Join in the fun of our August Local Author Fair as we feature SIX local authors and their latest books.  Enjoy refreshments and mingle with writers–who live right here in our community!  

Heather Brown – Sacred Self

Sacred Self: Everyday Rituals for the Modern Woman is a heartfelt guide brimming with practical wisdom and impactful practices from experts in self-care, healing, personal development and spirituality. Whether you’re new to self-care or looking to deepen your spiritual practice, this book is your essential companion to creating a sacred space in your daily life.  Filled with personal stories from the authors, Sacred Self offers insight and inspiration, illustrating how these rituals can transform your life. Share this book with the women in your life and together, let’s make creating a sacred self an accessible practice for all. Start your journey to a more meaningful, enriched, and sacred life today.

Heather Livesay Brown is a dedicated licensed massage therapist, who is currently lending her healing touch at a doctor and nurse-led hospital in S.E. Iowa. With a deep passion for holistic wellness, Heather is also an advanced Frequency Specific Microcurrent practitioner and Holistic Health Coach from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Her journey in health and wellness reflects her autodidactic nature, as she constantly seeks to expand her knowledge and skills.

Abby Jacobson – Petals of Unspoken Verses

Petals of Unspoken Verses is an incredibly powerful and heartfelt collection of poetry. It explores meaningful themes like seasons of change, finding oneself, the magic and struggles of parenting, mental health, stories of growth, finding one’s power, and following the heart.  A message from Abby: This book is truly a journey into finding one’s power, believing in yourself, and never giving up. My advice? Find your people. The people that build you up and lift you up. The people that remind you of your worth even when you don’t see it. Most importantly, keep going. The world needs you. Maybe even in ways that you may not yet be aware of.

Abby Jacobson is a daughter, wife, and mother. She was born and raised in small town Iowa, surrounded by community and cornfields. After graduating high school, marrying her high school sweetheart and welcoming a child, she is currently seeking a degree in Creative Writing and English with a minor in Psychology. Abby has recently achieved four years of sobriety, which is a notable inspiration in her work along with family, self-growth, identity and connection.

Lora Kim Joyner – Prion: A Futuristic Fable of Parrots, Pandemics, and Promise-Makers

Since an early age, LoraKim Joyner always had birds in the home, out in the pigeon coop, or eating at the yard feeder. Her hope for avian flourishing led her to a B.S. in Avian Sciences and then to a D.V.M. where she specialized in birds. A later Masters in Preventive Veterinary Medicine emphasized avian research. Hearing birds call to her heart, she worked in other countries as a consultant in avian medicine and conservation, with an emphasis on parrot conservation.  She served in parish ministry for 10 years and now is a community minister emphasizing Multispecies Ministry and Nonviolent Communication. She celebrates with joy her position as Co-Director of One Earth Conservation, a nonprofit organization, where she can support birds and people around the world make life-giving connections.

Susie Kundrat – Eat, Move, Groove

Jeanne Martz – The Last Chapter
This novel is the third in a series of Swenson Farm mysteries.  Nels Swenson’s grandson, Mario, narrates the book, an intriguing tale of romance and mystery in his quest for a career in San Francisco. First love, Lupita Morales, returns to the farm giving him pause to stay, but Grandpa Nels persuades him to leave before he is hurt by Lupita again.
His journey to Frisco rewards him opportunities to travel, write, and meet Sandy, a soldier in Afghanistan, and a promising romance with Rebecca, a fellow journalist. His biggest accomplishment is helping solve the mysterious disappearance of Nels’s adopted son, Bobby.  Hans Swenson, also falls under the spell of Lupita. Will he too end up with a broken heart? Who will inherit Swenson Farms’ Legacy?

Jeanne Martz is the author of six books. Her love for Iowa and rural settings Inspires her writing and manifests itself in the personalities of the characters and events of her novels. She is a graduate of Des Moines Area Community College and Iowa State University. She currently lives in Pleasant Hill, Iowa.

Lindsay Meleshko – Even Fleas Say Please

What do you say when a fashionable flamingo saves your seat at Sunday bingo? Or a party-going pheasant gives you a polka-dotted present? You say, “Thank you!” Being kind is contagious and what better way to learn the power of politeness than with a group of fun-loving critters. Kids and grown-ups alike will enjoy this rhythmic journey through silly situations where good manners are welcomed and joyfully celebrated.

Writing stories and poetry since she was a little girl, Lindsay Meleshko has long dreamt of becoming a children’s author and inspiring the imagination of young audiences. She is a freelance writer and editor living in the scenic countryside of Madison County, Iowa, with her wonderful husband, two children, and matching pair of black cats. Lindsay loves all creatures, furry, feathered or otherwise and can often be found in the garden, chasing wildlife with her camera or happily roaming the woods.