As a way of showcasing thirteen recently published authors and their works, the Norwalk Public Library is hosting its second annual Local Author Book Fair on Saturday, April 1st from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Everyone in attendance will be able to meet the authors, purchase their books, have those books autographed, enjoy refreshments, and participate in raffles.
MEET THE AUTHORS
Breshea Anglen: Once Breshea graduated from BGSU with her bachelor’s and master's degree in education, she returned to Cleveland and began her career as a middle school English teacher. She describes herself as a young adult fantasy author focused on penning stories with magical realism, romance, and adventure that center BIPOC characters.
Pat Antonelli: When Pat is not working as a research librarian, she can be found reading and writing.
Debbie Ashley: Debbie's degree in Secondary Education English led to a part-time teaching career and fueled her desire to be a writer. In addition to writing, she enjoys visiting her three adult children with her husband, gardening, baking, and playing the piano.
Tonya Barclay: Tonya grew up in Vickery, but for the last four years, she has lived in Norwalk with her 17-year-old son. Norwalk plays a role in her novel, The Reunion, with many familiar sites making an appearance.
Karina Bartow: Though Karina was born with Cerebral Palsy, she never allowed her disability to define her. Rather, she has used her experiences to breathe life into characters who have physical limitations, but like her, are determined to not let them stand in the way.
Kate Church: Kate, a seasoned healthcare worker, nature lover, and avid reader and writer, spends her free time hitting the trails and engrossing herself in the world of fantasy fiction. Armed with an adoration for folklore and medieval history, she creates worlds with strong ties to both.
Linda Eyerman: A retired teacher who used 2020 to develop her writing skills, Linda is determined to write pleasant, uplifting stories with characters readers can admire. The locations she knows well, such as her hometown in southern Ohio or current residence by Lake Erie, enrich the visual aspects of her work.
Mitch James: Mitch is a Professor of Composition and Literature at Lakeland Community College and a publisher of fiction, poetry, and academic scholarship in the United States and abroad.
R.J. Norgard: R.J. is a former newspaper reporter and photographer, U.S. Army Intelligence Officer, and private investigator whose 21 years living in Alaska formed the basis for characters and settings in his Sidney Reed series. Outside of writing both fiction and nonfiction, his interests include history, sailing, tennis, and volunteering around northern Ohio.
Stephanie Sanders-Jacob: Stephanie is a writer and jewelry designer living in Sandusky with her husband, daughter, three dogs, and toad. Her work is influenced by all things weird, and her soon-to-be-released debut novel is an extension of her passion for ufology.
Jacob Shirley: Known for his ability to entertain kids with stories and uncanny voice impersonations, Jacob is a third-generation author specializing in science fiction.
Aileen Stewart: Along with being a writer and amateur photographer, Aileen, who lives in Shelby with her husband, daughter, and three cats, also manages her local farmers market and volunteers on the Board of Trustees at her hometown library.
Rock Whitehouse: After a stint in the Air Force where he worked for both NSA and SAC, Rock obtained a degree in biology specializing in medical technology and spent many years in the laboratory for the information systems industry. He has two grown daughters and five grandchildren with his wife, Carey.
MEET THEIR BOOKS
A Shrouded Spark by Breshea Anglen: Noni Grace always believed that her life was painfully average, if not exceptionally unlucky. After the tragic loss of her parents at a young age, Noni committed herself to leaving her hometown and leaving behind all of the troubling memories. On her graduation day, a near-fatal accident changes everything, shattering the façade of the ordinary life she once lived. After meeting the man who saved her life, Noni realizes that nothing is as it seems—not even her.
Trippin by Pat Antonelli: This book began with an idea for a short story, but the characters grew, and their situations and relationships required a longer story to tell about their adventure.
Faith Unhindered by Debbie Ashley: Sometimes during the upheavals of life, it feels as if there's nothing to help you through your hardships, and the what-ifs and why-nots can hinder your faith. Pastor's wife Debbie Ashley knows right where you are—she's been there. Using her personal story as an example, she walks you through how to fully trust God during the most difficult times.
The Reunion by Tonya Barclay: Three best friends all come back to their hometown for their 10-year class reunion. Lost loves, secrets buried, and danger they didn’t know coming. Jamie, Alex, and Sam explore being back home and what life has brought each lady the last 10 years.
