Pittsburgh has been called one of the most literate cities in the United States, based on number of libraries and bookstores, newspaper readership, and residents’ educational levels. We are also blessed with many local authors.
I already knew several local writers because of my membership in writers’ groups and participation in panels at local libraries. I met several more last Saturday at a local author event at Barnes & Noble in South Hills Village. Why not check out the work of one or more of these talented writers?
Local authors who are my friends
Audrey Abbott – Audrey is the author of a three-part historical romance series. Volume One, The Lady’s Desire, came out last year. Volume Two, The Lady’s Prayer, will be released this year. I am not a romance reader, but I loved The Lady’s Desire. I pre-read The Lady’s Prayer, as part of Audrey’s writer’s group and liked it even more. Here’s a link to Audrey’s web site: https://www.audreyabbottauthor.com/
Gary Link – Gary has written three novels that take place in Pittsburgh in the 1840s. In each of the novels, Constable John Parker must solve a mystery – and he has a knack for getting in trouble while he’s doing it. The Burnt District is the first in the series. The others are The Throughway and The Spectrum. Volume four is in progress.
Madhu Bazaz Wangu – Madhu’s first novel The Immigrant Wife is about a young Indian woman who is wants to make her own choices. She moves to the United States with her husband, gets lost in parenting and grief, and, as a middle-aged woman must rediscover her determination to set her own destiny. Her second novel is The Last Suttee, about a woman who sets out to prevent a tragedy in rural India.
Local authors I met at B&N on Saturday
Louis Astorino – Louis is former principal of the Astorino architecture firm (acquired by CannonDesign in 2014). He has written a beautifully-illustrated book about his experience of being the only American architect to design a building at the Vatican, A Pencil in God’s Hand.
Jason Cherry – I’ve lived in Pittsburgh all my life and thought I knew its history, but I didn’t know that there was supposed to have been a fort at the Point that would have preceded Fort Duquesne. Read all about it in Jason’s well-researched book, Pittsburgh’s Lost Outpost: Captain Trent’s Fort, and check out his website https://www.jasonacherry.com/.
Rossilynne Culgan – Rossilynne is a Pittsburgh journalist who has written an updated version of 100 Things to Do in Pittsburgh Before You Die. Another surprise for me as a lifelong Pittsburgher: I have not yet done all 100!
Heather Ferri – Heather is a professional speaker on mental health issues. Her book, Victim to Victory, is the story of her journey of recovery from childhood abuse. Check out her website at https://www.heatherferri.com/.
John Harvey – John is a retired psychologist. He decided to sit silently in the same natural spot once each week for a whole year. His book, The Stillness of the Living Forest, tells about his experience, which he described to me as life-changing. Learn more at his website http://foreststillness.com/.
Bill Steigerwald – A Pittsburgh journalist and author of Dogging Steinbeck, Bill’s new book is 30 Days a Black Man. It tells the story of white Pittsburgh journalist Ray Sprigle, who went undercover in the south as a black man in 1948 and reported on his experience.
Kristy Jo Volchko – Kristy’s witty tween novel, Mall Hair Maladies, is about two girls in the 1980s who are determined to attend a Madonna concert at all costs.
Toni Weber – Last but not least, my table-mate at Saturday’s event, Toni, is the author of Dancing Into Destiny. This novel tells the story of a widow who learns to live and love again after loss. A sequel is currently in progress.