December's Featured Author: Ann Boaden

December’s featured author is Ann Boaden, co-author of two young adult novels, short fiction, and creative non-fiction, including her most recent work, Light and Leaven: Women Who Shaped Augustana’s First Century, published by the Augustana Historical Society in 2011. Light and Leaven contains portraits of women who changed the character of Augustana College by their vision, energy, and dauntless love, set within the historical context in which they lived and worked.

Ann was inspired to write Light and Leaven by the fact no one had devoted significant time and research to tell the stories of Augustana’s women. She wanted to tell those stories and the more she researched and the more she dug out materials from the crumbling boxes and yellowed papers and journals of the past, the more the women became alive for her and the more she came to know, admire, and love them.

Under the name of Ann Young with co-author, Karin Youngberg, Ann has published two young adult novels: The Nine Days Wonder published by East Hall Press in 2002 and The Mysteryof the Singing Mermaid originally published by Weekly Reader Books in 1987. The Nine Days Wonder is a lively adventure story set in Shakespeare’s England that tells the story of the journey of a boy’s growing up with all the color, mystery, and danger of Elizabeth England. The Mystery of the Singing Mermaid tells the story of a smart, spunky teenager who sets out to answer the questions of what’s going on in a spooky old mansion with a possible ghost, and who stole the antiques from the mansion.

For as long as Ann could remember, she’s loved telling, hearing and reading stories, becoming a part of the story, acting it out, finding friends and even parts of her in the characters. So it wasn’t a big jump from there to wanting to make up her own stories, invent her own characters, and later, exploring real people from history and trying to make them come alive in her own words. When she is not writing, Ann works as a professor of English Literature and Creative Writing at Augustana College. She also likes to act, walk, and experiment with cooking.

Ann will be at Midwest Writing Center December 8th from 1 to 3 p.m., reading from, signing, and selling Light and Leaven as part of MWC’s and Bettendorf Public Library’s Read Local Program. It is the last installment of the series for 2012.

For aspiring writers, Ann offers this advice: “Be bloody, bold, and resolute! Well, maybe not bloody, but certainly bold and resolute. It’s not an easy calling, but if it’s yours, there’s none more intensely important than shaping experience with words. You must be persistent, patient, and most of all, you must be wiling to work at the craft and art of writing, draft after draft, revision after revision.”

November's Featured Author: Jodie Toohey

November’s featured author is Jodie Toohey. Jodie is the author of Crush and Other LovePoems for Girls, released in 2008. Her recent novel, Missing Emily: Croatian Life Letters, is now available for purchase at both The Book Rack locations, Exotic Imports, the West Kimberly Road Hy-Vee, Amazon.com, and other online retailers. Missing Emily tells the story of two girls living on opposite sides of the world, one in the United States and one in Croatia, who deal with their own turmoil, one of depression and the other of civil war, through pen pal letters in the early 1990s.

Jodie began to think about writing a book like Missing Emily after meeting her friend from Croatia several years ago. She thought back to what she was dealing with in her life in 1991 to 1992 and thought about how her perspective may have been different if they would have had contact during that time frame. About the book, Jodie says, “I believe the story will resonate with readers because, though the specific circumstances may be extraordinary, the issues are universal: death of a loved one, depression, boys, school, and trying to appear normal while dealing with turmoil ‘behind the scenes.’ I hope it will show readers who may be dealing with some of these issues that they are not alone and they are not new, which will hopefully comfort them and motivate them to seek solace outside of themselves. I also hope readers will be reminded there is a big world out there and even though they may be dealing with their own problems, there are people in the world dealing with much worse, like war. Finally, it contains a positive message about the evolving state of normal and remaining thankful for the good things you do have in your life.”

When Jodie is not working on her young adult novels, she is running her professional writing and editing business, Wordsy Woman Word Sales and Service; writing poetry; taking classes to earn her Masters of Business Administration; or volunteering for MWC, her next endeavor for which she will be leading a seven-session series of creative writing classes for seniors via a partnership between MWC and CASI. Her poetry book entitled The Other Side of Crazy is planned for release by 918 Studio in September 2013. To learn more about Jodie, please visit her website at www.wordsywoman.com. To read an excerpt from Missing Emily, click here. Or stop by to visit during the MWC holiday signing at Southpark Mall on November 24th between 1 and 4 p.m., or on December 8th at the Elmore Avenue Book Rack or December 15th at the Moline Book Rack, both from Noon to 3 p.m.

