Watch for Kindle giveaways of my books in the Shifting Sands series: Short Stories and the new book 2 Secrets.
If you could write a review of the book on Amazon, that would be great. Pm Emma on Facebook messenger for pdfs.
Post reviews on customer reviews on Amazon:
Here is a link to reviews:
https://wordpress.com/block-editor/page/emmapalova.com/296074
Copyright (c) 2019. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
Here is a link to my author interview at LowellArts on April 7, 2018.
The reason I picked this venue is because of their recent move to Main Street. The new location on Main has been a dream come true for LowellArts much like my new book “Shifting Sands Short Stories” has been for me.
Main Street is the major source of inspiration for the lead story “Tonight on Main” in my new book “Shifting Sands Short Stories.” It is also featured in my Shifting Sands: Secrets book II. (c) 2018 Emma Palova
The interview followed a short video “From Idea to Final.” I am currently editing the video about the creative process from the initial spark through incubation to the final product, whether it is a book, a play, a screenplay, video production or a film.
I will also post a transcript to both videos. I wrote the script on celtx script app. It’s easy to use; perfect for pre-production.
For more info on pre-production tools go to http://www.celtx.com.
Join us live from Calvin College conference on writing April 12 through April 14.
Pardon me. I could not Crank out the live video.
The festival schedule was so packed, that it sometimes allowed only 15 minutes between lectures located on two campuses.
But, I will post today and tomorrow full stories from the FFW, Festival on Faith & Writing that ended on Saturday.
Copyright (c)2018. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
Hello friends,
Today I am working out of our local coffee shop Sweet Seasons because of yesterday’s storm that knocked out the power and Wi-Fi.
I might make this glitch into a habit.
Don’t miss out on my giveaway of kindle e-book Shifting Sands Short Stories today and tomorrow on Amazon. Currently, I am in the process of scheduling my next giveaway.
All you need is the kindle app from Google play store or Apple app store to download and read the book.
I appreciate your reviews on Amazon.
Also check out my book trailer on https://youtu.be/xA0wH_ACGE4
I am currently working on Shifting Sands Book 2: Secrets
My next book signing of Shifting Sands Short Stories will be on Feb.3 at @LowellArts from 1 to 4 pm.
You can buy my book locally at Schuler Books in Grand Rapids and in Lansing. Bring a copy with you for an autograph.
I will be offering tips on how to finish your book in 2018. See you there.
This action plan follows my marketing Strategy to touch the reader four to five times.
First contact via EW Emma’s Writings blog, social media, Authors Central on Amazon, author’s page on Goodreads, personal book signings at local venues and writers’ conferences like the upcoming Calvin College Conference in Grand Rapids.
You will also enjoy the marvelous Grand Valley Artists Show-In View.
For more info on Lowell Arts go to:
Watch for my next kindle ebook giveaway of Shifting Sands Short Stories on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Emma-Palova/e/B0711XJ6GY
Copyright (c)2018. Emma Blogs LLC. All rights reserved.
This is a Viable press release that you can re-purpose many times.
Shifting Sands Short Stories book signing press release
Local author Emma Palova will have book signings at Lowell Arts Gallery
To be released immediately
January 5, 2018
Contact
Emma Palova
Lowell
phone
EW Emma’s Writings blog
Lowell, MI- Local author Emma Palova will have book signing events of “Shifting Sands Short Stories” at the Lowell Arts Gallery on Main Street on Jan. 13 & Feb. 3 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Palova, a former reporter for the Lowell Ledger, has published the book of short stories based on her immigration, retail and journalistic experience. Both formats, Kindle for $7.99 and paperback for $11.99 are now available on Amazon, and locally at Schuler Books in Grand Rapids and in Lansing.
The book is a collection of 13 short stories that Palova wrote and collected over the span of more than two decades. The fiction’s genre is magic realism, a combination of fantasy with reality.
“In magic realism you combine the fictitious with fantasy and sometimes you use real characters to model the fictitious characters,” Palova said. “It can be a hybrid. I don’t write about Martians. I write about real people.”
