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About the Author
(Updated 10-13-08) Minda Powers-Douglas is the author of the books "Cemetery Walk," "Life in Parts: An Interpretation from the Cemetery,"Haunts of the Quad Cities" (aka "Genevieve's Ghost Journal") and "Translating Tombstones: Your Guide to Symbolism and Meaning in the Cemetery." She is also the founder and editor of Epitaphs Magazine and TheCemeteryClub.com. She has interviewed people all around the U.S. as well as other countries for her projects. In 1994, Minda graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., with an English major, a theatre minor and a near minor in Women's Studies. Minda teaches workshops on topics such as cemetery art, gravestone rubbing, memoir writing, creative writing, self-publishing and more. She fits as many programs in as she can while working full time at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, as a writer and editor for the Marketing and Public Relations Department. She has been with the college for more than 13 years. Minda is a member of the Association for Gravestone Studies, the Chippiannock Cemetery Heritage Foundation, the Friends of Oakdale Memorial Park, and the International Association of Cemetery Preservationists. She is often researching and photographing cemeteries as well as researching for her many projects (including her upcoming books “Chippiannock Cemetery” (part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images in America series) and "Ghost Walk"). She volunteers for various local cemeteries and is currently a co-director for "Forget-Me-Not: Victorian Day at Oakdale Memorial Gardens" in Davenport, Iowa. Minda lives with her husband, caricature artist and musician Bill Douglas, their daughter and their feline kids in Moline, Ill. Author Minda Powers-Douglas is available for speaking engagements, workshops, private gravestone rubbing classes, book signings and more. For more information, contact [email protected] Media Inquiries If you are a member of the press or bookstore and would like to schedule an interview with Minda Powers-Douglas, ask for a quote, or inquire about a speaking engagement or book signing, please contact: Phone: (309) 781-7083 E-mail: [email protected] Press Releases Nov. 25, 2005 ‘Cemetery Walk’ Book Already Making a Difference in People’s Lives (Announcement of book signing at Readmore Book World in Moline, Ill.) When Moline author Minda Powers-Douglas was researching and writing her first book “Cemetery Walk,” she had no idea about the effect it would have on people. She also had no idea how far-reaching the effect would be. Her book is about cemeteries, the people that love them, and people’s attitudes toward death. While it may seem a morbid topic, to Powers-Douglas, it’s not dark at all. “To me, cemeteries are places of beauty and history. I wanted to talk to people who are fascinated by them. It’s not surprising to me how many cemetery fans there are; what surprises me is the number of people who’ve said, ‘I thought I was the only one!’” Powers-Douglas conducted a lot of online research and also started a Web site during her two-year journey of writing the book. She cites the Internet as the reason the book is as thorough as it is. “At first I was sending out e-mails and calling people I learned about online or through other forms of research,” she said. “Suddenly, people started e-mailing me. They wanted to talk about their experiences and the interests they felt nobody understood. It was amazing.” Recently she found out that “Cemetery Walk” helped a local woman deal with the sudden death of her mother. The woman’s family was torn about what to do with their mother’s cremains (cremated remains). Rather than scatter the ashes, they decided that they would bury them so that they and future family members would have somewhere to go to remember and memorialize their mother. “I’ve got fans now from more than half of the states in the U.S. and even some as far away as Great Britain, but this story really touched me,” said Powers-Douglas. “One of the core pieces of the book is about the death of my grandfather. We were very close, and his death in 1998 was a huge loss to me. A lot of “Cemetery Walk” was written in response to his loss. Knowing how his death affected and still affects me, it’s amazing to know I’ve helped another family during a difficult time.” Thomas Carroll of Pennsylvania was also touched by Powers-Douglas’ work. “The section about her grandfather really spoke to me. It was like she was talking about my own grandfather. My pop-pop, as I called him, was the major influence in my life after the death of my father when I was four. He’s been gone since 1975, yet there isn’t a day that I don’t think of him. When Minda spoke of her grandfather, it was like she was talking about all the grandfathers everywhere,” said Carroll. Powers-Douglas will be on-hand Saturday, Dec. 10, from 2-4 p.m. to discuss her research and her book during a book-signing event at Readmore Book World in Moline at Cityline Plaza (180 – 19th Ave.). Refreshments and good conversation will be available. For more information, call Readmore at (309) 764-2653 or e-mail [email protected]. You may also visit the author’s Web site at