Category Archives: Uncategorized

National Novel Writing Month, Uncategorized

NaNoWriMo 2022

October 22, 2022 emmapalova 1 Comment

By Emma Palova

It’s that time of the year again to get ready for National Novel Writing Month in November. I’ve participated three times and won three times, and got three books out of my participation. Don’t get me wrong it’s a grueling challenge when you have to write 1,700 words a day to reach the 50K goal.

“Bank on words when you can,” said author Jean Davis, a 17-time NaNoWriMo participant. “There will be days when you won’t be able to write as much.”

Number one tip: Be ready. Clear your schedule for November, no unnecessary projects. Make it very clear what you’re going to be doing in November.

Don’t get distracted, stay focused on your project. Don’t go back to rewrite anything. Just keep on moving forward. The outlines are good, but the synopsis is better. The synopsis clearly shows a developed idea.

Zone into your writing at the same time every day. No deviations in the schedule.

NaNoWriMo has coaches to get you through the challenge, but ultimately it’s up to you to pull it off. And the first draft does not have to be messy. No. 1 thing is clear thinking and letting the characters lead you into the story. Let them carry the story.

Then, you also have a buddy system to keep you accountable. Use it or not, just be careful with your time. Use tools such as the Pinterest board for the project to keep everything together.

When you can’t write you can’t write, go for a walk, take a break. Just don’t stay out there all day. Keep your writing simple kind of like journalism writing for all to understand at all levels. No adverbs or big words. Just big ideas.

Have several ideas going on at once, just in case the first one doesn’t work out. Whether you’re a pantser or a plotter, just write.

Having said all of the above, I will be working on a sequel to The Lost Town. I am hammering out the main character as we speak and placing him ready for the adventure.

Each book should be better, than the previous one. I will keep that in mind. Ok, I have just found out that the best plotting method for me is The Save the Cat 15-beat sheet. Onwards.

Happy writing. Listen to our podcast.

There will be no new episodes in November, only reruns of summer episodes in case you missed them.

Uncategorized

For the Love of Books Podcast offers tips for NaNoWriMos in 2022

October 13, 2022 emmapalova 1 Comment

So you want another book under your belt? After all a year to get out your next book is the standard time frame. All the authors below have done it within slight time variations. They all have a few things in common. Listen in to find out what are those and how to win a signed copy of their books.

https://emmapalova123.podbean.com/e/tjlondon-pens-prequel-man-of-war/

book marketing, book podcasts, Uncategorized

OCTOBER GUEST AUTHORS

October 5, 2022 emmapalova 1 Comment

Welcome these Indie and small press authors to For the Love of Books Podcast. They represent fascinating genres.

October Authors on For the Love of Books Podcast

FOR THE LOVE OF BOOKS PODCAST with host EMMA PALOVA

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy in the podcast book giveaway with a personalized message by Indie and small press authors.

http://emmapalova123.podbean.com and on https://anchor.fm/emma-palova, major podcasting apps

October Schedule

T.J. London, Man of War, Oct. 7

Joanna Walitalo, Woodburnings, Oct. 19

Kathryn Den Houter, Prison Shadows, Oct. 27

Chris Stark, Carnival Lights, Oct. 28

Sponsored by Doc Chavent, The Lowell Ledger, Modern History Press

If you would like to be a guest on For the Love of Books Podcast, please fill out the form. If you would like to be a sponsor please contact Emma in the comment box below.

There will not be any new episodes. However, watch for reruns. If no one has claimed yet the coveted price, you get a second chance at it.

Authors events, book signing, book tours, Uncategorized

Author Emma @Earth Stories Jewelry on Blue Coast Artist tour in Saugatuck

October 1, 2022 emmapalova Leave a comment

Author Emma @Earth Stories Jewelry on Blue Coast Artist tour in Saugatuck

Author Emma @Earth Stories Jewelry on Blue Coast Artist tour in Saugatuck

— Read on emmapalova.com/2022/09/27/author-emma-earth-stories-jewelry-on-blue-coast-artist-tour-in-saugatuck/

Czech events, Czech heritage, Czech traditions, Uncategorized

St. Wenceslas name day in the Czech Republic, a national holiday

September 28, 2022 emmapalova 1 Comment

By Emma Palova

Today is my dad Vaclav Konecny’s name day, and my brother’s as well. Vaclav is the regular modernized version of Wenceslas, which was a royal name for the kings of Bohemia. It is a national holiday in the Czech Republic also known as ‘Czech Statehood Day’ that has been celebrated since 2000.

