I have embarked on my fall author adventures through west and central Michigan. After an exceptional summer with crowds flocking to community events, autumn promises are in the fresh air painting a colorful palette.
I am so grateful that the in person events are making a comeback, they are a lifeline for artists, artisans and crafters. After year-long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I finally get to introduce my new book “Greenwich Meridian Memoir” to the public at large.
I will be at the Charlotte Frontier Days Arts & Crafts Show in booth 101 from Sept. 10 through Sept. 12 . The arts show is located on the lawn of the Old County Courthouse. Stop by to pick up a book or two.
I will be in the one-room schoolhouse located at 14029 Covered Bridge Rd. NE in the historic village of Fallasburg signing my books and serving as a museum guide. Cross the Covered Bridge and step back some 150 years ago, when the bridge was built. The bridge is celebrating its 150th anniversary next weekend.
Frankfort, MI – What better way to meet your next favorite read than on the shores of Lake Michigan at a local art festival.
After a succesful Lakeshore Art Festival (LAF) in downtown Muskegon, where even a tornado watch couldn’t stop Michigan Authors from selling their books, we have somewhat dispersed. But if you check the previous post about the Michigan Authors Comeback in 2021, and go to the authors websites, you will be able to catch up with them.
Lakeshore Art Festival in downtown Muskegon.
I will be in Frankfort on July 4th at the Art in the Park craft show at 517 Main Street from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Stop by to pick up a book or two; I will have Shift Sands Short Stories series, book 1 and book 2 and my newest release “Greenwich Meridian Memoir.” I will also have posters of the cover of “Secrets.”
I will be around Lowell during the Riverwalk next weekend.
July 31- Grand Ledge, Island Fest
Aug. 7- Holland, Art in the Park
Aug. 28- Lowell, Hometown Reception on the Showboat
I also have a virtual booth at the Detroit Book Fest. Check it out at:
Muskegon- They are back and stronger than before; strengthened by the quiet months of the COVID-19 quarantine, these authors used their time to create, write and to launch books in the finnicky technical world.
Michigan authors will be grouped at the Authors Alley at the Lakeshore Art Festival (LAF) in downtown Muskegon on June 26 and June 27. Close to 20 authors will be ready to present to you your next favorite read; from fantasies, short stories, young adult fiction, childrens books to thrillers and mysteries.
You will find Authors Alley along 4th Street on the left hand side of the road in front of the Lakeshore Museum Center and extending into the intersection at Clay Street. The hours are: Saturday, June 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, June 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Following is a list of participating authors: Ingar Rudholm, Joan Young, Melinda Clark, Sara Shanning, Lon Hieftje, Andrew Smith, Jean Davis, Norma Lewis, Melanie Hooyenga, Michael D. Jones, Lori Hudson, Emma Palova, Bonnie Votkis, Judy Burke, Marianne Wieland, Randy Pearson, Mike Carrier, Gary Buettner and Gregory Scott.
Join us this snowy Friday evening for some literary fun at the third Virtual Book Festival organized by Pages Promotions, LLC.
The evening will feature memoirists with the theme “Blind Date with a Book.” You can try to match up the reading with the right book for bragging rights.
So far, we’ve had so much fun while spinning the Wheel of Happiness for prizes galore.
Thanks for writing reviews that will help the ranking of my books on Amazon from the Shifting Sands Short Stories collections. I need to reach 25 reviews for basic ranking.
This is the main link to writing reviews on Amazon. The reviews do not have to be long.
I am in the process of planning my book tour for 2020. Let me know, if you want me to come to a specific place or event.
I will be in Venice, FL for the book fair and writer’s festival on March 20 & 21. It is also my writer’s retreat.
I am looking for an author to share a table.
Contact me with questions about my new book Greenwich Meridian: Where East meets West, or any other questions. The book will be available for pre-order in January.
Copyright (c) 2019. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
Lowell,
MI – Short like a summer romance, the book tour started in Muskegon with the
Lakeshore Art Festival, where I officially launched my new book 2 “Secrets”
from the Shifting Sands Short Stories series.
It was my first time at the festival in Muskegon, and I was impressed by its magnitude. Two busy days brought many surprises like the guy who asked me to sell my book to him in two minutes. I had the marketing pitch ready, and I did sell him the first book faster than he expected. Then came a lady with a cart who had to have a book from each Michigan author. There was only a little time left to network with other authors. Thank you Diane for buying our books.
MichiganAuthors are sweeping the shores of the Great Lakes from Lake Michigan to Lake Superior and Lake Huron in a new wave of renaissance in literature.
Michigan authors at the Lakeshore Art Festival 2019 in front of the Authors Tent.
But
I did manage to connect with authors Jules Nelson of “Shadows”, authors Andrew
Smith, Jean Darla Davis and Ludington author Joan H. Young. We filled two big
tents, and people did support #MichiganAuthors. The cost was $100 for two days.
Somebody asked me if my book was the original book “Shifting Sands” about a dune in Muskegon. And then better yet, my daughter Emma discovered the Pigeon Hill brewery in Muskegon with their Shifting Sands IPA.
The
next gig was in my hometown of Lowell during the annual Riverwalk Festival. We
were in the Riverwalk parade at noon, and in the afternoon, I was at LowellArts
signing my books during Livin’ is Easy exhibit. I had a big yellow and black
painting of a horse behind my back that matched my yellow dress.
Somewhere in between was The WGVU Morning Show with Shelley Irwin and a podcast with America’s Community Voices Network with hosts Ronald & Donald Brookins. I will be reading passages from my new book “Secrets” on their podcast show.
