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
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.
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.
U.P. Reader Turns Ten
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.
Breaking the Cycle: A Memoir of Survival
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.
What to Say, and What to Leave Unsaid
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.
It will be Pure Michigan fun as I tour the state with my new book The Quest for the Lost Town from the shores of Lake Michigan to Lake Superior.
I am looking forward to meeting up with thousands of fans at the local festivals and fairs.
New this year on the tour are: National Cherry Festival in downtown Traverse City on July 5 and the National Blueberry Festival in South Haven on Aug. 8-9.
I’m returning to Art in the Park in Grand Ledge rebranded as The Ledges in a new location at the Fitzgerald Park on Aug. 1.
A very special place in my heart is reserved for the Wild Blueberry Festival in Paradise on Aug. 14-16. It was one of my first festivals when I started touring with my book Secrets from the Shifting Sands Short Stories series in 2019.
The people in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are very hospitable and friendly. I host many authors from the UP on my show For the Love of Books Podcast. They continue the tradition of celebrating the remoteness and wilderness in literature, and bringing to the public at large.
I’m grateful to the many people who have helped me on my author’s journey. I would like to thank graphic artist Jeanne Boss for the stunning art and the entire family for their support throughout the years.
My deep appreciation goes to my hometown newspaper The Lowell Ledger for continuing the publicity of my work. I love writing both fiction and non-fiction, not necessarily in all genres.
Since I am a lover of history I write mainly historical fiction and magic realism, as reflected in my short stories.
See you soon.
Copyright (c)2026. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
Author Emma Palova will celebrate the release of her new book, The Quest for the Lost Town, at the upcoming Third Coast Festival of Books & Authors on March 21 in Grand Haven starting at 11 a.m. The festival provides the perfect setting for the debut of the new title as book lovers, writers, and literary enthusiasts gather along Michigan’s lakeshore for a day dedicated to storytelling and the literary arts.
“I am extremely excited about this unique opportunity to present my new book in the literary capital of Grand Haven,” Palova said. “This is my first time at this unique festival.”
“First, we do this festival to honor all the hard work that authors do. We promote literacy and books year round but wouldn’t have either without you,” organizer Mike O’Brien, The Book Cellar owner said. “This is why we provide this opportunity for you to meet the fans, sell your books and keep the money, and do not charge you for the tables. This is all about you and we want you to know we care and want the best for our authors.”
The annual festival brings together regional and national authors, readers, and publishing professionals for a celebration of books and creativity. Held in the heart of Grand Haven, the event offers visitors the opportunity to meet authors, attend engaging panel discussions, explore new books, and learn more about the writing and publishing process.
From fiction and memoir to children’s literature and history, the Third Coast Festival of Books & Authors highlights a wide range of genres and voices from across Michigan and beyond. In addition to author presentations and readings, the festival provides a welcoming space for readers to connect directly with writers, discover new titles, and celebrate the vibrant literary community that continues to grow along Michigan’s “Third Coast.”
In addition to author meet and greet, the Third Coast Festival of Books & Authors provides a welcoming space for readers to connect directly with writers, discover new titles, and celebrate the vibrant literary community that continues to grow along Michigan’s “Third Coast.”
Whether you are an avid reader, an aspiring writer, or simply curious about the stories behind the books, the festival promises a lively and inspiring experience for all who attend.
Stay tuned for a special episode about the festival this Friday and Saturday on the For the Love of Books Podcast at https://emmapalova123.podbean.com
Songs, skits, dancing, and more! (Tickets on sale soon… more to come!)
authoremmapalova 