It is about time for our Local Author Showcase, an annual event with a brand-new format! Join us on Wednesday, November 5th from 6:00-8:00 PM, where we will hear twelve local authors read excerpts from their published works.

There will be a meet and greet following the readings, and the library will provide light refreshments. If you are interested in publishing or writing, this event is a great opportunity to network with the local writing community. The Local Author Showcase is an event for adults.

Registration is not required but is suggested if you would like to receive reminders leading up to the event. You can register on our website: https://www.bplwv.org/event/14911045

Here is the full list of attending authors and the titles of their excerpts:

• Zanna Archer; Starshine Shifting
• Susan Baron; “Beneath the Sands”
• James Crosby; Fauntleroy
• Lori Fontanez; No One Was Killed
• Jeff Hanlin; "Unanticipated Blessings" from Good News, Bad News, Who Can Tell? The Pandemic Reveals Wisdom
• Patricia Harman; The Midwife of Hope River
• JoAnn James; Seeds for Enlightenment 101
• Lisa McCombs; Sunflower Sisters
• Diane Rudash; Giorgio & Maria: Speak Their Names
• Linda Tennant; Giorgio & Maria: Speak Their Names
• Diana Pishner Walker; Hopping to America: A Rabbit’s Tale of La Befana
• Don Worth; Good News, Bad News, Who Can Tell? The Pandemic Reveals Wisdom: Stories, Poems, Essays, and Lyrics from the U.S. and India

Born in Maryland in 1944, Zanna Archer moved to Clarksburg in 1991. A writer since age ten, she has written for public broadcasting, confession magazines, and academic conferences. After she retired from teaching at Pierpont C&TC in 2014, she has published two paranormal romances, Shiftless in Sheboygan and Shifting into Shadows and has two works in progress: Starshine Shifting (a third paranormal romance) and The Bride of Folly (ahistorical romance).

S.L. Baron came from the Pine Barrens of New Jersey to West Virginia to go to WVU and decided to stay after she graduated because she loved the beauty of the state. Shewrites paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and historical fantasy, has three books and two short stories available on Amazon, and is working on her fourth full-length book, a vampire historical fantasy. When S.L. isn't writing, she enjoys reading, sewing, working out, and being out in nature.

Lori Fontanez is an author, mother and avid crafter from Lumberport, West Virginia. She loves to read and spend time with her children, grandchildren and her fur babies. She has participated in many anthologies including Bite Size Offerings, Fifty Shades Of Slay, Grynn Anthology, and A Very Zombie Christmas. She specializes in horror writing, with her own most popular novellas being Stalker, The Closet, and her own anthology Faucet of Phantoms. She has a new book Tainted Revenge.

For the past twenty years, Particia Harman was a nurse-midwife on the faculty of The Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University and most recently West Virginia University. In 1998 she went into private practice with her husband, Tom, anOB/Gyn, in Morgantown, West Virginia. Here they devoted their lives to caring for women and bringing babies into the world in a gentle way. In 2008 she began writing her bestselling memoirs and historical fiction about midwives.

Joann James is a columnist for the Exponent-Telegram and the author of Seeds for Enlightenment 101 (2022). She resides in Bridgeport, West Virginia with her daughter, Dr. Kristi James, and is active in her church and community. In addition to writing, she enjoys traveling, crocheting, sewing, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Lisa McCombs writes fiction for middle-grade readers because she believes kidsare smart, curious, and more resilient than they’re often given credit for. Through stories infused with empathy, humor, and heart, Lisa invites young readers to explore hidden struggles, spark meaningful conversations, and find comfort in knowing they are never alone. When she’s not writing or reading, Lisa likes to play with yarn, enjoys crossword puzzles, and camps at her mountain cabin.

During over 38 years as a psychologist and licensed professional counselor in Weston, West Virginia, Dr. Don Worth has been on the frontlines helping families during the ADHD wave, the opioid crisis, and now the pandemic. He developed an in-school mindfulness meditation program for ADHD, wrote a self-help recovery guide, and recently edited an award-winning anthology documenting the human experience of the pandemic called Good News, Bad News, Who Can Tell? The Pandemic Reveals Wisdom: Stories, Poems, Essays, and Lyrics from the U.S. and India.

Jeff Hanlin represents the clergy in the book Good News, Bad News, Who Can Tell? The Pandemic Reveals Wisdom. He currently serves as a parish pastor to two churches, one in Grafton, WV and the other in Clarksburg, WV. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Lee University in Cleveland, TN. He enjoys traveling, biking on the rail trails and spending time with his wheaten terrier, Oonagh. Jeff grew up in Columbia, MD and has made Clarksburg, WV his home for the past 42 years.

Diana Pishner Walker was born in Clarksburg, WV. She attended Notre Dame High School and graduated in 1977. She attended Fairmont State College, Fairmont WV and was a "Fast For Word" computer aide at East Dale Elementary School. She is the author of two award winning books, Spaghetti & Meatballs: Growing Up Italian and Hopping to America: A Rabbit’s Tale of Immigration.

James Crosby is a retired educator, author, and publisher who lives in Fairmont, WV. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Fairmont State University and a Master's Degree from West Virginia University in Special Education. He is an independent publisher under Li’l Rebel Enterprises LLC. Since 2018, he has published ten books, including six novels, one short story anthology, two non-fiction books of essays under the heading of “The Other Day…”, and just this year published his first Children’s book.

Linda Tennant holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering and jurisprudence from Fairmont State University, Marshall University, and California University of Pennsylvania. Linda is married and has a grandson and great-grandson. Retired from the chemical and energy industry, she presently owns Simonetti Consulting, LLC providing environmental and land management services to the U.S. energy industry and landowners. She co-authored the book Giorgio & Maria: Speak Their Names.

Diane Rudash graduated from West Virginia University with an early childhood education degree and a master’s emphasis in communications. Diane is married and has two children, Tyler and Danielle. She changed career direction when she took a position with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Diane has three great-grandchildren, Rain and Asher Christoff and Gabriella Rudash. She co-authored the book Giorgio & Maria: Speak Their Names.

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