The Eagle Valley Library District presents “Authors in the Fall” on Saturday, September 25 from 1 pm to 5 pm at the Eagle Public Library. Colorado Authors Kathy Heicher, Gojan Nikolich, and Heather Sappenfield will speak about their experiences as published authors. Refreshments, book sales and autographs will follow the presentations in the grounds of the Bill Whittaker Library. This event is free and open to the public.

List of authors 2021:

Kathy Heicher’s “Early Eagle” was the first of several books she’s written on the history of Eagle County, and her stories are great resources for residents and visitors – really anyone who wants to know. more on the Eagle Valley. She has written about the miners, farmers and ranchers, farmers and city notables of the last century. She has also published “Bridges of Eagle County,” featuring the steel arch of Red Cliff and the historical significance of other notable bridges and the role they played in the development of the county. In “Eagle County Characters,” Kathy writes entertaining and informative stories about the colorful settlers and adventurous pioneers who shaped our community into what it is today. His most recent book is on the history of gypsum. Heicher has been president of the Eagle County Historical Society for over a decade and continues to research and contribute to the library’s local history department.

In “The Gopher King: A Dark Comedy” by Gojan Nikolich, Stan Przewalski is a former platoon sergeant who was the sole survivor of a jungle ambush during the Vietnam War. After revisiting his past on a sightseeing visit to Vietnam, Stan returns home to cope with PTSD, while mourning the loss of his wife. Despite his suicidal tendencies and heavy medication, he tries to cope and continue his job as a newspaper editor in a small town in Bull River Falls, Colorado. Her community also faces many issues – the unsolved murder of a young girl, the development of a golf course and a raging wildfire. As Stan relates these local stories, he meets Chaz, a groundhog who leads his own army. Chaz also wears parachutist boots and rock band T-shirts. This story, which has been described as a mix of “Platoon” and “Caddyshack”, is the best of magical realism – about the friendship between Stan and Chaz, aka the Gopher King. Nikolich published his novel last year, and it was critically acclaimed and was a finalist for the Indie Prize. He lived in Eagle for a number of years and was the editor of the Eagle Valley Enterprise.

In “Lyrics for Rock Stars” Heather Sappenfield wrote an eclectic collection of Colorado short stories with a huge array of characters having epiphanies. The first part presents “Songs of Innocence”, with coming of age stories where young people often have revelations, making them grow up quickly. A teenage girl has a crush on a cowboy, a young boy finds out about KKK, and a girl finds out that her burro racing dad isn’t the hero she thinks he is. ‘Songs of Wisdom’ Adult Stories feature a mother escaping to see wild horses in Utah, a ski instructor watching over the safety of her inexperienced student, a pregnant woman attracted to a musician who is not her husband and a centenarian who watches first walk on the moon. Each story truly feels like a new song, and this collection is a love story for our beautiful state of Colorado. Sappenfield has also published award-winning novels for young adults, and his next book, “The River Between Hearts”, will be released next February.

For more information, visit evld.org or contact the Eagle Public Library at 970-328-880.

About the Eagle Valley Library District

Eagle Valley Library District is a library system that meets the needs of the community by providing excellent opportunities and resources to read, learn and grow for residents and visitors of Eagle Valley. For more information, visit the website: http://www.evld.org.