Giddings Public Library and Cultural Center

Pastor Jack Adams has been married for 49 years and has three children and three grandchildren. He has written five previous books, all designed to help believers walk with God or lead them into a relationship with Jesus. His previous books include Go Ye, You are Now Free to Walk with God, and God’s Loving Provision. 

Adams has started writing a new series of books targeting a younger audience. He wants to let young readers know that there is a God in heaven who cares for them and wants to have a relationship with them. Those books include A Pirate Story, and The Lost World. 

He has taught the Word of God in the U.S., Central America, South America, and Asia. Adams believes, “If you want to walk with God, you can.” He says that Jesus has provided everything needed for life and godliness. Adams may be contacted at 2819goye@gmail.com for speaking engagements or for help creating a  discipleship program. Visit his website at matthew2819ministries.org to purchase his books.

A long time ago in a galaxy far away, Jay Anderson  had dreams of writing a book—and then life got in the way: college at UT, jobs, family. Finally, at 60, his work was published. Studying his ancestry gave Anderson a passion for all things Scottish and Irish. 

He read about the Battle of Culloden several years ago and discovered that this small battle with less than 20,000 combatants drastically affected history. Anderson wondered what would happen if a few modern weapons were transported back in time to Scotland before the battle. His novel Recompense envisions that scenario. Once Anderson began to write, the words opened up and put themselves on the page. He lives in Giddings with his beautiful wife of 40 years. Anderson still works a full-time job, so getting the time to write is always a struggle, but writing has become a passion for Anderson.

Susan P. Baker is the author of 11 books of mystery/suspense, two books of non-fiction, and one collection of short pieces. She’s a retired Texas judge from Galveston and has recently made her home in Cypress. For 12 years, Baker presided over everything from murder to divorce. Afterward, she traveled around Texas as a visiting judge. 

Previously, Baker practiced law for nine years and served as a probation officer for two years. Most of her works are derived from her experiences in the justice system or events in and around courts in Texas, fictionalized, of course! Baker can be found online at www.susanpbaker.com, and on X (formerly Twitter), Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook, and Instagram.

Yvette Bostic lives in the middle of absolutely-nowhere Texas. She enjoys the company of her children who are successfully moving into adulthood, her ever patient husband who believes she is lost in her computer, and two dogs who are the only ones who can drag her away from writing (mostly because she has no desire to clean up their mess). Bostic writes fantasy and paranormal romance novels. She focuses on characters who drive the plot of story, and does her very best to ensure that read either love the characters (as intended) or hate them (also intended).

Katherine Briggs crafted her first monster story at age 3. Since graduating from crayons to laptop, she continues to devour and weave fantasy tales while enjoying chai tea. Briggs, her co-adventurer husband, and their rescue dog live outside of Houston. Briggs classically educates amazing middle-school students, teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) to adults, and enjoys studying other languages. 

More than 15 of Briggs’s short stories and articles have been included in various publications, including Havok Publishing, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association-qualifying Mysterion. Additionally,  she is humbled that her stories have won or were finalists in five awards for published and pre-published stories.

Angela Castillo has been writing stories since she created her first tale in green crayon at the age of 8. She’s lived all over Central Texas but mostly hovers around the town of Bastrop, which she loves with an unnatural fierceness and features in many of her books. Castillo has four wild children, a husband who studies astrophysics for fun, and a cat. She has won several awards, and her books are in more than a million Kindles worldwide.

Texas native Anna Daugherty is the award-winning author of Outside of Grace and Reaching for Grace. She received a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin. After several years of writing and editing for magazines and newspapers, Daugherty rediscovered a passion for fiction. Now, she writes Christian fiction with unflinching honesty, bringing the light of grace to some of the darkest issues facing believers today. Daugherty lives in the hill country with her husband and their three daughters. When she isn’t writing or chasing a toddler, she can usually be found enjoying the outdoors or hiding away with her Kindle in hand.

Brenda Ethridge Ferguson grew up on a livestock ranch in Mills County, Texas, where she and her two brothers were raised among Hereford cows, Suffolk sheep, Angora goats, and the thousands of turkeys her family ranged in the summertime. After college, Ferguson became an Army wife and, among other things, taught English at the secondary and college levels; published stories, articles, and book reviews; and served as a librarian and library coordinator in public schools. Eventually, Ferguson and her family returned to their roots. She now lives on a ranch with her husband and their cows in Mills County. Brenda has a master’s degree in English/creative writing and a master’s degree in library science. 

