It is a gala affair with opportunities truly to mingle with local authors, get books signed, and buy books for seasonal and occasional gifts! Our distinguished guests include:

My dad was a respected small-town doctor, who dreamed of dancing like Fred Astaire and drove a motorcycle to his rounds in the dead of winter bundled in a huge parka. My mom urged us up narrow mountain roads and out to empty deserts in search of rare birds, and happily managed to read just about every book in the library while six kids, their friends, various dogs, cats, hamsters, ducks, chickens, even a giant pet rat, tumbled through life about her.

As my mother did, I like a bit of chaos and lots of time to think and dream in my life. One of my earliest dreams—to be a writer—came true. But before I published my first book, I went to college—twice. I have a degree in Psychology and a degree in English/Creative Writing. I've worked picking fruit, made ski goggles, was a waitress, store clerk, substitute teacher, hotel maid, typist, photographer, journalist, editor and corporate communications manager. Along the way, I met a wonderful man in the vitamin aisle of a grocery store, got married and had two wonderful children.

It took a long time for my dream of writing books to come true, but it’s been worth the wait. It’s given me lots of “me” to put in my stories. I can't wait to see what I become next!

Creating children's books is my dream job. The experiences I value most – nurturing a family, reading, writing, design, painting – all meet in this one enterprise. There are newspaper writers on both branches of my family tree. Perhaps we have a genetic urge to organize a story as a way to understand life. Being part of my family also affects what I choose to write about. I'm the middle of five kids. In many ways it was like growing up in a summer camp. My mother even put name tags in our underwear.

My husband and I have two children, now grown, who are also the source of many stories. I have a degree in journalism and have studied art and design at the university level. I began my work career at 8, sharpening pencils for my editor-father. Over the years I contributed in the advertising and editorial departments of his newspaper, too. When my children were small, I manufactured about 10,000 bakers clay Christmas ornaments in my kitchen. I started my own graphic design firm in 1980. When I turned 40, I decided to go for a lifelong dream of publishing a children's book. Now, 14 years later, I’m 13 books into that dream, with several more in the works.

I am a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and The Authors' Guild.

Kirby Larson is the acclaimed author of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book, Hattie Big Sky, a young adult novel she wrote inspired by her great-grandmother, Hattie Inez Brooks Wright, who homesteaded by herself in eastern Montana as a young woman. In addition, Kirby has written three books for children, including the award-winning picture book, The Magic Kerchief.

A frequent speaker, Kirby has presented at more than 200 schools, workshops, and seminars. Additionally, she teaches for the Whidbey Island Writers Association MFA program. Kirby enjoys sharing how she developed a passion for research-which she fondly calls "detective work." At the same time, she teaches valuable skills for writing and storytelling.

Kirby has always had a passion for books-her best friends growing up. In fact, her teachers often complained that she spent too much time reading and not enough time on homework. But Kirby never imagined becoming a writer. That is, until she had children and read them Arnold Lobel's Ming Lo Moves the Mountain. "When I turned the last page, a switch went off inside me," she said. "I wanted to learn how to write stories that would touch others the way this book had touched me."

Kirby lives in Kenmore, Washington with her husband, Neil. Their son works in the film industry in New York; their newly-married daughter, an interior designer, lives in Seattle with her new husband, Matt. When she's not reading, writing, or teaching, Kirby enjoys gardening, bird watching, traveling, or drinking lattes with friends.

I don't pretend to be an expert on kids. But besides once being young myself, I've spent a lot of time around young people.

So I've learned a few things about what makes young people tick. I've discovered that they know what they like, they’re honest about it, and they're not easily dissuaded, especially by adults. Writing for youngsters is a unique challenge. I've had fun trying to meet that challenge.

I was born in St. Paul, MN, but moved to the Seattle, WA area with my family when I was six. Except for four years in the Navy, I’ve done my growing up (at least, what I’ve done so far) right here. My wife Judy and I have now witnessed the college-bound departures of the last of our kids. Since getting my degree in Communications from the University of Washington, I’ve taken a number of writing courses, attended many writing workshops, and rubbed elbows (hopefully) with lots of talented writers.

