Life’s challenges, solutions, and stories worth sharing are among published works that more than a dozen local authors will celebrate on Saturday, June 2, at the Great Falls Library. Conversation with authors begins at 4 p.m.
All featured authors are Great Falls Writer’s Group members, who will discuss their inspiration, writing process, and what they hope to give their audiences.
Nancy Hannan’s first novel, “In the Light of Winter,” is a love story for those late in life. Hannan’s first two books, “A Mother Never Forgets” and “A Way Out,” are about real-life experiences reconnecting with the adult child relinquished to adoption at birth and life in an abusive marriage. Her books are intended to help readers through difficult family situations.
PERSONAL TRIALS AND RECOVERY inspire many GFWG authors to assist others through their writing.
Educator Mary McKay’s “Swimming Lessons: How Our Mental Healthcare System Fails Us” is a mother’s personal reflection that helps parents navigate the world of specialists, schools and programs to manage a child suffering from behavioral problems, emotional illness, learning disabilities and addictions.
“I was encouraged by others familiar with my story to share and help other parents learn from my experience,” says McKay.
Sharon Rainey’s third book, “The Best Part of My Day Healing Journal,” follows the publication, “Lyme Savvy: Treatment Insights for Lyme Patients and Practitioners,” and encourages joy, happiness and laughter to promote healthy recovery and illness resistance.
“Recording positive emotions, recalling them in a journal, is a positive step of therapeutic value,” Rainey says. “So many people had asked me how I healed at the emotional and spiritual levels, that I shared what I had learned.”
A life goal of GFWG matriarch Mary Dacoba is writing her personal story in “Ninety-seven Years.”
Catherine Mathews follows her memoir debut, “My Family’s Journey,” with “Twinbridge,” a fictionalized account of life in a small town during World War II.
Pu-Chin Hsueh Waide shares her father’s life as a Chinese child in a Tibetan village until WWII in her book, “Hong Chen: Memoirs of a Turbulent Life Through Rose-Tinted Dust Storm.”
Clarence Ashley’s “Spy Master,” chronicles Central Intelligence Agency case officer George G. Kisevalter’s life in tsarist Russia, Cold War espionage that resulted in negotiating power during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and life in McLean.
History and mystery converge with Adriaan Verheul’s experiences as a peacekeeper abroad in his political thriller, “A Clean Death.”
J. Robert DiFulgo’s book,“Titanic’s Resurrected Secret – H.E.W.,” unravels Titanic’s untold secret about an individual whose identity was forfeited because of the theft of a valuable object in his possession. DiFulgo’s “The Invisible Moon” tells of a man suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and assembling his past after an unexpected visit from a former Navy shipmate.
In gratitude to the military family who took her in as a teen, Jennifer Hammond compiled “101 Resources for Veterans: The Ultimate Resource Guide.” Book purchases allow her to put more copies in the hands of vets who need them.
Inspired by decades of volunteering at polls, Bill Lewers created “The Gatekeepers of Democracy” and “November Third,” a series about citizens with differing political persuasions who work Election Day battling malfunctioning equipment, political trickery, and deteriorating weather as the workers provide a positive voting experience for those casting ballots. Previous publications by Lewers include non-fiction books “Six Decades of Baseball: A Personal Narrative” and “A Voter’s Journey.”
James and Darlene Diedrich worked on development projects in Africa. “Don’t Shoot the Giraffes” is a compilation of short stories, photographs and letters illustrating daily life with their two children, whose second language is Swahili.
THE AUTHOR EVENT features reads for youngsters, too. Author and illustrator Judy Politzer created, “Fractured Nursery Rhymes, Fairy Tales, and Potpourri,” which teaches the alphabet through nursery rhymes with enhanced original endings.
“These new versions tell how the story really ends and tickles the children’s imagination through smiles, giggles, and laughter,” says Politzer.
"This event is a celebration of the talent and passion that exists within our writing family,” says GFWG Founder Kristin Clark Taylor. “Bringing the community together to recognize this talent is joyous and exhilarating. It makes my heart smile.”
The June 2 event is open to the public. All books are available for purchase and signing.
Great Falls Writer’s Group’s Featured Authors
Clarence Ashley, “CIA Spymaster”
Mary Dacoba,“Ninety-Seven Years”
Darlene and James Diedrich, “Don’t Shoot the Giraffes”
J. Robert DiFulgo, “Titanic’s Resurrected Secret – H.E.W.” and “The Invisible Moon”
Jennifer Hammond, “101 Resources for Veterans: The Ultimate Resource Guide”
Nancy Hannan, “In the Light of Winter,” “A Mother Never Forgets,” and “A Way Out”
Bill Lewers, “The Gatekeepers of Democracy,” “November Third,” “A Voter’s Journey,” and “Six Decades of Baseball: A Personal Narrative”
Catherine Mathews, “My Family’s Journey” and “Twinbridge”
Mary McKay, “Swimming Lessons: How Our Mental Healthcare Systems Fails Us; A Mother’s Personal Reflections and Cry for Help.”
Judy Politzer, “Fractured Nursery Rhymes, Fairy Tales, and Potpourri”
Sharon Rainey, “Lyme Savvy: Treatment Insights for Lyme Patients & Practitioners,” and “The Best Part of My Day Healing Journal”
Adriaan Verheul, “A Clean Death”
Pu-Chin Hsueh Waide, “Hong Chen: Memoirs of a Turbulent Life Through Rose-Tinted Dust Storm”