We also had a lot of wonderful children's books including Brooke Hartman's newest release: Dream Flights on Arctic Nights.  Ms. Hartman was the Alaska Writer's Guild president in 2019.

The most encouraging author I was privileged to meet was Adam Freestone.  Adam writes the Sentinel Flame Series and his bio states, "he is a near quadriplegic man afflicted with Muscular Dystrophy, confined to a wheelchair and dependent on a ventilator, but despite everything he has going against him, he never lets it stand in his way. He is a go-getter, animal and nature lover, MDA participant, and smart minded writer. Everything that goes into his stories is carefully considered, nothing he writes goes down casually." After meeting Adam, I'd have to completely agree!  His capitvating book covers are only a hint of this thriving and enthusiastic author.  Book 1 is called Hyroe and is a fantasy book that has received 5-star ratings.  His second book is coming soon.

Hope to see you at next year's book fair.  Until then, you can purchase these books from your local bookstore or on Amazon.

     Looking for unique Christmas gift ideas? Maybe you have a friend or relative who makes it difficult to find a present? Well, we have good news! ReadAlaska, Alaska’s largest book fair since 1993 will be at the Anchorage Museum on the second floor, the Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving, November 29th and 30th. With thirty local publishers, authors, and photographers displaying hundreds of Alaskan books, most signed and personalized by local authors, finding unique and perfect Christmas gifts are now possible.
     Whether your friends like fiction or nonfiction or you’re buying for adults or children, you can’t go wrong with the right book. Gifts are available from impossible crime to fishing adventures, fantasy/sci-fi to romantic suspense. Whether you’re looking for a book on how to survive in the wilderness or surviving your in-laws, there’s a great selection for everyone.

     Impossible crime is a subgenre of mystery, where a detective has to solve how the crime was committed before he can track the perpetrators. Steven Levi, Alaskan author of impossible crime, will be showcasing his books including The Matter of The Deserted Airliner, in which a 737 lands in Anchorage with no pilot, no crew, and no passengers even though it was fully staffed and loaded in Seattle and never stopped. So where are the pilot, crew and passengers? When kidnappers ask for $25 million in diamonds, everyone knows space aliens aren’t involved. Now the detective has to figure out how the pilot, crew and passengers disappeared fast enough to stop the payment of the ransom and expedite their return.

    Robin Barefield from Kodiak Island will be promoting her book, Murder Over Kodiak, the tale of a floatplane that mysteriously explodes above the Alaska wilderness. Investigators begin digging into the lives of the five passengers and the pilot to determine who was the target of the bomb. Was it the U.S. senator in the midst of a hotly contended re-election campaign or her husband, a corporate raider with no shortage of enemies? Could the bomb have been meant for the cannery owner involved in a contentious divorce, or the refuge manager who has a long list of adversaries? Even the pilot could have been the target, since his girlfriend has violent tendencies and knows how to use explosives. Readers will anxiously engage in this page-turning mystery.

         Local Chugiak writer, E.M. Shue, will also be attending for the first time with her steamy romantic-suspense fiction novels beginning with her original Securities International series. E.M’s latest release, Accidentally Noah, is receiving 5-star ratings from Amazon readers and climbing the charts. Romance fans are sure to fall in love with the newest Caine and Graco Saga.
     For nonfiction readers, ReadAlaska offers true stories of bush flying mysteries and disasters by Gregory Leifer, the life and dangerous times of a sniper in Vietnam written under the pseudonym of T. Martin O’Neil (for good reason). Of course, the book fair has a wide display of Alaskana books and memoirs, including local Chickaloon author, Hilda Luster-Lindner. We even have pet friendly books. Dog lovers are sure to enjoy Road Trip With Remington Beagle by Valerie Winans, and those looking for spiritual inspiration will be sure to find a little something for the man or woman of faith too.
     Over the past 27 years, ReadAlaska also has presented a wide variety of children’s books ranging from Pre-K picture books to chapter books for older readers. This year, Anchorage author Brooke Hartman, current president of the Alaska Writer’s Guild, will be featuring her new release, “Dream Flights on Arctic Nights.” This beautifully illustrated book follows a child’s dreamy flight through the Arctic to discover the animals that live there. From the wolves prowling in the snow to the goats and sheep standing on the mountains to the walrus and sea lions lying on big glaciers, children explore Alaskan wildlife with a creative and poetic flare.
     The ReadAlaska Book Fair offers extraordinary Christmas presents. Even better, readers can meet local authors and have their books autographed and personalized. Buying local is the best option.  But, if you’re looking for local books and can’t attend the ReadAlaska event the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving at the Anchorage Museum, check out the latest website dedicated to Alaskan books at www.alaskanbooks.com where you can find local authors year-round. All Alaskan authors are welcome to submit their books to this website for inclusion.  Building community begins by buying local.

