Author Caravan Brings Local Writers to the Du Quoin Library on Tuesday
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Members of the Southern Illinois Writers Guild are holding a series of book signings this month throughout Southern Illinois, including one at the Du Quoin Public Library Tuesday evening, Dec. 13 from 6 to 8 p.m.
The authors include regional historian Jon Musgrave of Marion, novelist Dan Barnett of Du Quoin, ghost hunters Bruce and Lisa Cline of Carbondale, Christian inspirational author Heather Harris of Coulterville and murder mystery writer and poet Anne-Marie Legan of Herrin.
Musgrave's latest, "Secrets of the Herrin Gangs," provides an insider account of the region's dramatic 1920s Prohibition Era history from a member of the Shelton Gang who hailed from Benton and lived in Herrin during the period the Shelton Brothers fought the Ku Klux Klan and then Charlie Birger.
"It's amazing what we're still finding out about the region in the 1920s. Just when you think you know what the story is, something else gets uncovered and we write the history again," said Musgrave.
The "Secrets" book is Musgrave's first venture into the 20th Century history of the region, having previously focused on the Old Slave House, Lincoln stories from the Civil War, and the Bloody Vendetta of Southern Illinois from the 1870s.
In addition he will have his books on the Old Slave House, the Bloody Vendetta of Southern Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Gallatin County, and new for 2011, 18" x 24" posters of the Birger Gang at Shady Rest.
Barnett's 1950s-era courtroom drama, "They Shall Take Up Serpents" came out earlier this year. It follows the legal struggle of a eastern Kentucky snake-handling pastor who's charged with murder after a member of the congregation dies of snakebite.
The Clines of Carbondale are co-founders of the Little Egypt Ghost Society and authors of the new book, "History, Mysteries and Hauntings of Southern Illinois," which covers their research into the region's more mysterious tales.
Harris' book, "The Love That Will Not Let Me Go," recalls on how her faith sustained her as she struggled with depression. Her writings focus on two crucial messages.
Legan of Herrin is the author of five mystery novels with Southern Illinois backdrops: "Tattoo of a Wolf Spider," "Deadly Chase," "Death Shadow," "Wolf Lake," and her latest, "Secrets: Shawneetown."