Books by: Shawnie Clark 

The Great Valley Book Fest was a huge success!

The weather was perfect and a nice steady crowd of people showed up. Thank you to the coordinator for putting together such a wonderful event!

I met so many wonderful people!

I'm already looking forward to next year.

On another note, the winners of the free book and T-shirt drawing was Andrea Rush and Roman.

Hope you enjoy your Bug Off Big Bully book and t-shirt!

http://greatvalleybookfest.org

MANTECA — It was only three years ago that Shawnie Clark began writing children’s books, a creative bug that grabbed her almost from the moment she first put pen to paper.

“I was writing (magazine articles) for a publisher out of New York,” Clark recalled. “He asked me to do some short stories for children. It was wonderful. I loved it. After that I was hooked. I love writing. The best part of it is sharing it with kids.”

Clark, a long-time Manteca resident, was one of more than 60 authors who gathered Saturday at her hometown’s third-annual Great Valley Bookfest, a literary celebration that played out for six hours beneath a brilliant sun cooled by a gentle breeze.

Visitors to the free event had the opportunity to speak one-on-one to authors of works whose topics included politics, mystery and cooking. Folding chairs for small group presentations were set up in several spots, among them venues dubbed “Poets’ Corner,” “Writers’ Nook” and “Fire Up! Theatre.”

Balloon artists, face painters and food trucks with names like “Grubb City” and “Flavors of Korea” added to the carnival-like feel of the gathering. Used-book stands also attracted large groups of browsers.

Clark, a mother of five, did not begin writing for kindergartners through fifth-graders until after her own children already had aged out of her genre. Her books, with drawings provided by an out-of-town illustrator, feature names like “Lila and the Leaves,” “Caribou Wild Fun” and her most recent effort, “Bug Off Big Bully.”

Between visits to her table by parents and children Saturday, Clark, 46, said she was pleased by the large turnout at the book festival.

“I think it’s good for the community,” Clark said. “It helps the community come together, and grows and promotes education. And it gets you away from the cell phone and tablet. You can interact with people.”

Contact reporter Roger Phillips at (209) 546-8299 or [email protected]. Follow him at recordnet.com/phillipsblog and on Twitter @rphillipsblog.