Sept. 28 is the feast day of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia, and it commemorates his death in 935. St. Wenceslas was the duke of Bohemia and the patron saint of the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, he was the victim of a murder plot orchestrated by Boleslav, who was his own brother. People celebrate this feast with festivals around the nation.

The main square in Prague is called “Vaclavak” or Vaclavske Namesti. It’s more a boulevard than a square and it is the busiest place in Prague, and traditionally a place for gatherings and manifestations, the site of Christmas markets. The statue of St. Wenceslas adorns the boulevard at the top along with the National Museum.

Throughout the years, “Vaclavak”, originally known as Konsky Trh or Horse Market, has witnessed many demonstrations, both sad and joyful events; invasion of Soviet tanks in 1968, demonstrations against the Soviet occupation, 1989 Velvet Revolution demonstrations and demonstrations on Sept. 3 of this year against the current government.

A big celebration planned for Wenceslas Square on Sept. 28, 2022 has been canceled due to security reasons, as a protest is scheduled to take place on the square. The protest called “Czech Republic First” is taking place right now.

“Vaclavak” is the site of a big seasonal market offering beers, food, and souvenirs.

Happy name day to my father Vaclav who inspired my memoir Greenwich Meridian Memoir about our family immigration saga from former Czechoslovakia to the USA.

My dad Vaclav grilling on Memorial Day 2022

Authors events, book marketing, book signing, Uncategorized

Author Emma @Earth Stories Jewelry on Blue Coast Artist tour in Saugatuck

September 27, 2022 emmapalova 1 Comment

Lowell author Emma Palova will be signing her new book ‘The Lost Town’ at Earth Stories Jewelry during the Blue Coast Artist tour on Oct. 1 & 2 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The gallery (station 7 on the map) is located one mile south of Saugatuck/Douglas, which is the setting of this historical fiction novel.

The Lost Town historical fiction novel. Cover by Jeanne Boss.

The Lost Town press release

Lowell, MI – The Lost Town, a historical fiction novel set in the ghost town of Singapore during the pioneer era of the 1830s, is the third book in the Shifting Sands series published in the summer of 2022.

Author Emma Palova of Lowell captured the spirit of the once thriving lumbering town in its main characters beautiful Miss Ida of Chicago and her boss lumber baron John Bosch.

The story unravels as the greedy New York investors set their eyes on the undeveloped land at the Oxbow bend in the Kalamazoo River surrounded by sand dunes with the much-coveted white pines.

Wily Oshea established the New York & Michigan Co. to facilitate the development of Singapore in 1836. The investors envisioned that Singapore would rival Chicago and Milwaukee. With its humming mills, boarding houses, hotels, and general stores at the height of its prosperity, Singapore almost outshone Chicago.

The name remains a mystery, as its famous counterpart island city in East Asia was only a fledgling town at the time.

“The mysterious name inspired me to write this novel,” Palova said.

The novel covers the entire span of Singapore’s existence from the 1830s to its demise in the 1870s. At one point the town was known as Ellis Island since it accepted immigrants from European countries like Norway and Holland. The town was the first stop for Hollanders before they moved further up north and established Holland. It existed before Saugatuck which was smaller and known as Flats.

According to one interpretation, the exotic name was used to honor the “singing sands” of the Lake Michigan shore. The shape of the grains and the moisture combine to make the sand sing or squeak when someone walks on it. Palova will have book signings in the Greater Grand Rapids area and during Blue Coast Artists event on Oct. 1 & 2 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Earth Stories Jewelry at 2742 68^th St. Fennville.

