Meet these Oregon authors at the Oregon State Fair in Salem

Mystery and fantasy are being highlighted this year at the Oregon Authors Table of the State Fair in Salem, which runs through Sept. 1.

For a sampling, check out these five local authors, all of them new to the fair this year, and all of them with books that have been released recently.

Mollie Hunt of Portland lives in a house full of cats. She also volunteers at an animal shelter. Naturally, her 31 books are mostly cozy novels about cats. The latest in her Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries, “Crafty Cat,” involves a murdered Portland quilter and a stolen feline. “Ghost Cat on the Midway” is a paranormal cat mystery set at a county fair. Hunt will be autographing her books at the Oregon State Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29.

Robert Liebertz of Gresham spent 30 years handling chaos as a Portland 911 dispatcher, but in his free time he dreamed of being a pirate. After attending pirate festivals for decades, he started writing novels about an accidental pirate – Gerard, an 18th-century English lad who finds himself shipwrecked on an island with a crew of pirates who need an honest leader. “Gerard’s Map,” is the fifth and final book in this adventure series. Liebertz will be at the Oregon Authors Table all day on Sunday, Aug. 31, and Monday, Sept. 1.

Heather Ames of Salem has hitchhiked around Europe, lived in sixth-floor walk-up in Paris, and worked as a bartender in Madrid. During a long career in health care, she saw mangled bodies and carried pepper spray while treating patients in the barrios of Los Angeles. Now she’s bringing adventure home with a series of cozy murder mysteries set in the Willamette Valley. Her latest, “Trick or Truth”, involves a haunted house in Stayton where a psychic is called to discern whodunnit. Ames will be signing her books 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29.

The Oregon Authors Table is located in Columbia Hall, between the fair’s quilts and cakes. Unlike those exhibits, however, the authors take turns, so only a dozen authors are on hand at a time. For a complete schedule of the authors and their book-signing times, see the list below, or check https://www.oregonhiking.com/william-l-sullivan/oregon-state-fair.

Thursday, Aug. 28

10 a.m.-4 p.m, Joe Blakely (Oregon history, novels)
10 a.m.-6 p.m., Guy Maynard (memoir)
10 a.m.-6 p.m., Cheryl Wanner (young adult)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., William Burt (Christian fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Curtis Condon (children’s)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., David Espinoza (sports, memoir)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Jason Kilgore (horror, fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Julie Kooch (Wallowa memoirs)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Lisa Lowell (fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Donna McFarland (children’s)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Arlene Sachitano (mysteries)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., William Sullivan (hiking, novels)
4-8 p.m., Donna Hues (mystery)

Friday, Aug. 29

10 a.m.-2 p.m., Mollie Hunt (mysteries)
10 a.m.-4 p.m., Heather Ames (mysteries)
10 a.m.-4 p.m., Dani Nichols (children’s)
10 a.m.-6 p.m., Guy Maynard (memoirs)
10 a.m.-6 p.m., Donna McFarland (children’s)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., William Burt (Christian fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., David Espinoza (sports, memoir)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Jason Kilgore (horror, fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Julie Kooch (Wallowa memoirs)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., David Lewis (Oregon history)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Arlene Sachitano (mysteries)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., William Sullivan (hiking, novels)
2-6 p.m., Rebecca Lexa (natural history)
4-8 p.m., Katherine Munson (fantasy)

Saturday, Aug. 30

10 a.m.-2 p.m., Dani Nichols (children’s)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Doug Beisley (children’s)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., William Burt (Christian fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., David Espinoza (sports, memoir)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Ellen & Christopher Huntington
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Jason Kilgore (horror, fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Julie Kooch (Wallowa memoirs)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Lisa Lowell (children’s)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Katherine Munson (fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Arlene Sachitano (mysteries)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., William Sullivan (hiking, novels)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Kate Hamberger Yakis (memoir)

Sunday, Aug. 31

10 a.m.-2 p.m., Sarah Munro (Timberline Lodge)
10 a.m.-2 p.m., Cheryl Smith (goats, novels)
10 a.m.-4 p.m., Jean Moule (children’s)
10 a.m.-4 p.m., Jerry Sutherland (Oregon history)
10 a.m.-6 p.m., Chelsey Elise Young (Christian)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., William Burt (Christian fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., David Espinoza (sports, memoir)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Jason Kilgore (horror, fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Julie Kooch (Wallowa memoirs)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Robert Liebertz (novels)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Arlene Sachitano (mysteries)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., William Sullivan (hiking, novels)
2-8 p.m., Barbara Hettwer (historical fiction)
2-8 p.m., Paula Wart (children’s)
4-8 p.m., Mireya DeYoung (children’s)

Monday, Sept. 1

10 a.m.-4 p.m., Joe Blakely (Oregon history, novels)
10 a.m.-4 p.m., Jean Moule (essays, fiction)
10 a.m.-4 p.m., Jerry Sutherland (Oregon history)
10 a.m.-6 p.m., Mireya DeYoung (children’s)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., William Burt (Christian fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., David Espinoza (sports, memoir)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Kathryn Henderson (children’s)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Jason Kilgore (horror, fantasy)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Julie Kooch (Wallowa memoirs)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Robert Liebertz (novels)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., William Sullivan (hiking, novels)
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Paula Wart (children’s)