Seekers Bookshop Hosts Area Authors for Book Signing

Seekers Bookshop, located at 270 S. Main Street in Colville, was visited by three area authors on Saturday, June 13. The bookshop hosted an event for Carmen Peone, Sherry Karuza Waldrip, and Kathy Keppel-Colkitt, who provided on-sight commentary for their published books, as well as book signing for customers. Kathy Keppel-Colkitt Kathy Keppel-Colkitt is a resident of Ione and Spokane, working in the Colville area. She referred to herself as a “lender by day and an author by night.” Keppel-Colkitt said her writing journey started from tragedy, with the death of her daughter, Brandi, in 2009. The published book “Will They Hear Me Now?” is about effective medical advocacy, she said. “This book will show you the ‘how-to’ in becoming an effective advocate and liaison for someone in crisis,” Keppel-Colkitt wrote in her book. She said that the book focuses on what she has learned from the loss of her daughter and how to help others better understand what they need to know when it comes to taking care of a loved one in medical situations. She highlighted that her experiences came from medical malpractice with “many errors and incompetence when it came to her medical care.” Keppel-Colkitt has also written “Effective Advocacy: Advocacy Guide for Medical, Legal, Financial, Seniors, Military, and More.” She said the book guides readers through the resources and tools for taking on the role of a medical advocate and liaison. Kep- pel-Colkitt explained her purpose for writing is for advocacy. She said she is in the pro- cess of hosting a TEDx Talk explaining how to “help someone you need to help and offer different solutions.” Carmen Peone Carmen Peone said her first notions for writing came after working as a substitute teacher in the Inchelium School District. As a self-taught writer, Peone explained she wanted to encourage young adults to become more engaged with reading, and wrote her books specifically for her children and grandchildren. She said she started her first book, “Heart of Courage,” published in 2010, when her sons entered middle school. “Once my youngest went off to college, that was my big push,” said Peone. “My son would always check up on me while he was at college.” She said he was her biggest motivator to complete her first work. Peone’s completed works for young adult fiction, along with contemporary western and romance fiction, include “Heart of Courage,” “Change of Heart,” “Captured Secrets,” “Christmas Wishes,” “Lillian’s Legacy,” “Gentling the Cowboy,” and “Girl War- rior.” She said she also has nonfiction works published, which include Haiku journal “Whispers Among the Meadow,” a women’s devotional titled “Enjoy the Journey,” as well as a children’s writing guide “Saddle Up and Write.” Peone said that her inspiration for her writing comes from where she lives. “It has always been all western in some way with the life I’ve lived and the way oth- er people have lived. I’ve always rode horses, as well,” said Peone. Born and raised in Spo- kane, Peone said she moved to Inchelium in 1988. She remains a local with her husband Joe Peone, who works with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Peone said she is actively working on publishing more works of contemporary western and romance. “I actually have a complete series of rodeo kings and queens I’m working on with my agent,” said Peone. Sherry Karuza Waldrip Author Sherry Karuza Waldrip is a resident of Spokane Valley and is a cancer survi- vor whose core beliefs surround the themes of “heart, humor, and hope,” she said. Her experience with her illness became her in- spiration for her first book, “I Don’t Remember Signing Up for Cancer,” Waldrip explained. After her cancer experience in 1998, Waldrip said she set out to use humor to alleviate the seriousness of the diagnosis. Using humor as a vital tool, it is the theme surrounding her writing genre. “Humor is my favorite,” Waldrip said. “Humor is everything. It is the perfect anesthetic and destressor.” “I Don’t Remember Signing Up for Cancer” received widespread recognition, including the Excellence in Media’s Inter- national Angel Award. She said she became motivated to publish her book when she attended a “Writing to Make Them Laugh” writer’s conference. “Nothing is more exciting to me than making people laugh,” said Waldrip. “Especially cancer survivors.” Waldrip’s second published work is dedicated to her grandsons. “I have two grandsons, and when they were little, I’d tell them all kinds of silly stories where they were the main characters,” Waldrip shared. “I started writing these stories down.” One of the written stories turned into the book “Nana Needs a Rutabaga.” The premise of the book follows the two boys as they shop for their nana at the grocery store when a naughty little monkey is turned loose, causing mayhem. It’s then up to the boys to capture the monkey and return it to the Animal Cracker box it popped out of. Waldrip said she is in the process of writing another book.