Author/teacher to discuss books, writing at library
Some husbands give their wives flowers to show their love and affection. Some more affluent types give jewelry. Not too many give dinosaur bones.
"It was a 5-foot, 7-inch femur and I absolutely loved it,' said Janet Riehecky.
Riehecky, the author of a series of children's books about dinosaurs, knew she could use the life-sized genuine reproduction of the dinosaur bone in her school presentations. She has a whole collection of artifacts related to dinosaurs to make her presentations more interesting for her students.
Riehecky is the author of 115 books ranging from science to biography. Between teaching writing at Judson College and doing magic (She is a professional magician) Riehecky spends her time writing and sharing what she writes with kids.
"I often use magic in my school presentations as well," she added. "Once you get their attention with the magic you can really teach them so much."
Riehecky will be one of the authors attending the third annual Local Authors Fair this weekend at the Batavia Public Library.
"Meeting and talking with the people who come to the fair is different than a standard book signing," Riehecky said. "The people who attend library events love books and want to talk with you about your books."
Riehecky also enjoys talking with the other authors who attend the event. All of the authors bring books to sign and welcome talking with unpublished authors about the trials and tribulations of getting a book published and then marketing it.
There will be door prizes, author readings and refreshments.
"It's a great opportunity for the public to talk with the authors in a relaxed setting," said Stacey Cisneros, director of Adult Services at the Batavia Public Library.
Thirty authors representing both children's books and adult books will attend. A wide variety of genres will be represented, including science fiction, romance, poetry, history, fantasy, historical fiction and nonfiction.
The fair is co-sponsored by the library and the Writers' Workshop, a writing and critique group at the library. The group meets the second Monday of every month. The people who attend the workshop put out a yearly anthology of their work which will be available for sale at the fair.
The fair takes place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Batavia Public Library.
If you are a writer and you don't have the time to commit to the Writers' Workshop, you might be interested in another Batavia Public Library event for writers that takes place at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Nancy Beckett, teacher and founder of Lakeside Writing Studio in Chicago, will give a presentation on writing about place, setting and environment and offer exercises to explore the differences. This program is for writers of all genres and ability levels. Reservations for this program are recommended.
For more information on these special library events, call (630) 879-4777.