"Be different, even if you have to eat onions on your ice cream," sang Judy Good Christ of Lake Latonka as children and their parents browsed books for sale and met authors Saturday at Book Quest in Greenville High School.

Mrs. Christ, who also encouraged everyone to "Find your sandbox and just play in it," was one of many writers who came from near and far to promote their works.

A certified music therapist, Mrs. Christ wrote the book "Onions on Your Ice Cream" and the songs that appear on her album, "In My Arms." The song "Onions on Your Ice Cream" is about her grandmother, who encouraged her to be different.

Activities at the community book fair, sponsored by the Writer's Roundtable of Mercer, included music, puppet shows, costumed characters, presentations about E-books and readings by the authors from their books.

Readings ranged from children's stories, such as "Eaglet's World" by Evelyn Minshull of Mercer, to adult fiction, like Mary Beth Miller's "Aimee."

"Eaglet's World" is the story about a young eaglet from the time before he hatches until he takes his first flight. "Aimee" is an intense story, written as a diary, of a17-year-old girl accused of murdering her best friend, who committed suicide.

Ms. Miller, of Coudersport, Pa., said the character in her first book, which was nominated for a National Book Award, just came to her.

"The story just kind of grew in my head and the character just kept talking," she said.

Gloria Clover of Hadley read out loud from her novel, "Tangled Truths." Barbara Michel, a blind writer and author of "Fortress of a Rebel," told the audience about her screen reader synthesizer, which reads back to her what she types on the screen.

Cynthia Cotten and Patricia Harrison Easton both traveled from McMurray in Washington County to present their works at Book Quest. They are members of the same writing group and many of their stories revolve around animals, although that's not the only thing they write about.

"I don't limit myself to anything," said Ms. Cotten, author of the picture books "Snow Ponies" and "Edge of the Woods."

Ms. Easton mostly writes about horses, but her next book is a take on "The Frog Prince" about a boy and a talking frog.

"I can't seem to get away from animals," she laughed.

Some of the proceeds from Book Quest went to the Greenville Area Public Library.