Ocean Shores Public Library holds ‘meet the authors’ event

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Last week, the Ocean Shores Public Library [OSPL] continued its longstanding efforts to support local and independent authors. Leslie J. Hall and Ruth Johnson-Maxwell, veterans of the OSPL’s annual Local Authors Fair, made the trip to the beach to ply their wares. The OSPL held a similar event back in March.

Hall is the author of the Kaitlyn Willis Road Signs Mysteries series and Johnson-Maxwell has penned The Broken Turtle Blues and Beyond Those Turtle Blues. Both have been regular visitors to Ocean Shores over the years.

Johnson-Maxwell took a roundabout path to the city by the sea.

“I’m from Colorado originally, and through different marriages I have ended up in the state of Washington. We came to Ocean Shores at least 10 years ago, and I wish we would have bought the property then. There was so much available at that time, but we did not think ahead,” Johnson-Maxwell said. “We moved to Arizona, and all of my husband’s relatives are in the state of Washington, so, in order to see the relatives and the grandkids, we’re here half time, and Arizona still half time.”

Johnson-Maxwell said that a college teacher encouraged her to write.

“I always wrote as a kid, but when I went to college, I had an instructor say, Ruth, you know, someday I’ll see your name in print. And that kind of kept me going,” Johnson-Maxwell said. “I kept that in the back of my mind for years and years, and the story just hollered at me, it was knocking on my skull, ‘you need to write me.’ I guess it was with the second book. I tried to get a hold of the instructor, and I think she’s probably passed by now. I would say she had a big influence on me and got me going.”

When it comes to getting the word out about their books, both writers admit that marketing is a major challenge. Johnson-Maxwell says it’s easier to get exposure in smaller communities.

“The little place that we live in Arizona is about 600 people. So everything is very community-minded, and, I went to the local library there and donated one of each books and they had a little program in my honor there, which was really cool, Johnson-Maxwell said. “The community center, this November, they’re going to have both books for a whole month and really try to promote them. So, being from smaller communities, I’m a little bit more in tune to going into the libraries, whereas in the larger cities, maybe not so much.”

Hall says she tries to get her books placed in libraries every chance she gets.

“I think libraries are always at the top. I wanted to write my whole life, so I always have hung out with book people, and I volunteer on every writing association. I’ve always been around people very obsessed with reading books, and so I think they talk about it a lot. As an indie author, it’s challenging. I donate books whenever I can, if the library wants them. I would like to get in way more,” Hall said. “A lot of people can’t afford books anymore. I don’t want to buy a hardback for 30 bucks. It’s a lot of money. So, libraries are where people are gonna find you.”

Hall said that her original writing dreams eventually morphed into crafting novels.

“When I was in elementary school, I remember a friend and I wrote a story called How to Wash a Ghost. I think it was like a Scooby-Doo thing. But of course, I don’t have a copy of it, which kills me. But I’ve always wanted to write, I was not encouraged in Seattle public schools when I was in there, but I was in love with TV and movies. In my 20s I actually moved to [Los Angeles], thinking I’d be a screenwriter. Not a good place to go when you’re young and naive and green and broke. I started taking classes at the UCLA extension, and I met a woman who had a big influence on me and encouraged me,” Hall said. “I was a single parent for almost 18 years, and the writing was always the thing I could do for me. And I just kept doing it. I didn’t get very far with it. I have a lot of things in a drawer, but it just was always a thing I had to do. And I’ve tried to quit a couple times. I can’t do it. I just retired from my full-time job, so I’m very excited to be a full time writer. “

As for doing an author event at the Ocean Shores Public Library, it didn’t take much to convince Hall.

“I’ve been coming to Ocean Shores my entire life. We used to camp up by Copalis with my grandparents, and I just love Ocean Shores. It’s always been just one of these places I can go to feel good and I love the beach,” Hall said. “I somehow ran across the the author fair, and I can’t even remember how I originally heard about it, but I said, ‘Oh, an excuse to go to Ocean Shores.’ It was so fun and I met a lot of people. I got to meet Sheila Roberts, I’ve actually got her teaching for one of my groups. I just like talking about books. I love to do things for libraries.”