Featured Local Authors

Elaine Luddy Klonicki is a freelance writer in Raleigh, NC. She has a B.A. in psychology from NC State. A former columnist for The News & Observer, Elaine is the author of three nonfiction books: All on Account of You: A True WWII Love Story, Captured Words: A Sentimental Journey, and Thinking About Therapy: What to Expect From “The Talking Cure.” She blogs at www.skirt.com, a national women’s magazine, and at her own website, www.klonicki.com. Through her writing, she shares with others the skills she has learned for living a joyful and purposeful life.

Alice Osborn is a poet, essayist, creative writing instructor, and is the author of Right Lane Ends (Catawba, 2006). She is also a former Raleigh Charter High School English teacher, a freelance editor and has had work published in print and online. She earned a 2006-07 Regional Artist Project Grant for Literature from the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County. In addition, Alice teaches creative journaling, poetry and writing classes in the Triangle area. To view samples of her work or to find out her workshop schedule, visit Alice's website at www.aliceosborn.com.



Pam Beck is a freelance garden writer, photographer, and popular lecturer. Her book, Best Garden Plants for North Carolina, co-authored with Laura Peters, was released in March 2006 by Lone Pine Publishing. Pam regularly contributes articles and photographs to Carolina Gardener Magazine, where she received a national Silver Trowel Award for Magazine Writing for 2006 from the Garden Writers Association of America for her May 2005 article titled “For the Love of Magnolias.” In addition, she has published articles in Seed Saver’s Exchange, Wakefield, Wake Living and Fifteen/501, The Wake Weekly, The Ivy Dispatch, and The Raleigh Extra. Pam was a regular gardening columnist for Raleigh’s News & Observer for five years; and, she was honored by the N&O as “Tarheel of the Week” in May 1997 for her tree conservation work in Wake Forest, N.C. To contact Pam, visit her website at www.pambeckgardens.com.


Megan Cutter is a writer, editor and photographer in Raleigh, NC. She has contributed to A Taste of Taffy: Samplings From the Triangle Area Freelancers, Circa (formerly Heritage Magazine), Natural Awakenings, The News and Observer (North Raleigh News), The Tuscaloosa News, and Jubilation among other publications. She co-owns Cutter's Word, LLC, a professional communications business with her husband, Barton Cutter, writing and editing print and on-line media. Visit their website at http://www.cuttersword.com or http://www.loverollson.wordpress.com

Biography

Bearta Powell begins her story in war torn Lebanon, losing her parents, her home, and many relative. Orphans of War tells the rest of the story of her journey to the US and a new life. The unbreakable bond between her and her siblings is what has sustained her.

Red Pope attended Wake Forest College in the 1950s and wrote about his experiences there in Danceband from Deacontown. Dispite the fact that dancing was not allowed on the campus at that time, he and a number of classmates founded a danceband that played local graduations and other celebrations featuring big band and popular music of the time. In addition to relating many humerous experiences, the book is filled with history of the time, such as why is there a Catholic Church in WF? (Think football recruiting) Red Pope has also penned a rolicking tale called The Sweet Potato Caper, the story of a bank robbery gone hilariously wrong.

General Fiction

Einar Joe Bohlin is a Wake Forest resident who writes about his knowledge of the military life in All Fools Down, the story of two Air Force Academy recruits in a tale that takes the reader on a journey of discovery and deception. The two recruits come from different worlds but whose lives converge as roommates. The book is about choices.

Children's Books By Local Authors

R. B. May is a Wake Forest Police Officer who wrote and illustrated Charlie Finds a Friend, the story of a lonely "monster" who seeks companionship. This book will remind you of the magic of "Wild Things".

Lisa Pelton writes from a Christian viewpoint in Logos and Obedience:Listening to His Father's Voice. Logos is a golden retriever whose experience illustrates lessons to be learned.

Regina Nigro Heroux offers a story of children, grandmothers and butterflies in a beautifully illustrated (by Jacob Heroux) book entitled Grandmothers' Butterfly Garden.

