Greenville library to host its first 'Author Fest' (Part 2 of 3)
Jul. 8—Voracious readers will soon have a chance to meet 40-or-so authors and look through their work at W. Walworth Harrison Public Library's first-ever Author Fest.
Hosting mostly authors who are either originally from or currently living in Texas, the event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, and will showcase authors who write in genres that span the spectrum from whimsical children's books to gory horror to memoirs about extraordinary relationships.
that this story is the second out of a series of three. With so many authors planning to attend and sell books at Author Fest, the Herald-Banner is sharing short bios of only a portion of the authors in each installment.
This issue's sampling of authors is listed below:
—Eric Butler is a Texas indie horror author whose stories are often influenced by urban legends, cryptid myths, and elements of the slasher genre. His "Donn, TX" series takes place in a small, creepy, backwoods unincorporated community that "You won't find on any map, there are no road signs to guide you, and once there, may God have mercy on your soul." At Author Fest, in addition to visiting with readers and selling his books, Butler will take part in a panel discussion at 2 p.m. titled "Why Horror?" with fellow authors Kurt Phillips, Miracle Austin and Patrick C. Harrison III.
—Kurt Phillips, from Austin, is a musician who plays guitar, mandolin and keyboards, and is the founder of the Lone Star School of Music. Later, he sold Lone Star to focus more on writing. His debut novel, "The Hand of the Archer," was described as "dark, weird and great" by fellow Austin horror/thriller author Gabino Iglesias.
—Miracle Austin is a Texas author of supernatural fiction geared toward a young adult audience. Her "Doll" trilogy is a coming of age supernatural love story told from an interracial teen's perspective. The first book in the series won second place in the 2016 Purple Dragonly Awards. Fellow author Brandy Corona praised "Doll" as "a frightening 5-star read with enough scary voodoo magic to give just the right amount of twists and turns."
—Patrick C. Harrison III (or PC3, as he is also known) is an author of horror, splatterpunk and other forms of speculative fiction. He is one of the authors and editors of the award-winning anthology "And Hell Followed," and is the co-founder of Death's Head Press, a publisher of dark fiction. PC3 currently lives in Wolfe City.
—P. R. Lily is the author of multiple children's books, which includes the titles "Tabitha's Bubble Bath" and "The Grumpy Queen from Tangerine." She also works as a cake decorator. At Author Fest, she will read one of her books at a storytime at 11:15 a.m.
—Emma Hill is a sixth grade English teacher from Bullard, Texas and author of romantic comedy novel "And Maybe They Fall in Love." She is also the author of the "Smelly Davis" trilogy of children's books, and has had multiple short stories, essays and poems published in various literary journals, anthologies and magazines. At the event, she will read from one of her books during a 1:45 p.m. storytime.
—Hazel Spire is an author, illustrator and retired teacher living in Royse City. Her varied work includes two rhyming picture books, two mysteries, a collection of poetry, a book of bedtime stories, and a memoir titled "Bugsy, Slug, The Beatles and Me."
—Kellye Abernathy, who currently lives in Plano, made her debut with the surfing-meets-fantasy novel "The Aquamarine Surfboard." It tells the story of a 13-year-old girl who receives a magical surfboard that allows her to go on an underwater adventure (where she meets unusual characters like Koan, the Riddlemaster of the Sea) as she also dives deeper into a mystery that surrounds her community. In addition to writing, Abernathy helps trauma survivors as a yoga instructor.
—Charlotte Cook of Greenville used tragedies she experienced in real life as inspiration for her debut novel, "Outside Looking In," which tells the story of a murder and the inner workings of small town justice. "While there are people who deal with raising grandchildren, with addiction, with incarceration and with death, most folks do not face those things all at the same time," Cook said of her story. In addition to writing, Cook has owned and operated Your Yoga in Greenville since 2003.
—Rick Parent of Commerce has, so far, published four books about his experiences with sharing his home with wolves. "The Hunter Chronicles" is a collection of anecdotes about his first wolf, who was named Hunter, while his series of children's books, collectively titled "Windsongs," is about his second wolf — a young female named Windsong, or Windy. "A Wolf's 'love of pack' is something to behold," Parent said of his experiences with both wolves. "Being loved by a wolf is sacred. Thank you, God." At Author Fest, Parent will read from one of his books at 3:45 p.m.
