Author meet-and greet held at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 157

Darrow Woods and Marcy Lane display their books at last Saturday's author meet and greet at Legion Br. 157

Royal Canadian Legion Fort Malden Br. 157 gave a chance for the public to pick up some new reads and meet the people who wrote them.

As part of the Amherstburg Legion’s senior speaker series, Br. 157 hosted a meet and greet with local Windsor-Essex County authors last Saturday (March 21) with about a dozen local authors in attendance.

Sherry Vanhoorne-Leith, a member of the Legion executive and organizer of the author meet and greet, said she hopes the event becomes a regular occurrence. 

Vanhoorne-Leith pointed out it was funding under the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors grant program that the Legion is a recipient of.

“I hope this gets popular,” said Vanhoorne-Leith. “I am an avid reader.”

Vanhoorne-Leith added some of the authors either received or were nominated for awards. Genres went from mystery and history to children’s books with other topics ranging in between.

“I love books,” she said. “I find them all fascinating.”

Chris Kohl, who displayed books by both himself and his wife Joan Forsberg, said they met while scuba diving. A number of books came next, including stories on shipwrecks, diving guides and even recipe books.

Kohl was like other authors in attendance who hoped for more foot traffic, but was pleased overall with the event.

“It’s a great location,” said Kohl. “I hope they have more. We need to make this an annual event.”

Sheun Lee and her books were also part of the meet and greet. She publishes her children’s books not only in English, but French, Cantonese, and Mandarin as well. Many have received looked at positively through Kircus reviews and independent reviewers.

Author Sheun Lee shows off her books.

“It’s nice to be able to meet local authors,” said Lee. “It’s nice to chat with other authors in the community.”

Darrow Woods brought his titles to the event, believing it was important to see a variety of different works.

“We have a lot of local talent around,” said Woods. “It’s fun to be in the room with other local authors.”

Woods said they all have a lot in common and he was thankful for the efforts of Vanhoorne-Leith for organizing the meet and greet.

“Sherry worked hard putting this all together,” he said.

Marcy Lane also thanked Vanhoorne-Leith for reaching out to the local authors and putting the event together.

“I’m glad to be here,” said Lane. 

Lane said it was one of her first events of the new year. 

Alice Aspinall brought her children’s books to the event, and she also believed getting local authors together was a good thing.

“I write children’s mathematics books,” she said, noting some are done in a photobook format.

Aspinall liked the venue and was glad she travelled to Amherstburg for the meet and greet.

Dale J. Moore brought his books as well as other books written by his sister Maureen. The latter were part of a series with Dale writing some books in it and Maureen the others.

“I’m always open to new events,” Moore said. “It’s good to meet other authors.

Moore said he has done a number of events at the Event Centre at LaSalle Landing, and has been part of Pumpkinfest at North Star High School in Amherstburg as well. 

David Garlick, a former high school principal, brought some of his books to the meet and greet. He also said it was good to gather with other authors and readers and appreciated the opportunity to attend.

Barbara Reaume Sandre hoped for additional foot traffic but was glad to have been there. Talking to other authors was something she enjoyed and she liked the event overall.

Christopher Caniff and his books were part of the event and he also liked the fact he could meet with other area authors. Some of his books are based on Canadian veterans while others are fictional tales based on his time living in Ecuador. 

Stephen J. Kristoff brought both fiction and non-fiction books with the fiction being stories based on various topics from romance to crime and mystery. What pulls his compilation of short stories together is wine, and the aim is to have people connect with them and enjoy them through rich character development. Non-fiction works include efforts to help others. He said the books sell all over the world.

“The venue is phenomenal,” said Kristoff. “There’s lots of room.”

Andre Narbonne, who teaches at the University of Windsor, stated it was the first time he came to such an event. He teaches with the editing and publishing practicum at the university and his books range from poetry to novels. Regarding the latter, one is nominated for the Giller Prize.

“I’m really enjoying meeting other authors,” he said. “If no one buys a book from me, it’s still a worthwhile venture.”

Author meet-and greet held at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 157

By Ron Giofu