by Kathy Manos Penn (The Ink Penn) for The Aha! Connection
This week and next, I’ll highlight authors whose books you’ll find in the Local Authors Book Store at the April Lemonade Days Festival. Here in Dunwoody, this booth is the closest you can get to an independent book shop, and it’s only open for two days—April 27 & 28. You won’t want to miss out on this selection of nonfiction, fiction, thrillers, children’s books, and more.
Many thanks to Jan Slimming who’ll manage the booth this year. Though Lord Banjo won’t be helping out this time, I hope to pop by Sunday to sign his book.
Pattie Baker is a writer, street photographer, organic food grower, married mom of two grown daughters, a League of American Bicyclists’ nationally-certified League Cycling Instructor (#5382), and the author of “Traveling at the Speed of Bike.”
Valerie Biggerstaff wrote the Crier’s “Past Tense” column and is our expert on local history. Not many people still remember Dunwoody before the sprawl of Atlanta nor the stories told by their parents and grandparents.
Valerie ’s historical photograph book, “Images of America: Dunwoody,” tells the stories behind the historic homes, street names, schools, and churches of Dunwoody; and includes a mix of old and new photographs.
Martha B. Boone is a private practice Urologist in an Atlanta suburb. She obtained her surgical training at Charity Hospital in New Orleans and was one of the first one hundred women urologists in the world. “The Big Free” is her first published work of fiction and combines medical humor and historical fiction in an urban hospital.
Laura Weiner, author of “The Mysterious Dripping Drops,” is an Atlanta educator. Her third-grade students are the inspiration for many of her ideas. This beautifully illustrated book set on the Amazon River features ants, sloth, and other natural creatures as its characters.
Melissa Vance is a writer and yoga instructor. Part planner, part journal, “Choose Self-care: 90-Day Workbook For Making Yourself A Priority,” is a non-dated 90-day full-color workbook, long enough to allow meaningful progress, yet short enough to keep you focused. Through the use of mindfulness and self-care techniques, it enables you to uncover limiting obstacles as it provides guidance to address areas out of alignment. Whether you have a clear understanding of your personal growth goals or if you have no idea what you most need, this guide will SUPPORT, UPLIFT, and ENCOURAGE you.
Kathy Wilson Florence writes Southern Fiction. “Jaybird’s Song,” is the story of a young girl growing up in the 60s in Atlanta and will resonate with any Southerner, especially those who grew up in that era. Florence returns to that turbulent time with her second novel “Three of Cups,” the tale of three women whose friendship sustains them through the Vietnam era and beyond.
Camden Mays brings us the thriller “Shattered Shield,” in which terrorist threats loom as a jaded CIA Officer works with a team to stop a group’s destructive designs on America.
Scott Wilkinson’s “Telecommedy” is a memoir / steamy tell-all / advice column / cathartic expression detailing one person’s experience moving through the mad times of the telecom industry in the 90s, interspersed with slightly educational interludes.
Peggy Brinson’s “Platforms of Prayer “ is written for all audiences. It offers, with scripture references, Why, When, and How we can pray more confidently and effectively.
Lynne Byrd tells the story of Joyce Amacher, a true visionary and major force in the shaping of Dunwoody as it is today in “The Queen of Dunwoody.”
Have I piqued your interest? Be sure to tune in again for more tales of the authors who will participate in Lemonade Days and more titles to add to your must-read list.
Kathy is a Sandy Springs resident. Find her books, “Lord Banjo the Royal Pooch” and “The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday,” at the Enchanted Forest and on Amazon. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail.com, follow her on Facebook, www.facebook.com/KathyManosPennAuthor/, and/or read her blogs at https://theinkpenn.blogspot.com/.
