What	The Larchmere Festival is a major annual celebration:  a street fair with participation by over a hundred vendors, workshops, music, the Euclid Beach Rocket Car, food and merriment.  As a merchant of the street, what better contribution can I give than to celebrate the local literati with a gathering, display and booksale for local writers?  Last year's Author Alley was a great success, so we're looking forward to making this an annual event.  All writers are eligible, from self-published to national blockbusters.   This year, a representative from The LIT: Cleveland's Literary Center will be joining us! Founded in January 1974, The LIT was incorporated October 15, 1976 as the Poets' League of Greater Cleveland. The mission of the organization was to give voice to Cleveland's growing community of beat style and street poets, for whom poetry was not an academic endeavor, but for whom poetry was a means of artistic, literary, social, and political expression. Today The LIT promotes reading and writing of all genres by offering classes, programs, events, and a quarterly visual and literary arts magazine.
Who	We are no longer accepting registrations for the 2010 Author Alley.  Please check back next year!
When	Saturday, July 3, 2010, 12pm-4pm
Where	In the driveway, or Author Alley, of Loganberry Books 13015 Larchmere Boulevard Shaker Heights, OH 44120  216.795-9800  Directions
How	Participation is free for both authors and audience. Please let me know you're coming! Download Registration Form.
Festival	The Larchmere Festival is more than a day of bargains and goodies, but of neighbors, festivities, workshops and camaraderie.  Tucked into corners and lots up and down the boulevard are dealers of vintage goods, antiques, art, and collectibles, with an additional community garage sale lot for the bargain hunters.  Music, the Euclid Beach Rocket Car, and food enliven the festival flair.  Workshops abound, featuring knitting, paper marbling, health seminars, green home improvements, and a local author book fair.  For more information, visit www.larchmere.com
Books	Deanna R. Adams Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection Kent State University Press, 2002, $39.99 It’s no wonder Cleveland is home to the internationally famous Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—Cleveland disk jockey Alan Freed coined the phrase for this new musical phenomenon nearly 50 years ago; Casey Kasem fine-tuned his long-running broadcasting career in Cleveland; and Cleveland witnessed the rise of such widely recognized groups as the James Gang, the Outsiders, Damnation of Adam Blessing, and the Raspberries. Nearby Canton gave us the O’Jays, and Akron spawned Devo and Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. And the rock concert was practically invented in Cleveland in 1952, when Alan Freed convened the first Moondog Coronation Ball. By the 1970s Cleveland had become a proving ground for superstars in the making. "Rock ’n’ Roll and the Cleveland Connection" is the first in-depth look at the people, venues, and artists that made Cleveland the "Rock ’n’ Roll Capital of the World." Confessions of a Not-So-Good Catholic Girl Infinity Press, 2008, $19.99 Confessions of a Not-So-Good Catholic Girl is a collection of true tales about growing up a baby boomer in the Midwest. These coming-of-age stories, wide ranging in subject matter, are slices of life, experiences most of us share:  internal conflicts, personal relationships, life-altering moments—whether you grew up Catholic or not. Weave in historic events and pop culture trends and you have a book of nostalgic adventures that will evoke your own life memories—with laughter, warmth, and fond reflection. Cleveland's Rock and Roll Roots Arcadia Publishing, 2010, $21.99 Ever since Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed first called the records he was playing "rock and roll," northeast Ohio has been a driving force in this musical phenomenon. From the disc jockeys who spun the music to the musicians who played it, the clubs that welcomed it and fans who encouraged it, rock and roll has been as much a part of this north coast as the lake that hugs it. It was those early years, from the 1950s on, that led Cleveland to becoming the "Rock and Roll Capital of the World" and ultimately home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. While the city spawned several widely recognized names, such as the James Gang (with Joe Walsh), the Raspberries (with Eric Carmen), and Bobby Womack, it is the music itself that will keep this town rocking on the shores of Lake Erie, and beyond, for a long time to come. Robert. W. Alcorn, M.D. Healing Stories: My Journey from Mainstream Psychiatry Toward Spiritual Healing Perception Garden Press, 2010, $20 A book of clinical vignettes describing the author's journey of discovery in using alternative healing methods with psychiatric patients. Written for the layperson. Alice Baburek Corridors in Time PublishAmerica, 2008, $16.95 The year is 1906 in San Francisco, California, just months before the most destructive earthquake ever recorded in U.S. history shakes and crumbles the entire west coast!  It is here that Alexandria Becker and Cindy Murnan, who have frantically escaped from the future, desperately try to defy this catastrophic devastation in order to save the lives of their new-found friends, even if it means changing the course of history. Echo of Lies PublishAmerica, 2009, $24.95 Echo of Lies carries the reader away on a treacherous journey inside the personal lives of three influential and powerful women.  It is through their intense determination to seek out justice that forbidden doors are opened and evil silently unfolds into a nightmare filled with deceit and lies. When Lightning Strikes Back PublishAmerica, 2007, $12.95 How do you try to recapture what has been long lost and forgotten?  Or correct past mistakes to ensure a more promising and productive future?  The year is 2210 where the science of time travel has finally been perfected.  Alexandria Bender, a well-renowned scientist for the new government, and her highly acclaimed assistant, Cindy Murnan, create the inconceivable--a time travel pod.  When Lightning Strikes Back is the story of these two women's undying determination to push forward and risk everything to embark on a journey that will change their lives and history forever. Timeless Barriers PublishAmerica, 2010, $16.95 Scientists Alexandria Bender and Cindy Murnan, from the year 2210, narrowly escape the penetrating clutches of the United Federation.  