Thorne Manor and Other Bizarre Tales takes readers on a descent into madness, where haunted people and sinister places conceal a world far darker than it appears.
Sponsored by Modern History Press, Moravian Sons Distillery, Doc Chavent
Beneath the surface of ordinary reality lurk occult forces, dangerous beliefs, and terrifying energies—waiting to be unleashed. Dare to enter a world where nothing is truly normal, and fear is only the beginning. Seven page-turning tales appear in this collection.
Larry Jorgensen considers himself an old news dog, with experience in both weekly and daily newspapers, writing, reporting and photography.
Sponsored by Modern History Press, Lowell author Jeff Ostrander, Moravian Sons Distillery and Doc Chavent.
“Turkey Creek’s mineral springs are a treasured part of Louisiana’s heritage reminding us of a time when people traveled from near and far to experience the healing waters and hospitality of our community. Hot Wells and Other Mysterious Louisiana Waters preserves that remarkable history.”
Heather Cloud, Louisiana State Senator, District 28
Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Hot Wells.
Copyright (c) 2026. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
A seasoned Bible teacher, inspiring speaker and award-winning author, Lisa Lewis Koster challenges, encourages and equips audiences to find the abundant life awaiting them in the pages of God’s Word.
Sponsored by Lowell author Jeff Ostrander, @Moravian Sons Distillery, Doc Chavent
She has the unique ability of teaching with a depth appreciated by seasoned Christians yet easily understood by those new in their faith. Lisa’s passion is to introduce simple tools that, when utilized, will deliver a deeper level of understanding to even what may have been familiar Scripture.
Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Enough
Coopyright (c) 2026. All rights reserved. Emma Blogs, LLC.
Eric Anderson is a substitute teacher by day and the founder of Nerd Chapel by night. He has a B.A. in Biblical Studies and Christian Ministries from Taylor University Fort Wayne. His hobbies include reading, board games, swing dancing, and watching television/movies.
Sponsored by Lowell author Jeff Ostrander, @Moravian Sons Distillery, Doc Chavent
Read more of his thoughts at www.nerdchapel.com where you can also learn about the Nerd Chapel schedule which includes convention appearances and board gaming events. He is one of the co-writers of the 42 Series of nerd devotionals: 42: Discovering Faith through Fandom, The New 42: God Terraforms All Things, and The Fantastic 42: A Fellowship Facing Doom with Hope. He wrote Dead False Gods: An Unauthorized Christian Reflection on Stargate SG-1; which looks at the show Stargate through the lens of scripture. He also contributed three entries to Finding God in Anime Vol. 3. You can follow Nerd Chapel on Facebook and Instagram.
Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy od Dead False Gods.
Copyright (c) 2026. All Rights Reserved. Emma Blogs, LLC.
“The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast. For this reason, the ecological crisis is also a summons to profound interior conversion. “
This quote from Pope Francis inspired Sister Damien Marie Savino, FSE to pen her first solo book Learning the Language of Creation.
Sponsored by Lowell author Jeff Ostrander, @Moravian Sons Distillery, Doc Chavent
Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Learning the Language of Creation.
Copyright (c) 2026. Emma Blogs, All rights reserved.
Happy Labor Day weekend! Welcome back to a brand new season of For the Love of Books Podcast.
Lowell-based author Jeff Ostrander relied heavily on the past as his main character in Womb of Souls is portrayed by protagonist Abraham Marsh. The inciting incident to create the novel was a scene of a dad running into a burning cabin to save his family while getting seriously injured.
Sponsored by Jeff Ostrander, Moravian Sons Distillery and Doc Chavent.
“I saw a picture in my mind of a father running into a burning house to save his kids. I knew he came out terribly hurt, but the rest I had to learn as the story progressed,” Ostrander said. “It was interesting to consider what would happen to a strong, handsome young man who suddenly found himself a weak, disfigured and lonely man. Does the value of life remain when all that brought him joy was torn away?”
Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Womb of Souls.
Copyright (c)2026 Emma Bllogs, 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.
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.
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.
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.
Songs, skits, dancing, and more! (Tickets on sale soon… more to come!)
