WAYNESBORO – Two Waynesboro authors discussed their work during the Friends of the Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library at its annual meeting Oct. 18 in Waynesboro Country Club.
Bobbi Blubaugh, a retired elementary teacher who writes children’s books, explained where the idea for her first, “Too-Da-Loo Kangaroo,” was born. “My granddaughter and I said too-da-loo to her parents, and then we started thinking of all the different ways to say goodbye. It wasn’t too long after that I got the idea of rhyming synonyms for goodbye with animal names and somehow that went into animals from different continents.”
Pictured throughout the 32-page book are maps and globes, hidden flags, geographic locations, animals and plants native to each continent, and parent/teacher activity ideas. “You have to search for something in almost all my books, which target various ages.”
Blubaugh has gone on to write “Too-Da-Loodle Snickerdoodle,” “Right Red Left Blue Which Shoe Are You,” “Around We Go Zero,” “Around We Go Zero” activity book, “Alpaca Packs a Snack For the Beach,” (a Wooly tale series) and “Alpaca Attacka Wooly Meets the Bully at School,” the second in the series. Coming soon is book three, “Alpaca Packs Santa’s Sack – Wooly’s Wish for Christmas.”
Blubaugh said she uses Canva Pro for access to formatted graphics and photos for her books, which are available at major retailers including Amazon, Target, Walmart, Barnes and Noble and more. The books also may be available with a companion stuffed animal. “Marketing is very challenging – it’s a full-time job,” noted Blubaugh, who recently received the Golden Wizard Prize.
Maxine Beck discussed the creation of her short historical fiction “The Hamilton’s of Waynesboro,” which spotlights the Alexander Hamilton (the library was named for Hamilton) family of Waynesboro during the Civil War era. “I encompassed many of the historical occurrences of the time with a bit of fictional storytelling to help the family come alive by incorporating other characters.” All sales of the book will be donated to Friends of The Library.
Beck, who was a teacher at Waynesboro Area Senior High School, wrote volume IV in a young adult historical series, “The Royers of Renfrew.” The books follow the trials and tribulations of the real-life Royer family of 12 who built the stone house at Renfrew Museum and Park as seen through the eyes of 9-year-old Susan Royer from spring 1812 to spring 1838.
She assisted the late Ed Miller in the writing of “Breakfast with Ed,” combining a tribute to the Edgar Nicodemus family who donated the land that is currently home to Renfrew Park, with local nostalgia of the Waynesboro area in the early 1900s. Beck also wrote a biography of the late Stephen Graham, “Sunset at the Zoo,” about his work as director of the Baltimore and Detroit zoos.
Library manager Julie Diaz thanked the Friends “for the care and support you give to the library. You worked right beside us on the opening day of the reading program, which had 35 percent more participants than last year. All your hard work is going right back into this library. We feel the love you’re sending to us. We’re growing so fast.”
During the business meeting, the Friends elected the following officers: Connie Fleagle, vice president; Leslie McEntire, secretary; and Debi Duffey, treasurer. The group is seeking a new president to succeed Mary Lou Misner, who has served at the helm numerous times since 1990.
Friends approved the wish list for library materials that included: $1,500 each for the children’s and teen programs, $2,400 for adult programs, $2,000 for the summer reading program and $1,300 for director’s choice items.