Once again, their ionized cells are hurled through Timeless Barriers to an unknown distant place and time. The year is 1991, in the simple town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, home to many seafaring fishermen.  Incredible as it may seem, it is here where Alex and Cindy are surprisingly reunited with a dear friend from their desolate future, Billy Bentram.  Billy, the first successful time-travel experiment, is now a devoted husband and the prominent owner of a Massachusetts fish refinery.  Unaware of the impending danger which followed him through the barriers of time, Billy adamantly refuses to believe the irrefutable truth. The trio embarks on a perilous quest to save their own existence from the detrimental retaliation yet to come. Emilie Barnett Daring Daughter of the Covenant Windjammer Adventure Publishing, $24.95 2010 marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of the subject of this historical novel, Beatrice Nasi Mendes (Doña Gracia 1510-1569). According to the British historian Cecil Roth, she is “…one of the outstanding figures in Jewish history, not of her own day alone, but of all time.” (Roth, Cecil, Doña Gracia of the House of Nasi, Philadelphia. Jewish Publication Society 1948).   Yet few of us are even aware of this remarkable woman and her extraordinary deeds to save hundreds of her people from the Inquisition.    Widowed at twenty-six, she was forced to flee the Inquisition in Portugal  and traveled with her family to England, then Antwerp and Venice, where betrayed by her sister, she was imprisoned.  Finally freed, she moved to Ferrara where she was free to practice her faith and then to Constantinople, where she found support from the Sultan Suleiman.  At her request, he imposed an embargo on all shipping to or from of the port of Ancona where the pope had ordered the arrest of Jews.  He later rented her the city of Tiberias in Palestine, where she established the world’s first sanctuary for the Jews. Gail Ghetia Bellamy Cleveland Food Memories Gray & Co, 2003, $17.95 Remember when food was local?  Cleveland companies made it, and local people sold it and ran the restaurants where we ate it.  Food makes powerful memories.  Mention Hough Bakery and see how quickly we Clevelanders start to drool over just the thought of those long-lost white cakes.  This book collects the fondest memories of Clevelanders who still ache for treats from the past.  There were Frostees in the Higbees basement.  Popcorn balls at Euclid Beach.  Burgers at Manners or Mawby's.  Entertainment-filled night at the Alpine Village.  Mustard at old Municipal Stadium...and so much more.  Heavily illustrated. Adam Besenyodi Deus Ex Comica: The Rebirth of  a Comic Book Fan Lulu.com, 2009, $15.95 With a mix of humor, recollection and insight, Deus ex Comica explores how the Marvel Comics stable of titles influenced Adam's pre-teen and adolescent years, his rediscovery of sequential art as an adult, and the pleasure of watching his own son's first steps into the comic book universe. Pulling inspiration from all corners of pop culture, Adam moves among topics ranging from the struggles of having a collector's completist mentality to remembering Assistant Editor's Month to the discovery of the amazing artists and writers who are guiding the industry today. Adam's Deus ex Comica is a loving reference to the wonder and excitement that comic books contribute to popular culture at large. The details may be specific to one Midwestern boy's journey from child to husband and parent, but it's a truly identifiable chronicle of a pop culture junkie who has reawakened the long-dormant comic book fan within. John Booth Collect All 21! Memoirs of a Star Wars Geek Lulu.com, 2008, $14.95 Opening that first Darth Vader figure and putting him in a Landspeeder. Imagining a snowy elementary school playground as the wastes of Hoth. Seeing Return of the Jedi on opening night. Moments like these - and a galaxy more - make up three decades of "Memoirs of a Star Wars Geek." John takes the reader from a childhood packed with Star Wars guys (never "action figures") and Christmas wishes both fulfilled and unrealized, through the years when the trilogy lay dormant to the mainstream public's eye, and into an age of seeing George Lucas' universe as an adult while exploring it again as a parent. Gracefully laying bare both the good and not-so-good times, this collection, with its origins as a series on his web site, FieldsEdge.com, is a love letter from a self-aware geek written under the sometimes harsh light of hindsight, softened with understanding. It captures the innocence and wonder and infinite possibilities of what it meant to an eight-year-old to Collect All 21! Diane E.B. Bray First Generation: The Story of Annie Diamond Flower Candy, 2008, $14.99 (Book on CD) Ellie, an iguana, tells the story of her great-great-grandmother, who was captured in Mexico and brought to her new life, alone, away from family and familiar surroundings, in the USA. Peter Chakerian The Browns Fan's Tailgating Guide Gray & Co, 2008, $9.95 Now it's easy for any Browns fan to tailgate like a well-seasoned veteran.  This book shares tips from Cleveland's top tailgaters - about where to, when to, and how to do it all, Browns fan style. It also tells inspiring tailgating tales from fellow fans and introduces some of the wild people, crazy vehicles, outlandish foods, and nonstop pary activities you'll find in the lot.  For decades, hardy Cleveland football fans have enjoyed the pregame (and game...and postgame) in sun, rain, or subzero temperatures, sitting in folding chairs and clutching red plastic cups while watching a rack or ribs smoke on a homemade grill to a brown-and-orange Winnebago.  This book celebrates the glorious tradition of Cleveland Browns tailgating.  