Author Expo features county writers
CRANBERRY TWP — Butler County authors will be able to tell their stories in person, rather than just through paper and ink thanks to the upcoming Author Expo 2016 at the Cranberry Public Library, 2525 Rochester Road.
Adult Services Librarian Jaci Defelice said 14 authors will be on hand from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday to meet and talk with readers.
“This year they will just be sitting and talking with people as they come in,” said Defelice. “They'll have copies of their books for sale.”
“Everyone is welcome to come and attend,” she said. “It is just a meet-and-greet, so they don't have to stay long.”
Defelice said this is the first time the library has staged an author expo.
“I came up with the idea. We had a lot of local authors who wanted to partner with us. We were trying to help them and promote them,” she said.
Defelice said a lot of the authors found her once word of the expo began filtering through writers' workshops and websites.
Among the authors expected are:
<b>Melissa Busler</b>Busler of Butler, who teaches science at St. Luke Lutheran School. 330 Hannahstown Road, Jefferson Township, will discuss her debut novel.A graduate of Grove City College, her novel is “Vicky's Newsworthy Summer,” about a 14-year-old girl's plan to finance a trip to New York City with a monthly neighborhood newsletter.Busler said she wrote the novel to offer younger teens fresh and fun contemporary fiction.“I wrote my first book simply from a love of writing, which I have always had for as long as I can remember and a desire to put out a YA (young adult) novel with a moral in it — something without curse words, vampires, death, etcetera, which at the time seemed all the rage,” she said.Busler said she is seeking an agent for her second book, “When Pirates Took Over My School,” and hopes to start on a sequel to “Vicky's” this summer.<b>Linda Medwig</b>Medwig, whose children's book, “The Big Sneeze,” is a collaboration with her late mother, Caroline Vlahakis Wissinger, that was 40 years in the making.Medwig, a former preschool and kindergarten teacher, wrote the book as an assignment while taking a children's literature course at West Liberty University in West Liberty, W.Va., nearly 40 years ago.She collaborated with her mother, who did the watercolor illustrations.“The professor said she thought I should get it published,” Medwig said.But the Adams Township resident added life intervened, and the book was stored away.In memory of her mother, who passed away from Alzheimer's disease three years ago, Medwig located and dusted off the old poster board storybook and said she is thrilled to honor her late mother through the publication of this book, which came out in November.“Some of the proceeds from the book's sale go to the Alzheimer's Association,” she said. “I only wish mom was here to share in this.”“Sneeze” is the story of Romie and Rosie, two lovable and playful bunnies. Romie and Rosie were the best of friends — until Romie gave Rosie a surprise gift. Just what happened that kept Romie and Rosie apart? And what was the biggest surprise of all that brought them back together again? How could a big sneeze be a good thing?Medwig said the book continues to be a family affair.“Romie is named after my grandson, Roman. My niece Allison picked out her name Rosie. And the farmer, Hudson Haylee, is the names of two more grandchildren,” said Medwig.
<b>J.J. Knights</b>Knights, a retired FBI special agent, has authored several published articles on law enforcement recruiting, but “Benjamin's Field” is his first novel.Knights, who lives in Adams Township with his wife, Dorothy, said he spent 26 years in the FBI.Knights' book follows a struggling, yet proud, farm family through both world wars and three generations.“It is an historical novel set in Athena, Pa., which is really Mars. I changed a few things about the city, but it's Mars, ” said Knights.It begins with farm boy Jeremy Kyner as a teenager in 1917. Born with a clubfoot, Kyner eventually becomes an aviator, flying with the Civil Air Patrol during World War II.“It was in my mind for 15 years, but it was hard to get out,” said Knights. “It took 17 months to write the first draft.” He added it took another year to “polish it up.” It was finally finished last April.Knights said he conducted a lot of research to get the details of his novel right and learned a lot of Butler County history.“The Butler County Airport was the most technically advanced airport in the country when it opened in 1929 because it had lights,” Knights said.“I'm planning another book. I'm a third of the way through another historical novel involving the Civil War,” Knights said.<b>Everett Foster</b>Foster, 25, of Evans City wrote “Retsof the Skateboarding Elf.”It's Foster's first novel although he has written poetry for years.“Retsof” is the story of one of Santa's helpers who is different from the other elves and is bullied because of it.“This is the first year,” said Defelice of the upcoming authors' expo. “We are hoping it will be successful, and we can continue it and make it an annual program.”
