Tag: Asa Maria Bradley

War Bonds

A Bookshelf of Our Own

Cindy Hval

Running my hands along the spines, I can scarcely believe it– 14 books featuring my stories.

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From the first time a writer picks up a pen or pounds out a story on a keyboard we wonder if it will ever be read by more than just a family member, close friend or teacher. Rarely in love with our own words, we weigh, sift, edit and groan over balky transitions and awkward phrases. We look back at our first stories and they sometimes seem like primitive scratches in the sand.

And if we’re really lucky, we find our tribe– a group of supportive readers and writers, who push us to do better and who ask for more

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And we celebrate their publications, adding their books to our shelves, always leaving room for the next volume.

How wonderful to take a moment and realize no matter how arduous the journey from idea to print, it is possible to achieve out what every writer longs for– a shelf of our own.

War Bonds

Books: Buy Local!

Cindy Hval

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Local authors rock!

They sit  on my bedside table waiting to be read. The stack topples over and spills to the stacks on the floor below.

I LOVE books and I especially love books by local authors! Here in Spokane our literary community is thriving. It’s so cool to go to a bookstore and find books by people I know– people who live and work in our community!

Stephen King is great. I’m sure John Grisham is a nice guy. But I’d rather spend my dollars supporting local authors.

The only problem? I’m getting ready to pack for a trip and I can’t fit all of these on my carry-on!

I suppose I could get an e-reader. My stacks would diminish and I could take all the beach reads I want. But then I wouldn’t have this colorful stack of books to pick up and pore over.

Plus, these are signed copies!
Support your local authors. Buy books and buy local!

PS: All of these lovely volumes are available at Auntie’s Bookstore– an independent bookstore that keeps Spokane’s literary scene, thriving!

Columns, War Bonds

Celebrate Love & Reading!

Cindy Hval

So excited for this special Valentine’s Day event!
Join me, Asa Maria Bradley, Kris Dinnison, Sharma Shields and many more authors at Barnes & Noble in Spokane Valley on February 14.

Event starts at 11 AM. I have to scoot out by 1 PM, but the author others will be there until 2.
Pick up a personalized copy of a book or TEN and give the gift of reading to someone you love.
Even better if that someone you love is YOU:-)
See you there!

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War Bonds

Queens of the Page

Cindy Hval

So honored to be included in this list of talented ladies. Spokane is a great place to live and work and is home to many accomplished artists and writers.

There must be something in the water, they say.

That’s surprising, for a city like Spokane, others note. How does it have so many successful authors?

In a remarkable instance of serendipity, 2015 has been a standout year for Spokane writers, especially its female authors. By the end of the year, six of these women will have had book debuts spread across its 12 months.

This trend isn’t really surprising or strange. Spokane and the greater Inland Northwest region’s writing community is flourishing of late, experiencing a new literary golden age not seen since local icons Jess Walter and Sherman Alexie blazed a trail more than a decade ago. Both names continue to boost Inland Northwest writers’ profiles.

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Back in January, Spokane-bred authors Sarah Hulse and Sharma Shields released their Western-rooted novels — Black River and The Sasquatch Hunter’s Almanac, respectively — days apart, each attracting large crowds to Auntie’s Bookstore readings on chilly winter evenings. Less than a month later, Spokesman-Review columnist Cindy Hval launched her book publishing career with a nonfiction collection, War Bonds: Love Stories from the Greatest Generation, about couples who met and married around the time of World War II. June saw the stunning debut of 27-year-old librarian and teacher Stephanie Oakes’ young adult novel, The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, about a teen girl who escapes from an oppressive religious cult. The breakout trend continued the following month with local business owner Kris Dinnison’s modern tale of friendship for teen readers, You and Me and Him. And before the year is over, Asa Maria Bradley, a Spokane Falls Community College physics professor and recipient of the YWCA Women of Achievement Award, plans to release her first novel, a paranormal romance titled Viking Warrior Rising.

Continue reading Chey Scott’s Inlander story here.