Joyful Writers: A Local Author Showcase

Celebrate National Library Week at this joyful panel discussion with local authors!

Join writers Wendy Sand Eckel, Aggie L. Jae, Ken Linn, Nancy Taylor Robson, and Marianne Sade for conversation facilitated by library staff. Hear from our panelists how they find joy in writing, and listen to excerpts of their work that continue to spark joy for them.

Limited numbers of authors' books will be available for purchase.

Panelist Bios:

Wendy Sand Eckel is the author of the beloved Rosalie Hart Mystery Series. Death at the Day Lily Café, the second of the four books, was chosen best cozy mystery of the year by Suspense Magazine. Mystery at Windswept Farm and Killer in a Winter Wonderland have both made several Amazon bestseller lists. Murder at Cardigan Pointe, the working title of the fifth book in the series, will be released in 2026. In addition to her mystery series, Wendy writes the advice column for the Maryland Writers’ Association quarterly newsletter. She is currently teaching the art of writing memoir classes through the Washington College Lifelong Learning Program. A trained life coach, she loves to mentor aspiring writers and has recently launched, Chesapeake Literary Coaching, a book coaching practice. To learn more and sign up for her newsletter, go to www.wendysandeckelauthor.com.

Aggie L. Jae

I wrote my first story in third grade and my first middle-grade novel, The Water Door, in high school. Under the name Aggie L. Jae, I rewrote the story for my preteen grandsons. Anyone who loves a fun, otherworldly, monster-filled, treasure-hunting adventure will enjoy this book! The second book in the planned trilogy, The Secret of the Anakim Ruby, is currently being edited.

I have been married to my husband for thirty years. We have two sons, two grandsons, a granddaughter on the way, two lovable Shih Tzus, and twelve silly chickens. I enjoy indoor and outdoor gardening, boating, birdwatching, listening to all kinds of music, reading, sipping tea or wine, and meeting new friends at book events.

In addition to my lifelong fascination with words and writing, I've led a diverse and fulfilling life. I've worked as a copywriter and a professional model, owned a successful restaurant, been a licensed massage therapist, earned a nutritionist certification, and held other roles. I've lived in various states and now call Maryland's Eastern Shore home.

Please visit my website at www.TheWaterDoor.com.

Ken Linn's professional debut short story, "Stray," appeared in the January/February 2021 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and was included in the list of "Other Distinguished Mystery and Suspense of 2021" in the volume The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022.

Since 2023, three of his short stories featuring private investigator Pete Barrow and Sheriff Oscar Murphy have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

Dwellings, his first novel in the Pete Barrow series, was published by Level Best Books in February of 2026. Another Barrow story is forthcoming in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in summer 2026, and the second novel in the series is scheduled for release in early 2027.

Visit his website, kenlinnauthor.com for links to podcasts of two of his stories published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and two articles contributed to the Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine blog, Trace Evidence.

He is an active member of Mystery Writers of America.

Ken spent four decades teaching high school mathematics in both private and public schools throughout the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia and Maryland, including sixteen years at Kent County High School and seventeen years at the Gunston School in Queen Anne's County. He resides with his wife in Galena.

Nancy Taylor Robson grew up sailing and building boats with her father on the Chesapeake Bay. She holds a degree in history from the University of Maryland and is one of the first women in the country to earn her US Coast Guard license to run coastal tugboats. Robson is the author of four books: her memoir, Woman in The Wheelhouse; the award-winning coming of age novel, Course of the Waterman; A Love Like No Other: Abigail and John Adams, a Modern Love Story; and OK Now What? A Caregiver’s Guide to What Matters, which she wrote with Sue Collins, RN. A longtime freelance writer, her work – features, profiles, essays, travel, maritime analysis, boats, gardening, environment and ecology – has appeared in Yachting, House Beautiful, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, Workboat, The Christian Science Monitor, Southern Living, Woodenboat, Coastal Living and more.

Marianne Sade, a Philadelphia native, now resident of Chestertown, holds degrees from MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art), Drexel University, and Kutztown University. She has been a youth services librarian, an art librarian, a museum educator, and a humanities librarian, retired from Washington College. She has been a lifelong artist and has encouraged others on their creative paths. She continues to conduct art workshops and classes for all ages.

She has authored two professional books for librarians, and most recently realized a dream to write and illustrate children’s books. Sade is known for her hand-cut original, playful collages. Her colorful picture books, TAPUM! and TADA! use the same technique and capture the harmony of the natural world through the rhythm of a child’s drum, and an all-animal band (respectively). Sade culled years of experience to make attractive books with a simple rhyme and an upbeat message. She and her husband, Chris, can be seen selling her work at the Chestertown Artisan market on most Saturday mornings when the weather cooperates.