It will inspire you to don your dawg mask, grab your favorite beverage, and prepare to join the party! R. Jarrett Dowd Phases of Reason I: The Eight Ball Createspace, 2009, $12.95 For years John has been imprisoned inside a magic eight ball. Placed on top of a display counter in a toy store he is forced to answer questions while seeing the hidden evil in those who ask. It is not until he meets the one he calls "Empty Man" that he is forced to relive his past in order to see the truths behind his teenage love and the parallel world he is destined to save. J.T. Dutton Freaked Harper Teen, 2009, $13.25 Scotty Loveletter is in big trouble. He's about to be expelled from school, but all he cares about is getting to Freedom to see Jerry Garcia—even though he doesn't have tickets. But if dedicating his life to Jerryism has taught him anything, Scotty knows he's got to keep on trucking and smile, smile, smile. In a stunning debut novel, J. T. Dutton crafts a brilliant story about an unforgettable teen finding himself in the music of one of the world's most beloved bands. Stranded Harper Teen, 2010, $11.55 Who abandoned Baby Grace? A farmer’s discovery in his cornfield thrusts a small farm town into a raging media frenzy—and Kelly Louise into a new home. Who knew a person could feel so completely stranded somewhere with national news coverage? How is Kelly Louise supposed to shed her virginal status when the baby in the cornfield shadows her every hair flip, every wink? And the one boy around who rates anywhere near acceptable on the Maximum Man Scale only has eyes for her cousin, Natalie (who only has eyes for Jesus). But Natalie has a secret. Everyone is so busy burying the truth about Baby Grace, they can’t see who they’re burying alive. Welcome to Heaven, Iowa. Kelly Ferjutz Windsong Forest Hill Publishing, 2005, $22 Historical Romance set on the Great Lakes of the 1800's. As is the custom, Windsong, a young princess and widow, is to marry a man from her totem. Her husband must be capable of teaching her infant son, Sky, how to one day be chief.  For love, Etienne, a former French-Canadian voyageur, strives to learn the ways of Windsong's people. But he knows--and they know--he can never be one of them. Is their love strong enough to rise above the call of tradition and make a new way? Ardenwycke Unveiled Cerridwen Press, 2009, $14 Tessa deGroot, a sculptor, falls in love at the first sight of Ardenwycke, a great stone house along the Hudson River in New York. Part of a divorce settlement from her former husband's family, the house was built by an early deGroot settler more than two hundred years earlier, but still carries a reputation of being cursed. Tessa discovers this for herself on that first visit as she faints in one upstairs hallway. Maximillian MacDougall, a local housing inspector, rescues Tessa that day, but more strange events happen almost immediately after she moves in. Together, Tessa and Max try to find the meaning behind the curious things that happen in the house, but it will surely take drastic measures - and love - to succeed. Bertie's Golden Treasure Cerridwen Press, 2008, $12.99 A gypsy predicts for Bertie a golden treasure. Tall, awkward and lacking in confidence, all she wants is a London Season. Following a series of misadventures she returns home, only to discover that everything there is different. It's little comfort to her when she discovers the new Duke of Kilnarne intends to make her his duchess. And he won't take no for an answer. Neither Bertie nor her sister Bessie fits the mold of the perfect Regency Miss. Will true love pass them by as well? Paul Fischer You Know You're in Trouble When...A Collection of Improbable Sports Scenarios Wooster Book Company, 2009, $9.95 Approximately 700 one line responses to "You know you're in trouble when...." Includes baseball, basketball, and football scenarios. Jeannine Garsee Say the Word Bloomsbury USA, 2009, $16.99 Shawna Gallagher tries to be nothing less than perfect. She gets good grades, dates the right boys, and follows her father's every rule. But her life explodes when her lesbian mom suddenly dies, leaving behind her long-time partner, Fran, and Fran's two sons. Seventeen-year-old Arye makes to attempt to hide his disdain for Shawna, while his quirky little brother Schmule takes a liking to her -- two "stepbrothers" who knew and loved Shawna's mom in a way she never had a chance to. When Shawna discovers the secret of Schmule's origin, the chain of events that follow compel her to question everything she once took for granted: her desire to be perfect, her sexuality, the meaning of friendship -- and even her love for her father, whose single act of violence she can't forget. Debra Gaskill Barn Burner Dog Ear Publishing, 2009, $14.95 Barns are burning on farms all around Jubilant Falls, Ohio -but that's the least of newspaper editor Addison McIntyre's problems. The daughter of Golgotha College president Dr. Seaford Thorn has come up missing - along with $500,000 from the college's endowment fund. When Addison's own daughter Isabella, already suspended from school for assaulting a teacher, attempts suicide , Addison must come to terms with the real meaning of family secrets- her own and others. Barnburner tackles the legacy of mental illness in a small town, the secrets everyone keeps-and the damages that all of those secrets can do. Lisa Gitlin I Came Out for This? Bywater Books, 2010, $14.95 Joanna Kane is a Jewish woman in her 40s from Cleveland, Ohio, who has recently come out and fallen madly in love for the first time in her life. The object of her affection, Terri Rubin, lives in Washington, D.C., and Joanna moves to D.C. to win Terri's heart. She moves into a rooming house full of dysfunctional gay men and becomes kind of a den mother to them, makes a bunch of lesbian friends, and keeps getting her heart broken by Terri. She gamely bounces back until she can't take it anymore and starts getting into all kinds of trouble. This is a funny story of obsessive first love, and has a funky urban flavor. John Gorman The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio Gray & Co, 2008, $14.95 This rock and roll memoir takes you behind the scenes at the nation's hottest station during FM's heyday, from 1973 to 1986.  Sex and drugs, music and merchandising -- it was a wild time when the FM airwaves were wide open for innovation. John Gorman led a small band of true believers who built Cleveland's WMMS from a neglected stepchild into influential powerhouse.  The station earned high praise from musicians and even higher rating from listeners.  Gorman tells how WMMS remade rock radio while Cleveland staked its claim as the "Rock and Roll Capital" by breaking many major international music acts.  