Seven area authors will gather in Annapolis to talk about their work, eat lunch and raise money for breast cancer research at the Double Tree Hilton on Sept. 15, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The third annual Metavivor Authors' Luncheon raises money for research for metastatic breast cancer, which means the disease is considered Stage 4 and has metastasized or spread to other parts of the body.

"It’s about as far as you can go in terms of the stages. There are no other stages," said Avis Halberstadt, METAvivor treasurer and event organizer. "Thirty percent of men and women who are originally diagnosed with breast cancer have Stage 4, but only 2 percent of the research money goes for advanced breast cancer."

That's something that METAvivor, an Annapolis-based nonprofit, wants to see change. 

METAvivor members came up with the idea for the fundraiser three years ago after several people noticed that area bookstores and the Annapolis Area Library always seem to be packed, Halberstadt said. She and her fellow METAvivors realized that books could be an effective tool in fundraising.

"We like to think of ourselves on good days as normal people, and normal people like to read," Halberstadt said. "We do talk about the disease for about two minutes. Otherwise I like people to see that we’re pretty normal and do normal things."

The charity charges $40 per person for the luncheon, which Halberstadt said will give people an opportunity to meet local authors and discuss their writing process over a casual lunch. There is also a more formal discussion panel led this year by Annapolis romance author Laura Kaye.

"We are just going to talk informally about what we write, our writing process and what inspires us," Kaye said. "We'll also give out some behind the scenes details about our books."

Kaye said she wanted to participate in the luncheon because her paternal grandmother passed away from breast cancer.

The authors range in genre from childrens' books to romance novels, and each of them is donating a portion of the event's books sales to METAvivor. 

The luncheon also will feature a silent auction where people can bid on a weekend at a Bethany Beach condo, Annapolis Symphony tickets, jewelry and two politically themed gift baskets in honor of the upcoming election.

Halberstadt said the group hopes about 75 to 100 will attend, and that it will raise about $4,000.

To purchase tickets for the METAvivor authors' luncheon, click here:

Local authors attending the METAvivor luncheon are:

• Laura Kaye
• Stacey Bolin
• Charles Heller 
• Janie Suss
• Sharon Solomon 
• Stephanie Verni
• Martha Fawcett