Monterey Herald Newspaper Article July 25, 2010

AUTHOR, AUTHOR

Event could morph into annual festival, organizers hope

By Dennis Taylor   |   Herald Staff Writer

Posted: 07/25/2010 01:30:24 AM PDT. Updated: 07/26/2010 09:33:06 AM PDT

Richard Burns, author of Live Or Die: A Stroke of Good Luck.
(ORVILLE MYERS/Special to The Herald)

The convention of about 60 Monterey County authors at the Barnyard Shopping Village in Carmel attracted such a steady, eclectic stream of visitors Saturday afternoon that its organizers are hoping to expand to a full-fledged festival.

Local Authors Live! enabled writers in multiple genres to set up shop in the picturesque courtyard of the shopping mall and sell their books, with proceeds earmarked as donations to Monterey County libraries.

"This is the start of something good," said Richard Burns, author of "Live Or Die: A Stroke of Good Luck," and a co-organizer of the bash. "I think this is the beginning of something that will soon be first class. There were a few bugs that needed to be worked out, and we had a few authors who didn't show, but most of them did. And we had to turn away about 14 authors who wanted to be a part of this today, so the future of this thing, I think, is very bright."

Local Authors Live! was the brainchild of Flo Snyder, author of "Lady in the Locker Room: Madcap Memoirs of the Early L.A. Dodgers," who recruited Burns; Herald executive editor Joe Livernois ("The Road to Guanajuato"); and publisher Patricia Hamilton (Park Place Publications), among others, to help with logistics.

"I'm really happy that the sun came out, and I'm happy that the public is here to support their libraries," said Hamilton, whose company was represented by several of the authors who gathered Saturday.

"We have some big names here—Belle Yang ('Forget Sorrow, An Ancestral Tale') and Elizabeth Murray ('Monet's Passion: Ideas, Inspiration and Insights from the Painter's Gardens'), among others—so I think it's a fabulous thing for the community to be involved in. We're all very happy that we were able to pull it off in just three months," Hamilton said.

The four-hour party was emceed by KSBW-Channel 8's Erin Clark. It included music by Sidesaddle and Co., a bluegrass band, and Bay Belles, an a cappella group, and featured a celebrity authors roast, poetry readings by Patrice Vecchione and friends, a raffle and other fundraisers.

"I love this idea, and the idea I love even more is helping people," said Pearl McCullough ("A Mended Vessel"). "It's nice to know that 100 percent of these book sales today will go to the libraries."

Valerie Ramsey ("Gracefully: Looking and Being Your Best at Any Age") said she felt privileged to be among the authors who were included in the first festival.

"I just think it's amazing how many talented people we have in this area, and to see the variety of books that are on display here—from children's, to historical, to biographies, to self-help ..." she said. "It really turned into an interesting event, and I hope it's just the first of many."

-----

Dennis Taylor can be reached at 646-4344 dtaylor@montereyherald.com.

Read this story on the Monterey Herald.