Filled with juicy details, this fast-paced story will entertain anyone who listened in during those glory days when FM delivered excitement and the Buzzard ruled the airwaves. Sharon E. Gregor Forest Hill: The Rockefeller Estate Arcadia Publishing, 2006, $19.99 John D. Rockefeller's Cleveland roots stretched across the oil-drenched banks and murky flats of Kingsbury Run in Cleveland and ended in the wooded sanctuary at Forest Hill. Six miles east of Public Square, Forest Hill was the Rockefeller family's country estate and summer home for four decades. It had formal gardens, greenhouses, a lake and lily pond, a golf course, a horse track, and acres of farmland. In the early 1900s, tourists and local residents rode the streetcar out Millionaires' Row to East Cleveland, where they peered through the imposing iron gates scrolled with an R to peek at the gatekeeper's lodge, the manicured lawns, and the road that led to the mansion atop the hill. Unfortunately, in 1917, Forest Hill burned to the ground. Because so many records, mementos, and photographs perished, the estate remains as shrouded in secrecy today as it did during its lifetime. Forest Hill: The Rockefeller Estate unveils the story of the estate, how it evolved and changed over the years, and how its legacy continues. Rockefeller's Cleveland Arcadia Publishing, 2010, $21.99 John D. Rockefeller arrived in Cleveland in 1853 a boy of 14 and spent six decades in his adopted hometown. With the Standard Oil Company's incorporation in 1870, Rockefeller became the city's most well-known industrialist and, from 1885 to 1917, its foremost summer resident at his Forest Hill estate. Here he raised his children, laid the foundation of a financial and industrial empire, and established a commitment to charitable giving. At the end of the Civil War, Cleveland was a crucible from which would be cast the fortunes of many. None were greater than Rockefeller's. Rockefeller's Cleveland captures the visual panorama of a dynamic city that literally reinvented itself in the 1800s and in doing so emerged a major business and industrial center. M. Greenfield Tenure: Ten Years of Poetry by M. Greenfield iUniverse, 2009, $10.95 Tenure is a ten-year coming-of-age journey in the form of poetry. From ages 15 to 25, Matt Greenfield wrote down poems: poems as assignments for his own teachers, poems meant as life lessons for his own students; poems as bets, poems as birthday presents; poems as silly experiments, poems as philosophical introspection; poems as poems. Collected in this volume is the complete poetry of an emerging writer in chronological order of composition. From the absurd epic of the urinal "Tripdych" to the bold statement of love to an entire city in "Ode to Cleveland," Tenure will obfuscate and amaze, annoy and engage, and chronicle that inward road-that "tenure track"-that young poets and young-at-heart readers all travel upon. DeBorah M. Hamilton-Levy Sorry Brothers, The Milk Ain't Free No More!: A Word to My Single Sisters, Don't Settle for Less than What Christ Has for You Self-published, 2001, $12 Sorry Brothers was written from the author's personal experiences with relationships. She hopes this book will encourage women to realize their self-worth, and seek The Lord to fill the voids that many struggle with in their lives. This book will make women laugh, because of the humor that is weaved throughout. It may also make some cry, when they see themselves  in the pages. But in the end, it will give women the strength to stand up and tell the non-committing men in their lives: "Sorry Brothers, the Milk Ain't Free No More!" Gloria Hanson Zora: The Life of an Ordinary Girl Living in Extraordinary Times CreateSpace, 2009, $9.95 For Zora, a young Italian peasant girl, the thought of traveling across the Atlantic with her new husband brought feelings of excitement, freedom and an opportunity to focus on what she wanted, getting out from under the yoke of her powerful mother. Leaving parents and country behind, she embarked on an adventure that would turn out to be both exhilarating and disappointing. Living during decades of enormous changes, wars, cultural chaos and periods of both depression and prosperity, she persisted in love and loyalty to her man and family, struggling to weave a life of constancy and flexibility while the winds of change swirled around her. Lawrence Hohman Alphabetical Breeds in Color McDonald & Woodward Publishing, 2010, $10.95 Larry Hohman has combined his career as a commercial artist and his deep love of nature to create his fifth lovely children's ABC book. This book contains, in alphabetical order and corresponding to the appropriate letter, colorful and beautifully detailed drawings of a domestic breed of dog. The illustrations alone place these books above most others, so much so that you might be tempted to frame each page! The rhyming verses for each dog breed contain information about their behavior and place of origin. As in previous editions of Hohman's books, a listing on the inside back cover identifies each dog breed with the alphabetical letter it represents. Not just for toddlers! Patience Hoskins Cleveland on Foot, 4th edition Gray & Company, 2004, $15.95 The fourth edition of this popular guide describes 50 hikes and walks in and around Greater Cleveland. Hike descriptions and maps have been completely updated and revised to show current trails and surroundings; three all-new hikes have been added. The hikes, for all levels of hiking ability, explore urban, suburban, rural, and woodland areas. Ranging from an easy one-hour walk to a challenging full-day hike, they take hikers to popular local destinations and many less well known locations. Descriptions offer detailed historical, geological, architectural, and cultural background tidbits along with step-by-step trail directions—even directions for how to get there, where to park, and where to find restrooms. New hikes in this edition include: Geauga County's newest park, The West Woods; East Cleveland's Forest Hill Park; and Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve in Mentor. New hikes within existing chapters include Mill Creek Falls in the city of Cleveland and Viaduct Park in Bedford. Timothy L. Hudak Wildcats!: A History of St. Ignatius High School Football (3 volumes) Volume I: Sports Heritage Specialty Publications, 1996, $10 Volume II: Sports Heritage Specialty Publications, 1998, $25 Volume III: Sports Heritage Specialty Publications, 2008, $29.95 3-volume set: $64.95 The Charity Game: The Story of Cleveland's Thanksgiving Day High School Football Classic Sports Heritage Specialty Publications, 2002, $25 These collectable volumes are the only books ever written about the history of Cleveland high school sports, focusing on, but not limited to, interscholastic football. Tim Hudak's books have won praise for their thoroughness and historical accuracy. Wildcats! describes the earliest years of Cleveland's St. Ignatius High School football team, from the team's formal organization in 1917 thru the 1945 season. This detailed, game by game, account includes the team's first "golden era" from 1923-26, their intense rivalry with crosstown foe Cathedral Latin School, as well as such historical firsts as St. Ignatius' participation in, and winning of, the first night high school football game