For aspiring writers and authors, Jodie offers this advice, “Follow your own heart. Your best writing will come directly from you, deep within your soul. Nobody else has your exact same perspective so whatever you write will be unique and authentic as long as it comes from you. Write to find out who that ‘you’ is and then infuse your writing with the ‘you’ you find.”

October Featured Author: Janet Clark

 This month’s featured author is Janet Clark, author of Blind Faith, a fictional story about the heartache, pain, and challenges the main character and his family face as a victim of one Roman Catholic clergy’s sexual abuse and subsequent systematic cover-up. Blind Faith was published in 2007 by 1^st World Publishing in Fairfield, Iowa. Janet says, “I wrote Blind Faith in part simply because I wanted to write a book and this is the story that bubbled up from within me.” Blind Faith is intended for those who simply like a good read as well as parents and people who are concerned about child welfare so they can learn about the signs and consequences of child sexual abuse.

Janet began writing at about 12 years old by scribbling in her notebooks. Since then, she dreamed of writing a book one day but didn’t become a professional writer until she was 40 when she mentioned to a friend that she wanted to become a writer. The friend suggested she take a writing sample to the editors of Fort Dodge Today magazine who liked her samples and hired her to be a staff writer where she worked for five years. These days, Janet teaches English as a Second Language to students at Black Haw Community College, including many who are refugees from war-torn countries. She also writes articles for online and print publications, including a recent article in Radish Magazine about the pawpaw, a little-known fruit native to this area.

 

When she is not writing, Janet loves to read and belongs to a book club. She also enjoys hiking and walking with her dog, Sid, and grand-dog, Rose, as well as scrapbooking, crafting greeting cards, cooking, eating, baking, and spending time with friends and family. She enjoys travelling, especially to Colorado, Minnesota, the Boundary Waters area, Seattle, and California.

Blind Faith has received much praise including from Midwest Book Review who gave it five stars and said it is “an involving story about the blind faith of a community manipulated, children betrayed, and the struggle to cope with hopelessly tangled emotions. Highly recommended.” It is available for sale on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, 1stworldpublishing.com and other online retailers. Her website is www.janeteclark.com. Contact her directly to purchase a copy at a lower price than what is typically offered online with an inscription.

For aspiring writers, Janet offers this advice: “When I wrote Blind Faith, I wrote three pages a day, six days a week. I don’t think it matters so much what system you use, but I think it does help to have a system, or it’s too easy to put it off.”

JULY FEATURED AUTHOR - J. WILSON McCALLISTER

Meet J. Wilson McCallister, MWC’s Featured Author of the Month for July. McCallister, a retiree from the John Deere Law Department, has published three books. His first book, Managing Product LiabilityRisks, was published by Aspatore, Inc. in 2005. He followed with The History, Law and Politics of FederalImpeachment: From the Early Precedents to the Impeachment and Trial ofPresident Bill Clinton in 2010; published by Strategic Book Publishing. His latest work, The Ten Political Compromises that Producedthe United States Constitution was published by Publish America, also in 2010.

            The Ten Political Compromises explains how, after America’s victory for independence created thirteen independent and separate states, the country came together to create our Constitution. After a call went out, all of the states except Rhode Island sent fifty-five of their most creative minds to meet from late May until the middle of September, 1787, to engage “in the most remarkable exercise in constitution-making the world had ever seen.” The Ten Political Compromises and McCallister’s other books are available for sale on Amazon.com and at his website at mccallisterpublications.com.

            McCallister earned his BA degree in government from Florida State University in 1964. He then served for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia. He obtained his JD degree from the University of Iowa in 1969. McCallister worked as an Assistant Dubuque County Attorney, part-time instructor of Business Law at Loral College, and a Juvenile Referee for Judicial District 1-A by appointment of the Iowa District Court. He joined the John Deere Law Department in 1981 where he worked as Associate General Counsel in product litigation, early dispute resolution, mergers and acquisitions, and special litigation until he retired in 2003. In 2006, McCallister taught Business Law part time at St. Ambrose University.

            McCallister became interested in writing for publication when he retired in 2003. This led to publication of his first book in 2005 and other subsequent more general works.

            When he is not writing, McCallister enjoys spending most of the year, especially the winter months, in Florida where he golfs and has volunteered at the literacy council. He also enjoys foreign travel.

            McCallister offers this advice to others who are thinking about writing: “Pick a subject that is of interest and never stop reading. Work daily, seek critical comment from others, and don’t rush to completion.”

