Library hosts author showcase
The Bella Vista Library had its first Local Author Showcase, which 18 area authors signed up for.
Tables filled all the otherwise open space in the library, each manned by a writer — often with a collection of books and a series of related items, including bookmarks, visual aids and, in at least one case, a series of tie-in candles.
Those candles were at Jan Huneycutt’s table, with the scent of gardenias to tie in with her first book, “Ardenia Dovie’s Card Catalog.”
The book, she said, is a coming of age story that takes place in 1974, and consists entirely of card catalog entries by the titular “Ardenia Dovie.”
“The character came to me,” she said.
Library event coordinator Bailley Kinser said this is something the library may do twice each
year, once in the spring and once in the fall, because of the level of interest authors have shown.
While authors have expressed interest in book signings before, she said, they tended to have poor turnout. The idea behind this, she said, was to give the authors a similar opportunity for exposure and, ideally, draw more people.
She was pleasantly surprised by the response, she said. The library put up an ad and the event was booked solid before long, she said.
“We have just about every genre possible,” she said. “It’s really impressive.”
Genres in attendance included historical fiction, young adult fiction, science fiction, imaginative historical nonfiction and
historical clean Christian romance.
One pair of writers, B.J. and Scott Tassin, showed up and shared a table. The married couple hails from Bella Vista and also own Cloud 9 Mattress in Bentonville, in addition to writing on the side.
Scott Tassin said he’s also a pastor and writes a combination of scientific apologetics and spiritual fictions, which are largely rooted in the lessons he teaches.
B.J. Tassin said her novel, “Bona-Fide,” was published less than a year ago after roughly 14 years of work, and a large-print version was just released. She describes it as dramatic fiction.
The story, she said, follows a family living in a bus in the Ozarks in the 1960s, and follows a young girl living in this bus who has no clue who she is. The girl, Tassin said, is trying to learn her name so she can become “Bona-Fide.”
The characters, she said, occasionally need to go into town for supplies.
“Everybody thinks it’s their town,” Tassin said.
The book, she said, can be found in book stores and area libraries.
Near the front door, Bella Vista resident and youngadult author Doug Pershing had a table set up with a handful of his books.
“It’s the genre that I read,” he said, “so it’s just natural for me to write.”
His books include science fiction and paranormal romance.
Getting positive feedback, he said, makes the work very rewarding, as does knowing people are reading what he writes.
The showcase, he said, was good to see.
“You come into an event like this without a lot of expectations,” he said. “It’s nice for them to try to help out their local authors.”
His books, he said, can be found on Amazon, or on his own website, pershing
books.com.
On the other end of the library sat Suzanne Chilton, who co-wrote “Blue” and Gray Cross Current with her husband of 50 years, Dan Chilton. They’re working on a stage play adaptation as well, she said.
The book, Suzanne Chilton said, is a creative nonfiction, compiled from historical documents and family history. While the dialog is largely imagined, she said, the people and places are not.
“We tried to make this book as accurate as possible,” she said. “Our goal is to preserve our heritage of the Ozark region.”
There’s even an index, she said, so anyone interested can look into the sources behind the story.
Research for the book
started in 2004, she said, and the book was released a decade later in 2014. In that time, she said, she and her husband dug up more information than genealogists were able to, and they took writing classes just for the book.
“It’s brought a whole new life for us,” she said.
The book, she said, can be found on Amazon.
Hillary Sperry showed up
for the event, she said, in part to support a handful of authors she knew, but also to meet more.
She had a good time, she said, and getting to meet some of the local talent made her excited to be from Arkansas.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “I’ve been hearing about a lot of different books and they all sound amazing.”