Sarah Miller on Maintaining Motivation
Sarah Miller began writing her first novel at 10 years old, and has spent half her life working in libraries and bookstores. She has spent much of the last decade releasing books that illuminate the experiences of women with incredible stories who tend to get overlooked by most history textbooks. Miller joined us in the summertime for our local author showcase series, Beginning / Middle / End. She will be releasing a new book in April. http://www.sarahmillerbooks.com/

Kathe Koja on Maintaining Motivation
Back in March, Kathe Koja was on the verge of leading a live reading/performance right here in the library, featuring a story from her latest book, Velocities. Koja is an award-winning author lauded for her ability to blend genres and manifest themes of transcendence amidst some of the most unlikely and unconventional characters and narrative circumstances. We spoke with her about how writers can maintain motivation, heading into 2021.
Music by Chad Stocker.
Alana Carlson on Maintaining Motivation
Alana Carlson is a Ferndale-based artist who graduated from the Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids in 2003. She's featured some of her work in a couple of group exhibitions here in the Ferndale Library, along with showing in several esteemed gallery spaces over the years. She's also been a freelance portraiture artist, along with being the creator of the mural facing out from the Natural Food Patch here in downtown Ferndale, on 9 Mile. https://alanacarlsonart.com/about
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/arts/lynda-barry-diary-project.html
https://thenearsightedmonkey.tumblr.com/post/111125141634/above-variations-on-our-daily-diary-practice
https://www.instagram.com/thenearsightedmonkey/
Nadir Omowale on Maintaining Motivation
Nadir Omowale is a songwriter/singer/guitarist/producer and creative consultant. We inevitably wound up focusing a lot on the distressing state of the music industry after 2020, but we drifted toward some rather positive ruminations and insights. Anyone out there who's a musician or songwriter looking for some inspiration, Nadir has some thoughts to share! We also talk about something particularly positive to look forward to: the sheer amount of amazing music that will no doubt be released in 2021, post-quarantine!
Check out Nadir's two new singles from this year with the links below.
LINKS
New Video: "Belly of the Whale" https://nadiromowale.com/#videos
"Run" https://youtu.be/fvhgW4aaWU0
Nadir Omowale, performing in the Ferndale Library Courtyard.
Donald Levin on Maintaining Motivation
Donald Levin is an award-winning Ferndale-based fiction writer and poet, with backgrounds in scriptwriting, speechwriting, video production, and more. He is the retired dean of the faculty and Professor of English at the former Marygrove College in Detroit. He is the author of seven Martin Preuss mysteries, with works appearing in numerous print journals; recently, he's written in the dystopic genre.
Music is provided by local artist Chad Stocker: https://honesttogoodness.bandcamp.com/