On June 20, 1983, Jeanne Schimmelmann wasn't officially a librarian, but a teacher with a special way with kids.

"I didn't have a (master of library science degree), but I was hired because I love children," she said of how she got the job as manager of the children's department at Wickliffe Public Library. "My director at that time said he could teach me how to be a librarian, but couldn't teach me how to love children. He hired me, and I just kind of grew with the job."

In 1989, Schimmelmann, who had previously been a first-grade teacher in the South Euclid/Lyndhurst district, went back to school and earned her MLS from Kent State while working full time.

Librarian may have been a second career for Schimmelmann, but if her "retirement party" on Aug. 7 was any indication, she found her calling. Families and former story hour listeners from all over Wickliffe and as far away as Wyoming came to send Mrs. S off.

Read more from Elizabeth Lundblad at Longtime Wickliffe librarian says hello to next chapter.

Those not familiar with the business of writing often mention the wealth of writers to Deanna Adams, who has just published her first novel "Peggy Sue Got Pregnant: A Rock 'N' Roll Love Story."

She laughs at that perception.

"They're thinking of people like Stephen King, not me," said Adams, who lives in Mentor's Headlands neighborhood and has several other nonfiction efforts to her credit. "I haven't made much money at all on my books but great things have happened to me by becoming known as a rock and roll writer."

Read more in Janet Podolak's story Rock love story first novel for Mentor rock and roll nonfiction writer.

Meet Deanna Adams at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Local Tavern, 947 Mentor Ave., Mentor. She'll tell stories about local rock artists, some of whom still live in Lake County, and play music of the '50s to '70s. Copies of her book "Peggy Sue Got Pregnant: A Rock 'N' Roll Love Story" will be available.

Mentor resident and Perry 10th grade English teacher Rachele Alpine has released the book "Canary"  through Medallion Press.

Overview of the book from the publisher's website:

In this debut novel, a high school girl tries to understand the world, figure out where she fits in, and learn how to stand up for herself when everything falls apart. With the passing of her mother, Kate Franklin’s life unravels at the seams as she loses the only emotional mooring in her family. Her dad shuts down completely, and her brother enlists in the army. Things start looking better when her dad is hired to coach at Beacon Prep, home of one of the best basketball teams in the state. In a blog of prose and poetry, Kate chronicles her new world—dating a basketball player, being caught up in a world of idolatry and entitlement, and discovering the perks the inner circle enjoys. Then Kate’s fragile life shatters once again when one of her boyfriend’s teammates assaults her at a party. Although she knows she should speak out, her dad’s vehemently against it and so, like a canary sent into a mine to test toxicity levels and protect miners, Kate alone breathes the poisonous secrets to protect her dad and the team. The once welcoming community has betrayed Kate, her family is disintegrating, and she’s on her own to grapple with whether to stay quiet or speak out and expose a town’s hero and destroy her father’s career.

The book is (currently) the featured image at the top of the publisher's website!

Check our Rachel Alpine's blog to find information on her tour and details about winning an annotated copy of the book.

Read more about the author and her book at Mentor Resident Explores 'Athlete-Obsessed' Culture in New Book.