Difficult life experiences made Oak Lawn resident Ralph Rosenbrock determined to persevere, a simple message he conveys in his book, “Just a Farm Kid.”
“I always felt if I could tell my story and if one person read it and decided not to give up on life, all the work would be worth it,” Rosenbrock said.
He’s among the authors who will be sharing their works at the first Local Author Showcase from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Aug. 16 at the Oak Lawn Public Library, 9427 Raymond Ave.
The event, organized with Bookie’s Bookstore in Chicago’s West Beverly neighborhood, includes almost 20 area authors as well as raffles for an “Illinois Love Basket” full of homemade goods, memorabilia and snacks from Global Media Award recipient Melanie Holmes and a bookworm-friendly prize package from Bookie’s. Books from the participating writers also will be available.
Participating authors, many suggested by Bookie’s operations manager Rich Wojcikowski, are Alanna Turner, Emily Hornburg, Emily VanderBent, Farrell McNulty, Jennifer Worrell, John Crivellone writing as Jack Crivalle, Joseph Weisz, Mark Edward Langley, Melanie Holmes, Myah Bawadi, Nubia Shambee, Pat Camalliere, Ralph Rosenbrock, Rebecca Garner, Rose Gabler & Sheila Lamb-Gabler, Sheila Maloney, Tom Dobrez and Zachary Jeffries.
“I think a program like this really connects to one of the core missions of the library, which is to amplify the voices of Oak Lawn,” said Kate Donley, adult and young adult programming librarian. “I think if most people were to think about where Chicagoland’s hot literary scene is, they would not say Oak Lawn. But in a way we are making it happen.”
Rosenbrock, who grew up on his grandfather’s farm south of Chicago after losing his parents, was a helicopter crewman/door gunner in Vietnam, and later a helicopter maintenance technician and manager of the corporate flight department for a Fortune 500 company. His other writing stint was as editor of an international business publication on helicopters.
Writing the book was a challenge for the first-time author. Bur it also was therapeutic.
“No matter what happened in life, you can have a positive outlook and good life,” Rosenbrock said. “People read it and extract different portions of it related to their own lives.”
Melanie Holmes, who lives in Palos Park, said in “100 Things to Do in Illinois Before you Die,” she wanted to show the wealth of interesting but sometimes little-known gems in the state. The book covers food and beverage, music and entertainment, sports and recreation, culture and history and shopping and fashion.
One of her favorite experiences was in Wildlife Prairie Park outside of Peoria, where she spent the night in a train caboose.
“I love unique lodging experiences myself, and other people will love the fact that you can roam this wildlife park and spend the night in it,” she said. “It about as unique as you can get.”
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The two Capitol buildings in Springfield are another draw, she said.
“When you talk about landmarks like that filled with paintings, statuary, history — it’s really fascinating,” Holmes said.
A “lifelong travel enthusiast,” Holmes started traveling the state with her mom at age 7.
“I hoped I could do the state justice, to say, ‘this is us, all of us,” she said. “Diversity is a very important passion of mine, so I always wanted to give voice to a diverse array of people and cultures and arts and experiences.”
Emily Hornburg, who lives in Oak Lawn and grew up in Evergreen Park, is presenting “The Night’s Chosen,” a retelling of Snow White with fantasy, adventure, quests and a dragon. Her third book in a series, Hornburg has been writing and telling stories since childhood.
“I’ve always loved fairy tales and Snow White has always been my favorite fairy tale,” said Hornburg. “It’s the first movie I saw when I was two years old.”
Like the other authors, she’s also a fan of the Oak Lawn library, and appreciates the opportunity to showcase her work in her hometown.
“Local authors really can add a lot to what you’re reading and diversify your reading,” Hornburg said.
Registration for the Local Author Showcase is at bit.ly/44Cx078 and more information is with Donley at [email protected].
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.