Wrong Line, Right Connection by Karina Bartow: Could a mortifying day on the job end up netting you true love? When switchboard operator Mabel Jennings reports to work in the summer of 1964, she doesn't have any interest in finding love again. Out-of-towner Roy Stentz rings up her station, however, and makes her reconsider. Mabel's intrigued by his deep yet kind voice, but she endeavors to remain professional. Her attraction frazzles her mind, causing her to transfer Roy to the wrong line. When he calls back to give her another try, she repeats the mistake, humiliating herself. The haphazard introduction sets an unexpected romance into motion. Though she falls quickly for him, Mabel's bittersweet past refrains her from giving Roy her full devotion. Can she overcome her memories of love lost to embrace the new one calling out to her?
Seeking the Wolf by Kate Church: Kingdoms of men rise to power after the great divide that fractured the world centuries before. As their will to dominate the known world of Caladh rises, pride and fiery hearts will test the might and will of all races. However, when rumor of mysterious shapeshifters are found to be true, the tables turn, and the once mythical beings are sought to become the ultimate weapon.
The Boy Next Door by Linda Eyerman: When nine-year-old Peter explored his new neighborhood one January day, he saw something odd. At the window of the house next door there was a boy in a wheelchair watching him. He waved to the mysterious boy, but the boy didn’t wave back. Day after day Peter saw the boy in the window when he walked to school and when he returned home. Who was this boy and why did he sit watching the world from his window? Why didn't the boy go to school? The lives of Peter and his neighbor, Andy, a quadriplegic, become intertwined for the betterment of each child.
Seldom Seen by Mitch James: A dead mother. An auctioned childhood home. Loss in the womb of a coal mine. Seldom Seen follows Brander, an Illinois native who moves to Alaska after high school to trap game and escape the hardships of his family. Brander returns to Illinois two years later to find that his mother has died of cancer and the property where he grew up is soon to be auctioned off by his eldest brother. While failing to reconcile this sudden shift, Brander encounters Richter, a specter of a man who promises him that the answers to life are in Seldom Seen Mine, the largest coal mine in the United States. With nothing holding him back, Brander moves to Pennsylvania, takes a job at Seldom Seen Mine, and fails at every attempt to amend his life, losing a friend, a lover, and maybe his mind.
Road Kill (Sidney Reed Mystery Series #2) by R.J. Norgard: Still haunted by the death of his wife, Sid is persuaded to help defend a drug addict accused in the hit-and-run death of a native man. Soon Sid begins to doubt his client's guilt, suspicions that are reinforced when a key witness surfaces whose testimony could blow the case wide open. Sid and his witness suddenly find themselves in the crosshairs of malevolent forces hell-bent on burying the truth. With the lives of his client and his witness hanging in the balance, Sid is determined to make things right, and nothing - not drug dealers, dirty cops, or the bitter Alaska cold - is going to stop him.
Singing All the Way Up by Stephanie Sanders-Jacob: Her parents tell her she was singing while suspended in the alien craft’s beam. But Laura can’t remember any of it. Now, after a lifetime of profiting off the abduction, she fights to learn the truth. Could her entire life be based on a lie?
The Blue Warrior (Blue Saga #2) by Jacob Shirley: Six months after Ben, the Blue Warrior, became the appointed guardian of Millview, CA, Ben faces a new series of twists and turns as imaginative as anything dreamt up by the folks in nearby Hollywood.
Fern Valley by Aileen Stewart: Fern Valley is home to a group of wonderful animals who have fun and face some of the same problems children everywhere do. Roberta and Mildred Cornstalk are creative chickens dealing with the loss of their beloved granny, and they're looking for something to do to cheer them up. What happens to Roberta and Mildred's brother, Edward, when he goes fishing? What birthday surprise is in store for Betsy Woolrich? What lesson does Kimmy Curlytail learn when she keeps something that isn't hers? Follow this endearing cast of characters as they enjoy their time together and learn important lessons.
Silver Enigma (The ISC Fleet Series Book 1) by Rock Whitehouse: It all started out as a routine port of call at a friendly planet. But when six enormous spaceships came over the horizon, the peace and quiet was transformed, and Liberty's desperate battle to defend herself and the city below was over in just thirty-five minutes. The fight to survive in shattered Inoria would take much longer. Ensign Carol Hansen’s idyllic walking tour of the beautiful alien city ended with bloody death falling out of the sky. For her and the other Liberty survivors, help was at least a week away. Caught at the sudden and violent collision of three cultures, Earth's Fleet finds itself inexorably drawn into their first interstellar war, an unexpected conflict for which they are not fully prepared. There is just this one small problem: they have no idea who they're fighting, where they came from, or what they want.