Castle Rock author Mary Stone recently published a short story collection, The Innocents at Home—Children of the 1940s. The 18 fictional stories, told through the eyes of children living in the US, Poland, Germany, and France, are about the abnormality of childhood during this decade and the experiences of war, internment, love and loss, prejudice, faith and resilience.

Rick E. George will read from Lethal Alliance, the second novel in his Boyd and Abboud Mystery Series, where FBI Agent Russell Boyd and Arabic interpreter Nawar Abboud face a contemporary problem: When extremist politicians bash the nation’s leading law enforcement agency, what could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot, as they find out, to their great peril. When a group of Christian Nationalists known as the Kin of Christ link up with an ISIS terrorist group to plan an attack at a Seattle sports event, Boyd and Abboud infiltrate the groups.

Debz Briske will be reading two short pieces of creative nonfiction that involve dead bodies she encountered in her life and travels.  “A Gringa in Rio” is a story set in Brazil during the military dictatorship, and first experiencing the jungle, hearing Samba, and seeing a dead body. It was also the first time she watched a person die, and struggled with how she wanted to respond and what she could do in a different culture.

Jan Bono is well known to WordFest members for her Sylvia Avery cozy mystery series set on the SW Washington coast. Is There Room in the Backyard for One More Body? is Jan’s collection of 12 fictional short stories also set on the Long Beach Peninsula. Known for her twisted sense of humor, Jan says, “Writing these stories is so much cheaper than therapy. And I get to do away with people who annoy me without having to go to jail.” Jan assures us that Is There Room is a work of fiction, and not a how-to manual. “Nobody was injured during the research or writing of these stories.”

Tiffany Dickinson writes tales for the young and for those who love them. She’ll be reading from The Golden Web, her first middle-grade magical realism story. Thomas the spider is perfectly comfortable making his home in a room at the children’s hospital. He learns many things from observing the children who come to get well and by watching television, especially TV game shows. When a child leaves, Thomas doesn’t mind. His motto is, “Spiders have family, food, and foes.” He needs no friends.

S.B. Daniels will read an excerpt from her manuscript in progress, Anniversary Reaction, a personal story that weaves together feelings about an upcoming milestone—a 50-year high school class reunion—with flashbacks to the life and challenges she faced during those high school years.  At its core, this is a love story, but it’s also an exploration of the uneven journey towards healing through the power of determination, resilience, and hope.

Lorraine Bouchard is a retired educator who specialized in the psychology and education of gifted people, and started her own school, now in its 38th year. Lorraine is active in directing and acting in community theaters around the country, including Twilight Theater of Portland and Stageworks Northwest in Longview, Washington. 

WordFest regular Elaine Cockrell will be reading from her current work in progress, titled, Farmed Out. The historical novel set during the Great Depression and World War II is based on her mother’s life, particularly as a child given up for adoption and living with a series of families. A retired English teacher and former Huntington Middle School principal, Elaine wrote the historical novel, A Shrug of the Shoulders, about the internment of Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest during World War II.  

The Longview poet graduated from WSU Vancouver with a degree in English and creative writing. Her work has been featured in the Salal Review, the Salmon Creek Journal, and the Columbia River Reader. You can connect with Krysten at karalston.com or via social media on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. 

Gunnar is the second installment in the Jedediah Bazo series. It picks up where Bazo ended, with Gunnar and his daughter wondering how they are going to put their lives back together after the horrific events of the previous half year. Elements of Gunnar’s past invade his attempt at fashioning a new start with Tuyen in the Portland, Oregon area. Instead of the peaceful life he seeks, it becomes a fight for survival as the effects of child sex-trafficking impacts their lives.

Woodcut artist and printmaker Debby Neely will show and talk about her recently published book, Words and Wood: Pacific Northwest Woodcuts and Haiku, featuring 70 reproductions of woodcuts created over the past 40 years. In 2011, Debby picked up a small book of haiku and after a few chapters, found herself writing haiku to accompany her woodcuts.  “This has added a whole new depth of meaning to my work,” she says. “Haiku help me add a dimension about how I feel about the world and the necessity to protect and cherish the world around us.”

Retired judge Ed Putka will be reading one of his Cleveland stories, about the blessing of the houses in his old neighborhood, titled “Koleda,” which means Christmas carol in Polish.