www.TheCemeteryClub.com. Oct. 24, 2005 'Cemetery Walk' Book Launch Party a Success The book launch event for Minda Powers-Douglas' Cemetery Walk, held in the Union at Palmer College of Chiropractic on Sunday, Oct. 23, was an occasion for celebration. Decorated in festive Mardi Gras trimmings, the launch drew in a crowd of nearly 100 people. Early in the event, Ms. Powers-Douglas was escorted in by a traditionally styled New Orleans jazz funeral, complete with a three-piece band (trumpet, banjo and clarinet), her husband, parents and other family members and friends. The band played "When the Saints Go Marching In," starting with a slow and somber rendition then swinging into an up tempo that would make any second line put on their dancing shoes. After 30 minutes of live jazz and gnoshing on tasty New Orleans dishes (including curried fruit, pralines and the author's own sweet potato recipe), Ms. Powers-Douglas delighted the crowd with a slide show of New Orleans cemeteries and then gave a reading from her book. After the reading, the crowd lined up to buy books and have them signed. Long before the event wrapped up, every copy of Cemetery Walk was sold and people were putting in their orders for the next shipment. Copies of "Epitaphs Magazine" were also for sale, and all but one of the issues were sold. Said Ms. Powers-Douglas, "I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful event. I only wish that all the supportive people I've met online from Pennsylvania, Florida, Oregon, Wisconsin, Louisiana, England and many more could have been here to share in this wonderful occasion. They are truly amazing people, and I couldn't have done any of this without them. "I also have to thank my family--especially my mother Cindy Powers, my aunt Connie Bivens, and my grandmother Willa Mae Bray--for making all the delicious food and for helping make this event possible. My friend Tracey Kmetz was also such a help. I'm very fortunate to have such fantastic people in my life." Representatives from a number of Quad-City cemeteries were also in attendance. Greg Vogele of Chippiannock in Rock Island, Todd Slater of Moline's Riverside and Moline Memorial, and Deb Williams of Oakdale Memorial Gardens in Davenport all came to show their support. "We had a lot of people come up to us and tell us we really know how to throw a party," said Cindy Powers. She also noted how nice it was that Palmer College, her daughter's employer for the past 10 years, allowed them to use the Union to host the party. "It's a lovely place, and it was perfect for this event." Author Appearances Thursday, July 10, 2008 ParaWomenRadio Show guest along with Melissa Hovey, President of the American Bigfoot Society (ABS) and Member of the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservency. Hosted by Amy Williamson and Kristy Robinett. Archived show available at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/league_of_extraordinary_paranormal_women July 1 and July 19, 2008 9 - 11 a.m. Gravestone Rubbing Classes Oakdale Memorial Gardens Davenport, Iowa For questions or to sign up, contact Minda at [email protected]. July 30, 2008 6 p.m. KALA radio 88.5/105.5 FM Davenport, Iowa Guest (with Oakdale Memorial Gardens' Deb Williams) on Relevant or Irrelevant Show hosted by John and Jay. Saturday, Sept. 6 1 p.m. Pioneer Settlers group Eldridge, Iowa Guest speaker for group. Private. Book Minda to speak to your group! Share cemetery history and symbolism with your group or club. Contact Minda at [email protected] for more information. Book Tour Authors from Ken Fisher to Stephen King have done book tours at some point in their careers. Book tours and signings can be exciting events for fans, but unfortunately they are rapidly being replaced by virtual tours where an author's work is featured on a series of relevant blogs . If you would like to book Minda for a book reading and signing, please contact her at [email protected] Erzulie's 807 Rue Royal New Orleans, LA Saturday, Dec. 3, from 2 - 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, from 1 - 5 p.m. A book signing with the author will be held at Erzulie's Authentic Voudou the weekend of Dec. 3-4. Please come and support this recently opened New Orleans store in the French Quarter and celebrate with us! Street team members are in great need for this event, as most of the media outlets in New Orleans are still out of order. E-mail for ways you can help spread the word! [email protected] www.erzulies.com Readmore Book World 180 19th Ave. Moline, IL 61265 (309) 764-2653 Saturday, Dec. 10, from 2 - 4 p.m. A book signing and reception with the author will be held at Readmore Book World. If you'd like to help out on the street team, please e-mail [email protected] Art Talks with Bruce Carter WVIK Augustana College Radio 90.3 FM Quad Cities 95.7 FM Dubuque, Iowa http://wvik.org/listings-arttalks.htm Minda will be the featured guest on "Art Talks with Bruce Carter" on WVIK, the public radio station of Rock Island, Ill. The station is located on the campus of Augustana College, Minda's alma mater. Minda will discuss her book and perform a reading on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. CST. The broadcast will be available online. See the Web site for details. WVIK Art Talks |