Award-winning sci-fi/fantasy author Jamie Foley loves strategy games, gardening, and making lembas bread. She’s terrified of red wasps and uses them for lightsaber training. When not working as the creative director at Enclave Publishing, the typesetter for the Christian Writers Institute, or a suspicious monarch at Fayette Press, Foley’s probably drawing maps to Cair Paravel. Her husband is her manly muse and amateur theologian. They live between the Texas Hill Country and the family cattle ranch, where their hyperactive spawnling and wolfpack roam.

Rose Garcia is a USA Today bestselling author and screenwriter. She believes that no matter how dark the world may seem, there is always a sliver of light if you look hard enough. This theme permeates every aspect of Garcia’s being and threads itself through the fabric of her stories. A lawyer turned writer, Garcia writes young-adult fantasy with Hispanic characters, complicated romance, powerful families, and dynamic friendships. She is known for bringing richly diverse characters to life as she draws on her own cultural experiences. Garcia lives in Houston with her husband and two needy fur babies. If she’s not writing, she’s either reading or watching a show. She might even be eating tacos, because tacos are life!

Nancy Golden is a wife and mom, author, engineer, professor, horsewoman, and small-business owner. She is a follower of Jesus Christ. Golden is also the founder of the Carrollton League of Writers. Her mission is simple: to write quality stories that speak to the hearts of her readers and provide positive messaging, leaving them feeling better when they’re finished reading. 

Golden hopes her books will brighten the lives of her readers. She lives in a suburb of Dallas and loves to ride bicycles and horses. Golden is a member of the National Space Society, and she’s been a Trekkie for as long as she can remember. She hopes her writing is a welcome distraction from this sometimes chaotic world. Golden wants her readers to keep reading because she believes it’s one of the very best things they can do. She also says, “Never pass up the opportunity to ride a dragon!”

Ann Katagiri is a children’s book author and owner of A Halfie’s Rambles LLC. In 2019, she started A Halfie’s Rambles as a trilingual blog providing free blog posts written in Japanese, English, and Mandarin Chinese. Katagiri’s three debut bilingual children’s books were independently self-published in 2023. She grew up in a family of educators and has loved teaching the languages she knows to anyone from elementary students to adults. 

Ever since she could write, Katagiri has loved putting words onto paper and has been fascinated by the idea of making stories with them. As a trilingual author, she hopes to showcase diversity and cultural differences. Having the freedom to support and partner with any organization of her choosing, Katagiri is honored to support three local DFW businesses when printing her books. Local businesses also create the products in the Den Chan Store on her website. Katagiri is writing a sequel to Den Chan: The Cat Who Crossed the Ocean. She lives in Fort Worth with her adopted tabby kitten, Mikan, which means tangerine in Japanese.

Shawn LaTorre’s appreciation for the Spanish language began while picking blueberries with her siblings alongside migrant field workers each summer in Michigan. She studied at la Universidad Ibero-Americana in Mexico City, where she lived with her “Mexican mother.” The Alamo captured LaTorre’s attention while accompanying a group of eighth graders to the site. She began seeking information about the Alamo, which she found interesting, confusing, and complicated. 

Footfalls to the Alamo is the result of extensive research, including a personal connection with a relative of the main character, Señora Candelaria. LaTorre worked with migrant students for 25 years as an educator. She organized a transitional bilingual education program, served as an international baccalaureate middle-years program coordinator, and directed a law humanities magnet program. She taught in the migrant attrition prevention program at St. Edward’s University. Her work has been published in Seeing Through Their Eyes; Kitchen Table Stories 2022, and Story Circle Network’s quarterly journals.

Lyndsey Lewellen grew up on a healthy dose of comic books, punk music, and sci-fi. She infuses all three loves into novels written for young adults. Inside her “what if” worlds, her characters take risks, grow, and fight for what matters. When Lewellen’s not writing or whittling down her endless to-be-read list, she designs novel covers and paints on shoes. She lives on a small Texas farm with her best friend/husband, five children, and what some might call a zoo of animals (especially after meeting the peacocks).

Susan McCauley is a screenwriter and award-winning author of books for children, teens, and adults. She fell in love with writing, theater, and film when she was 8. That passion inspired her to receive a bachelor’s degree in radio-television with a minor in theater from the University of Houston, a master’s degree in professional writing from the University of Southern California, and a master’s degree in text & performance from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and King’s College in London. 

