BOOK NOTES: Double Book-Launch set for Saturday at Huntington Mall BAM

Appearing at the three-hour celebration will be a gathering of what some are calling a “Dream Team” of Mountain State authors. Cat Pleska, Michael Knost, Laura Bentley, and Frank Larnerd, among others, will be on-hand to meet the public, talk to visitors about the writing craft, and autograph copies of their respective book titles.

“We look forward to this book launch,” said Keith Davis, CEO of Woodland Press. “Extraordinary writing talent exists right here in the Mountain State, and we’re certainly appreciative for Books-A-Million’s ongoing commitment to showcasing these kinds of events and supporting regional writers and the literary arts.”

Of the titles being featured, "Fed From the Blade" is a collection of stories edited by Cat Pleska, a Scott Depot resident who teaches writing at WV State University, where she is also the director of the WVSU Writing Center. The book is co-edited by nationally known horror writer and Bram Stoker Award-winner, Michael Knost. The book, which is already getting rave reviews from book critics, includes the contributions of more than two dozen regional authors, including Diane Tarantini;
G. Cameron Fuller
; Susan Sheppard; Christine Roth; Lynne Schwartz-Barker; Laura Bentley; and others.

“Accepted submissions for this volume came from twenty-eight exceptional writers and poets,” Cat Pleska said. “The result is a delightful compilation of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry; and it truly represents the variety and diversity of our state’s writers. The writings in Fed From the Blade possess the emotional response that resonates from our mountain attitude — so appropriate to the fabulous, toad-squashed, two-handled, frying-pan shaped state that is West Virginia.”

The second book to be released will be "Hills of Fire: Bare Knuckle Yarns of Appalachia." Award-winning Putnam County writer Frank Larnerd edited this anthology, and contributors to the collection include several state and nationally known writers, such as Thomas Pluck, Jesse Knifley, Jessie Grayson, Steve Rasnic Tem, Josh Reynolds, Amber Keller, Jason Stuart, Steve Vernon, Paula Stiles, Patrick MacAdoo, Michael Knost, and Jamie Lackey.

“This book packs a real punch. When a dozen of today’s hottest writers get together for an Appalachian tribute to the great pulp writers of the past, they deliver up a volatile mix of unpredictable adventure,” Larnerd said. He added that this is his first project as a senior editor, and the end result includes “square-jawed heroes, desperate outlaws, dangerous women, hellfire roadsters and aliens from another world—ready to set the hills on fire!”

“This BAM event will be a historic literary gathering that includes two dynamic books and some excellent writers,” Michael Knost added. “I would like to encourage local writers, booklovers, and writing group members to come and celebrate this book launch with us.”

Books-A-Million is located at Huntington Mall, 120 Mall Rd., Barboursville, WV. For more information about the bookstore event, see woodlandpress.com, or call BAM at 304-733-9252 .