Palova started writing for the Czechoslovak Newsweek based in New York City in 1990 upon arrival in the USA. She initially wrote a column, “Place for Commentary” in Czech. That was the only time she wrote in her native language, Czech.
Many of the stories are based on experiences Palova has had during her time living and working in the greater Lowell area in Michigan.
“Life is an awesome tapestry of stories,” she said. “I love chatting with my fans. People mostly want to know how to finish the books they have started writing. It’s not an easy question to ask, and definitely not an easy one to answer.”
Palova will be offering writing and publishing tips at her upcoming author’s events.
“Success comes from everyday writing, building a following and meeting with fans,” she said.
Palova has been writing for the area publications since 1997 when she launched her journalistic career with Kaechele Publications in Allegan. In 1998, she joined the staff of the Ionia-Sentinel Standard where she received awards for community reporting from the Ionia Chamber of Commerce in 2000 and the Ionia County Community Mental Health, 2003. Palova also had a community blog in the Ionia Sentinel-Standard.
Palova worked as a correspondent for the Grand Rapids Press, the Advance Newspapers, Gemini Publications and the Lowell Ledger.
Palova is currently working on the second volume of stories, as well as on the memoir “Greenwich Meridian, where East meets West” about the Konecny family immigration saga from communist Czechoslovakia to the USA.
She is preparing her first novel “Fire on Water” for publication. She has also penned a screenplay “Riddleyville Clowns.”
Palova has a lifetime passion for history and politics. She does social media marketing for the Fallasburg Historical Society (FHS).
“I am deeply humbled by the opportunities this country has given to me,” Palova said.
She became a US citizen in 1999 in Grand Rapids.
Shifting Sands Short Stories on Amazon
ISBN
9781521302262
Paperback
https://www/amazon.com/Shifting-Sands-Short-Stories-stories/dp/152130226X
Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Emma-Palova/e/B0711XJ6GY
Schuler Books in Grand Rapids and Lansing
Lowell Arts Gallery
Copyright (c) 2018. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
Don’t leave unfinished projects behind to haunt you. Don’t be afraid to pick them back up with new energy behind them even if they have been collecting dust or taking up space in the computer.
A woman surprised me at one of my recent book signings of Shifting Sands Short Stories by the following question:
“I am on chapter six, how do I finish my book,” she asked me.
It was a definitely out-of-the-box question, because not everyone wants to admit they can’t finish something.
Here is what I have gathered over the years about finishing any major writing project like a book or a screenplay:
Set a target finish goal, something that’s important to you like your birthday or any other milestone.
Write every day a quota of pages, such as 5 pages.
Always have an end in mind for the book or script, but also for each chapter or scene.
Ask yourself: What do I want to carry out in this chapter or scene?
A loose flexible outline always helps.
Establish a reward program for yourself after each chapter. It can be anything from having a coffee with a friend or a token that will remind you that a particular chapter or scene is done.
Create a cover or poster early on even as a draft. It will help you visualize the book, play or film and the entire process.
Have a color theme in mind for the characters and the book overall.
Be cohesive. Don’t let it fall apart into pieces just because you stumble on a block in your way.
Explore, see, discover. I especially like these three verbs that I found on a sign by the Wittenbach nature center. They will continue to feed your inspiration. And in turn, the reader will keep turning pages.
Use character compass to balance out your stories. That means the right amount of thoughts, appearance, action and dialogue.
Don’t forget about the place and tension.
Don’t let unfinished Ghoulish projects haunt you.
The feature photo is from the Lowell Arts show “Between Turbulence and Tranquility” by artist Kim Ensch.
Copyright (c) 2017. Emma Blogs LLC. All rights reserved.
Writing opens a new window into the world.
Writing as a form of therapy. Writing is healing. Once you write on a regular basis, it becomes a part of you and who you are.
You discover and rediscover yourself and your surroundings. You see people that you have known for years through different eyes.
You gain new insight, as you better connect with the world.
The advantage of every day writing is that you get to compare your underlying emotions from one day to the next. You get to monitor them, as they change with every minute.
Writing opens a new window into the world. Yours and mine.
