Visit Six Local Authors, All At Once, All In The Same Place

10/24/08

Six of our local authors will gather at the main branch of the Jackson County Public Library, on Green Street in Marianna, this Saturday, October 25. This book-signing event will provide an opportunity for you to meet and chat with these writers, perhaps buy a book or get one signed by its author, and view and celebrate the newly refurbished library interior. Activities begin at 10:00 a.m., last until 2:00 p.m., and free refreshments will be served.
M.C. Bechum, a prolific writer of detective mysteries, is best known for his series of books and stories about Florida Panhandle private investigator, Pete Masters. Bechum’s most recent books are Panhandle P.I. and Family Treasures. His books, rich with local color, are unusual in that Mr. Bechum strives to write about tough crime and detectives, yet without the typical language and content that are distasteful to some readers.
Dale Cox, Jackson County’s greatly respected historian, has written extensively about southeast U.S. history, and particularly about the history of our local area. Some of his recent titles include The Battle of Marianna, Florida, The History of Jackson County Volume I, and The Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida: The Confederate Defense of Tallahassee.
Dorothy Seals began teaching in Cottondale in 1935 earning a salary of $60 a month and spent the next 58 years working in education. For over 35 years she has been collecting the "childhood memories, friendships, happy and care free thoughts, and activities—some real, some imaginary—" and has written about them and delighted readers. Two of her books are Dustin’ The Heart and Shredded Ribbons of Memories.
Natalie Johnson, both a poet and writer of fiction, has a new book out, Inheriting Death. She describes the book as "a mini-novel for young adults and is not as morbid as the title sounds." A previous book, Innocence and Beyond, is a collection of her poetry.
Doug and Mary Robbins love cooking, cookbooks, and good stories about times past. They have written and published cookbooks that contain, in addition to many delicious recipes, "a lot of local history" as well. Mr. Robbins has written Country Cookbook and Country Stories, a book with good country recipes such as red velvet cake and rice pudding and easy to cook dishes such as cowboy beans. The book is based on the author’s experiences growing up in south Alabama and northwest Florida and includes stories about country life in the 1930’s and 1940’s, pictures of a moonshine still, a grind rock for sharpening knives, and other pictures of farm life.
If you (or a family member or friend) don’t have a library card yet, or want to renew an expired card, this is a perfect time to do just that. Library cards are free to any resident of the county and are good for three years. Once one has a library card, up to 25 items can be checked out at a time, including best-selling books, large print books for easier reading, children books for all levels of readers, and up to 5 movies (VHS and DVD) or recorded books for listening on CD or cassette tape. Additionally, the library and its branches have computers with Internet access, with free usage to patrons.
The library currently has a large display of used books for sale, many of which have been donated by patrons. Funds from the sale of these books, some of which are nearly new or recently published, will go to purchase new books and materials.
The main branch of the Jackson County Library, and the location of the book-signing event, is 2929 Green Street, Marianna. For More Information contact Jo-Ann Rountree at the Jackson County Public Library, 482-9631, or Pam Pichard at the Jackson County Board of County Commissioners Administration Building, 482-9633.