Barbara Blaisdell has put together a stunning photography book, Faces in the Zoo, from pictures taken in NC and SC zoos. The pictures are accompanied with information appropriate for small children about Lions, Gorillas and more.

Roz Grace is author of three children's picture books, Why is John Special?, Trina's Family Reunion, and Anthony's Surprise. After teaching first and second grade in the Cleveland, Ohio Municipal School District, she returned to school to earn an M.A. in Education/Reading from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia and later became a Reading Specialist. Roz Grace now lives in Durham, North Carolina, where she works as a writer, publisher, and communications professional.

Poetry: The Bookstore sponsors poetry open mics, many of the following poets have performed at past events. See our Events section for future dates.

Karen Michelle Raines weaves a rich tapestry of encounters with animals and reflections on nature in her work Moments in Time and Tales Sublime. In her other work, Poetically Correct, she takes everyday events and looks at them through a poet's eyes. Readers with an affinity for rhyming verse will love this book.

Vanessa Vendola and Peggy Newman collaborate on sensitive and deeply personal reflections on people, love and other essential fabric of life in Illusionary Heart. Each poem in this collection is a small jewel worthy of thoughtful consideration.

Claudio Oswald Niedworok paints pictures in the minds eye of sailing ships, old salts, and sweethearts whose embraces can not sway their men from the lure of the sea in Seafarers, Chronicles of the Suspense & Romance of the Sea.

Sean Ingram captures the essence of poetic prose in The Passion of the Pen. Challenging conventional thinking, many of his works are written in riddles that the reader must puzzle together.

 Mystery And Adventure

Jon Batson is a Raleigh writer and storyteller who has three books in our store. The first, The Rands Conspiracy weaves a thriller-mystery tale of spies and chases Bourne-style. His Murder at Thompson Bog presents five short stories filled with mystery, passion and the haunting by old memories. His third book in our store, Deadly Research, starts the excitement on page one with an attempted assasination of the protagonist, "death by SUV," and keeps the reader tuning pages. Jon has other work and can be found at www.jonbatson.com

John Buckland writes the story of a man who has lost much but seeks a new beginning in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is a tale of dangerous men, treasure and the power of female seduction in a tropical paradise. Seven Days from Darwin makes a great vacation read.

Drew Bridges, yes, the bookstore owner, has a work of "psychological adventure." This is the story of a young man puzzled about his family and who goes on a journey to discover "family secrets." You might indeed imagine the kind of trouble such discovery brings him in Family Lost and Found. A second book, Stories From The Sunshine Mountain Valley: Tales for Reading and Ready for Telling reflects the author's love of storytelling.

Business and Personal Development

Dave Patterson is a certified Business, Education and Career Coach. In Over the Gap, he describes his step-by-step process for a career change success. Ten chapters offer a wealth of information, including ones on networking and interviewing plus others that address the larger picture of the "right fit" for you.

Christina Thompson is a Raleigh musician and educator who writes Women Embracing Creativity: Unleashing Your Inner Artist. This work is a rich offering, starting from how to "make room for creativity" in your life to appraising what you have created. Throughout it is a book that encourages and for some will truly liberate dormant capabilities.

Jeff Brantly, MD is a Duke University Psychiatrist with a series of writings on mindfulness. Calming Your Anxious Mind begins the series and presents the basis for the effectiveness of meditation exercises. This sets the stage for a series of follow up books that guide the reader through practical exercises.  

Rae-Lynn Cebul Ziegler takes her personal journey of helping her mother during her struggle with Alzheimer's Disease and creates Lets Look Together: An Interactive Picture Book for People with Alzheimer's and Other Forms of Memory Loss. This book is remarkable for the efficient conveying of theory about interacting with those so affected, and the lovely picture-book that should prove to be a helpful tool to families.

Donna Ebron is a force! In person or in her writing she will lift you up with her ideas presented in I Feel Good! I Look Good! I Am Good! Her goal is no less than to get you on the train of your purpose in life.