I firmly believe that if there were more writer’s in the world, there would be less violence.
Follow me on my publishing journey of Shifting Sands Short Stories. The ebook will be released on June 30.
Copyright (c) 2017. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
I’ve always thought that I knew South Haven quite well from our previous trips to the beach and anniversary jaunts spanning three decades.
Well, the beautiful resort surprised me and I fell in love with it all over again last weekend. I didn’t have the time to roam the beaches or to walk the busy streets in the festive downtown.
But, the eclectic mix of people who stopped at my booth during the 41st Blueberry Festival Craft Fair amazed me. We met a Turkish doctor who lives in Kalamazoo, an avid sailer Ladd with direct connection to Slovakia, literary event recruiters from Lawrence, a member of the famous Scott Club founded in 1883 and countless others.
The visitors to the Stanley Johnston Park near North Shore Drive ranged from non-readers to an avid reader who has already read 51 books as of January. So many people were up to speed in politics, that my Greenwich Meridian Memoir gained new momentum.
I got goose bumps when a lady from Dearborn informed about the current situation in both Dearborn and Hamtramack. She complained about the bells calling to prayer five times a day, and animal sacrifices in gardens.
On the other hand, I enjoyed the benefit of local people or transplants from Chicago, who either homestead in South Haven or had summer houses in the area. It felt like my book came alive with visitors turning in to its characters. A guy actually knew about the North Shore Dance Pavilion built in 1904. Another local man remembered when it was destroyed by fire in the sixties.
Then bizarre coincidences marked both days of the craft fair. A couple stopped by my booth. As I signed The Lost Town and The Quest for the Lost Town to Brenden, the dad said. “My son called me this morning and told me all about Singapore, and here you are selling books about The Lost Town of Singapore. That’s incredible.” My Greenwich Meridian Memoir went to the other son Ethan.
I was impressed how many people have heard the story about Singapore lying at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River by Saugatuck. They heard it from the guides on the Dune Rides and aboard the Star of Saugatuck.
The memoir attracted the attention of the young and the mature. So many visitors related to its content about living and escaping socialism from former Czechoslovakia to the U.S. “I can’t believe what’s going on in our country,” rezonated among visitors. “Everyone should read this.”
Some knew the mechanics of socialism– constantly waiting in lines for everything from meat to vegetables, cars and apartments. Your parents had to sign you up for a coop apartment at your birth, so you may have a place to hang your hat in twenty-some years.
Just like nothing is free in Waterworld, nothing was free in former Czechoslovakia either. Seemingly free education, resulted in low paying jobs and high taxes. The same goes for free health care for all.
Back to the craft fair and our amazing stay at the historic Kingsley House in Fennville. The village of Fennville is a location in both of my books in The Lost Town Trilogy. The protagonist Ethel is the dance maestra at the North Shore Dance Pavillion in South Haven. She lives at Peach Orchard Point near Fennville. Later, she transfers to the Big Pavilion in Saugatuck with 1,500 lights.
She is smitten by the other protagonist Art Wallace II as they embark on a journey to find the lost town of Singapore. Both books in the trilogy performed really great in South Haven. I sold a lot of book bundles to a lot of people.
We will be returning to South Haven for All Crafts Fair on Sept. 5 & 6. Come and see me in my booth no.78.
I can’t wait to return to the Kingsley House to stay in the Golden Delicious Chamber. The rooms were named as a tribute to Harvey Judson Kingsley who built the house in 1886 in Queen Anne Victorian style. Kingsley introduced apples to the Fennville area.
We stayed in the Cidar Nook Suite during our first visit. It was originally a wine cellar. The extensive remodel turned the wine cellar into a luxurious suite with a jacuzzi. The entire house was decked out with Victorian furniture. Olivia’s quiche was excellent even though I had to eat under the spruce trees at Stanley Johnston.
The Kingsley House is in close proximity to Fenn Valley Vineyards, Virtue Cidery and Crane Orchards.
The event closed down early due to a severe storm on Sunday afternoon. We headed out to the next location in the trilogy. Saugatuck was home to the Big Pavilion with 1,500 lights built by Fredrick Limouze of California in 1909.
