Kay Smith-Blum, a former fashionista and Seattle School Board President, is a fan of mid-20th - century history. The recent upheaval over leaking radioactive waste tanks at the Hanford Nuclear site compelled her to write, TANGLES, recently honored as Best Historical Mystery/Suspense at the 2025 American Fiction Awards Book Fest, Best Debut Fiction by the American Writing Awards, 2025 Best Regional Fiction/West by the Nat’l Indie Excellence Awards, and also named Book of the Year by the Literary Global Book Awards. Smith-Blum, a sunrise writer, has lived in Seattle for four decades. She works out her writer’s block in her sons’ gardens and the nearest lap pool. For more info see https://www.kaysmith-blum.com

Dr. Steven Lagerberg is a retired physician with a forty-year career, a medical administrator, founder of the NW Council of the Chopin Foundation of the United States, a recognized Chopin scholar, and the author of Chopin’s Heart, The Quest to Identify the Mysterious Illness of the World’s Most Beloved Composer, as well as Essays on Chopin. His persistent efforts to discover Frédéric Chopin’s chronic illness helped persuade the Polish government in 2014 to open the composer’s crypt in Warsaw. Dr. Lagerberg is one of the rare few in the world who have had the opportunity to examine the well-preserved heart of Frédéric Chopin. Dividing his time between Seattle, Paris, and Honolulu, he currently assists talented young pianists as they aspire to a professional career. Dr. Lagerberg continues to write essays about his favorite composer on www.chopinnw.org.

Francesca Lyman is a Seattle-based journalist and author who writes for Newspapers and magazines and Cascade PBS.

SPRING TEA Dana Lyons Biography “A current day Pete Seeger” The Bellingham Herald Internationally known ‘environmental troubadour’ Dana Lyons, carries on the legacy of artist/activists such as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. Best known for his global comedy hit “Cows With Guns” which went to #2 on Australia’s Country Charts and remained on Ireland’s Top 40 for six months, Dana Lyons is a singer, guitarist and recording artist who has toured the world for forty years promoting environmental and social justice causes. Dana’s concerts are a blend of comedy, beautiful ballads, and fascinating stories of the road: from the myriad of global tours, he has conducted. His beautiful singing voice and fun outrageous performances are great for the whole family. Dana has ten albums to date including his latest “Cracks in the Heartland,” and an album with world-renowned Jane Goodall “Circle the World” which features Goodall telling stories and Dana singing related songs. Dana has two illustrated books “The Tree” and “Cows With Guns”. You can watch Dana’s music videos at https://cowswithguns.com/music-videos/