Update 4/29/2023: This event has been cancelled due to a power outage at the Library. It will be rescheduled soon. Please continue showing support for our authors in the meantime.
Saturday, April 29, 1:00pm – 4:00 pm To Be Rescheduled
Monken Activity Room, Second Floor (accessible by elevator and stairs)
Centralia Regional Library District’s Local Author Fair is back!
This year, 10 local authors will be exhibiting in the Monken Activity Room to discuss, sell, and sign their books. Admission is free and there will be raffle drawings!
Meet the authors in this year’s lineup:
Brian L. Alvis
Bootlegger618 on Facebook
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Target Audience: Young Adult to Senior Citizens
Brian L. Alvis is an author based in Mount Vernon, Illinois, who writes historical fiction accompanied by pictures shot by Robbie Edwards. His upcoming book Cyclone will be released in 2024.
Books:
Shipwrecked (2017)
Shipwrecked is the tale of a sailor, Ronald, who has lost his way in a familiar place. He happens upon a beautiful sea creature, Briz, who seems to also be lost on North Foot Island. They discover each other and search for the reasons behind what both of them are doing there. On the surface it seems like a chance encounter of the romantic kind but below the calm there is deep, deep blue.
Bootlegger (2019)
The people I’m going to tell you about in this story are long gone. The winds of Time have blown miles of dirt over their graves. History left them behind, lore and legend never got it correct. This story needs to be told, I’m sure that I am the only one left alive that knows it. All that’s left are my memories and some old faded pictures. I don’t have much time left, so here is the true story of my family, the Little Rose Gang.
Bootlegger is the story of a fictional family of moonshiners set in the prohibition era of Southern Illinois.
Sara Bevis
www.facebook.com/sara.foster.90
Genre(s): YA Fiction
Target Audience: 12+
Sara Bevis grew up in Southern Illinois, where she still lives with her husband, son, and dog. She enjoys reading, doing 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles, and spending time with her family. Aurora in the Dark is her first novel.
Books:
Aurora in the Dark (Book 1 of the Seasons of Aurora Series, 2023)
Aurora has the perfect life until her father reveals, on his deathbed, that her real father is a lowly guard. She has to run away from home to find him.
Cris Cawthon
Genre(s): Photography, Christian Devotion
Target Audience: Adult
Cris Cawthon is the author of four books. She graduated with a degree in Health of Information Assistant. She currently works at her local library. Cris shares her passion for photography: “When I am behind the camera, my only focus is on my subject and that’s peace.” She also enjoys camping, fishing, and traveling. Despite her long list of tasks, she always finds time to help others and share encouragement.
Books:
Grace and Comfort: Surrounded by Beauty (2018)
Grace and Comfort is a photography book in memory of Andy Davenport. He fought cancer at a young age with grit. Andy did not let cancer stop him from being the light to his peers.
A Heart in Art: Mayo Clinic Heals Through Art (2019)
While visiting Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, the compassion Cris felt from the medical team was indescribable. She was also comforted by the artwork throughout each level of the Medical Buildings. As she walked alone through the hallways, the bright colors and glass sculptures brightened her day. All that she saw led her to create this book so that you can see the unique, beautiful artwork in Rochester, Minnesota and the surrounding area of Mayo Clinic.
Seeing Through Our Lens (2019)
In this book you will find black and white photos of the lives of Cris and co-writer Angie Wilkinson. The things they do, see, and love the most. They hope you enjoy the things they saw through their lens.
Be Encouraged (2021)
Be Encouraged was published on December 15, 2021 on the day that Cris’s grandmother passed away. “She was the epitome of grace and would always tell me at the end of our phone call, Be Encouraged,” Cris says. You will find many heartfelt short stories in this book that end with encouragement.
Ruth Ann Friend
Genre(s): Spiritual Nonfiction
Target Audience: Adult
Ruth Ann Friend has written three nonfiction books of true experiences. She and her son each have experienced being dead on arrival (DOA) and amazingly returned to earth to tell our stories of love, not fear. Her books are about experiences of life after death, miracles, Jesus Christ, Phenomenal Heavenly beings, Teachers, Guides, Universal beings and that every human is God’s Creation of Consciousness. Ruth was divinely led to become a Reiki Master Practitioner Teacher of Ancient Healing for 33 years, and taught Reiki at John A. Logan College. She is a certified hypnotist practitioner, a speaker at UFO conferences, a guest on radio talk shows, and does readings. A recent documentary has been in the works of her life and that of her son’s.