Books Alive! In Ludington was a Downtown Development Authority (DDA) event, and it was incredibly hot. There could have been 14 authors bearing the heat. People were not buying a lot of books, more like ice cream and pop, while loading up on free stuff.
Traverse City, organized by Dan McDougall was very cool, since it was inside a mall. The traffic was good, and I made new friends with fellow Michigan authors; I also stopped at the Horizon Books in downtown Traverse City. My book is available at the bookstore now.
Then again, I joined the horse on the canvas inside LowellArts on Aug. 10.
But definitely the best event was in Paradise located in Upper Peninsula, Michigan. Paradise is a tiny village nestling on the shores of Lake Superior on Whitefish Bay. The Wild Blueberry Festival with Arts & Crafts show lasted three days. People flocked to it from all over Michigan and Canada. It’s about an hour drive from the Mackinac Bridge.
Our
booth was located on a dune above the lake. Priceless. We could see Canada on
the other shore. The traffic was busy all three days. I had bratwurst with wild
blueberries, and a great little helper Ella, 8. She even got commission from
book sales. Ella learned the marketing pitch and worked it all Saturday long.
“The
main story is historical fiction from Belding, MI when it was known as the Silk
City Capital of the world,” she said.
The book cover with the optical illusion of the “Face of Gossip” attracted a lot of attention. Other people were fascinated my own immigration story from former communist Czechoslovakia, when I showed than an article about my naturalization.
“You did the right way,” the lady said.
We were stationed next to Redfish Artworks booth of creative and original art, by Bill and Angela Kuhn. On second day, I knew their pitch for their arrowheads, just like they knew mine for the book.
“I
am a flint knapper,” Bill would repeat 100 times a day.
We
all had a blast and sold a lot of products.
“Are
you coming back next year?” Bill asked.
“Yes,
we loved it.”
We were only a short drive from Tahquamenon Falls surrounded by beautiful nature from all sides. There were four other authors at the festival, and people were buying books.
I would consider both Belding parades, where the main story “Silk Nora” is set as the last summer events on my tour. Both parades started by the former Ballou Basket Works Factory and proceeded through downtown with hundreds of spectators.
Labor
Day weekend is known as Belding’s homecoming.
Thank you, Belding, for a great homecoming.
Watch for a post about my upcoming fall book tour.
I will be at the Fallasburg Village Bazaar on Sept. 14 and Sept. 15 from noon to 5 p.m. Come for a book and an authograph. There will be plenty of vendors to find your treasure.
Check out the Kindle Countdown deal starting on Sept. 10 through Sept. 15 on Amazon at:
Lowell, MI – I am getting ready for my next book stop in Paradise located in Upper Peninsula in Michigan. The tiny village nestled on Lake Superior’s Whitefish Bay annually hosts the popular Wild Blueberry Festival-Arts & Crafts Fair on Aug. 15, 16 & 17 with close to 100 vendors peddling everything from Lake Superior agate pendants to books.
My new book “Secrets” from the Shifting Sands Short Stories series is a collection of 15 short stories with the main historical fiction story “Silk Nora” set in the turn-of-the-century Belding.
One of the stories “When Layla met Corey” is set in Mackinaw City, which is a gateway to Upper Peninsula.
The book made its debut at the Lakeshore Art Festival in Muskegon in July.
An artist’s dream
Paradise, a community rich with nautical folklore, logging and Native American History attracts thousands of visitors and vendors due to close proximity to Tahquamenon Falls.
For its natural wonders and wilderness, Upper Peninsula has traditionally drawn writers, photographers and artists from all over the USA. Among the most famous authors were: Earnest Hemingway and John Voelker.
Whereinspiration abounds
A recent wave of emerging Michigan authors is sweeping the shores of the Great Lakes from Lake Michigan to Lake Superior. They write from Michigan with Michigan settings and locations. They market themselves under the umbrella of Michigan Authors. Follow them on http://www.MichiganAuthors.com
This is by far, not my first visit to UP or Paradise. I have fond memories of vacationing Up North, both from years ago with our kids and most recently with our granddaughter Ella.
I love the wilderness of UP and its natural pristine beauty, as well as the spirit of the Great Lakes.
Lowell, MI – Stop by today for an autographed copy of my brand new book “Secrets” from the Shifting Sands Short Stories collections. I will be at the LowellArts gallery from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. during the Livin’ is Easy exhibit.
I will be sharing insights from the publishing industry and from my own publishing journey. See you there.
Check out the article in Aug. 4th Buyer’s Guide “Taking the book on the road to connect with readers.”
Also watch for my posts from my book tour with the next event in Paradise, MI during the Wild Blueberry Festival on Aug. 16,17 & 18.
I am looking forward to my hometown book signing of “Secrets” from the Shifting Sands Short Stories series at the LowellArts gallery on Aug. 10 from 2pm to 4pm during the Livin’ is Easy exhibit.
Stop by for an autograph and for publishing insights. Also check out the story ” Taking the book on the road to connect with readers” about my tour in the Aug. 4 Buyer’s Guide.
The new book is a collection of 15 short stories with the main historical fiction story “Silk Nora” set in Belding, Michigan on the backdrop of the turn-of-the century era of inventions.
Other stories are based on Palova’s years of journalistic experience.
Together with other Michigan authors, Palova stands on the busy streets of hometowns manning her booth or tent, in the malls, at fairs or at art centers.
Locally, the book is available at the Springrove Variety in Lowell. It is on Amazon in both formats: paperback and kindle. It will be at the libraries of KDL, Schuler’s Books, Michigan News Agency and more. It is also at Horizon Books in Traverse City.
