Book Fair Features Local Authors

 

Looking for a good book? Barnes & Noble’s annual local author book signing event on Saturday, May 21, 2 p.m.- 4 p.m., has you covered.

With the most diverse group of local authors the bookstore (located at the Shops at Wiregrass mall) has had to date, you’re sure to find something to satisfy your craving for the written word.

Book lovers are invited to meet and chat with the authors, as well as get their copies of each author’s books signed.

“It’s a great way to get multiple authors in the store,” says Wiregrass Barnes & Noble assistant manager Lisa Kuehner, who is coordinating the event. “A lot of these authors are self-published, so it’s a good way for them to promote and sell their books.”

This year, there are 27 authors scheduled to attend, more than Barnes & Noble has had in the past.

“We’re expecting a bigger turn-out this year, too,” says Kuehner.

The authors have been reaching out to their own audiences, and the store also has been using social media networks like Instagram and Facebook to get the word out about this year’s event.

Some authors are returning veterans, like Kimberly Karalius, who is the author of Love Fortunes and Other Disasters and its sequel, Love Charms and Other Catastrophies.

Kimberly graduated from Paul R. Wharton High in New Tampa and holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Writing from the University of South Florida in Tampa. She recently completed a national book tour for her first book, published in 2015, and did her first book signing at the Barnes & Noble local author book signing.

Jamie Elizabeth Tingen (below), the author of Butterfly Messages, a love story about people reconnecting with former sweethearts, and Betrayal of the Butterfly, a mystery about the bonds between a mother and her child, will also be at the fair.

Retired educator Madonna Jervis-Wise, who has made a number of recent appearances in these pages and is in in the midst of a book tour after publishing her most recent, Images of America: Wesley Chapel, will be attending as well.

Jervis-Wise also is the author of several other books, including Images of America: Zephryhills, Images of America: Dade City, Tapestry-Zephryhills, and Wildcat Creek Kids.

Other Wesley Chapel and New Tampa authors who will be featured at the bookstore’s event include Jenice Armstead, Barbara Post-Askin, Sarina Babb, John Chaplick, Jonathan Chateau, Sharron K. Cosby, Marilyn De La Cruz, Jeanette Lynn Dundas, Ben Gold, Jwan Israil, C. Johnson, Jason Leclerc, Debbie Lum, Josh McMorrow-Hernandez, Stephen Morrill, Susan Noe Harmon, Lorelie Dionne Orat, Lucille Rose D’Armi-Riggio, Elizabeth L. Rivera, Ria Prestia (Maria Rooney), Dee Segarra, Evelyn Johnson-Taylor, Vincent Vinas, and Paul Wartenburg.

The Barnes & Noble bookstore at The Shops at Wiregrass Mall, located at 28152 Paseo Dr. in Wesley Chapel, is hosting its annual local author event & signing on Tuesday, May 21, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. For additional information, visit TheShopsatWiregrass.com.