Join us for @Moravian Sons Distillery free sampling of spirits and signature cocktails tomorrow July 25 from 4 to 6 pm at the Cherry Valley Marathon Gas Station in Caledonia, Michigan.
We have regular tastings at the area Marathon gas stations on Lincoln Lake and in Belding, and at local liquor stores in West Michigan.
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to taste sunshine in every glass.
Our portfolio of spirits: Apple, Peach, Pear and Plum.
Moravian Sons cocktails: Applejack Rabbit, Blueberry Crush and Jack Rose.
I’m humbled by this glowing review and honored to have created a podcasting community of authors of all genres from around the globe.
“For the Love of Books”is the perfect name for this podcast. Not only does Emma have a love of books, but as an interviewer, one can feel that she is very genuine and wants to put her interviewee and writing in the best light. What a pleasure to be part of her show. I look forward now to follow her show and be a regular listener!
Author Lauren Persons, Deer Diary , What Happened to Chester
Copyright (c) 2025. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
About the feature photo: Socialist Cooperative Housing
I used the pic of Southern Slopes, a mega housing complex in former Gottwaldow for 30,000 people from the memoir. At the time, it was considered as one of the many successes of socialism. These were sprinkled around the country, mainly in big cities. In many cases, generations had to wait to get into an apartment. True, compared to condos, they were cheap and affordable. Sometimes, I have nightmares from living in these rabbit boxes.
Thank you reviewers and voters
I would like to thank all reviewers who took the time to write a review of my award-winning memoir since its publishing in 2020, and the voters who voted for me in the International Impact Book Awards in May.
I have just recently discovered the newest review by best-selling author Sue Harrison, who was a guest on my For the Love of Books Podcast show on May 8, 2025 with her book Rescuing Crash.
Harrison’s novels have sold more than two million copies and have been published in more than 25 contries and 13 languages. In 2023, she was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Hall of Fame.
The review written on the great Meditteranen Sea warmed my heart since I have visited the Med coast at least three times in my life. Often, I take my inspiration from the places I visit.
The memoir covers three continents and different countries such as formerJugoslavia, Austria and Germany, we used as means of escape. Other countries like Hungary enabled our cladenstine meeting with my father professor Vaclav Konecny before the fall of communism.
We are deeply indebted to all the countries that have welcomed us on our escape journeys, mainly as we awaited visas to Canada and the U.S. Without their help, we would be lost in a sea of ignorance or indifference to our ordeal that cast a shadow on entire generations after the invasion of Soviet tanks of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
I didn’t write the memoir to glorify the communists or socialists, I wrote it to preserve the stories of several generations. I hope anyone who has second thoughts about penning his or her life story, finds the courage to relive it and put the words down on paper.
Let it be it serve as encouragement and inspiration for other authors, writers and readers, current and future.
Definitely a 5-star on this one! Emma Palova gives us unparalleled insight into 3 forms of government: Socialist, Communist, and Capitalism. We view all three through her eyes as a child living in the midst, as a teen, and as an adult. We also see these systems through the eyes of her parents. She presents these points of view unapologetically and without prejudice, which I think is amazing, listing good points and bad of each. The joy of this book is that it is a memoir, not a treatise, and thus is highly readable, actually a page-turner. I’m in awe of this woman who is not only an author, but has her own podcast, within which she gives her listeners introductions to other writers and their work. I wish college students (and high school students) would read this book. It is an eye-opener, and also gives wonderful insight into Eastern European cultures and people, something we Americans often know little about!
I Just finished the book on my balcony overlooking the Med sea from the east shores of Napolean’s birthplace…I was waiting for a perfect opportunity to read this book at a moment when I wouldn’t be bothered by everyday hustles and tasks…as I put the book down I can’t stop admiring the incredible courage and resilience of all of the characters in the story…throughout the book we get drawn into their struggles and dilemmas and feel their sadness, joy and frustration…we feel proud of their perseverance in the quest for their dreams…The book pleased me as well by giving a brief look into the timeline of the political events that took place leading to democracy in former Eastern European countries…This is a very easy read, that will please fans of all kinds of genre of litterature…
Copyright (c) 2025. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
Have a great holiday and sign up as a guest or sponsor or both for greater visibility. I would like thank our sponsors Modern History Press and @Moravian Sons Distillery,Doc Chavent along with many sponsoring authors Brian Talarczyk, Caroline Topperman of Mountain Ash Press and Australian author Jennifer Raines. The show would not be possible without your ongoing support. Now scheduling September and October episodes. Email Emma at emmapalova@yahoo.com
Lakeshore Art Festival, Muskegon, June 28 & 29, 2025
Participating authors
The Authors Alley will be on Clay Street right across from Hackly Park.
Emma Palova, Jean Davis, Vera West, Ingar Rudholm, Richard Nelson, Michael Carrier, Elizabeth Wehman, Laurie Salisbury, Sue Merrel. Janet Vormitag, Andrew Smith, Craig Matthew, Robert Muladore, Suse Wilcox, Joan Young, Lori Hudson, Rhonda Accardo, K M McIntyre, Debbie Tebbe, Stefanie Gilmore, Amy Piper, and Lisa Romence.
Stay tuned for podcast episode about LAF on @For the Love of Books Podcast this week.
Author Emma PalovaAuthors AlleyLAF Muskegon
Copyright (c) 2025. Emma Blogs. All rights reserved.
We had an exceptional Father’s Day celebration yesterday at our house underneath the pergola covered with wisteria vine, which keeps the patio cool.
My parents Eliska and Vaclav Konecny, came over with my brother Vas all the way from Big Rapids and Paris. a hometown Up North.
At 90, my father professor Vaclav still loves to drive. Although he doesn’t take the freeway anymore, like me, he prefers to drive on the old 131.
I love the way the old 131 aka Northland Drive winds through charming Michigan hometowns like Cedar Springs and Howard City with its dam fed by the Muskegon River.
Even Maranda made it over and our neighbors Catherine and Katie on a scooter. The vibe was good and everyone behaved including myself, which is not always the case. Sometimes we end up fighting over little things that a minute later mean nothing.
I made our famous jello-shots with our signature @Moravian Sons Spirits https://moraviansonsdistillery.com apple brandy. We had two flavors: strawberry for adults and orange for kids without alcohol. I make the jell-o shots with sugar-free strawberry Jell-O using one cup of boiling water and one cup of apple brandy.
The spirit tastings around the holidays are tricky as we found out Friday. People had already stocked up on adult beverages during the week. We sold only four bottles of slivovitz but hopefully to returning customers, one of them a pediatric dentist.
We grilled our favorite bbq baby back ribs with potato salad.
I charged my solar gnome lamps in full sunshine. Hopefully, they will work tonight.
Emma Palova, Jean Davis, Vera West, Ingar Rudholm, Richard Nelson, Michael Carrier, Elizabeth Wehman, Laurie Salisbury, Sue Merrel. Janet Vormitag, Andrew Smith, Craig Matthew, Robert Muladore, Suse Wilcox, Joan Young, Lori Hudson, Rhonda Accardo, K M McIntyre, Debbie Tebbe, Stefanie Gilmore, Amy Piper, and Lisa Romence.
Czech and Slovak 46th Annual Festival, Sokol Cultural Center, July 19 & 20, Detroit
authoremmapalova 