Local Author Meet and Greet on Oct. 19

Celebrate local authors at the Round Rock Public Library’s Local Author Meet and Greet, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, October 19th, on the first and second floors. Come and meet local authors Rey Barrera, Joel Jorden, Lynda Noll, Miles O’Neal, Amal Anilkumar, K. King, Neta Shani, Hagit Segal, and Josh Wondra. They will have copies of their books for sale with 10% of the sales going to help support The Friends of the Round Rock Library.

Children’s Authors will have the opportunity to read an excerpt from one of their books at the end of Family Storytime, which takes place from 11 to 11:30 a.m., in the Second Floor Program Space. 

Author Spotlight

Rey Barrera

Rey Barrera grew up in the South Texas town of Corpus Christi. His love of writing came from reading books well into the night and eventually dreaming of coming up with his own worlds and characters. While in high school, Rey read a quote from Mark Twain, in which he referred to Tom and Huck as “his boys”. The notion that Twain had brought these characters to life, to the point of referring to them as his children, was a concept that Rey had never considered. And that notion brought so much meaning to everything he wrote – even short, seemingly insignificant, stories that no one would ever read. With El Piñatero, Rey hopes to blend the fictional world of piñata fighting with some real family experiences. Rey makes his home in Round Rock, Texas, with his wife, Asored, his son, Simon and their cat, Albus Neko Potimus Prime of the Fifth Age of the Dragon Crown (or Neko for short).

Joel Jorden

Joel Jorden is an author on weeknights and weekends, and a family man the rest of the time. The first story he remembers writing was a school assignment in the first grade, and it’s been a way of life ever since. He doesn’t mind long walks on the beach, but he definitely prefers sitting on the couch with a good book, drinking coffee and watching the rain. When he’s not involved with a story, he is working towards a first-degree black belt in Kung Fu. You can find him on social media, where he talks all about writing, reading, watching, or playing good stories. Fun fact: He has been coming to the Round Rock Public Library since he was 8 years old!

Lynda Knoll

Lynda Noll has been a licensed nurse for nearly forty years caring for hundreds of patients and their families through the end-of life.  In her book, Angels at the Bedside: Spiritual Stories from an Intuitive Hospice Nurse, she imparts wisdom on the dying process through a spiritual lens. The goal is to show love (as opposed to fear) in dying.

Miles O’Neal

Miles O’Neal fell in love with reading and writing early on and has written short stories in almost every genre. His current works are mostly young adult stories he calls “historical fiction with dragons”. Miles lives near Austin, Texas with his wife, dragons, and whatever else crawls out of his imagination.

Amal Anilkumar

Amal Anilkumar is a 7th grader who grew up in Round Rock and attended Fern Bluff Elementary. In 3rd grade, Amal and his friends began to imagine themselves as superheroes who teamed up to form Super BAM! Amal worked hard to turn their imagination into a comic book series by writing and drawing in his free time. He has published his first two books, BAM Bros and Super BAM, on Amazon. He is currently continuing to develop his stories.

K. King

K. King: The inspiration for this poem came when I taught chess at several after-school programs many years ago. It condenses a very effective method, which I developed to teach absolute beginners even as young as 4 years old. Many of my young students became club players and even advanced beyond my imagination. The secret of this technique lies in “seeing” the moves as 2 dimensional shapes rather than unilateral vectors. More than anything, I simply desire to share my love of the game with you in this beautifully illustrated book.

Hagit Segal

Hagit Segal, co-creator of Mistake & Friends, brings social-emotional learning to life through their engaging stories. Their book, Happy Campers: A Trip Full of Emotions, teaches children vital lessons in communication, empathy, and teamwork. Follow Ryangry, Dramamia, Pleasington, Perfectron, and Fearolina as they navigate emotions and discover the power of collaboration on their camping adventure. With bonus activities and a guide to spark meaningful conversations, Happy Campers is a journey of growth and connection for kids and parents alike.

Neta Shani

Neta Shani, co-creator of Mistake & Friends, brings social-emotional learning to life through their engaging stories. Their book, Happy Campers: A Trip Full of Emotions, teaches children vital lessons in communication, empathy, and teamwork. Follow Ryangry, Dramamia, Pleasington, Perfectron, and Fearolina as they navigate emotions and discover the power of collaboration on their camping adventure. With bonus activities and a guide to spark meaningful conversations, Happy Campers is a journey of growth and connection for kids and parents alike.

Josh Wondra

Josh Wondra has been an expatriate almost as long as he has lived in the US. Despite where he resides, South Texas will always be home. When not being paid to write for a living, you can find him in a remote village of Southeast Asia, helping to translate the Bible. Josh enjoys studying Arabic and Islam and loves helping children learn to read and develop a love for science.

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Source: City of Round Rock