ever played in Ohio. The Charity Game describes the history of St. Ignatius's traditional Thanksgiving Day game. Bebe Weinberg Katz A Best Friend for Claudia Publish America, 2008, $10 The summer that Princess Claudia turned eight years old she discovered that everyone who lived in the castle had a best friend but her. Her parents, her wizard uncle and even her sister, Princess Elizabeth, had best friends. How was this possible? Claudia was old enough to know that when you need to do something about something there is only one place to go and one person to see: the castle wizard, Uncle Ouf. With Ouf’s magic to assist and a bit of help from Peach Fuzz, the cat, Claudia sets out on a mission to find a best friend. Claudia finds out that friendships are not always perfect and sometimes you have to be patient to get what you want. She also learns that if you listen, follow directions and open up your heart, things have a wonderful, perhaps even magical, way of working out. Princess Claudia and the Freckles Publish America, 2007, $10 When you are a seven-year-old girl, everything your older sister says has the power to make or ruin your day. That is exactly what happens to Princess Claudia one Saturday morning, when her older sister, Princess Elizabeth, makes fun of Claudia’s freckles. This is the story of Claudia’s attempt to get rid of the dreaded freckles. Claudia enlists the aid of her Uncle Ouf, who is the castle wizard. Together they try potions and lotions and brown bag magic, all aimed at getting rid of the freckles. Claudia learns that every action has a consequence. She also discovers that the magic that is inside of people is the strongest of all. Along the way, she has wonderful adventures with her family. And what happens to her freckles? That is the surprise. Linda Legeza Cooler Full of Fish SBG Publishing, 2009, $24.25 Jeff Grabowski has been fishing all his life. When it comes to fishing, he has a sixth sense, knowing just what to do to win fishing tournaments. Jeff firmly believes that "there is no problem that can't be solved with a cooler full of fish." Jeff's dad, "The Rummy," is a nice guy, aptly named because of his affinity for rum. But he is a burden to his son, since Jeff must take on the responsibility of running his father's fishing charter business. He watches his friends as they join the Army, marry, go to college and assume the roles of adulthood. Meanwhile, Jeff is left to wonder why he has a "gift" for fishing. What is his purpose in life and how can he persuade his girlfriend to understand this calling? As Jeff struggles to figure out his life's path, friends encourage him to get on with his life, telling him, "You can't fish forever." But Jeff intends to do just that. He comes to realize that your life's purpose is often right at your doorstep, and following your heart is the way to find it. Author Linda Legeza has written a heartwarming story about the choices one makes, life's dilemmas, and how the two often coincide to answer the heart's deepest desires. Her characters are warmly authentic and show quirky philosophies about life, family and love. Legeza lives with her family in Cleveland and spends the summer in lakeside communities near the Lake Erie Islands. The Rainy Day House SBG Publishing, 2010, $16.95 The Rainy Day House tells the story of a woman who has lost her seventeen-year-old son and how she rebuilds her life at her childhood vacation home on Lake Erie. Carolina Martin Red, Yellow, and Blue Catawba Publishing, 2009, $9.99 This is an interactive art education book, geared to preschool through second graders. The focus of the book is teaching about one of the basic elements of art, that of color. Recycled crayons come with each book. Mary Anne Mayer Love You More Than You Know: Mothers' Stories About Sending Their Sons and Daughters to War Gray & Co., 2009, $14.95 In these stories, 45 mothers of U.S. service men and women open their hearts and share what it feels like when your son or daughter leaves home to fight a war. Some were stunned when they learned that their “baby” had enlisted. Others had long been familiar with military life. But all of these mothers knew their world had just changed the day their child called home and said, “Mom, I'm being deployed . . ." They discovered the strange mix of pride and fear. The anxiety of not knowing exactly where in Iraq or Afghanistan your son is, whether your daughter is facing mortar fire or enduring heat and boredom. Elation at the arrival of the briefest postcard or email message. The daily dread, when returning home from work or a trip to the grocery store, of seeing a government car in the driveway and two soldiers at the door Anyone who reads their stories will admire their faith and courage—and better understand the sacrifices made by our U.S. service men and women and their families. A portion of the proceeds from sales of this book will be donated to ReMIND.org, a Bob Woodruff Foundation initiative for injured service members and their families, and to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. Holly McCain Brown Eyes Wasteland Press, 2007, $10 Julie McCain will always remember the day her and roommate, Shirley, first saw Shadow and the memories they have collected throughout the days and years. Puppy Love Wasteland Press, 2008, $10 Known by her friends as the "dog friend," Holly McCain, an Ohio Poet, writes from the heart. Her works include Star, Brown Eyes, and Puppy Love. Her books center on those dear to her. The first, Star, is a collection of poems written about her deceased brother, Don. Her second title, Brown Eyes, was inspired by her kindred spirit, Shadow, a Labrador mix. Puppy Love, written through both the author's and pup's eyes, promotes love, kindness and friendship. Readers can laugh and share memories in this heartfelt collection of poems and photographs. A must for animal lovers of all ages! McCain resides with her good friend Shirley. Her animal 'kids' include Shadow, Sadie, Sasha (a cat) and birds, Manny, Tweety, Sunlight, and Blue Bell. She has one human child, Beth, a son-in-law, Larry, and three grandchildren, Kylee, Cole, and Emma. Yvonne Miles-Levert Out From the Depths of Pain: Love Doesn't Have to Hurt Tate Publishing, 2008, $13.99 Leah St. John thought she had it all. She was marrying a senator who treated her like a queen, a man who always wanted to be around her because he couldn't get enough of her. Or so it seemed. New author Yvonne Miles takes you into the world of domestic violence in her novel, Out From the Depths of Pain. From the honeymoon on, Leah's life becomes a nightmare. After she