A swell of authors
Cheryl Unruh
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
James “Spike” Speicher of Shawnee has been a Green Beret, a police officer in Detroit, and he currently works for the F.B.I. And he’s also an author.
Speicher spent many years researching and writing “The Sumter Flying Artillery: a Civil War History of the Eleventh Battalion Georgia Light Artillery.” One of his ancestors served in that unit as did one of President Jimmy Carter’s.
The former president wrote a blurb for the book and also sent along one of his previously unpublished poems, which Speicher included in the volume.
Speicher was one of 56 writers at Town Crier’s Author Extravaganza on June 26. I visited with 10 of them.
Robert Collins of Andover has published about two dozen books, including three novels, two biographies, a book of short stories, and various books about railroads and Kansas counties. When I asked him which book was his favorite, he was quick to say, “Lisa’s Way,” a novel he describes as low-tech sci-fi. “I spent 20 years trying to get her story down and another five trying to get it published.
Emporian M.E. Williams said, “All my life, I had wanted to write a book.” He’s fulfilled that dream by writing not just one, but four books in the fantasy genre, and is pleased with how his writing has improved. “The fourth book was very satisfying,” he said.
From Independence, Bradly Brackenbury offered two poetry books. By publishing his poems, he hopes to encourage more of a writing atmosphere in his town. And on a personal level, he said about his poetry, “I need to express what’s going on and to chronicle my life. It’s cool to look back and see where I’ve been.”
A professor of creative writing at ESU, Kevin Rabas brought his two books of poems, “Bird’s Horn” and “Lisa’s Flying Electric Piano.” He also has two manuscripts that he’s starting to shop around to publishers. One is a book of short fiction, the other a book of poetry.
Jerry Engler from Marion says he’s often asked if the humorous stories in his three “Just Folks” books are true. All fiction has some truth to it, he said, because every writer builds stories from life experiences. His latest book is titled “Highly Embellished Truth and Some Poetry.” And, with a laugh, said he’s thinking about calling forthcoming books “Complete Concoctions” and “Pretty Good Lies.”
A journalist, Engler said he once reported for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He mentioned covering Emporia’s 1974 tornado for the Topeka newspaper and recalled the kindnesses extended to the “Stauffer guys” by the folks at The Emporia Gazette. “They let us use their typewriters and their phones,” he remembered.
Donna Dilsaver of Wichita, who once worked in corporate communications, has written an autobiography: “An American Woman’s Zest for Living.” She wrote it for her granddaughters because she couldn’t find a contemporary record of a woman who had stayed where she was, had a family, a satisfying career and was active in community service.
Reg Redding and Ray Haskell, both of Wichita, co-authored “The Game of Wealth: a strategy for winning wealth and living a full life.” The book is about enriching one’s personal life as well as increasing one’s wealth. Redding said, “Faith, fitness, family and friends are more important than financial wealth, and if you don’t have those four things then the money won’t mean that much to you.”
“Prairie Meals and Memories” is the book Carolyn Hall of Shawnee has written which includes 35 stories and 104 recipes. In the book, Carolyn shares her memories from her childhood on a farm near Olmitz in Barton County. She told me about a particular wheat harvest during which her father was in a half-body cast and neighboring farmers showed up in their combines to help out. “That’s the kind of stuff I don’t want people to forget,” she said.
Fifty-six authors, countless stories. Applause goes once again to the dedicated gang at the Town Crier Bookstore for another successful, crowded, book-signing event.
• “Flyover People” is online at www.flyoverpeople.net. Cheryl Unruh can be reached at cheryl@flyoverpeople.net.
Comments
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.