Books:
The Story of David (2015)
This empowering unheard of story of true events can change your life! This is about the reincarnation of a mother and her son and their return back to earth in order to experience their soul’s evolution, promise, and covenant. Their separate worlds would be extremely different for them coming here from the Light of Peace. They would have many tough choices to make and to go through. Both of them would have the opportunity to learn what their soul needed and to teach what they had promised in sealing their blessed Covenant with the Creator. In the beginning of God’s Creation they were created as one soul, then divided for their work throughout their different lifetimes. Living a new life on Earth would not be easy with the many hard hurdles laid before them. Part of their mission was teaching Gods plan so no soul is ever lost; we evolve on with our choice of free will. Their largest struggle to conquer would be working in this world which is shaded in darkness. This story will tell of the many miraculous events that occurred to them with spiritual help from other realms in the Universe! These experiences are likely unheard of in our world. This is a once in a lifetime story which surpasses our beliefs of what powerful beings we all are and what we are!
Aliens Within Our Own Selves (2017)
Daily Living with Extraterrestrials: This book is based on true events and is a phenomenal story of two people living in a dual consciousness by finding out that they both had been chosen by the ETs as companions. This was about living a secret life and keeping records of their experiences together until the ETs told us the purpose of this. The ETs want us to speak the truth for them using the ETs own words and their many messages and why we have been schooled by them. The ETs want the TRUTH told about them and why they come to earth. They are responsible at times for many of the new cures with the ideas and answers put into a humans mind when the person thinks this is their own thoughts. You will learn things that you may have never dreamed of, of how things really are that make up our world.
Under the Rainbow Crossing (2018)
Under the Rainbow Crossing is based on true accounts in the author’s life that evolves around her co-existence within different worlds of spirits and energy. She will show that there is life after life and explain that spirits and other “Heavenly Beings of Light” exist in other places. Ruth Ann attempts to fully express through her experiences and photos how it is to live in a world where she can see and hear the “Other Side” on a daily basis. With her son David, Ruth Ann shares the connections that have been made spiritually with these spirits from the “Other Side” and explains why one does not need to have a fear of life and death and what is beyond. The book also attempts to bring peace of mind to those who have lost loved ones, that we go on, that the soul never dies, and that your loved ones are not at the cemetery but closer to you than you can ever imagine. Under the Rainbow Crossing attempts to release your inhibitions of the terror side of spirits and provide you with firsthand experiences of a woman and her existence of spirits and show you their meaning of love and goodness. This book is based on a true story.
Luberta Lytle
www.lubertalytle.com
Genre(s): Inspirational Nonfiction
Target Audience: Over 40-year-old Women
Luberta Lytle is a Christian Certified Life Coach and the owner/proprietor of L.L. Life Coaching Coaching Company. She is also the founder and executive director of Dorothy Johnson My Biggest Fan, NFP. In addition to her career as a life coach, she recently retired from working with the Illinois State Government after 32 years. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the SAFE and CASA of Marion County Organization. She is also serving as an Ambassador for the Centralia Chamber of Commerce. Before anything else, Ms. Lytle is a mother of three, grandmother of eleven, and just recently became a great-grandmother. Luberta lives in Centralia, Illinois. She is an avid reader and enjoys taking walks in her spare time and her heart is fueled by a passion for inspiring and motivating women.
Books:
Millionaire M.O.M. (2016)
#BossMoms: Mompreneurship leaves no women behind. Read, engage, learn, and trust from these 10 testimonies. If you have a will, the courage, and the desire to see a better lives for yourself and your family, then you are already in the making of becoming a #BossMom.
Heal the Hurt (2016)
A young girl’s life changed forever in 1975. She lost her innocence and trust for men. This caused her to lose her self-worth and become promiscuous. During her adult years, she turned to alcohol thinking that this would help ease the pain. It only gave a temporary fix to a bigger problem. She finally sought and found comfort in her creator.