becomes pregnant with David's child, she feels an obligation to stay in her unhealthy marriage. When she finally decides to turn the tables on David, a way of escape presents itself, allowing her to build a new life with her son. However, her memories of the past threaten to hold her back from finding true love with Chrisean, a Christian man who wants to bring her out from the depths of pain by helping her find her way to God. Follow Leah as she goes into and tries to come Out From the Depths of Pain. Charles Mintz The Album Project PowerHouse Custom Publishing, 2009, $38 A photographic study of the communications of Isaac Mintz, a 35-year-old man with autism. It consists of 21 full length photographs of him holding 21 selections from 21 albums of his carefully annotated Polaroids made over 21 years. David Lee Morgan LeBron James: The Rise of a Star Gray & Co., 2003, $14.95 The son of an unmarried, teenage mother, African American LeBron James overcame a culture of drugs, poverty, and violence in the Akron, Ohio, housing projects where he grew up to become a basketball superstar who signed more than $100 million dollars in promotional contracts before the end of his senior year in high school. Morgan, a sportswriter for the Akron Beacon Journal, offers readers an intimate look at James' life and incredible basketball career, following him to the moment when he became the number-one NBA draft pick. Morgan, who covered James' high-school career for the local newspaper, draws his material from interviews with family, friends, coaches, and teammates. The result is a well-rounded, personal portrait of the young superstar, which does an excellent job of depicting the intense pressure and scrutiny James and his family had to endure when he became basketball's hottest prospect. Sixty color photographs will entice sports fans to this inspiring, well-written biography. --Booklist More Than a Coach: What it Means to Play for Coach, Mentor, and Friend Jim Tressel Gray & Co., 2009, $24.95 For Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel, all the wins and national championships he compiled at Youngstown State University and Ohio State University aren't nearly as important as the life lessons he has taught his players over the years. Now, in the powerful and inspiring More Than a Coach, people who know Tressel, including author David Lee Morgan, Jr., reveal never-before-told-stories of how Tressel's philosophies on football and life impacted their own lives in profound ways. Many have gone on to become teachers, coaches, athletic directors, and law-enforcement officers and have had success far beyond the football field. Tressel's influence can be read in the accounts of his former players and coaches, many of whom talk about the impact of the coach's Winner's Manual--an inspirational collection of writings and clippings that he shares annually with his players. Morgan's in-depth interviews with more than 50 former YSU and OSU individuals--including former YSU athletic director Joe Malmisur, Craig Krenzel, John Cooper, Troy Smith, Beanie Wells, and Archie Griffin, to name a few--are a testament to the power of an exceptional individual. The result is an entertaining and moving book that will give readers a unique perspective on Tressel's lasting legacy not just as a football coach but as a human being. Carolyn Nilson Ms. Nilson is the author of 30 books on topics related to training in the workplace. She will be offering nine of her titles for sale at special book fair rates. Lunch and Learn: Creative and Easy-to-Use Activities for Teams and Workgroups, 2006, $20 How to Start a Training Program, $20 How to Manage: Training, 3rd Ed., $40 The Performance Consulting Toolbook, $20 The Performance Consulting Toolbook, Chinese translation, $20 More Team Games for Trainers, $15 Training for Non-Trainers, $10 Training for Non-Trainers, Spanish translation, $10 Team Games for Trainers, $15 Carlos Vintes Pender African Talk II Vantage Press, 2002, $15 Filled with universal imagery, this cross-cultural collection of timeless adages covers everything from nature, men, women, and children to timeless repeated truths that are manifold in today's living. Susan Petrone A Body At Rest Drinian Press, 2009, $14.50 Martha and Nina are under-employed, over-educated slackers who are wasting their twenty-something lives while serving drinks at a dive bar in Cleveland. Martha's escapes are smoking too much, drinking, and reading classic literature. Nina's distractions come in the form of married men. In a shared moment of self-realization, they quit their jobs and set out on a road trip. Their journey in time takes a literary turn that blurs fantasy and reality. Nina's destiny is guided by Cervantes' Don Quixote while Martha, with less grandiose aspirations, finds herself in the footsteps of Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse. A Body at Rest was a competition semi-finalist in the 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Mara Purnhagen Tagged Harlequin Teen, 2010, $9.99 Can Kate Morgan stand up for herself—without being labeled a snitch? Kate is just as confused as her best friend, Lan, when she arrives at Cleary High to find the building's been "tagged" with a life-size graffiti mural. Could the culprit be one of their friends or classmates? And is the kind-of-amazing creation really vandalism, or a work of art? She's tempted to stay out of it—mostly because, as the police chief's daughter, she's worried about being labeled a snitch. But when the same mysterious graffiti starts appearing throughout the state, putting more pressure on the authorities to catch the vandal, her investigative instincts kick in. Now Eli, Kate's favorite coworker at the local coffee shop, is MIA. With Lan preoccupied with her own boy troubles, Kate needs to figure out some things on her own. Like why she can't stop thinking about Eli. And what she will do when all the clues about the graffiti point to someone she's close to… Delisa L. Rankins Choices We Make Self-published, 2010, $15.99 This is a story of a young woman's struggle to overcome her past to become a whole person. Janelle has made several bad choices trying to make a positive impact in her life only to be denied the one thing she wants more. Brandy "Brandywine" Rankins He Kept His Promise: How Do You Stand on the Word of God When Your Legs of Faith Are Broken? Brandy Rankins, 2009, $16 Proof of God's grace and restoration, HE KEPT HIS PROMISE  is in a league of its own as it challenges you to do one thing...try God. Erupting past the deep trenches of trial, tribulation, and the impossible, comes