Just in time for the unofficial opening of summer, U.P. Reader hit the stands with its shining new volume 7 graced by the beautiful cover of a mining shaft at Painesdale on the Keweenaw constructed in 1902.
The hefty annual publication takes you on a road trip across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from the Mackinac Bridge to Menominee with nonfiction and fiction pieces by UP authors who embody the life of a Yooper.
“Yoopers are born, not made,” said publisher Victor Volkman. “That’s why I can never be a Yooper.”
The 60 short works in the issue span the entire Upper Peninsula and include imaginative fiction from young winners of the Dandelion Cottage contest.
The cover is by author Mikel Classen.
Listen in for a chance to win a copy of U.P. Reader, Vol. 7
In her historical fiction novel The Man from Burnt Island, author Wendy Thomson weaves the family story into the tapestry of Detroit’s rich history during the Great Depression, Prohibition, World War II, and the booming automotive industry starting in the 1950s and beyond.
It was a tough life for the Scottish Sharp family at the turn of the twentieth century. Coal miners, they were exempt from the World War I draft. Frank, the fourth of five sons, was the only one that went off to war. Luckily, he survived the trenches, only to return to poor job prospects and poorer wages. When most of the family sailed across the Atlantic in search of a better life, Frank stayed behind for a while… for a little too long, it so happened.
What Frank sacrifices to achieve material and career success takes its toll on his family and personal life. After all is said and done, this is the saga of a determined and ambitious man who was hell-bent on leaving his poverty-stricken past behind.
Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of The Man from Burnt Island.
All April episodes sponsored by Doc Chavent, The Lowell Ledger, author Jen Rinaldi
In her debut book, author Jen Rinaldi tells the story of a cancer survivor Alex, who almost dies on the operating table. While she lingers between heaven and earth, she hears a voice that beckons her to stay, only to lose that voice when she is brought back, feeling as though she is missing more than her breast.
After Alex recovers, she takes a vacation while delivering the artwork for her boss. It is then that she hears a mysterious voice connected to the SUV that she has rented. Alex and ‘Bec’ as the voice asks her to call him, set out on a cross-country adventure that involves a jewel heist and an evil stalker who will attempt to kill Alex for the artwork she carries. Will Bec save Alex from the evil that is pursuing her?
Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of One Day Closer to Death.
Drawing on her knowledge of family ancestry combined with historical fiction, author Mandy Jo Rindhage creates a time travel novel inspired by real-life characters, great grandfather Heinrich and great uncle Gustav.
“A Stormy Travel Thru Time has multiple time hops each is when a storm crops up,” Mandy Jo said. “They’re trying to get to Saginaw, Michigan.”
Rindhage is a multi-genre author who has no trouble switching gears between a fitness book, fantasy, and historical fiction.
The real challenge in the book was aging all the characters appropriately, according to Rindhage when they crossed paths on different occasions.
Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of A Stormy Travel Thru Time.
In Pearls of My Mind, author Preethi Saravanakumar, a software developer and an award-winning poet, takes you on a journey into self-discovery using the symbolism of pearls.
Are you a Spiritual Newbie? Are you a Seeker? Or are you a Sage today? Let’s find out as we go on a self-reflective journey of pearl harvesting. Pearls Of My Mind is a book that houses my rainbow thoughts. As each of the seven colored pearls brings simple wisdom, dazzling jewelry is cautiously strung.
This book deals with the connection between colors and emotions and their relationship to the Chakras. Pearls are rightly synonymous with purity, clarity, and longevity. They are wisdom in the true sense! Oh, Rainbow Pearls! Thy vivid prismatic hues, Thy pure poised wisdom, Thy bold mighty endurance, I majestically manifest thy cues! I majestically manifest thy cues!
Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Pearls of My Mind.
Ghost on Beale Street is Lori Hudson’s fifth book in the Beale Street mystery series inspired by a small town in Illinois where Hudson’s grandfather was the mayor.
A little boy has gone missing, and the town of Burtonville is on high alert. Then Marianne Reed and her friend, Ashley, notice strange lights and something moving around in the old Abbott house. Is it possible a ghost has taken up residence?