Much like South Haven the resort was packed out as the rain pounded on the windshield. I could still see the gate to the Saugatuck Chain Ferry, a prominent location in both books. The only remaining hand cranked chain ferry in the United States is called Diane.
The Star of Saugatuck paddlewheel boat docks close by the Chain Ferry. A ride aboard double-deck sternwheeler past the old Singapore site helped me finish the sequel to The Lost Town.
Never underestimate the power of the actual physical locations of the scenes in your books.
Do videnia, Ladd.
Copyright (c) 2026. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Close to 200 vendors will set up at Fitzgerald Park for the 53rd Annual Island Art Fair @the Ledges for a unique event with a long tradition.
Fair organizer Stephene Lapp talks about some of the fair highlights, joys and balancing artists, authors, crafters, musicians, food vendors and community organizations.
Copyright (c) 2026. Emma Blogs, LLC.
Mark your calendars and get ready to laugh. Put on your investigative hat. Watch for tickets on The Old Theater website. The theater is a historic venue located in downtown Lowell, MI at 315 W. Main St.
Recently, the marquee got a facelift, a beautiful patriotic red, white and blue paint job complete with stars and stripes.
There are several secrets hiding inside the 1928 building. One of them is the Moravian Sons Distillery tasting room in speakesy style to celebrate the 1920s and 1930s era. @moraviansonsdistillery
By Brent Alles
Coming Saturday, September 26, 2026! It’s our next interactive murder mystery at The Old Theater in Lowell, MI. This one’s 70’s themed, so get those bell bottoms and flared collars out of storage and come join us! 
Songs, skits, dancing, and more! (Tickets on sale soon… more to come!)
SYNOPSIS: “The Groovy Hour” is an interactive murder mystery set in 1979 at a “live taping” of the fifth anniversary episode of television’s hottest variety show. Charismatic (and gloriously over-the-top) host Vinny Valentine is determined to deliver the biggest spectacle in the show’s history, but behind the bright lights, disco beats, and polyester suits, tensions are running high.
The anniversary special has attracted an unforgettable collection of guests: fading Hollywood celebrities desperate for one more moment in the spotlight, a washed-up vaudevillian clinging to yesterday’s fame, a no-nonsense producer struggling to keep the production from imploding, a face-painted glam rock sensation who thrives on controversy, and the colorful cast of The Groovy Hour themselves. Everybody is harboring secrets, rivalries, and motives of their own.
When murder brings the celebration to a screeching halt, everyone becomes a suspect. As audience members question the characters, uncover clues, and piece together the tangled web of backstage grudges, hidden agendas, and long-buried scandals, they’ll work together to discover who turned television’s grooviest night into its deadliest.
Filled with outrageous 1970s nostalgia, colorful characters, audience interaction, and plenty of laughs, “The Groovy Hour” is a fast-paced whodunit where the cameras keep rolling… even after someone ends up dead.
Copyright (c) 2026 Emma Blogs, All rights reserved.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-s5w6m-1af9fc3
Michigan authors Jean Davis and Eric Anderson share their festival insights in this special episode about the Lakeshore Art Festival in downtown Muskegon.
Sponsored by Moravian Sons Distillery and Doc Chavent.
Copyright (c) 2026. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
Pip: Emma Palova’s site has been busy — memoirs, grief guides, and a ten-year literary milestone out of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula all landing in the same week.
Mara: We’re covering a regional publishing celebration, a memoir about breaking cycles of family trauma, and a guide to supporting people through grief. Real range.
Pip: Let’s start with the U.P. literary community and what a decade of regional storytelling looks like.
Mara: The U.P. Reader, published by Modern History Press and sponsored by the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association, just hit its tenth annual edition — and the post describes it as “a hefty magazine” containing “seventy-plus short works” that take “readers on a road trip from the Keweenaw to the Soo and from Menominee to Ironwood.”
Pip: So the whole geography of the Upper Peninsula, rendered in short fiction and nonfiction. That’s not a magazine, that’s a portrait.
