Author and Illustrator Recognized

Arkansas Gems 2011 Collection

Homeless Willie  by Lanny Gibson and illustrated by Derlyne Gibson was selected to be part of the Arkansas Gems 2011 Collection. The book is featured on the Arkansas Gems 2011 poster and bookmark and will be distributed to Arkansas libraries. The poster and bookmark is an annual publication of the Arkansas Center for the Book to highlight new works by Arkansas authors.

Event

KGBX Women's Show

February 25 was a day of girlfriends and giggles for women across the Ozarks. The annual Springfield Women's Show hosted by KGBX provide women with resources and advice about health, careers, and entertainment. Several local authors participated in the event.

Zona Crabtree displayed books in her Corn Cave Series. The Native American adventure series is available on amazon.com.        

                                                                                                         

                                                                                                          

                          

                                                            

Susie Macomber and friend, Lydia McCamish, offered nutritional and mental health tips to women visiting their booth. Susie is the author of Into Fear and Back. Her book is available at amazon.com.

Mary Boll offered Expo attendees samples of her famous fudge as they browsed her display. Mary is author of MeMa's Manna Recipes for the Busy Person, MeMa's Manna 2: Simple Easy Budget Wise Recipes, and MeMa’s Manna 3: Better Than Take Out. All the books are available at amazon.com.

Laurence Stoll is the author of The Happy Accident. This Christian romance is available on amazon.com.

                                   

Carol Levergood displays one of the books in her Christian Devotional series. These books are available at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/blevergood .

New Arrival for March

The Ozarks

A Personal History

by

Tony Stephenson

Author: Tony Stephenson is a sixth generation Ozarker and a self-proclaimed Hillbilly. A graduate of the College of the Ozarks and Missouri State University, his teaching career has spanned five decades. Tony is a lifelong resident of the Republic and Springfield area.

Book: The Ozarks: A Personal History tells the story of the Ozark Hillbilly and the rugged plateau they called home. But it is more than that; it is the story of the Native Americans, who populated the region before the arrival of the white man. It is the saga of the author’s family who arrived west of Nixa in 1843, and scratched out a primitive homestead. It is the story of six young boys, three of which gave their lives, fighting to protect their country from disunion. It is the tale of a region plunged into lawlessness and disorder after the Civil War. It is the story of the coming of the railroad that gave rise to towns like Republic as well as the timber and lead crazes. Finally, it is the story of the Great Depression and how the Ozark’s rugged people survived and flourished. It is the story of the Ozarks! The Ozarks: A Personal History is available at amazon.com.  

New Arrival for March

A Tale of Three Journeys

by

Rich Eskew

Author: Rich Eskew, originally from Texas, was raised in Missouri, re-settled in Alaska. He is a world traveler, living and working overseas for fifteen years. Rich and his wife, Gloria, currently reside in Springfield, Missouri.

 A real modern-day adventurer, Rich has survived in the Alaska wilderness, tread in the footsteps of Marco Polo over the Silk Road, and traveled from the Himalaya’s to the Rub al Khali.  He has taken a page from Hemmingway’s, The Sun Also Rises, and ran with the bulls in Pamplona.  

Rich wrote his first piece of poetry at the tender age of ten:  A Whisker’s Luck. His most recent endeavors include:  An anthology of poems on the Civil War, Walk With Me, a three-volume collection of poems celebrating the Gold Rush Era in Alaska and the Yukon, Memories From the Muck, and his first venture into the genre of Cowboy poetry, The Devil’s Riddle. In 2012, he published his first novel, A Tale of Three Journeys.

Book: A Tale of Three Journeys looks into the soul of three characters, and places you in their shoes.  Any one of the three journeys could have been your journey.

Three characters, from St. Louis, Chicago, and Scotland, are controlled by what the fates dictate. The time is set in the late 1800’s, but it could just as easily be today. 