The Lost Town in the media

WGVU Morning Show with Shelley Irwin, Sept. 14

https://www.wgvunews.org/the-wgvu-morning-show/2022-09-14/the-lost-town

Holland Sentinel, Sept. 23

https://www.hollandsentinel.com/story/entertainment/books/2022/09/23/lowell-author-sets-historic-fiction-the-lost-town-in-west-michigans-singapore/69505191007/

The Lowell Ledger, July 13

Lowell author Emma Palova pens The Lost Town

Uncategorized

The Lost Town in Holland Sentinel

September 23, 2022 emmapalova Leave a comment

Check out this article in the Holland Sentinel about The Lost Town, a historic fiction novel set in the ghost town of Singapore, MI.

https://www.hollandsentinel.com/story/entertainment/books/2022/09/23/lowell-author-sets-historic-fiction-the-lost-town-in-west-michigans-singapore/69505191007/

To be continued

author events, book signing, Fallasburg, local author, Uncategorized

Sunday afternoon @Fallasburg

September 18, 2022 emmapalova 1 Comment

By Emma Palova

It was a great Sunday afternoon, Sept. 18, 2022 at the Fallasburg one-room schoolhouse. We enjoyed a steady stream of visitors, from far and near. Docent Tom Vaughn let the visitors ring the school bell in the bell tower, and lead them into the backroom with the Fallasburg village model in its late 1860s heyday. Old maps and photos attracted a lot of attention.

My new book The Lost Town set in the ghost town of Singapore continues its successful streak into the fall as we get closer to Halloween. Most people have never heard of Singapore in Michigan. Neither have I until I stumbled across the historic marker in front of the Singapore Village Hall sometime in the mid-1990s.

I would like to thank the @Fallasburg Historical Society for hosting another one of my book signings during the Fallasburg Fall Festival, which has become a tradition.

book podcasts, book promotions, Uncategorized

September authors

September 6, 2022 emmapalova Leave a comment

Welcome fall, and back to school and normal schedules. I am happy to announce the following guest authors on For the Love of Books Podcast show with host author Emma Palova. The podcast goes live weekly on Fridays on http://emmapalova123.podbean.com

Email Emma or comment below if you would like to be a guest and or a sponsor of an episode or the show.

They are Sharon Kennedy with The SideRoad Kids, Sept. 2

Gladys Fletcher, My Garden of Stones, Sept. 9

Mark Love, The Wayward Path, Sept. 16

Franklin Wilson, Sept. 23

Chad Bishop, Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc., Sept. 30

Sponsored by Doc Chavent, The Lowell Ledger, Modern History Press

Authors events, book podcasts, book signing, festivals, Michigan authors, Uncategorized

Into Paradise

August 16, 2022 emmapalova 1 Comment

By Emma Palova

I am getting ready for a five-hour road trip to Paradise. And it is a true paradise surrounded by the shimmering waters of Lake Superior on one side and the big woods of the Tahquamenon Falls State Park on the other. If you continue further north on Whitefish Point Road you will hit Whitefish Point with its nationally acclaimed Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and lighthouse.

The pristine magic of the Upper Peninsula (UP) has traditionally attracted authors, photographers, and filmmakers for at least one hundred years. Now, a new generation of authors writes from the UP or sets their stories in the UP. We are proud members of the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association. (UPPAA)

Many of them are my friends and we’ve met in person at several different authors’ events around the state of Michigan. We will meet again at the Wild Blueberry Festival in Paradise set for Aug. 19 through Aug. 21 this weekend. Here is a sampling of authors, who will be at the festival, including their podcasts. You can meet them in person in Paradise. They will sign your next favorite read. It really doesn’t get any better than that.

Author Mikel Classen is a true Yooper who makes his home in Sault Ste. Mary. His newest book True Tales: The Forgotten History of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a treasure chest of eye-opening stories. Listen in to the podcast episode by clicking on the link below.

https://emmapalova123.podbean.com/e/author-mikel-classen-digs-out-lost-stories-in-true-tales-from-the-up-1649166655/

Author Mike Carrier will be on his home turf at the festival since he spends summers near Whitefish Point. Fourteen out of 15 Carrier’s murder mysteries with the main character Jack Handler are set in the UP.

Mike Carrier

“The festival has become one of my favorites,” Carrier said. “Beyond the proximity, I find those who attend to be more interesting. For instance, there is a biker group that usually comes through the festival, and they help make it a fun event.”

Listen in to the episode about To China with Love.

https://emmapalova123.podbean.com/e/author-michael-carrier-releases-to-china-with-love/

Then it’s me who simply loves the UP. And like many other authors and artists, I’ve always been inspired by the rugged beauty and history of the land. I will have my brand new book “The Lost Town” on hand to sign.