McCauley also studied acting at Playhouse West with Robert Carnegie and Jeff Goldblum (of Jurassic Park and Independence Day) in Los Angeles. She has several short stories published, one of which, “The Cask,” was made into an award-winning short film. In addition to her short stories, McCauley has one novella and five novels in print, as well as a feature-length film in development. In 2022, she published her debut picture book, and the second book in her Merlin’s Apprentice fantasy series will release in 2024. McCauley loves travel, animals, movies, theater, taekwondo (she’s a 1st degree black belt), her family, and books (of course!).

Shannon L. Mokry grew up in sunny California, making her way to Texas after getting married. She has lived in Texas with her husband for more than 25 years. After raising her daughters and writing more than 20 children’s books while living in Texas, Mokry couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. She started her journey writing children’s books in 2016, and began illustrating in 2018. All of her books combine elements of purpose and whimsy.

Brian Porter grew up in Bellville and attended Texas A&M. After practicing veterinary medicine for five years, he taught high school chemistry for three years before becoming a veterinary pathologist. Porter has been teaching at Texas A&M for the past 20 years. Dreams of Arcadia is his first novel. He’s currently working on a second novel, which is set in Texas during the Civil War. Porter and his wife Karen live in College Station. They have one son, Benjamin, who works as a software engineer in New York City.

Bella Pursell writes closed-door adult romances. Writing has been her passion since she was a child. As an avid reader herself, Pursell hopes to create stories that allow readers to escape. She earned a degree in supply chain management and uses inspiration from everyday life to bring swoony and relatable stories to life. Originally from Venezuela, Pursell moved to the U.S. at age 10. She lives in Houston with her incredibly supportive husband and chaotic dog.

Charles Russell retired from a 34-year career in education, where he served as a teacher, coach, principal, and superintendent. He has published 10 novels in as many years. Russell and his wife, Patricia, also a retired teacher, live in Potosi, Texas, on a 30-acre farm. Besides writing, he and Patricia are active in the First Central Presbyterian Church in Abilene. Added to their schedule is caring for five dogs, two cats, and three horses.

Kathleen J. Shields is the prolific award-winning writer of multiple genres. Her Hamilton Troll Adventures won first place for best educational children’s series from the Texas Association of Authors. She wrote The First Unibear rhyming children’s story  when she was only 10, and it has won six book awards. She has also won awards for Christian fiction. Shields’s Hamilton Troll series is educational and inspirational, teaching young children social skills, animal characteristics, and how to handle real-life situations. 

She also writes chapter books for her slightly older readers (tweens and general audiences). While still infusing education into each story, Shields endeavors to entertain young readers, igniting a desire to read (and maybe even write) that will span a lifetime. She manages a website and graphic-design company called Kathleen’s Graphics.  She designs colorful websites, custom logos, and advertisements for businesses and authors. She assists authors with custom book covers, interior formatting, and publishing. Shields also creates book trailers and writes press releases. She enjoys being challenged to learn new things.

When Jessica Thompson discovered mystery novels with recipes, she knew she had found her niche. Now Thompson is the award-winning author of the Amazon bestselling Caterer’s Guide to Crime culinary cozy mystery series and the classic mystery Shoot Shovel and Shut Up. Her first book was a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Awards and her other books were Whitney Award nominees in the mystery category. She has also curated two anthologies and been included in many others. 

She is active in her local writing community and volunteers as the finance chair of the Storymakers Guild. As an avid home chef and food-science geek, Thompson has won cooking competitions and been featured in the online Taste of Home recipe collection. She also tends to be the go-to source for recipes, taste testing, and food advice among her peers. Thompson lives outside of Austin with her husband and two children. When she’s not writing or cooking, she likes getting her boots dirty with the family at her parents’ nearby Longhorn cattle ranch.

After more than 30 years in sales, leadership, and entrepreneurship, Jeff C. West is a bestselling and award-winning author, speaker, and leadership coach who has appeared on hundreds of sales and leadership podcasts, live shows, and radio programs. His books have earned recognition from the Axiom Business Book Awards, the National Indie Excellence Awards, and the American Bookfest Awards. These accolades delighted West and shocked his college English professors. 

His latest book Streetwise to Saleswise is earning praise from business leaders around the U.S. Before turning to writing, West built a career spanning more than 30 years across a range of sectors, leading teams to more than $150 million in recurring revenue sales. For 35 years, West has lived in Texas, where he once played professionally in a Dixieland band, because “everyone loves the tuba player.”