A Gathering of Local Authors at the Library
Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 2 p.m.
Meet local writers at this unique library gathering. Enjoy light refreshments and purchase signed copies of books.

Join us for our fifth gathering of local authors on Saturday, June 26, 2010, at 2 p.m. Authors will give brief descriptions of their books and will be available at the end of the program to sign copies of their books if you'd like to purchase them.

If you are a local author who would like to participate in a future local authors program please contact the Library's Community Services Dept. at 978-256-5521, ext. 109, or email kcryanhic@mvlc.org.

At our most recent event in April 2008, the participating authors (and their books) were:

Lester Macklin, author of Celebrate Around the Calendar, graduated from Pratt Institute and The Cooper Union with degrees in Engineering. He is a collector of facts and figures that are handy in every day conversation, and he likes to cook. Put them all together and they spell Celebrate Around The Calendar. Lester lives in Bedford, Massachusetts with Ellen, his wife of 49 years.

Joshua Bernard, author of "Tokyo Underground: Toy and Design Culture in Tokyo"
A Dracut resident, Joshua Bernard is the founder of CollectionDX.com, one of the most popular Toy sites on the web. Raised on a steady diet of Speed Racer, Force Five and Voltron, Joshua fostered this interest in Japanese animation and turned it into a lifelong obsession. He has contributed to magazines such as Super7 and is also involved in all facets of the toy community. His travels in search of rare and unusual toys brought him to Tokyo, resulting in the book Tokyo Underground. CollectionDX | International Toy Culture http://www.collectiondx.com http://www.chogokin.net

Mark Rennella, author of "The Boston Cosmopolitans: International Travel and American Arts and Letters"
A researcher of cultural and business history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Mark Rennella has focused his work on the impact of travel on U.S. history. He has taught at Harvard University's History and Literature Program, the Harvard Extension School, and the University of Miami. He has published articles in Italian Americana, Reviews in American History, and most recently in the Journal of Social History. He is now contributing to a study of U.S. aviation, Lords of the Skies: Leadership in the Airline Industry, 1920-2000. A graduate of Amherst College, the University of Miami, and Brandeis University, Mark currently lives in Chelmsford, Massachusetts and works as a business researcher at BSG Concours.

Margaret Ledger, author of "Leaving this Life with Hospice: Stories of Wonder and Hope"
Margaret Ledger came to the U.S. in 1968, from England. Over thirty years she has worked as a technical contributor, a physics instructor and a middle manager in a computer company. During the last twelve years Margaret has been involved in hospice as a volunteer, bereavement coordinator and volunteer coordinator.

Michael Ramseur, author of "The Eye of Danvers"
Michael Ramseur is an artist, writer and social worker now employed as hte Director of Socal Services at Baldpate Hospital in Georgetown, MA. He has been working in the area of mental health for 18 years, fifteen of those on secure psychiatric units. He has exhibited drawings in mumerous group shows. His work has appeared in several online magazines and in the 2004 book, Weird U.S. by Mark moran and Mark Sceurman. Ramseur has produced three flash films titles, Vortex," Palace of Shadows and Ghost of the Witch Judge" which may be found at his website at http://ramseurdanverstatehosp.com. His work may be found at www.galleryArtship.com.

Bob Moore, author of "The Stone House Diaires" and "The Weathermen." "The Stone House Diaires" is about historic preservation as it traces the history of Niagara Falls as seen through the eyes of those living in a stone house close by the falls. Beginning with the War of 1812 - when a son of Loyalists enlists in the New York militia and takes part in the disastrous storming of Queenston, Ontario. Forty years later a tour guide living in the stone house finds the Loyalist's diary and adds his story; a woman journalist buys the stone house and also adds to the diary. We see the daredevils and the beginning of industrial development. We see the city in 1969 through the eyes of a member of a demolition crew charged with levelling the neighborhood in a misguided urban renewal project. The diary is found just before the bulldozers arrive.
    "The Weathermen" (a self-published title) Two fugitive Weathermen, Rose Thomas (Thomas Rose before the sex change operation) and Carl Krajewski, decide to resurface after thirty years underground to stage one last protest. Their plan is to destroy a to-be-dedicated statue of General Westmoreland in Washington, DC; that plan fails and they choose instead to blow up Westmoreland himself at a dinner in Boston. Despite the nature of these plans, the Weathermen prove, like their comrades before them, that they were not good planners. The story is told by Peter Dumont, a history professor at fictional Hawthorne College in Framingham, who first inspired them to become radicals. They come to him for help and he ends up helping them for his own selfish reasons.  Visit Bob Moore's website at http://home.comcast.net/~rcmoorejr/

Anne Beecher [thestretchingresource@gmail.com] Anne Beecher is author of The Stretching Resource DVD. It is a new and effective stretching program, ideal for anyone who wants to eliminate many common muscle and joint pains with intelligent stretching! She provides an introduction that focuses on safety, muscle diagrams for each and every stretch, and clear visual guides and instruction. The menu design lets you tailor the time you spend to your own body's needs.
    Anne has a bachelor's in Communication Disorders and a Master's in Clinical Social Work. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Personal Trainer. Anne has been seeing clients as the owner of Therapeutic Massage in Chelmsford Center for 10 years. You can visit www.thestretchingresource.com for more information.

Gayle C. Heney, in concert with four other members of The Write Group, a writers’ group which she founded, released their poetry anthology Moments Falling Open, in 2007 (Pear Tree Publishing). Ms. Heney judged and selected the poems included in the 2007 tribute to John Greenleaf Whittier and the city of Haverhill, "Voices of Haverhill." Her poems have appeared in The Writer’s Block and Plumb Line. Ms. Heney created the “Poetry Wall” in 2006, which featured over 280 original poems from Massachusetts’ residents in celebration of National Poetry Month. She has taught poetry at libraries and public schools. Ms. Heney is the recipient of the 2006 Alliance for Community Media’s National Award for Instructional Training and Producer of the Year Award in 2004 from Haverhill Community TV.

Blair Woodman, a co-author of the poetry anthology Moments Falling Open
Blair Gracie Woodman is one of five women in The Write Group who recently published her poetry in a book entitled, "Moments Falling Open." Her poems reflect a variety of interests and experiences. She and others in the group used a new form called specular poetry in some of their writing. Blair lived and worked in several states before moving to Massachusetts. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Sociology. After twenty-five years of teaching math and science to students with learning problems in a technical high school, Blair is now retired. Her poetry has been published in "Dust and Fire," "Pen and Brush," "The Scenic Range News" and in the "Haverhill Gazette."