the birth and fresh anointing of acclaimed poet and new author Brandy Brandywine Rankins. Her testimony alone spells faith. Within the pages of this book you are not just able to see the depths of Brandy's wounds, you are able to touch them. Just when you thought your own problems couldn't get any worse, comes a woman who is faced with death, robbery, being fired from her job, no money to bury her mom, a new baby with a serious medical diagnosis, and becoming a widow at the age of 21. Redeemed: From Earth's Gravel to God's Glory Brandy Rankins, 2008, $13 This riveting and inspirational 110-page book will challenge you to do more than just sit down and read words. This book is the author's personal invitation to you to embark on a journey from brokeness to breakthrough and from trial to triumph. Brandy "BrandyWine" Rankins shares with you the soul piercing storms she endured that tested her faith and made her want to give up on life. BrandyWine shares in extraordinary details how in many instances she placed a period on the thing God placed a comma on...her destiny. In this book you will share her tears, laughter, but most of all you will become encouraged as you endure the trials in your own life knowing we have all been REDEEMED: FROM EARTH'S GRAVEL TO GOD'S GLORY. James Renner The Serial Killer's Apprentice and 12 Other True Stories of Cleveland's Most Intriguing Unsolved Crimes Gray & Co., 2008, $14.95 Here are thirteen true stories about the most notorious unsolved crimes in the last half century of Northeast Ohio. Investigative reporter James Renner recaps the cold cases and attempts to crack open dark secrets that have baffled Clevelanders for years, including: • Abduction—In 2003, sixteen-year-old Georgina DeJesus disappeared on a West Side street corner, almost exactly one year after teenager Amanda Berry vanished just blocks away • Stolen Identity—Joseph Newton Chandler of Eastlake was not who he claimed to be. Some think he was the Zodiac killer; others say he was D.B. Cooper, or even Jim Morrison. • Suicide or murder?—Joseph Kupchik hid gambling problems from friends and family until he was found at the bottom of a nine-story parking deck in downtown Cleveland—with multiple stab wounds. • Heist—In 1969, Lakewood bank employee Ted Conrad nabbed $215,000 from the vault one day after his twentieth birthday. The FBI still shows up at his high school reunions. • Controversy—Jeffrey Krotine was thrice tried for the grisly 2003 murder of his wife and ultimately acquitted, to the frustration of Cuyahoga County prosecutors, detectives, and even jurors. These stories venture into dark alleys and seedy strip clubs, as well as comfortable suburbs and cozy small towns, where some of the region's most horrendous crimes have occurred. Renner's unblinking eye for detail and unwavering search for the truth make this book a gripping read. Amy: My Search for Her Killer: Secrets & Suspects in the Unsolved Murder of Amy Mihaljevic Gray & Co., 2006, $24.95 "I fell in love with Amy Mihaljevic not long before her body was discovered lying facedown in an Ashland County wheat field. I fell for her the first time I saw that school photo TV stations flashed at the beginning of every newscast in the weeks following her kidnapping in the autumn of 1989--the photo with the side-saddle ponytail . . ." So begins this strange and compelling memoir, which delves into the investigation of one of Northeast Ohio's most frustrating unsolved crimes.  On October 27, 1989, ten-year-old Amy Mihaljevic disappeared from the comfortable Cleveland suburb of Bay Village on her way home from school. Thousands of volunteers, police officers, and FBI agents searched for the girl. Her picture was everywhere--anyone who watched the local TV news remembers the girl with the sideways ponytail. That image also became indelible in the mind of eleven-year-old James Renner. Even at that young age, he vowed to find this girl. Tragically, Amy's body was discovered a few months later. Her killer was never found. Fifteen years later, Renner, now a reporter for an alternative weekly magazine in Cleveland, picks up the leads himself and tries to solve the crime. Filled with mysterious riddles, incredible coincidences, and a cast of unusual but very real characters, his investigation quickly becomes a riveting journey in search of the truth. Lena Shane Zoody Bright Books Publishing, 2009, $15 From the stillness and solitude of the hot pavement, Zoody's life unfolds into a series of escapades. Zoody is a stone, so named by the woman in whose lap he lands one day as he is kicked from the sidewalk. Zoody has yet to discover his character. Pam Spremulli Letter Birds PublishingWorks, 2010, $14 Enjoy learning the alphabet and the natural world of birds via simple and colorful graphic illustrations. Each letter has a corresponding bird from the well-known C for Cardinal to the more exotic L for Lapwing. Children and parents will discover a wondrous array of birds from A to Z (yes, including X and U!). Loung Ung, 12 pm-2 pm First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers Harper Perennial, 2006, $13.99 One of seven children of a high-ranking government official, Loung Ung lived a privileged life in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh until the age of five. Then, in April 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing Ung's family to flee and, eventually, to disperse. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed. Harrowing yet hopeful, Loung's powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality. Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind Harper Perennial, 2006, $13.99 In her second memoir, Ung picks up where her first, the National Book Award–winning First They Killed My Father, left off, with the author escaping a devastated Cambodia in 1980 at age 10 and flying to her new home in Vermont. Though she embraces her American life—which carries advantages ranging from having a closet of her own to getting a formal education and enjoying The Brady Bunch—she can never truly leave her Cambodian life behind. She and her eldest brother, with whom she escaped, left behind their three other siblings. This book is alternately heart-wrenching and heartwarming, as it follows the parallel lives of Loung Ung and her closest sister, Chou, during the 15 years it took for them to reunite. Loung effectively juxtaposes chapters about herself and her sister to show their different worlds: while the author's meals in America are initially paid for with food stamps, Chou worries about whether she'll be able to scrounge enough rice; Loung is