Last Monday afternoon's "Lunch with an Author" fundraiser at The City Club in Wilmington featured a diverse group of writers from across North Carolina. The periodic literary event, arranged by McColl & Associates, raised over $15,000 for local schools and Cape Fear Community College.
Over 50 attendees came to meet, talk with and purchase the works of award-winning short story author and science fiction novelist Jon Batson ("Adventures of a Space Bum"); young school-age brothers and veteran travel writers Holland and Shark Baynard ("Holland and Shark Take Normandy"); Non-fiction writer and fast trains aficionado Nancy Bolts ("Fast Trains: America's High Speed Future"); political thriller author John S. Budd ("Common 3"); food and spirits writer Joel Finsel ("Cocktails & Conversations from the Astral Plane"); motivational author and career coach Jane High McMurry ("Navigating the Lipstick Jungle"); mystery writer Sabrina Stephens ("Canned Good") and well-known local comedian and Yankee super-fan Steve Melia ("162"). "We are proud to be the only event of its kind," stated Louise McColl, President of McColl & Associates, Inc., a Wilmington, NC, event management and coordination company. "'Lunch with an Author' celebrates local and statewide authors while giving back to our local community. Corporate sponsors play a critical role in supporting 'Lunch with an Author.' We greatly appreciate our event sponsors JB's Diving Instruction & Charters and Hopkins and Associates Real Estate and table sponsors Julia's Florist, Homewood Suites, and the Lea/Schultz Law Firm."Videos