GRANITE CITY – Members of a Metro-East writers’ group will appear at BSR Books, 1400 Niedringhaus Ave, Granite City 62040 from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8, to sell and sign their books, including local historian Cheryl Eichar Jett; authors Shane Bowen, Sela Carsen, Jim Gillentine and John Smith; and author/journalist Elizabeth Donald.
The Eville Writers was founded in 2010 as a recurring workshop for local fiction writers to work on their craft together. When it began, only a couple of the writers had been published. Five years later, nearly half the writers in the ever-growing group have published their work, most of them with traditional presses. The group meets bimonthly for business networking and a workshop write-in, and once a year hold a group signing where many of the members can offer their work for sale.
Participating authors who will be selling and signing their books on Saturday include:
- John McFarland’s first novel, The Black Garden, was published in 2010. His work has appeared in The Twilight Zone Magazine, Eldritch Tales, National Lampoon, River Styx, Tornado Alley and the anthology A Treasury of American Horror Stories, which also included stories by Stephen King, Richard Matheson and H.P. Lovecraft. He has written extensively on historical and arts-related subjects and has been a guest lecturer in fiction at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a lifelong Bigfoot enthusiast, and Annette: A Big Hairy Mom is his first novel for young readers. The sequel, Annette: A Big Hairy Grandma, will be published by New Babel Books in 2016.
- Cheryl Eichar Jett has been an Arcadia Publishing author since 2009, and Route 66 in Illinois is her fifth book. She is a regular contributor to historical magazines, writes the Route 66 Chick blog and a monthly column titled Along Route 66 for Prairie Land Buzz, a regional Illinois publication. Jett is a retired teacher and has served with many history and arts organizations for more than a dozen years.
- Elizabeth Donald is a three-time winner of the Darrell Award for speculative fiction. She is the author of the Nocturnal Urges and Blackfire novel series, as well as a veteran reporter who has covered Madison County for 14 years for the Belleville News-Democrat. Donald is founder of the Literary Underworld author cooperative and chairman of the Eville Writers.
- Shane Bowen is the author of three novels currently available, titled The Order of George Ludwig, Cops and Robbers, and Out of Darkness. He has recently completed his masters degree at Greenville College, and will begin teaching in the fall.
- Jimmy Gillentine is a horror/romance author born and raised in Memphis, lending a southern flavor to his creatures of the night. His debut novel, Of Blood and the Moon, was first runner-up for the Darrell Award in 2009. His most recent releases include The Beast Within and
- Sela Carsen was born into a traveling family, then married a military man to continue her gypsy lifestyle. With her husband of 20 years, their two teens, her mother, the dog and the cat, she is finally (temporarily) settled in the Midwest. Between bouts of packing and unpacking, she writes paranormal romances with or without dead bodies. Titles include A Wolf to Watch Over Me, Not Quite Dead, Carolina Wolf and Carolina Pearl.
Interviews with authors can be arranged in advance of the event by contacting Eville Writers Chairman Elizabeth Donald at 618-973-7293 or elizabethdonald@yahoo.com, or BSR Books owners Bruce or Stacie Campbell at 618-920-5932.
