Former White House Communications Director and Great Falls Writer's Group Founder Kristin Clark Taylor was one of 15 featured authors at the 2014 "Evening with the Authors" event at the Great Falls Library. Photo by Melissa Winn
Fifteen local authors representing many genres unite for “An Evening with the Authors” to discuss their recently published books and how and why they journeyed into writing. Their books will be available for signing from 7 to 9 p.m. on May 2 at the Great Falls Library.
2015 Great Falls Book Festival Schedule
Saturday, May 2, 2015
*11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: How To Publish And Promote Your Book: A Conversation With Industry Experts
*2 to 4 p.m.: “Every Child Is A Storyteller” Creative Activities for Youth; Youth Writing Contest Award Winners Announced
*7 to 9 p.m.: “An Evening With The Authors” -- Fifteen authors celebrate, discuss and sign their books. Wine and cheese reception at 7 p.m.Program begins promptly at 7:30 p.m.
All events are at the Great Falls Library, 9820 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls, and are free and open to the public. No reservations are needed.
This is the second year for the annual “Evening with the Authors,” co-sponsored by the Great Falls Writer’s Group (GFWG) and the Great Falls Library, but it is one of three events of the first-ever Great Falls Book Festival, which grew out of the popular book-signing event. The book festival fills out the day with a publishing panel in the morning and a children’s writing event in the early afternoon when winners of the first GFWG Youth Creative Writing Contest will be announced. (See related stories for details about daytime book festival events.)
“We're adding a few new sparks; pulling the community together in a way that encourages dialogue and celebrates creative excellence. The flame is already there. We're simply feeding the fire," says Kristin Clark Taylor, author, journalist, former White House communications strategist and founder of the Great Falls Writer’s Group.
THE “EVENING WITH THE AUTHORS” -- the flagship of the Great Falls Book Festival – will offer yet another first: an anthology of essays written by the GFWG members that will be available.
Authors signing their works include Rob Blackwell, whose urban fantasy “A Soul to Steal” provides supernatural suspense.
Austin S. Camacho’s “Beyond Blue” and John Wren’s “Darryl’s Reunion” satiate readers of mystery.
Terence Kuch’s “Try Try Again” is dark, unexpected fiction.
The paranormal romance Feral Warrior series continues with best-selling author Pamela Palmer’s “Wulfe Untamed.”
Ayesha Shoulders sprinkles message throughout her fiction in “When It’s Time to Walk” and “When Love’s Knot Enough.”
Tested relationships come from the pen of best-selling author Susan Coll’s fiction “The Stager” set in suburban Washington, D.C.
Laura Malone Elliott’s works “Under a War-Torn Sky,” and its new companion “Across A War-tossed Sea” are inspired by history, but also inspire young readers.
Rebecca Glenn paints her way into historical fiction with her debut, “Becoming Lisette.”
Humor fills the pages of Kimberly “Kimba” Dalferes “I Was in Love with a Short Man Once And Other Tales from a Crazy, Southern Irish Gal.”
Bill Lewers puts personal passions on paper in “A Voter’s Journey,” and “Six Decades of Baseball: A Personal Narrative.”
Stephen Miller’s “Walking New York: Reflections of American Writers from Walt Whitman to Teju Cole” maps the Big Apple through experiences of writers.
Anne Speckhard’s works span political science, psychology and children’s genres with “Talking to Terrorists,” “Undercover Jihadi,” “Warrior Princess,” “Fetal Abduction,” and “Timothy Tottle’s Terrific Dream.”
Children’s frowns might turn upside-down with Courtney Pippin-Mathur’s “Maya was Grumpy.”
Lynne Beverly Strang’s “Late-Blooming Entrepreneurs: Eight Principles for Starting a Business After Age 40” answers questions about beginning and building a business.
“I always enjoy gathering at events with other writers – the camaraderie, the mutual support, and fascinating conversations about their various projects are energizing.” About her neighbors, Elliot says, “Great Falls has become such a ‘colony’ for artistic input, both in visual arts and literature and nonfiction writing.”
PERSONS WHO ATTEND the book-signing evening may discuss the writing process with these local, published authors from whom they may find inspiration to start and/or finish their own books.
"When I started the GFWG in August 2013, the fact that we so quickly became a cohesive, comfortable 'writing family' proved to me that people are not only thirsty to write, but thirsty to talk about, explore and compare notes about the writing process itself,” says Taylor. “So much of a writer's life is spent behind closed doors, isolated within the context of their own, creative thoughts, which is precisely why a group like this is vital and necessary.”
A wine and cheese reception begins at 7 p.m., with the program beginning promptly at 7:30 p.m.