Mara: A decade of that portrait, which is worth pausing on. The UPPAA has sustained a regional literary community long enough to hit a genuine anniversary milestone.
Pip: The post also mentions a book giveaway — and LAF in Muskegon signals that this literary energy isn’t contained to the U.P. alone.
Mara: Healing and memoir are next, and they bring a very different kind of road trip.
Pip: Jennifer Montiel’s book asks a hard question — what happens to the people raised inside narcissistic family systems, and is there actually a way out?
Mara: The post on Raised by Silence lays it out directly: the book “tells the story of breaking free from emotional abuse, manipulation, and generational trauma” and “explores the lasting effects of narcissistic parenting while offering hope to those searching for healing.”
Pip: That phrase — hope to those searching — is doing real work. This isn’t a clinical diagnosis book; it’s written from inside the experience.
Mara: Right, and the post emphasizes practical application too. It describes the book as encouraging readers to “recognize unhealthy patterns, establish healthy boundaries, and build a future defined by resilience instead of fear.” It’s an award-winning title, and a signed copy is up for giveaway.
Pip: Resilience instead of fear is a clean through-line. Andrew Allen Smith is working adjacent territory — but from the outside looking in.
Mara: Andrew Allen Smith’s book What Not to Say to People Who are Grieving starts from a place of radical generosity — the post is explicit that it “was not intended to point fingers at anyone.”
Pip: That framing matters. A book about what not to say could easily read as a list of indictments. Smith heads that off directly.
Mara: He does. The post reads: “We know that everyone, no matter what they said or did, had positive intentions as they helped us in the grieving process. They genuinely wanted to help in someway.” The book is addressed to helpers, not accusers.
Pip: What this means in practice is that the book functions as a field guide — here is what actually helped, here is what didn’t, and both pieces of information come wrapped in gratitude.
Mara: The stated hope is precise: that the book helps “at least one person have a better idea of what helped and comforted us while we were grieving.” Smith covered this in one podcast episodes on the site, both available for listeners.
Mara: A regional literary anniversary, a memoir about inherited pain, a grief guide written in gratitude — these posts are all, in different ways, about community holding people up.
Pip: More of that on the next one, presumably. Emma Palova’s feed doesn’t seem to slow down.
Author Emma Palova’s Shore to Shore summer book tour starts this weekend at the Lakeshore Art Festival in downtown Muskegon on June 27 & 28. See map below.
I successfully launched my new sequel The Quest for the Lost Town at the Third Coast Art Festival in Grand Haven on March 21. It was a well-attended event both by fans and fellow authors, followed by a hometown book signing event at the @Moravian Sons Distillery tasting room inside The Old Theater in downtown Lowell.
@moraviansonsdistillery https://moraviansonsdistillery.com
Attend /
The Lakeshore Art Festival welcomes 20+ Michigan authors who will showcase their original books near Clay Ave. and 4th St.
“The Michigan authors were a great addition to the festival!”
Stay tuned for a special episode of the For the Love of Books Podcast with host author Emma Palova.
Copyright ( c) 2026. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
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The 10th annual U.P. Reader published by Modern History Press is a hefty magazine sponsored by the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA).
This amazing collection of seventy-plus short works takes readers on a road trip from the Keweenaw to the Soo and from Menominee to Ironwood.
Sponsored by Modern History Press, @Moravian Sons Distillery and Doc Chavent.
Listen in for a chance to win the book podcast giveaway.
Copyright (c)2026. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-if8zk-1af2d24
Raised by Silence: Surviving Narcissistic Parents & Ending the Cycle tells the story of breaking free from emotional abuse, manipulation, and generational trauma. Through personal experiences and practical insight, Jennifer Montiel explores the lasting effects of narcissistic parenting while offering hope to those searching for healing.
Sponsored by Jennifer Montiel, @Moravian Sons Distillery and Doc Chavent.
This award winning book encourages readers to recognize unhealthy patterns, establish healthy boundaries, and build a future defined by resilience instead of fear.
Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Raised by Silence.
Copyright (c) 2026. All Rights Reserved. Emma Blogs, LLC.
authoremmapalova 