·   Thomas Meeker, born in poverty and cared for by loving souls, confronts despair and moves on, ever westward to a destiny which challenges his strength as well as his soul.

·    Frederick Wagner is born into a life of mean and hate. He is nurtured in a world without a conscience; where rewards are earned through deception, pain and cruelty.

·    Seamus McGregor’s world begins on the fringes of aristocracy and slides ever-perceptively to the realities of life.  A complete life is given to do the right thing, but ends tragically, alone and without merit.

The tale culminates in Dawson City in the Yukon, where the three characters come together for one brief, fatal encounter. The Tale asks the question:  Which of these three, completing their pilgrimage, is the strong, the brave, the sane? A Tale of Three Journeys is available at amazon.com.

New Arrival for March

Indian Point Short Stories: 1895-2005

by

Arno Wehr

Author: Arno Wehr attended Lane Techni­cal High School where he attempted to write many school newspaper articles without errors. He didn't. In college his writing skills did not adjust to Bradley University's standards so he gave up writing to be a storyteller. During college, he decided to become a singer. One evening, Arno was watching John Davidson singing on the the Kraft Music Theatre television program. Arno's father turned and said, "Son, you will want to finish your engineering degree." So basic degrees in engineering and management led to more advanced studies and corporate experiences.

Then came the visit to Table Rock Lake of Branson, Missouri. Arno and his family bought the Tribesman Resort at Indian Point on the lake. He has been an active community member for the past 30 years.

Book: Indian Point Short Stories-For over the past three decades, Indian Point has been Arno Wehr’s home. In that time, it became obvious to him that living on the end of a peninsula was a lot like island living. When it is time to shop, a peninsula resident checks the weather, considers the distance of the service they seek, and then selects a vehicle based on the weather conditions. Islanders have waves to consider as well as the height of their tides before they select a boat to go forth. On Indian point, the traffic patterns are like the tides. If you go against the tide, unlike in boating, we get somewhere. Going with the tide, well that's the subject of another story.

It is hoped that the reader will enjoy some of the local lore of Indian Point. Maybe you will recognize a few names and places. The folks in the stories positively helped this three-mile long piece of land become a great place to live. Indian Point Short Stories is available at any of the four Home Grown Bookstore locations or by contacting the author at arnoii@yahoo.com.

New Arrival for March

Then God Said

by

Bob Martin

Author: As Bob Martin daily sought to live more intimately with God, walk more closely to him, and work more effectively for him, God revealed ideas that helped Bob progress toward those goals. Bob followed his urge to write down the ideas God revealed to him. Bob filed these ideas under “might use them later.” For the last several years, they have accumulated in several drawers of his computer desk. This book contains some of those ideas.

Book: Then God Said is designed to bring the reader face-to-face with the challenges and responsibilities of living for Christ. If you read, pray, and let God lead, this book can be life-changing food for the soul. -Hosea Bilyeu, Senior Pastor, Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Springfield, Missouri

Then God Said is available at any of the four Home Grown Bookstore locations or by contacting Bob Martin at mjobob@att.net .

New Arrival for March

Survival on a Coral Planet

by

Billie R. Armstrong

Author: Billie R. Armstrong arrived on this planet October 9, 1925, in the city of San Diego, California. Like many children of that era, he was part of the Great Depression years. At the age of sixteen, he quit school and got a job to help his mother support his younger bother and sister. In 1942, when he reached the age of seventeen, he joined the U.S. Navy. The results of this decision are to be found within the pages of his book, Survival on a Coral Planet.

Billie Armstrong now lives in Nixa, Missouri. In 2011, he was one of the local WWII veterans who visited Washington, D.C.as part of the Ozarks Honor Flight program.

Book: Survival on a Coral Planet is a journey back in time to the war years of 1942 through 1946 where a seventeen year old boy faces the realities of WW II. The book is the true life account of heroic actions and survival in the South Pacific. Survival on a Coral Planet is available on amazon.com.