Book spurt

Seems that many things come in spurts and one of the latest to cross my desk here at work is a spurt of new books written either by folks with local ties or written about northern Michigan. Here's a sampling:

* Alpena historian Robert Haltiner has just released the fourth volume in his "Alpena Gleanings" series. It is currently available for sale at Alpena County Library.

* Onaway resident and retired teacher Peg Herring has followed up her first book, "Macbeth's Niece," with another work of historical fiction/mystery called "Her Highness' First Murder."

* Former Alpena resident and cancer survivor Emily Corwin has written the first chapter in a new book about high school or college students who faced childhood cancer, persevered and overcame the odds. The non-fiction book by Carolyn Rubenstein, "Perseverance," contains Corwin's story and 19 other young people's stories.

* Though she has no ties to the Alpena area, Michigan author Mardi Link will be at Alpena Community College on Friday at 2 p.m. in the Center Building, Room 106, to talk about her new true crime novel, "Isadore's Secret." The book's jacket says it is about "sin, murder and confession in a northern Michigan town."

* Herron resident Jennifer Merrill went the children's book route with "The Briar Hill Brats Meet the Brats," a 58-page print-on-demand book about nine young dragons.

Additional details about each of these books can be found in stories appearing Wednesday, Oct. 7 on the Lifestyles page of The Alpena News.