I am lining up my next round of book signings & other author’s events in the Greater Lowell Area. My goal is to be present at the area events to deliver a personalized Storyteller2017 book campaign. Stay tuned for more details. Being a local author in Midwest Michigan is very exciting.
Thank you for following me on my author’s journey.
As I Launch the second phase of my Storyteller 2017 book marketing campaign, I am looking forward to more physical encounters with readers during book signings and other author’s events.
“You cannot bypass the excitement of meeting a live author,” advised my neighbor, who works with authors during the formatting of their books.
During my book signings of Shifting Sands Short Stories at Fallasburg, Tina Siciliano Cadwallader, vice-president of the Fallasburg Historical Society agreed.
“We like having a local author here,” she said.
In an era of the Mighty Internet, it is too easy to hide behind its anonymous face without ever stepping out of the author’s shell.
And even though, there are millions of authors around the world, each author is unique with a unique voice and a unique set of experiences.
The same goes for the reader, who seeks to fulfill various desires by reading different books. Each…
Grand Rapids, MI – It is no Coincidence that he gets called into work when others go to bed after a full day shift.
In a plant that runs three shifts, seven days a week, every minute that something doesn’t work like a well-oiled machine, means lost money. And a lot of it. The ABC Group global automotive supplier with vertically integrated plastic processing also has lots of pride being the GM supplier of the year several times.
And this mold maker knows how to fix what’s broken. Ludek must have mastered that elusive something that no one else knows. Call it the magic touch, and years of experience in the plastic injection molding industry. He is his own man in the tool room cage that is like an enclave between the plastic injection molding part of the company and the blow molding section.
Last night, as he walked into the gargantuan plant in his sandals sporting a black t-shirt from the Paranormal Society, he immediately commanded respect.
“Don’t touch anything,” Ludek yelled over the deafening sound of the machines to be heard.
The men standing around a 20-tun slab of steel hanging from a hoist turned around relieved, as if they had seen an angel in black.
Or better yet, the Raptor like the Raptor truck model that they were making the parts for.
Later, I learned that the slab of steel with holes and pins is called the tool. The tool is placed in a plastic injection machine, and it is expected to roll out plastic car parts.
The taller guy in blue shirt wanted to shake my hand, but grabbed a rag first to wipe the oil stains.
“Sorry to take him away from you,” said the manager.
It was 11 p.m., and the third shift had just started to find out that machine XOX was spitting out bad plastic car parts. It had to stop, and every hour the machine doesn’t work, the plant loses $60,000 according to the manager.
The question at hand remained what was wrong with what? Was it in the machine or in that 20-ton slab of carefully designed steel?
What first hit me, was the heat from the machines. Coming inside from a hot autumn night, it was like in a cauldron inside.
I had worked in the Svit factory in former Czechoslovakia several times during the summer breaks, but this was a different cup of coffee.
Ludek changed his sandals for boots. To my huge shock, he stooped underneath the steel slab to check the bottom of the tool. If it had fallen off the hoist, there would only remain an oil human stain.
“People get worried when they see me go under that,” he said.
Workers did come into the cage to see what was going on.
Fallasburg, MI – Come out for an action-packed weekend to the Fallasburg pioneer village on Sept. 16 & Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Once you enter the Fallasburg Park via the Fallasburg Park Rd., hang a right at the Covered Bridge road, continue until you see the Covered Bridge.
Cross the romantic Covered Bridge under the speed limit of 5 mph, so you don’t get a ticket, and you will find yourself in the tiny 1850s pioneer village of Fallasburg founded by John W. Fallass.
Decked out in its autumn glory with reds, yellows, oranges and greens, the village greets its visitors with a Flavorful combination of the old and the new. There’s nothing pretense about the atmosphere or the ambiance in the village that nestles on the banks of the Flat River.
Fallasburg one-room schoolhouse.
As often depicted in my short stories, where I combine the old with the new, the result is pure magic. You close your eyes and you can see the settlers hurrying around this once busy settlement with stagecoaches from Ionia crossing the Covered Bridge.
However, the railroad going through Lowell, diverted further development of the village for at least a century. That is until 1965, when the Fallasburg Historical Society, (FHS) came into existence for the purpose of preserving this treasure.
Another push forward came with the Internet at the turn of the millennium. The village is now accessible to all visitors from around the world on the social media, on our website, blog and future app.
If you subscribe to our E-newsletter, you will always be in the loop.
You can join us for our Christmas party with our live video.
There is a unique camaraderie among the villagers, who mostly know each other, and many of them went to the one-room schoolhouse at the bottom of the hill.
This camaraderie has carried onto the friendly vendors of the annual village bazaar, that will open its doors Saturday morning.
So, come on in for a sampling of what we have to offer. It’s everything from refurbished furniture to clever rock art, and much more.
The folks at the Whites Bridge booth are more than friendly. They have many reasons to be. Recently, they had been approved for a major grant to rebuild the neighboring Whites Bridge Covered Bridge.
We all have great stories to share.
Stop by at the one-room schoolhouse to chat with local author Emma Palova about the magic realism, she creates in her stories on both days from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Try to bring your own book from Schuler Books or from Amazon. There will only be limited copies of Shifting Sands Short Stories on hand.
I had to share this morning picture from our pretty little town of Lowell that nestles on the Flat and the Grand rivers in the northeast part of Kent County in Midwest Michigan.
In the forefront is the famous & inspiring Showboat idling on the Flat. It will be replaced with a replica in the near future.
I consider the Showboat a Penchant that crowns the town’s treasures waiting to be explored.
Come and visit with us this weekend for the Fallasburg village bazaar, Emma’s Book Signing event of Shifting Sands Short Stories and the Fallasburg Arts Festival.
All the action will take place three miles north of town @Fallasburg on Sept.16 and Sept.17 from 10 am to 5 pm. Just cross the romantic Covered Bridge into the 1850s pioneer village of Fallasburg founded by John W. Fallass.
You will be enchanted by the autumn ambiance of the village nestling on the banks of the shallow Flat River.
Emma’s Book Signing event at the one-room Fallasburg schoolhouse is from 1 pm to 4 pm on both days.
Pick up a copy of the book @Schuler Books in Grand Rapids on 28th Street and in Lansing or order on Amazon.
We will have desserts and cider.
Stop by to discover treasures, history, arts and great conversation.
You revel in the certainty that today’s good intentions will reap tomorrow’s just rewards. Although your practicality may be tested now, your consistent actions add up in your favor. Stay strong and keep the faith, even if the attainment of your goals seems closer to a distant horizon than to your doorstep. Continue moving forward one step at a time.
Author Josh Shipp wrote, “Perseverance is stubbornness with a purpose.”
My author’s journey continues
Grab a book at Schuler Books in Grand Rapids or Lansing, or on Amazon, and come to my book signing of Shifting Sands Short Stories at the Fallasburg one-room schoolhouse on Sept. 16 & Sept. 17 from 1 pm to 4 p.m.
authoremmapalova 