Here’s your chance to meet and greet six local authors–all in one afternoon! Heartwarming stories, memorable memoirs, fun fiction, and even some financial help for parents of college bound kids.
Get Me to The Abbey, by Lisa Avelleyra, unveils alcoholism through the eyes of a stubborn middle-aged Midwesterner who is forced to give up her favorite pastime-drinking. After a week in the hospital, Lisa ends up in treatment at a refurbished Abbey in Iowa where a diverse group of men frame her recovery. Mischief and college basketball relieve the weight of soul-baring testimony. After a month at The Abbey, Lisa adjusts to life without drinking and returns to work and cultivates support in her Alcoholics Anonymous community. She is reunited with her Abbey cohorts by a heartbreaking tragedy.
In her debut book, The Butterfly Chronicles: A Journey of Finding God’s Purpose Living with A Rare Genetic Disorder, shares her story of overcoming odds and how her faith helped her through enormous obstacles while facing a rare genetic disorder known as Turner syndrome. With honesty, humor, and hope, Nicole shares her personal journey and some of the amazing experiences she has had along the way. This book will inspire you to never give up, to reach for your dreams, and to know how with God all things are truly possible.
Melissa Devine, author of From Madness to Magic, always saw the world differently. Magic always seemed to show up when she needed it most. She always saw the world differently. Little signs from above when she needed them most. Maybe it was magic? After being held captive for eight hours, the trauma had just begun as the small-town justice system worked to cover the crime. The magic she believed in disappeared. Trapped in a world of suicide attempts, mental health disorders and addiction. After seven years Devine set out to heal herself. What she found was a world of synchronicities, spirit guides and soulmates leading her on a magical manifesting journey. Her memoir will take you from heart break to hell yeah! By the end, you may just find your magic too! She is passionate about animals and stopping/helping survivors of sex trafficking, rape and domestic violence. Melissa will donate a portion of the profits from her book sales to a charity focused on these issues.
The Emergent, by Nick Holmberg opens at the dawn of the internet era. Young Silicon Valley native Kat is alone, but before her lifelong friend Alma died, she told Kat, “…unknowns can be handled in two ways. You can stay on the beach and watch, imagining what might—but probably won’t—happen. Or you can offer up your mere physical existence for the chance to be a part of something bigger than yourself.” Haunted by Alma and the rest of her family, Kat finds herself in New York City. She attempts to understand why she ended up across the continent. Shrouded in her family history and its ghosts, Kat tells a new companion about the shores of Oakland after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Depression-era farming communities of California’s Central Valley, and cold-war Santa Clara Valley.
Your nest may begin to feel empty, but you’re not stuck navigating this new phase of freedom alone. With a helping hand from a dad who’s done it, you can prepare for your transition from full-time parent to empty nester and set your family up for a successful future. Empty Nest, Full Pockets: How to Emotionally and Financially Prepare for Your Family’s Future is filled with expert advice from financial coach Matt Meline Sr., CFP that parents of university-bound children will find valuable as they navigate the financial uncertainties and the growing pains of life as empty nesters.
In Judy’s Letters to Fritz, Judy Constant Tyler shares a story of love, loss, and more love, sharing letters written over a span of 20 years to her beloved cat, Fritz. Devastated by Fritz’s death, Judy sought to heal her grief by telling his story through her letters – and ended up writing a charming, funny, and heartbreaking memoir. When her husband Carl passed on May 9, 2012, the grief was overwhelming. As a result, she started writing letters to Carl as she had done with Fritz. Writing these letters allowed her to reminisce about their lives together. In her newest book, you will find some letters from the first book telling how Fritz came to live with them and about how she coped and continued after losing Carl.