This year Relevant Publishers LLC is proud to sponsor the first Alaskan Book Booth, where Alaskan authors, illustrators, and publishers will be displaying unique books.  Come out August 22nd -September 2nd to meet your favorite authors.  We are located on the Red Trail between the Red Gate and the Don Sheldon Event Center (the large, green metal building). A schedule of current author signings is listed below.

Relevant Publishers LLC is proud to announce author JerriAnn Webb has joined our family.  JerriAnn  is a passionate visionary who loves life and loves people.  She encourages and inspires others to discover who they are in Christ and is Founder and President of LightSpeaks, a faith-based consulting company and is co-Founder of Light Breaks Through, a non-profit dedicated to helping people encounter God.  JerriAnn has degrees in English, Theology, and Marriage and Family Therapy. 

She is also author of The Kingdom – A Children’s Story of Identity and Inheritance. This books was #1 on Amazon's list for Children's Bible Stories.  JerriAnn has a God-given ability to speak truth with humor.  She is always smiling, ever ready for an adventure. Alongside her husband Matt, JerriAnn attends and serves on the leadership team at their church. JerriAnn and Matt have two children and live in Florida.

We are excited to be part of her second book project: The King in You based on the life of King David and created to help children understand their identity in Christ and that their calling in God's Kingdom begins even when they are young.  

Our Mother: The Holy Spirit by Marianne Widmalm is the definitive book on the history of the gender of the Holy Spirit as revealed in the Hebrew scriptures of the Old Testament, and the teachings of Jesus and the early Church fathers. In Genesis, She was the basis for the physical model of Eve, and her relationship with God's people is as relevant today as it was in the Garden of Eden. Much about The Holy Spirit's gender has been intentionally hidden and mistranslated since gentiles rose to prominence within the Christian Church, and the Hebraic roots of The Spirit of Yahweh were suppressed in scripture in favor of an all-male Trinitarian ideal. However, Yahweh was meticulous in His description of His Spirit in the Old Testament, associating Her with Wisdom and acknowledging Her presence in the creation of the world, whom He called His daily delight. Learn why Her gender was altered by men, how it damaged the Body of Christ, and explore its backlash in feminism. From Genesis to Revelations and many other historical writings of the early Christians, Our Mother: The Holy Spirit exposes the true identity of the Holy Spirit and what She still wants to teach Believers today

It has long been suspected Lewis Carroll experienced migraine phenomenon that he incorporated into his book, Alice in Wonderland.  In 1955, the neurological experience described in Carroll's book was officially documented and labeled by psychiatrist John Todd as the "Alice In Wonderland Syndrome" (AIWS). Just as in the book, patients feel, see, and experience abnormal shifts in reality, where objects can appear bigger or smaller, time is distorted, and straight lines bend and become curvy. You can learn more about AIWS at WebMD. 

Many authors writing science fiction, fantasy, and dystopia often incorporate human diseases or physical ailments into their books, some based on personal experience and some imagined.  When authors weave their personal experiences into literature, these stories have more insight to offer the world than just simple plot or character development. They offer rare glimpses into the struggles of reality faced by people coping with medical conditions. The ability to relate and understand the complexity of experiencing life with such a condition is a gift to society.  It develops our ability  to have compassion towards others we didn't understand and gives us a glimpse into another dimension from which we draw wisdom and knowledge previously unavailable to us in our "normal" state of existence. Literature like Alice in Wonderland offers far greater depths when we don't read stories with a narrow viewpoints or classification of genre.  Carroll's "children's book" was representative of the struggles he faced in his adult life.  His book was so influential, the entire medical community not only took notice, but aptly named the condition after his work.

Dealing with the topic of sexual consent, many romance books have "no's" that imply "yes" or scenes where a forceful man "makes" a woman change her mind.  But with so many woman today standing up to demand consent, Jasmine Guillory has a new take on romance writing in her latest book, The Proposal.  The Atlantic periodical has much to say on the topic of consent and romance writing.  You can read their full length article here.