Bunches of Book Signings
By Joey Berlin
Originally published 01:51 p.m., June 13, 2008
Updated 01:51 p.m., June 13, 2008
The second annual Authors Extravaganza at Town Crier Bookstore Saturday won’t be as big as the first one last June. It will, however, be more manageable.
Seeing as Town Crier, 716 Commercial Street, is perhaps one-eighth the size of your average Borders, owner Becky Smith didn’t exactly sound crushed to be hosting “only” 24 Kansas authors tomorrow instead of last year’s total of 42.
“Last year, we were really crowded, but it was fun,” she said. “This year, we’ll have a little more room to at least walk around.”
Smith said the lower author count was due to this weekend being a busy one.
“But 90 percent of these are new authors that have never been here before,” she said. “So it’s like a whole new group.”
Authors will sign and sell recent books on a wide range of topics, from a children’s-oriented book about William Allen White to a personal story about how a woman’s beloved dog helped her conquer childhood demons.
“We’re just always amazed at how many wonderful Kansas authors there are,” Smith said. “If (you take) the 40 that were here last year plus the 20 basically new ones this year, that’s at least 60 just in our area that was able to come.”
Beverley Buller will be one of the signers at this year’s show. Her book, From Emporia: The Story of William Allen White, claims to be the first child-friendly book about the legendary Gazette editor. A teacher in the Newton school system, White re-read White’s autobiography and did extensive research both in Emporia and at the University of Kansas. Because she was writing it for kids, Buller tried to make sure each page had some kind of illustration on it, including primary sources such as letters.
“The book took me about two and a half years,” she said. “And it’s so gratifying now even to see my own students with it, but also to travel around Kansas and see kids reading it and learning about him. And also to see adults reading it — I guess a lot of people that know about it were buying it for graduates who were going to major in journalism, or graduating from the William Allen White School of Journalism at KU. Because it’s a real approachable way for adults to learn about him.”
Coffeyville resident Ursula Winter Turner, born in Germany in 1941, recounts the horrors and trials of World War II and post-Hitler life in her book, Sirens. Turner’s book uses her own memories as well as those of older relatives. She was about four and a half when the war ended, but can still remember heading to the basement when the air raid sirens were sounding.
“That’s a thing that I do remember very clearly,” said Turner, who moved to the United States at age 19. “I think that kind of stuff stays with you. Because I was often in bed, and often sick, because I didn’t get the right kind of food, and my mother would grab me out of bed when the sirens went off and be rushed down to the basement, with my sister following. ... So that sort of thing you just don’t forget.”
Jeannine Fox will likely talk about the healing of her long-standing emotional trauma when she appears on Saturday. The Leawood resident’s book, Holy Paws, tells the story of how Fox, who says she was abused as a child, found a way to move past her emotional scars when she adopted an abused dog named Baby. Jeannine, who was 51 when she adopted Baby, had never told anyone about the abuse she suffered.
“So I thought, ‘Well, if I put all my energy and love into helping her, then I don’t have to deal with my own issue,’” Fox said. “So what happened was ... as I began to say to her, ‘You didn’t deserve it, you’re a good little doggie, and no one’s gonna hurt you anymore, you’re safe,’ the more I repeated that, the more I began to believe that those same things were true of me, that I had been good and it hadn’t been my fault.”
Fox’s close bond with Baby lasted for 14 years before the dog passed away last Valentine’s Day. Fox said she hadn’t planned on writing a book, but felt compelled to write it so that it might help others harboring similar emotional wounds. Since its publication last August, it’s been shipped to 34 states and four foreign countries. Proceeds from the book are going to animal shelters and child abuse and domestic violence shelters.
“(Baby) was really a blessing, such a blessing in my life,” she said. “And being able to let go of the past, which is a big thing — everyone has had trauma, and everyone has had a disappointment or hurt. But I had lived with this, and lived as if it was still present. And it wasn’t until I worked through it and let it go that I was able to heal.”
The Authors Extravaganza begins at 11 a.m. Saturday and runs until 1 p.m.
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