A Twin Cities area author whose books have found fans across the world is coming to Albert Lea to help the House of Hope.

Tom Hegg, author of “A Cup of Christmas Tea” and “Peef — The Christmas Bear,” as well as numerous other books, will speak, answer questions and sign books at a brunch Saturday, Feb. 8, at First Lutheran Church in Albert Lea. The brunch starts at 9:30 a.m.

The benefit was the idea of House of Hope board member Darlene Greibrok-Hahn, who has known Hegg for many years, since the days he came to Albert Lea to act for Minnesota Festival Theatre.

“We were looking for something a little different to raise funds for the House of Hope, and Tom was willing to help,” she said. Hegg did a similar benefit brunch for Senior Resources several years ago when Greibrok-Hahn was connected to that organization.

“He was a huge hit then, and since that time he’s written more books,” she said.

Greibrok-Hahn said she enjoys Hegg’s work because he’s writing from his own experiences.

“I can’t choose a favorite,” she said. “They’re all so good.”

Apparently, others think so as well.

His holiday classic, “A Cup of Christmas Tea,” illustrated by Warren Hanson, has been in print for over 20 years and sales have exceeded 1.5 million copies.

Hegg’s latest book, “When We Are Free,” released in 2002, reveals Hegg’s descent into a severe bout of clinical depression and panic/anxiety disorder.

The Minnesota Mental Health Association in 1997 invited Hegg to share his story in connection with “Moods, Muses and Music,” their annual fund-raiser. Hegg said of his battle with the disease, “When in the grip of it, I craved — above all — simple understanding. Whenever and wherever I found it, I drew comfort, courage and hope. As a result, I came to embrace treatment and then, in time, to be restored to wellness.”

Hegg offers the 32-page book to all those who are working through their own process of recovery, to the people who love them and to all those who strive to help them. It encourages all to hear and heed the growing chorus that is calling us to look at mental illness in a new way, his publisher, Waldman House Press, writes.

Hegg makes his home in Eden Prairie with his wife, Peg. He received his theatre education from Carnegie-Mellon University, has performed at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, and is the drama teacher at The Breck School in Golden Valley.

Other well-known titles by Hegg are “To Nourish Any Flower,” “The Mark of the Maker,” “Up to the Lake,” “The Next Place” and “A Memory of Christmas Tea.”

Tickets for the brunch are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 10. They are available at all three Andersen Hallmark Stores and at the door. The menu includes French toast lasagna with ham, cheese and apple filling, fruit garnish, cranapple juice, coffee and milk.

February has been proclaimed House of Hope Month in Albert Lea by Mayor Jean Eaton.