Frank Albrecht lives in Staunton, Virginia. He is a retired mental health counselor who also has a Ph.D. in history. His one person show, "Sinful Youth, Youthful Age: A Comedy of Soul" will be seen at the Fletcher Collins Theater, Mary Baldwin College, October 22 at 8 PM and October 23 at 2 PM. These are benefit performances with proceeds going to the Oak Grove Players' Pennyroyal Farm campaign. He is a long-time member of the Oak Grove Players and is the founder of the Upper Valley Writers' Show, which is held 9 times a year in downtown Staunton.

He will be signing his book, Sing And Louder Sing.

Bob Anderson was raised in Hawaii, where he was exposed to rain forests, a recurring theme in his books. As an adult, extensive trips to West Africa, India, and Central America have allowed him to expand his appreciation for rainforests while developing inspirations for his art work and stories.

As an artist, Bob started at the age of five. His first writing attempt was a hand written newspaper he produced while in the third grade to entertain his parents' friends.

Bob has worked as a cartoonist for a newspaper in Paris, he's produced 52 illustrations for a medical atlas on anatomy, and he has worked as an architect (and still does). His first book for children, OBO, was published in 1999. When I Was a Little Boy I Was a Black Panther was published in 2002, and a third book, set in India, is to be released in 2004. You will find Bob in the Children's section at Book 'Em.

Joseph Anthony and Cris Arbo are co-authors for a series of Children's Picture Books, including The Dandelion Seed and In a Nutshell. Joseph also co-authored a young adult novel entitled Innerworld.

In a Nutshell received the Outstanding Selection Award from Parent Council Ltd and the Children's Choice Award for 2002-2003 from the Virginia State Reading Association.

Look for them at the corner of the children's section and young adult section at Book 'Em! 

Carole Bellacera is the author of four award-winning novels, which are sometimes called "relationship novels". Her latest book is Chocolate on a Stick, which she calls her "geriatric Thelma & Louise" story, published in trade paperback by Baycrest Books. It's the story of an elderly Appalachian couple who go on the run in a red Corvette to escape their controlling off-spring.

Ms. Bellacera will be signing Chocolate on a Stick, Border Crossings, East of the Sun West of the Moon, and Understudy at Book 'Em. 

Prill Boyle is the author of the wildly successful book Defying Gravity, which recounts the stories of 12 moms-13 including the author- who at midlife and beyond summoned the courage to explore their talents and pursue their dreams. Among them are Irma Elder, a shy housewife until age 52, who is now CEO of one of the ten largest Hispanic-owned corporations in the country; Rainelle Burton, who overcame dyslexia, homelessness and depression to write a critically acclaimed first novel in her 50's; and former bank vice-president Evelyn Gregory, who fulfilled a lifelong wish and became a flight attendant at 71.

Prill Boyle herself is a self-proclaimed "late bloomer", having earned a B.A. in English from Georgetown University at 35 and an M.A. at 38. At age 47, after teaching high school and community college for almost a decade, she left her job to write full-time. Prill has been a guest on numerous radio and television programs and has spoken to groups all over the country about the rewards of late blooming. 

Arlene A. Carter has written several poetry books: Cracking Walnuts & Other Goodies; Tucked in Real, Real Tight; Love, Laughter & Tears; Between Nighttime Dreams: A Mama-Daughter Journey; and You are Not Alone: Making the Journey through Alzheimer's with a Loved One.

Arlene is founder of Poetry Pizzazz Plus!, an interactive and informative writing-centered program in which the language of poetry is explored through dramatizations and rhythmic interpretations. Arlene shares her passion through assembly programs, workshops, and conferences. For 10 years she has been visiting schools encouraging students to write poetry. Currently she is working as an English teacher in the Alternative School in Pittsylvania County.

In 1996, Lillian Cauldwell wrote her first book entitled Teenagers! A Bewildered Parent’s Guide, which placed in Atrium’s top ten selections for 1996. She has appeared on more than 20 radio and television programs. In 1998, four of Ms. Cauldwell's short stories were published on the Simegen site.

In 2003, Ms. Cauldwell released her first speculative history book, Sacred Honor, a fast-paced mesmerizing alternate history with a twist. It’s set against the early years of the American Rebellion, from 1774 to 1776, and against the bitter turmoil of a dying British Empire, 2276. She will be signing Sacred Honor at Book 'Em 2005. 

Malcolm Deeley is a poet and painter, and has combined those arts into a collection of five books: Canons of Atheist Gods, The Rose Missal, The Theory of the Void, The Bone Palette, and The Library of Unmeasured Day, which together present a new tapestry of modern myth.

He is also a founder of Gromagon Press, a publishing firm that specializes in works that are outside the mainstream, and iconoclastic in style and content. Among them is an anthology work focused on the creativity of Dark Poets which is a benefit project to support the work of creating safe havens for women and children who are victims of domestic and other abuse. 

Paul Doyle spent his formative years growing up in the crime-ridden inner-city housing projects, next to bad boys like James Whitey Bulger, currently Number One on the FBI's Most Wanted List. In Hot Shots and Heavy Hits he shares his experiences undercover in the drug world as a Special Agent of the DEA in the 1970's, shedding his identity and infiltrating the mob, where he bought heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and LSD.

The action is fast as he kicks in doors, punches it out with strong arm men, and shoots it out with drug dealers. In Hot Shots and Heavy Hits, he describes the shadowy, violent, and often dangerous drug world. Listen to his accounts of tragic overdose deaths and his descriptions of those unfortunates who are desperately addicted before you decide to use drugs.