haunted by flashbacks, but Chou is still dodging the Khmer Rouge; and while Loung's biggest concern is fitting in at school, Chou struggles daily to stay alive. Loung's first-person chapters are the strongest, replete with detailed memories as a child who knows she is the lucky one and can't shake the guilt or horror. "For no matter how seemingly great my life is in America... it will not be fulfilling if I live it alone.... [L]iving life to the fullest involves living it with your family." -Publishers Weekly Vicki Blum Vigil Cemeteries of Northeast Ohio Gray & Co., 2007, $15.95 A new book based on the popular Cleveland Cemeteries. Greatly expanded to include 120 cemeteries in 15 counties throughout Northeast Ohio. Takes history buffs on a journey through time to discover fascinating stories of Cleveland's most notable permanent residents, including celebrities, villains, patriarchs, and just plain folks. Gives details about where and when to visit, historical facts, oldest graves, religious and ethnic affiliation, and profiles of significant individuals buried or commemorated there. Nora White Armed with God's Power Tate Publishing, 2008, $14.99 Have you ever experienced tragedy in your life due to situations beyond your control? Was there ever a time when you felt it was impossible for you to get beyond your pain? Embrace a new journey and travel with author Nora White in Armed with God's Power as she takes you back to a place in time when she had a spiritual encounter with God. This true story about overcoming circumstances surrounding abuse and addiction, disease and death illustrates the divine intervention that changed Nora's life and made her path straight. The divine appointments apparent in Nora's turbulent life display God's authority to change brokenness to victory and will inspire readers to become Armed with God's Power. Sarah Willis, 12 pm-2 pm The Sound of Us Berkeley, 2005, $23.95 Alice Marlowe accepts her life the way it is. She is single, in her late forties, lives with a cat named Sampson, and has imaginary conversations with her dead twin brother. As a sign language interpreter for the deaf, she is used to standing between people, facilitating their conversations with each other. But then a late night phone call brings a beautiful, scared six-year-old girl into her life. And seeing herself through a child's eyes for the first time, she discovers that love is a universal language. A Good Distance Berkley, 2005, $14 Jennifer's mother, Rose, belongs in a home. At least that's what everyone else thinks. But Jennifer has walked away from her mother too many times already, and this is one duty she intends to fulfill herself. So she takes a leave of absence from her job and invites Rose to live with her and her family. Jennifer's teenage daughter and new husband can hardly tolerate Rose and her short temper, but Jennifer is desperate to know about the memories drifting in and out of her mother's reach, sometimes comforting her, sometimes tormenting her. Jennifer longs to use these memories to help rebuild her mother's life--to remind herself, and her mother, what went wrong, so she can ask for forgiveness--or is it the other way around? --New York Times The Rehearsal Berkley, 2003, $14 In Willis's second novel (after Some Things That Stay), theater director Will Bartlett has invited the actors in his resident theater company to his family's small upstate New York farm, before the opening of their summer production of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. It's 1971, resident companies are struggling financially and the theater is changing artistically under the influence of new ideas like Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty. In his late 50s, Will is not avant-garde enough for nude rehearsals, but he does want to try something new. So he asks his cast to "live" their characters while offstage as well as on. The pressures created by this effort, together with the strains imposed by communal life in a small house and decrepit barn, exacerbate problems in the Bartlett family. Will's wife, Myra, a musical comedy actress who retired after a severe bout of stage fright that followed marriage and motherhood, is reexamining her life, while his daughter, Beth, is maneuvering to get her first role. The addition of the sexual and professional tensions that inevitably plague actors adds fuel to the fire. The present-tense narrative creates a sense of urgency, this is true to life, as are the portrayals of Will and the various members of his personal and professional families, especially the angry and confused 16-year old Beth. --Publishers Weekly Some Things That Stay Berkley, 2001, $15 The deceptively quiet voice that inhabits this intelligent and moving first novel belongs to Tamara Anderson, 15 years old in 1954, who comes of age within an unconventional family that's struggling in an era of social conformity. Her father is a landscape painter, so the family (including Tamara's younger siblings, Robert, 11, and Megan, seven) moves every year, living in furnished houses from Georgia to Idaho to Maine, owning only what can fit in a trailer. Stuart and Liz, Tamara's parents, met when Liz modeled nude for art classes, with Stuart defying his family to marry the woman who had flirted with the Communist Party. Now they are determined to bring up their children as atheists, teaching them evolution and carefully explaining sexuality and reproduction. The '50s era, with its shadow of Moral Rearmament, is vividly evoked with references to Davy Crockett hats, the generalized fear of a Communist conspiracy and the atom bomb, as Tamara's perceptions of her new home in upstate rural New York drive the narrative. She explores her new school, and religion and sexuality with the boy across the street, juxtaposing her need for stability against her family's transient life. When Liz becomes seriously ill with tuberculosis, the Anderson family is weighted with fear, sadness and uncertainty of a kind entirely new to them. Willis deftly balances her depiction of the domestic unit: vulnerable Tamara correctly believes no one is listening to her, and knows that in Stuart's life, art ranks above his children. Liz and Stuart are devoted to each other, and are alternately selfish and caring parents; their idiosyncrasies, such as overrationalized reckless styles of driving the family car, suggest larger problems. Not a seamless tale, the narrative is hampered by a few stale patches of exposition, but overall, Tamara's uncommonly lucid, honest and expansive view marks this as a luminous, impressive debut. --Publishers Weekly