since this job coincided with the school calendar, she spent several summers in North Carolina working as a movie/TV extra and auditioning for roles. During her four years in Boston, she completed her

M. Ed. in theatre education.

Once her education was complete, she moved to Wilmington and worked for a patent attorney by day and as a writer and editor for Reel Carolina Journal of Film and Video by night. It was during her days at Reel Carolina that she first considered writing a book about North Carolina movie locations. It was also during this time that she met Floyd Harris, a regular contributor and columnist at Reel

Carolina. She and Floyd became friends and discovered  they had much in common. 

In 1995, Connie started her own public relations business and continued to work with Reel Carolina and other magazines. All the while, she maintained an agent, took acting classes, and auditioned. Much to her dismay, her writing talent was more in demand than her acting abilities. As fewer auditions materialized, it was time for Connie to make some major career decisions. She decided to return to the job market and was hired by the Cape Fear Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she has worked as communications/public relations director for since 1998.                                

Inquiries from visitors and media interested in Dawsons Creek and other film projects inspired Connie to develop a FAQ sheet for visitors about the popular television show. It was an immediate hit and the idea about writing a travel book detailing movie locations across the state began nagging at her again. She called her friend Floyd Harris and when she told him about Film Junkies Guide to North Carolina, he was as excited as she was about the project. After a bit of research, they submitted a pitch letter to John F. Blair, Publisher, in October 2000. Three-and-a-half years of working nights, weekends, holidays and vacations produced the Film Junkies Guide to North Carolina.

In addition her day job in tourism, Connie has taught classes on travel & tourism and public speaking for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.  Her writing has appeared in Taste Full magazine, Wilmington magazine, and E - The Environmental Magazine. She lives in Wilmington, North Carolina and is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and Public Relations Society of America.

Biography of Floyd Harris

Raleigh, North Carolina, native Floyd Harris became interested in writing as a little boy. Now in his forties, he followed the familiar budding writer's path of notebook-paper novels and junior-high journalism to covering the Raleigh rock scene for a couple underground newspapers.

Returning to college after a dropout career as a stock clerk (among others), he took an introduction to theater course at North Carolina State University. Holding three jobs, he had no free time for the courses' required lab hours, so instead of painting scenery and sewing costumes, he wrote a one-act play. His professor praised the play and encouraged him to produce it. With a  $400 budget, he diddirecting the second play hed ever been involved with. But the theater bug had firmly bit, and Floyd completed his undergraduate degree in communications while acting, writing, directing, and doing backstage work at North Carolina State University and other Raleigh community and semiprofessional theatres. He also studied fiction writing with noted author Lee Smith.

After his graduation, Floyd continued to write and work backstage in the Raleigh area. "Local Talent," a full-length play, won third place in the 1989 Thompson Theatre Southeast Playwriting Award and "The One Act" was a finalist in the 1991 Wachovia/NC Writers Network Award. He also produced and directed "Love 101" at Raleighs Theatre in the Park.

Floyd graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree from Warren Wilson College in 1993. He has published a handful of short stories and articles in small publications. He has also taught writing at Duke Universitys Creative Writers Workshop and at Voices: A Creative Community, which introduces writing to people living in homeless shelters.

Floyd moved to the Wilmington area in 1994, where he worked as a writer, editor, movie extra, tutor, teacher, and librarian. He met Connie Nelson while working as a writer and critic for Reel Carolina Journal of Film and Video. He was an extra in the TV film Truman Capote's "One Christmas," where he shot a scene with Henry Winkler and Swoozie Kurtz. To support and complement his writing career, Floyd worked at the D. H. Hill Library at North Carolina State University and at the Pender County Public Library.

Floyd continued his friendship with Connie after their days at Reel Carolina. One day at lunch, she shared the idea for the Film Junkies Guide to North Carolina with him. While researching and writing the book, he worked on a short novel inspired by his experience. His work has been published in Golf Journal, Windhover, Rocket Literary Quarterly, and Asylum Arts Annual. Floyd lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Author biographies provided by John F. Blair, Publisher, 1406 Plaza Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27103. 800-222-9796; www.blairpub.com.

Photo: Co-authors Floyd Harris &Connie Nelson at Reel Cafe', Wilmington, NC, one of the book's featured locations. Photography by Fred Norris. 

Title: Film Junkie's Guide to North Carolina

Author: Connie Nelson and Floyd Harris

Publisher: John F. Blair, Publisher

Price: $16.95 trade paperback

ISBN: 0-89587-269-2

Specifications: 5-1/2 x 8-1/2, 429 pages

Publication Date: April / May 2004

Subject: Travel / Film