Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

Authors from Northeastern Pennsylvania are letting creativity flow from the tips of pens, but area publishers are also taking center stage in this week’s Local Author Spotlight.

Here’s a look at some of the written creativity by local authors.

“Simple. Natural. Healing: A Common Sense Approach to Total Health Transformation”

Author: Donna LaBar

Hometown: Tunkhannock

Page count: 148

Publisher: Morgan James Publishing

Local connection: LaBar, a lifetime resident of Tunkhannock, has been a real estate broker in NEPA for 32 years and has coached people in nutrition for decades.

About the book: It offers information and nutritional support for cancer recovery, arthritis, weight loss and more. LaBar writes about the body’s ability to heal itself when given the right nutrition, alkaline/acid balance, enzymes and environment. The book highlights LaBar’s nutritional and healing guidance which is recognized for its effectiveness and illustrated through stories in “Simple. Natural. Healing.”

“I love science and nutrition. I am passionate about helping people dramatically improve their health by optimizing their body’s ability to heal itself,” LaBar said.

Buy it: donnalabar.com to see a full list of links for purchasing. Also available on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com

“Walker’s Vale”

Author: John J. Zelenski

Hometown: Scranton

Page count: 136

Publisher: Tate Publishing

Local connection: Zelenski was born and raised in Scranton, where he experienced supernatural occurrences that inspired his writing.

About the book: James Cooper is on the run from mistakes he has made, from God and from himself. He ends up in Walker’s Vale, a fictional town in Pennsylvania, with his wife and daughter. Cooper faces evil and begins a journey of redemption as he fights for the safety of his daughter.

“The story was partially inspired by paranormal events I encountered as a child, having then moved into a new home with my family,” Zelenski said. “Drawing from some of my own personal experiences, my novel, ‘Walker’s Vale,’ was born. I suppose from one perspective, ‘Walker’s Vale’ has been in the making since I was a child.

Buy it: www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore, amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.

Walk, Don’t Run: A Rockin’ and Rollin’ Memoir

Author: Steven Jae Johnson

Published by Anthony R. Michalski

Publisher’s hometown: Wilkes-Barre

Page count: 260

Published through: Kallisti Publishing

Publisher’s local connection: Michalski lives in Wilkes-Barre. “I’ve been around. Not much compares to ye olde NEPA. We’re a short shot from New York City and Philly,” he said. “We have the best pizza. We have amazing talent in the area. And we’ve had great books coming from here for the last 10 years.”

At Kallisti, Michalski publishes personal development/self-help/business/inspirational books. “I’m small and growing. I’ve had quite a few successes,” he said.

About the book: “Walk, Don’t Run” is a memoir that takes place on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in the ’60s. It’s the story of Steven “Rusty” Johnson and his friends, one of whom was actor Edward James Olmos, as they search for rock ‘n’ roll stardom. Michalski describes the book as “an amazing story that is glamorous, inspiring, and gritty — a marvelous fusion of the ups, downs, and in-betweens of life and music and passion in the 1960s Hollywood, California, the place where dreams are made and chased and, sometimes, die.”

The book has its own soundtrack, featuring songs Johnson recorded with Olmos in 1968.

Buy it: www.kallistipublishing.com, www.amazon.com. Purchase comes with a free soundtrack download. The soundtrack is available at WalkDontRunTheBook.com.

“Life Lessons from a Total Failure”

Author: M.J. Dougherty

Hometown: Chinchilla

Current location: West Hollywood, Calif.

Page count: 218

Publisher: Hodge Podge House Publishers, LLC

Local connection: Dougherty is a graduate of the Abington Heights School District and is from “a little village between Scranton and Clarks Summit.” He said, “You can take a man out of NEPA, but you can’t take the NEPA out of the man. Most of my family still lives in the area and I have really great friends scattered all throughout NEPA. Even if I didn’t know anyone here anymore, the pizza would always keep me connected!”

About the book: It is the story of the darkest part of one man’s life, chronicling how he made the worst decision and how he came to realize those times were the best things that happened to him. Dougherty takes the reader on a ride of self-examination and exploration. By thoughtfully reflecting on his life, what was important to him, and how he existed in the world around him, Dougherty gained clarity and fulfillment. His story is a journey from the homeless and hopeless to finding purpose and a sense of self in the most unlikely of places, Hollywood.“Life Lessons from a Total Failure” aims to show people there are always ways to improve the things you don’t like in life and the importance of reconnecting with the person you were always meant to be.

Buy it: www.barnesandnoble.com, www.amazon.com or at his upcoming signing.

Book signings: At noon Oct. 8, Dougherty will be at the Valley Community Library, 739 River St., Peckville. He will speak at 4 p.m. For more information visit: www.mjdougherty.com.

Donna LaBar, author of ‘Simple. Natural. Healing’ is from Tunkhannock.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_Donna-LaBar.jpg.optimal.jpgDonna LaBar, author of ‘Simple. Natural. Healing’ is from Tunkhannock.

Donna LaBar, author of ‘Simple. Natural. Healing’ is from Tunkhannock.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_Healing.jpg.optimal.jpgDonna LaBar, author of ‘Simple. Natural. Healing’ is from Tunkhannock.

‘Walker’s Vale’ is a fictional story about James Cooper, a man who is trying to outrun his past and the mistakes he made.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_John-Z.jpg.optimal.jpg‘Walker’s Vale’ is a fictional story about James Cooper, a man who is trying to outrun his past and the mistakes he made.

Steven Jae Johnson wrote ‘Walk, Don’t Run: A Rockin’ and Rollin’ Memoir’ which comes with a soundtrack of songs Johnson performed with James Olmos in the ’60s.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_Steven-Jae-Johnson.jpg.optimal.jpgSteven Jae Johnson wrote ‘Walk, Don’t Run: A Rockin’ and Rollin’ Memoir’ which comes with a soundtrack of songs Johnson performed with James Olmos in the ’60s.

‘Walker’s Vale’ is a fictional story about James Cooper, a man who is trying to outrun his past and the mistakes he made.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_Walker-27s-Vale.jpg.optimal.jpg‘Walker’s Vale’ is a fictional story about James Cooper, a man who is trying to outrun his past and the mistakes he made.

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_walkdontrun.jpeg.optimal.jpeg

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_Michalski.jpg.optimal.jpg

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_dougherty.jpg.optimal.jpg

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_lifelessons.jpg.optimal.jpg
NEPA writers share natural healing tips, a rock ‘n’ roll memoir, a man running from his fears and one big mistake

By Dorothy Sasso

For Times Leader

Dorothy Sasso is a former Soap Opera Digest writer and a private school teacher. She is busy reading books and raising her two daughters.