Co-sponsored by the Concerned Citizen’s Network of Alexandria, attendees interacted with the authors, who displayed their books and answered questions on their writing inspirations.

“’Dear Daughter’ is an anthology written by five African American moms,” said Krist Guillory Reid, one of the contributors to the book and author of “Harper Counts Her Blessings.” “We wanted to come together to write a love letter to our daughters imparting wisdom and our experiences as mothers.”

Anthony Page discussed his book “Silence of the Lad: Why Men Stop Talking.”

“I wanted to address the conundrum of men being silent in our community,” Page said. “I deal with the issue of silence, but not just verbal silence but silence in the presence and why we as men stay silent.”

Author Valerie D. Johnson is a math resource specialist who writes children’s books to engage the reader in math.

“I want kids to learn, understand and enjoy math but also thrive to learn in the classroom and in the real world,” Johnson said. “Some students don’t enjoy math because they don’t understand it but I want them to see that it is connected to the real world so I give it a real world application like using farm animals, which kids love.”

Other local authors included Coco LaBon, who has written three children’s books, and Dr. Sandra Hill, author of “Women of Purpose.”

“I was inspired to write this book because I believe that while we have a plan in life, God always has a bigger plan,” Hill said. “I saw it in my own life and want others to know that no matter all the trauma, the  discouragement, the disappointments we go through in life, we still have a purpose.”