Indie authors gather at Sparta books

The authors’ stories range from humor to tragedy, By Ray Smith SPARTA — Donna Fell knows that her bookstore, Sparta Books, cannot compete with the prices at big box chain stores. What her store can provide is the opportunity for visitors to interact with authors, staged reading promotions and a place for community members to meet. One such event, a meet and greet with independent authors, took place on July 29. “I myself as an independent book store owner feel I should be helping independent authors,” Fell said. “I want people to know there are some fabulous writers out there who don’t get the publicity that those with the agents and big money get.” Seven independent authors descended upon Sparta with the intention of sharing their story with the community. This was the first time that Sparta Books hosted such an event. Melissa DeKler is the owner of {Indie}pendent Books, and the meet-and-greet in Sparta was the first such event for her company. DeKler focuses on independent authors and finding a way to garner some publicity for their work. “These events are important because you get exposed to new up and coming authors,” DeKler said. “You can speak with the authors and even learn how to get your own book into the public.” Maura Stone, author of “Five Star Fleecing,” attended the event to promote her book written in response to a bad work experience that she had. Stone is from White Lake, NY. “This book took ten years to write,” Stone said. “It’s a loosely based comedy. I come from a family of jokers.” Stone’s tablemate at the event was Roy Pickering Jr., whose text “Patches of Grey” is a coming of age novel about race. Originally from The Bronx, Pickering began writing his book in his senior year of college. Pickering just finished his second book, and writes his first drafts on loose-leaf paper. “A lot of times you read about race from the time of slavery or the civil rights era,” Pickering said. “But I wanted to write something more modern.” Pickering did not have a marketing and promotion team like many big name authors, and the event at Sparta Books was his first time publicizing the book. Michael Ferrari, author of the books “Assault on the Senses” and “Training the Problem: Stories and a Novella,” also promoted his work at Sparta Books. Ferrari has been writing for 15 years and previously worked mostly on short stories. He currently owns his own publishing company near Philadelphia called Blue Room Publishing. Jennifer Topper is the author of “29 Jobs and a Million Lies,” a story about the 29 jobs Topper took on during her 20s. It took Topper about eight months to write the text. “I didn’t even know I was writing a book,” Topper said. “I didn’t get serious about publishing it until a year ago.” Topper is near the end of her journey of promoting her book, as almost a year of promoting has passed. She describes her book as “full-on ridiculous and funny” but she also says that there are some scary parts. “It’s life,” Topper said. Keith Smith, author of “Men in My Town,” tells a powerful story about a 14-year-old boy who was abducted, beaten and raped in a small New England town. The 14-year-old boy is Smith. He tells the true story of a serial pedophile who was murdered by the men that lived in Smith’s town while out on the streets during the trial. “It’s not a graphic story,” Smith said. “It’s about the story of the men and the guys in my town.” The police have no interest in re-opening the crime. No one has been charged with the murder. “I had to tell people what happened,” Smith said. “All of the stuff made me who I am today.” Smith doesn’t consider himself an author, but rather a “Wall Street guy who wrote a book.” Before publishing the book, Smith wrote letters that he one day would give to his two daughters telling them about the incident. Smith is now a spokesperson for RAINN, the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network. “By talking about what happened, I know I’ve helped people,” Smith said. Another author at the event was Jo Lynne Valerie, promoting “Phoenix Rising” and “A Tale for All Seasons.” Valerie’s stop in Sparta Books was part of a major book tour taking her throughout the northeast. “One of my readers tweeted that she was going to try and make it,” Valerie said, referring to a reader reaching out to her on Twitter. “She came here to meet me and made this for me,” Valerie said, showing off a homemade bracelet. Valerie, a native of Rochester, N.Y., uses her winters to write and the summer to promote her work, which included a stop in Sparta. Estevan Vega, only 21 years old, promoted his third book entitled “Arson.” Vega stated writing the book in 2006. His book tour will take him through New Jersey, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Baltimore and Virginia. The event held by Sparta Books was the first meet-and-greet for independent authors at the store, but Sparta Books does hold other events. “There are regular children story hours, other larger author events, kid party days with characters in costume, in the fall we’re going to have project days with stories and projects,” Fell said. “I really want to push the independent work and the importance of buying local.” Fell has recently teamed up with Tweed and Garlic and Oil, other stores in the area, to promote their local establishments. “I can’t compete with prices of big book stores,” Fell said. “But I focus on customer service, which includes hiring a staff that knows books. I want this community bookstore to be a community place where people can come in have meetings and seminars.” And perhaps meet a few new and talented authors along the way.