Brighton Library Hosts Local Author Day

Bill Messner-Loebs feels very connected to the Brighton District Library, having been there the first day it opened in 1995.

So it feels like coming home for Messner-Loebs, who is one of the writers from Brighton and the surrounding area to be attending the library’s Local Author Day on Saturday from 2-4 p.m. in the AB Room.

“It’s very exciting to be invited to the Brighton Library and to be a part of this group of talented authors,” said Messner-Loebs. “We’re certainly a diverse group. There’s adoption, paranormal romance, and me who seems to be pretty much unclassifiable.”

It isn’t too hard to classify Messner-Loebs’ body of work; the man is a veteran of the comic book medium, having worked as a writer and an artist on DC Comics’ “Wonder Woman,” “The Flash,” “Hawkman,” and “Green Arrow,” and Marvel’s “Thor.” He is best known for his creator-owned series, “Journey: The Adventures of Wolverine MacAlistaire,” which was about frontier life in 19th century Michigan that he wrote and illustrated.

Other authors attending include:

• C.J. Teahan, author of “Caron: Awakening” – Teahan’s book recounts the horrific journey she underwent when her daughter, Caron, suffered a traumatic brain injury and ended up in a coma, which was the result of a car accident. The author details the events of what happened to her family once her daughter awoke from her coma and deals with her brain injury, determined to put her life back together. 
• Jennifer Pedley, author of “Secret to Your Successful Domestic Adoption: Insider Advice to Create Your Forever Family Faster” – Pedley, a social worker, lawyer specializing in child law, and birthmother, navigates the domestic adoption process in her book. She explains the advantages of the adopting family having direct connect with the child’s birthmother rather than going through an adoption agency. Her book also provides essential information on interstate adoption.
• Mitch Goldman, author of “Apocalypse Blue” – Goldman, a physician specializing in emergency medicine, pens a medical thriller where a psychotic patient leaves behind a manifesto detailing how to construct a viral bomb. Dr. Dean Miller finds the manual that details the patient’s mad ravings… only to realize that perhaps they’re not ravings after all as many of his patients start dying of a very mysterious illness.
• Laura K. Cowan, author of “Ecofrugal Baby: How to Save 70% Off Baby’s First Year” – Cowan, the founder of 29diapers.com, gives tips to new parents on how to save money in their baby’s first year of life. The amount of money that it costs to raise a baby in his or her first year averages about $10,000 – and that’s before daycare, according to Cowan. Tips that are offered can save parents around $7,000 the first year of their baby’s life.
• Mike Ball, author of “What I Learned So Far…” – “What I Learned So Far…” is a treasury of the award-winning humor columnist’s syndicated column of the same name. Ball’s sharp wit has been compared to the likes of Erma Bombeck, Dave Barry, even Mark Twain and Ernie Pyle.
• James R. Delcamp, author of “Zero Cost Living: Exploring Extreme Frugality” – This is a how-to-guide of living with extreme frugality. It gives readers leads on hundreds of books and web-sites that make ordinary frugality seem extravagant, discussing dozens of topics that include living in a car and foraging for food.
• Cindy Spencer Pape, author of numerous romance novels – Pape is a prolific author in the romance genre, who has written many different forms of romance: historical romance, western romance, contemporary romance, and paranormal romance. “Motor City Fae” – her first novel in the “Urban Arcana” series – was a 2010 CAPA nominee for Best Paranormal Romance, as well as a Finalist for Best Paranormal Romance at Love Romances Café.

Each author will be reading from their books, mingling with fans, and autographing their books, which will be on sale. Refreshments will also be served.

“It’s a great honor to have this number of local authors coming to our library and I hope a lot of people come to meet them,” said Mary Johnson, adult reference librarian.

For further information about Local Author Day, call (810) 229-6571.