JUNE'S FEATURED AUTHOR: LILLY SETTERDAHL

Midwest Writing Center introduces LillySetterdahl, June’s featured author of the month. Lilly is an authority on Sweden and the Titanic. She has published sixteen books, fifteen in English and one in Swedish. Her first book was published in 1981 by Augustana College and was entitled Swedish American Newspapers. She has had books published each of the past three years. Chicago Swedes: They Spoke From the Heart was published in 2010; Hero of theTitanic, the sequel to her novel Maiden of the Titanic, was published in 2011; and Not My Timeto Die: Titanic and the Swedes on Board was published recently in 2012.

Not My Time to Die is a nonfiction book about the Swedes on board the Titanic who made up the third largest ethnic group among the ship’s passengers. It was published on April 15, 2012, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking. Lilly says she decided to write the book while she was working on Hero of the Titanic because nobody outside of Sweden had written a book about the Swedes aboard the Titanic and because she was encouraged by Titanic scholars to write such a book. The book is ideal for anyone interested in the Titanic, the Swedish people, or both. It describes what happened with the Titanic, Sweden’s condition in 1912, and the reasons the Swedish passengers decided to make the trip. Profiles of each of the 123 Swedish passengers and the stories of the 34 Swedish survivors are covered through the some one hundred pages of Not My Time to Die. The work contains a wealth of new information including material previously unknown to English-speakers which Lilly translated and stories about third-class passengers who have received little media attention.

 

Lilly started writing as a new bride in Sweden in the 1950s. She was inspired by a local writer who had a first novel published which was made into a film. This led to an article published in a woman’s magazine for which Lilly won first prize. When not writing, Lilly enjoys research and travelling to visit family. Lilly offers this advice for aspiring authors: “Find a subject that will attract readers. Take classes and attend workshops. Be prepared to work long hours. Don’t forget what you have already written before proceeding. Keep notes or copies of your research. Back up your files.” Lilly also expresses appreciation for MWC who published her Maiden of the Titanic and Hero of the Titanic novels. She says she has “enjoyed the guidance of the Midwest Writing Center and the fellowship with the board, the members, and other writers.”

Please join the Lilly on June 13th at 7 p.m. at the Bettendorf Public Library where she will be reading as part of the Bettendorf Public Library's and Midwest Writing Center's Read Local series. This event is free. Not my Time to Die is availablefor sale on Amazon.com.

MAY'S FEATURED AUTHORS: CREATORS OF "LOVABLE LINC"

Linc is the feline friend and former resident of an entire school in Waterloo. His story was brought to life in the children’s book entitled Lovable Linc by this month’s featured “authors”: Janet Thompson and Lori Gross-Maynard who wrote the words in the book and Doris Webber who created the illustrations.

Linc was adopted after a custodian found him as a stray kitten outside of Lincoln School in Waterloo, Iowa. Linc grew up in the school environment and was put to work nurturing care for animals in the students he encountered; he also inspired, calmed and soothed them. Linc’s school service lasted seven years when he went from spending just nights and weekends with Lori to living with her permanently. In his time at the school, Linc impacted the lives of hundreds of students, staff and teachers.

After Linc’s retirement, people continually asked about his well being and it became apparent to Janet and Lori that they needed to tell his story and bring his personality to life. Lovable Linc evolved over several years. Linc helped with the story by sitting on the table while Lori and Janet wrote and reminisced about all of the silly times and inspirational moments that occurred during Linc’s seven years at the school. Rochelle Murray, retired Children’s Librarian for the Davenport Public Library, said this about the book: “Children will thoroughly enjoy LovableLinc. A story about an orphan cat who finds a special love relationship in a school setting. A 'purr-fect' story for anyone who loves animals-especially cats!”

Lovable Linc was published in 2010. It is its authors’ and illustrator’s first book.  Lori Gross-Maynard teaches Title I and Reading Recovery in Waterloo, Iowa. She also travels to visit family and friends and keeps busy with school and church activities. Jan Thompson is a retired teacher. She is a Davenport native and worked at the Davenport Public Library’s children’s book section during her time there. She is also the volunteer coordinator of P.E.T. P.A.L.S., an animal-assisted therapy and visitation program in Waterloo. She takes one of her dogs to area care facilities and, of course, books and reading are important in her life. Jan also loves to help kids who struggle with reading. Doris Webber is a retired para-educator who enjoys anything related to crafts and sewing, especially crocheting and embroidery work. She also loves books and reading. They have this advice to offer to aspiring book creators: “Persevere. It’s easy to give up but follow your dream if it’s something that you really want to do.”

Please join the creators of Lovable Linc on May 5th from Noon to 3 p.m. at the Moline Book Rack located at 3937 41st Ave. Dr. This event is free. The book is for sale at the Book Rack and by contacting Lori at LovableLinc@gmail.com.