The She-Preneur Journey (2016)
This book was borne out of the authors’ impertinence and zest for changing the status quo. It discusses practical steps and workable formula that will equip each reader with everything they need to embark on their unique journey, as well as the working tools and techniques needed to succeed on that journey.
Celebrating My Biggest Fan: An Anthology of Love (2020)
Every wish you could send a letter to a loved-one who constantly cheered you on but is no longer here? Join Luberta Lytle and these amazing authors as they share a special letter to their biggest fan. Our biggest fans may be gone in the physical, but they are still living on in their hearts.
The Power of What Is Love? (2022)
In this anthology the Authors wanted to share their story of what love means, looks like, feels like from the perspective of a woman. This love is not just romantic, but it’s about motherly love, friendship love, the just all-around love. The Authors want you to know that you are not alone in this journey. This love thing has so many twists and turns, so many ways to heal, deal and learn while learning what it is. Please KNOW that love looks, feels, and is reciprocated in all kinds of ways. Your love may very well look much different than anyone else.
Brittani Miller
www.brittaniwritesbooks.com
Genre(s): General
Target Audience: Adult
Brittani Miller is a writer born and raised in Southern Illinois. She is an alumni of Kaskaskia College and University of Illinois Springfield, where she studied English. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines. When she isn’t writing her own stories, she is an editor for CentraLit Magazine (www.centralitmagazine.com). CentraLit Magazine is an ongoing local publication for works by Southern Illinoisan authors.
Books:
My Body, Like Tentacles (2022)
In her debut writing collection, Brittani Miller channels her experience as a chronically ill young adult to bring to life stories of illness, mental health, and coming of age. Featuring five short stories and four poems, this chapbook is a poignant look into young adulthood in the 21st century.
Daniel Nalley
www.facebook.com/danielnalleyspage
Genre(s): Children’s Literature
Target Audience: Ages 5-11
Daniel Nalley is the founder of Gospel Encounter ministry in Mount Vernon, Illinois. Daniel and his wife, Shauna, serve as missionaries to Southern Illinois sharing the hope of Christ with the broken and the hurting. They love to spend their time serving their community. Daniel and Shauna have two young children who help give inspiration to Daniel’s stories.
Books:
Wesley and Creation (2016)
Wesley and Creation is about a mouse named Wesley who lives with an old woman in a run down house. When Wesley overhears that the old woman painted the paintings in her house something clicks in his mind. He realizes that if there is a painting there must be a painter. This is the beginning of Wesley’s journey to discover that everything comes from something. A painting equals a painter. A building equals a builder. A creation equals a creator. A bonus feature in the book is the memory scriptures that are on the last page. These are there so that parents or teachers can challenge the kids to read them and/or memorize them.
Charlie the Fox (2021)
Growing up, Charlie heard stories about God creating the Heavens and the Earth and everything in them. Now, Charlie wants to find the God who did this. Charlie believes that the God who created the Heavens and the Earth must be big. He must be easy to find. Charlie looks for God everywhere, but to his surprise, he can’t find God anywhere. Everyone he talks to has never seen God. When Charlie is about to give up on his search for God an owl flies up who claims he has seen God. When Charlie asks the owl where God is the owl’s response took Charlie by surprise. “To look for God is to say that there is somewhere that he isn’t and that is not true because God is everywhere. God is too big to look for. You simply open your eyes.”
The Little Philosopher (2021)
There once was a man known by all the world as “The Great Philosopher”. He was extremely wise and filled with great knowledge. People would come to him with their hardest questions. They would ask him questions about anything and everything. “Come and drink from the philosopher’s jar of knowledge!” the people would exclaim. There were so many questions The Great Philosopher would have people write them down and place them in a jar. After he had finished teaching he would draw out the hardest questions and give answers to them. Everyone was amazed by his wisdom! But every once in a while, there was a question that even he could not answer. He would place it in a separate jar called the jar of unanswered questions. The older The Great Philosopher grew the more the jar of unanswered questions grew. He knew there was an answer to EVERY question and he would not rest until he found the answers. After he questions God it is God’s turn to question him.
Jane Smudrick Peacock
Genre(s): Picture Books
Target Audience: Up to 3rd Grade
Jane Smudrick Peacock is a public school librarian who taught junior high students to write stories and poetry. During retirement, she has enjoyed travel, her hobbies, her family and friends, her organizations, and most of all–her church life.