I like the outdoors, sports, travel, movies, and plays, and when I want to take a quiet break from my writing, I still enjoy indulging one of my first loves: reading.

My name is pronounced “Johnny” and no, my dad swears he didn't want a boy — but he did draw my name out of a hat, and there were accusations of cheating. Ask me about that some time.

“Snow!” The first word I ever read for myself was in one of my beloved Dr. Seuss books, which arrived monthly in the mail. I was four years old when the letters of that exciting winter word clicked in my head. I was soon devouring stories about horses and dogs, and my wonderful parents bought me books from the school's Scholastic Book Club regularly.

By second grade, I'd began scribbling my own stories, starting with a puppy dog tale and moving on to science fiction and fantasy, inspired by great writers like Norton Juster, Ray Bradbury, and Ursula Le Guin.

With grant money I was shocked to win, I created Dream Factory Books in 1999 to publish two picture books with environmental themes. Bears Barge In was awarded a Henry Bergh Children's Book Honor by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 2001. The Garbage Monster has been incorporated into community environmental education programs from Texas to Manitoba.

Today, I live on the only paved street in Greenwater, a tiny community at the knees of Mt. Rainier in Washington. I usually have a few dogs in my house, as well as mice in my stove vent, raccoons in my tree, and elk in my yard.

When I'm not home writing, I like to hike, scuba dive, ride my motorcycle (vroom!), and travel to exotic places like the Sahara Desert.

I was the kind of kid who noticed the little flowers growing in sidewalk cracks, shaved my hairless doll's legs with a real razor, and stuffed olives up my nose just to see what would happen. I pretended bits of glass I found on the playground were diamonds and went searching for clues to mysteries that didn't exist. I wanted to be a magician, a geologist, a detective, a singer, and a radio broadcaster. A Charlie's Angel would also have been fine.

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."– Eleanor Roosevelt One thing I never thought to be was a writer.

Near the end of my time in college, however, I took a children's literature class. Our final project was to write and illustrate a children's book. I stayed up all night to finish my assignment in time, and I didn't even need to drink any coffee to do it! Writing that story made me feel like a kid again: It was like playing!

Over the next eight years, I did a bunch of things — like hanging out with college students, and kids, and women trying to better their lives, and making music with my husband, and traveling to places like South Africa and Guyana and Italy.

Then on an airplane going to somewhere I can't remember, my husband asked me, "If you could do anything you wanted, and money weren't an issue, what would you do?"

I didn't even think about it. "Be a children's writer," I said. "Always write like the days when you were wild!" – Matt Frazier And that's what I set out to do. And what I continue to work on being better at every day, by which I mean trying to become more honest. Being honest as a writer means telling the truth about who we are, both the good and the bad.

Even though being the most truthful, imaginative, skilled writer I can be is very important to me, it will never be more important than my family. I have a wonderful husband (who I will always thank for asking me that question on the airplane), and a very fun and inspiring daughter, Skye — named for the sky that reminds me to stay open to wonder, possibility, and most of all, love.

Sara Easterly is an author of children’s literature. Her first children’s book, Lights, Camera, Fashion! for ArtLab: Fashion Studio, illustrated by Jaime Temairik, was released in May 2007 and is available through Chronicle Books.

Additionally, Sara has published several magazine articles and is currently revising two middle-grade novels. (Click here for a sneak preview of the graphic novel she and Jaime Temairik are working on.)

Sara holds a bachelor degree in Journalism with a minor in English from Colorado State University, as well as a Writing Certificate from the University of Washington, UW Extension.

Sara is actively involved in the Pacific Northwest writing community, as Co-Regional Advisor and Conference Director for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators of Western Washington.

We are so fortunate that these busy and talented writers are spending time with our congregation. Please stop by to chat with the authors and buy their books. All sales benefit Christian Education programming at IPC.