The Springfield Free Public Library will participate in the third international Indie Author Day from 1:00 to 4:00 PM on Saturday, October 13. The purpose of this event is to celebrate the accomplishments of independently published authors while providing a venue for networking, readings, and discussion. The library is pleased to provide a platform to the following authors (in alphabetical order):
J. R. Bale is the author of Phoenix in the Middle of the Night, a work of political fiction, as well as a science fiction novel, Cognition Chronicles: The Redstone Legacy. When not writing books, he is a marketing consultant and college professor. In addition, Mr. Bale provides marketing consulting services for fellow authors and is a founding member of Page Bound Success.
Denise Devone is the author of The Night of the Mon Key Moon: An Instrumental, a collection of reproductions of paintings she has done. Her paintings have been exhibited in Japan, Hawaii and California as well as in her home state of New Jersey and her work can be found in museums, private and corporate collections. Ms. Devone is the recipient of an NJSCA fellowship and is an adjunct professor of visual arts at the County College of Morris and a teacher of both art and music at Good Shepherd Academy in Nutley.
Vivian Fransen is a writer, editor and proofreader who has published dozens of feature stories for New Jersey newspapers and magazines. Her book, The Straight Spouse: A Memoir, is a love story about a young woman who is married to a man who turns out to be gay and how she deals with the truth in unexpected ways. She has a passion for well-crafted memoirs and invites readers looking for more information to visit www.straightspousememoir.com
Shirley George Frazier is a gift basket expert whose book, Getting Into Gift Baskets, shares the author’s secret for combining creativity with a fun business. Ms. Frazier has more than 28 years of experience in this field and has appeared on the Food Network, CNBC, and the Discovery Channel.
Francine Garson’s debut novel, Things, is the story of a young professional woman who rents a secret apartment in order to accommodate her obsession with collecting and hoarding the relics of her childhood. After getting caught in a web of omissions and lies by a boyfriend with his own secret, she learns that Hurricane Sandy is headed directly for both of her apartments at the Jersey Shore. The author’s work has appeared in a number of print and online publications.
Wendy Jones, a Springfield resident for 30 years, but originally from Harlem in New York City, will read from her book, An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones. The book is a biography of her mother, a South Carolina sharecropper’s daughter born in 1920, who, in the 1960s, becomes the first black woman in a management position at a Fortune 500 company. Ms. Jones will also discuss the process of becoming a self-published author.
Elissa F. Merkl, a visual artist, paints a picture in a different medium – the written word – as she lovingly shares the two year journey she took when her sister experienced a recurrence of Hodgkins Disease, complicated by primary liver cancer, in her memoir, Traveling Beyond the Topic of Cancer: The Sisters’ Journey. More than a “how to” book with advice about battling cancer, the memoir chronicles the pair’s work at living life in spite of cancer’s dictating otherwise. Ms. Merkl is also the editor/publisher of Cultural Events of New Jersey.
Katrina Musto is the author of And Then the Phone Rang: What I’ve Learned About Life, Love, and Lasagna, a memoir that she hopes will inspire others to believe in themselves and see the light at the end of the tunnel the way she did after a series of unfortunate events including family tragedy and the mental and physical journey of weight loss.
Charles Vanyo is the author of Running for Dad: A Father Watches His Son Navigate Small-Town Politics, a memoir of his 1985 campaign for the position of mayor in Fairfield, New Jersey. It also covers the parallel story of his father’s final illness and death. The author describes his novel as “the story of two lives hurtling towards two diverse destinies, and of a son who sought somewhere along the way to reconnect with a distant figure of authority whose approval meant more to him than he really cared to admit.”
Candace Waller received a masters degree in Digital Publishing from New York University and has published hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, including the Courier News and Black Enterprise magazine. She also enjoys writing fiction and is currently working on the sequel to her first novel, What Goes Around Comes Around, which has elements of both romantic and inspirational fiction. More information about Ms. Waller can be found at www.candacewaller.com.
Desiree Williams is the author of Designing Lives: Inspiring Our Children Today to Inspire Our World Tomorrow, and has had extensive experience mentoring at risk teens. She has been designated as a “point of light” by the organization founded by President George H. W. Bush in recognition of her volunteer service to her community.
Indie Author Day at the Springfield Free Public Library is a free event and open to all members of the general public. Light refreshments will also be served.