Books:
Lucky (2011)
In her first book, Jane tells the true story of a squirrel she rescued.
A Home for Pokie (2018)
Watching a baby bird take its first very shaky flight is a joyous delight. Every year, a pair of mama and daddy eastern bluebirds would make their home in our backyard. This story relates the process of their selection of a homesite and then the building of their nest in which to raise the family. Also, it illustrates the dedication of mama and daddy bluebird in the caring and feeding of their babies and the supervising of their teaching them to fly. It was evident that these eastern bluebird parents were steadfast in their encouragement of these baby birds to become independent in their search for food as well as in their becoming mature, adult birds. Please enjoy the beautiful backyard where Pokie grew up, Jane’s second book about the wonderful wildlife found in nature.
Eric L. Terlizzi
www.ericlterlizzi.com
Genre(s): Legal Thrillers
Target Audience: Adult
Eric L. Terlizzi has practiced law in a small town in Southern Illinois for longer than he cares to admit. He and his wife live in Southern Illinois. When he’s not at his office, he can be found at their home in the country where he’s likely to be flying model airplanes or repairing ones he’s just crashed.
Books:
The Best Interest (2021)
Nick Barnett, 41, small town divorce lawyer, divorced himself and trying to cope with being an every other weekend dad to his teenage daughter has his life changed when he agrees to represent the beautiful Livinia “Livie” Taylor in a bitter divorce and custody battle against her wealthy husband, Dr. Daniel Taylor, over their three year old daughter. At first Nick is confident of prevailing in the custody fight. But as he learns more about Livie’s past and discovers what she may be capable of, Nick is put to the ultimate choice; betray his own client or zealously continue to represent Livie and put lives at risk.
A Question of Innocence (2022)
David Rathman, Martin County State’s Attorney, has every reason to believe that the biggest case of his career is a lead pipe cinch conviction. After all, Carolyn Gallagher admittedly shot her sleeping husband, Dr. Grant Gallagher, twice in the head from a range of no more than two inches. But, as Carolyn’s attorney, harried and overworked Martin County Public Defender, Karen Pellegrini, learns about the Gallagher marriage and what went on behind closed doors, she realizes she has been given the greatest challenge and responsibility a criminal defense attorney can assume: defending a truly innocent client. Then when celebrity attorney, Marcus Jackson, learns of the case and smells publicity, he volunteers to join the defense team. And little Martin County prepares to become the venue for the murder trial of the decade. Can Karen and Marcus convince a local jury that the revered, Dr. Gallagher was in truth, a monster, and Carolyn, a battered spouse who acted in self-defense? Or will even more secrets be uncovered?
Tony Thompson
www.facebook.com/tony.thompsonauthor.3
Genre(s): Horror, Fantasy
Target Audience: Middle Grade/Young Adult
A recently self-published author, Tony Thompson currently works as a Coordinator for Special Education at Belleville West High School in Belleville, Illinois.
Books:
Dryver’s Fields (2019)
The children of Okawville, IL are disappearing at an alarming rate. Three life-long friends are determined to find out who or what is behind the disappearances. They need to do so, quickly, before Okawville becomes a ghost town.
The Eighth Lion (Book 1, 2020) & Eschaton (Book 2, 2021)
Prince Landon is on a quest to save his sister from the clutches of a rogue dragon and to prevent the coming apocalypse. To do so, he must travel to the edges of the Known World and enter Mfiri, the gateway to the Underworld. Along the way, he might even find the answer to a question that has plagued humankind for centuries.
Midnight in Varosliget (2023)
What happens when a nostalgic vampire, a neurotic werewolf, and a mummy with a 200 IQ meet at midnight in Varosliget Park in Budapest, Hungary? Finland the Werewolf and Ahmose the Mummy must put aside their differences as they wait for the arrival of the friend Pentele Sandor, the world’s most powerful vampire, who is about to end a 10-year self-imposed fast.
—
For questions and concerns about the fair, please email program coordinator Charessa Sistek at csistek@centralia.lib.il.us or call 618.532.5222 extension 225.
If you are an Illinois author that would like a chance to exhibit at our next fair, let us know!
