By Caylie Moore, Features Editor
On Saturday, Sept. 19, Southside Public Library hosted its first Author and Book Festival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to celebrate Alabaman authors and their endeavors in writing and publication. Featuring over 20 authors specialized in a wide range of genres — including, but not limited to, romance novels, children’s books, devotionals, fantasy stories, memoirs and poetry — dozens of Etowah County attendees and several local vendors came out to the festival to support the creative scene.
Features Editor Caylie Moore happened to be one of them.
As she carefully made her way through the crowded community center, she interviewed many of the authors present and discovered that writing was an art form that took on a variety of shapes and traveled along various paths.
Juliana Smith, a 26-year-old Jacksonville native and contemporary romance author who has written several novels, had a lot to say about her own journey to being a published writer.
“I never thought I would want to write a book, but I did always love reading. When I started writing in 2022, it was a New Year’s resolution to finish a book. The first one did okay, but the second one — Baggage Claim — did really well,” Smith explained, adding that she was doing real estate full-time at the time and hadn’t expected to change careers.
“I was used to a high-pressure, work-all-the-time job. When Baggage Claim did really well, it was good enough to the point I was able to leave my job and write full-time,” Smith stated. “Since I had all that extra time, I took it really seriously and started writing a bunch.”
“You never know what will happen. I started off just for fun, and then it slowly came to this… somehow. I still don’t really know how,” she finished with a laugh.
While Smith’s career is a rare example of young talent crossing roads with a dash of luck, many of the authors at the event had longer and more complex histories with writing, including Beth Ann Hill, a storyteller and an author of “Tracing the Spirit” and other short stories.
“I started writing when I was in 1st grade,” Hill stated, before going on to add that her mother had bought her a set of porcelain dolls, and Hill would come up with stories about them religiously. “I would write a short story for each and every single one of them.”
Still, Hill was adamant that she would not be where she is today if it weren’t for a very special person encouraging her to write. “When I was in the 3rd through 6th grade, I had a teacher that really fostered my love for writing — Mrs. Hall,” she explained. “When I write, I still hear her voice in my mind. It’s just something that’s a part of me.”
For Hill, community is an irreplaceable aspect of writing — and she urges writers new and old to find one.
“Find that writing community. There are so many libraries that have local writing groups! Writing can be such a solitary activity. When I started working with a community, then I got critique partners, and through those critique partners, I made connections to get published. If I had not found that community, I don’t think I would be published now.
Other authors present were B.R. Curry, an independent romance author; Crystal Watford, a historical fiction writer; Dr. Tiffany Sayles, author of We Say!, a children’s book; Sandra Mullins Bost, a children’s book author and Messenger columnist; Kate Crosss, author of the Shadow Grove series; Lori Stewart McRae, author of a journaling devotional; Wesley R. Bishop, a historian, poet and editor; Hope L. Whitaker, a children’s novelist; Leslie Harper Worthington, author of two poetry collections; B.W. Green, a sci-fi and fantasy writer; Tracy McCord, author of children’s books like Yikes! There’s a Lizard in the Living Room; Kathy Gidley, an author of Christian nonfiction and devotionals; Jared Millican, author of various genres including fantasy, sci-fi and mystery; Anita Johnsey Robertson, a children’s book author; Novellee DeWitt, author of the Home At Last series; Roselie Louissaint, a debut memoirist; VJ Goodman, a Christian author who specializes in faith-based storytelling; and Tiffany Marks, a contemporary romance and romantic suspense author.