Listen in for a chance to win a free copy of Ghost on Beale Street.
The interview with publisher author Matt Lubbers-Moore of ReQueered Tales and host author Emma Palova marks the 100th episode anniversary of For the Love of Books Podcast show. I am grateful to the entire literary community for making the show a success and to the sponsors Doc Chavent and The Lowell Ledger.
ReQueered Tales is striving to preserve the literary heritage of the LGBTQ community by publishing out-of-print titles or publishing new works of older series.
According to Lubbers-Moore, the project started out as a joke with his business partners.
“Books from the 1990s, 80s, and 70s were hard to find and expensive,” said Lubbers-Moore. “Are we actually going to do this?”
And they started with a core of five gay mystery authors in 2018 as they grew to cover all the genres of LGBTQ fiction.
“Now we’re competing with the big boys,” Lubbers-Moore laughed as he referred to the big publishing houses. “Other publishers are doing this now.”
Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Murder and Mayhem bibliography. Be a part of the excitement and magic.
Her two gangster novels earned her Top Notable Indie Book awards. Author Betty Passick shared her passion for writing historical fiction in a very candid down-to-earth interview. Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of The Black Bag of Dr. Wiltse.
“Research comes first,” she said. “If you don’t like doing research, historical fiction is not for you.”
Unlike most authors of historical fiction, Passick does not change the names of people or places in her historical crime novels. She has always been fascinated by the story of the Italian American “mystery man” who first came to her Iowa hometown in the early 1920s, and the rest is history. No pun intended.
Now, it’s up to us to find out what was in TheBlack Bag of Dr. Wiltse, Murder on the Prairie her second historical crime novel that earned her the second Top Notable Indie Book Award in 2021 after Gangster in our Midst in 2019.
“This crime mystery novel captures its audience’s attention with the delicious historical detail from this time period in early America’s burgeoning settlements… Who knew there was such a criminal element lurking on our prairies?”
Discover the full author line-up under the umbrella of Great Lakes Writers in this podcast, and at the Expo.
Find your next favorite read by Michigan authors at the West Michigan Women’s Expo this weekend starting on Friday at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids.
Seventeen Michigan authors will be grouped under the umbrella of Great Lakes Writers, and they will be located in booths 110-118.
I have one free ticket left to the show for the lucky winner. Listen in to the podcast for details of the giveaway, as well as the author line-up and instructions for participating authors.
Come, bring a friend and have fun with us. We’re going to have a blast together.
I think this is the first time I’ve ever worked on a book on the beach. I’ve written on beaches before, but never a contiguous piece of an actual manuscript, the sequel to Shifting Sands: The Lost Town.
“What’s lost can be found even on a beach or underneath the singing sands.”
Scuba Divers
It’s very fitting to write the sequel on the beach amidst the little dunes with the wind blowing from the south. The life saving wind is cooling down the air temperature that reached 82 F. It’s 90F in Orlando. I am savoring the warmth of these moments as a major winter storm is whipping the Midwest.
It’s been quite an experiment that I started aboard the Allegiant two- hour flight to Punta Gorda, FL to see if can pick up writing whenever or wherever I leave off. So far it has been working out despite all the beach distractions.
The PavilionEpiphany Church
Yes, there has been plenty of distractions from the posted Red Tide caused by red algae, private jets taking off behind my back, to the falling umbrella, cute divers with oxygen tanks, a screaming kid and the glistening waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Then yesterday I broke my eyeglasses, forgot my card and much more.
After mom’s surgery this morning, a cup of coffee and two cups of Earl Grey, I regained some composure still undecided whether I should go for the Ashes in the morning by myself, or wait the outcome of the surgery. Mom was recovering well so I went for the gold- that is what I call going to the beach.
The improvement since yesterday was remarkable; no more coughing caused by the Red Tide or smell from the dead fish washed ashore.
“It comes and goes,” mom said about the unwelcome visitor to the Florida beaches. Regardless, the Red Tide the beaches of Venice are busy with tourists and snowbirds. Yoga on the Beach with Elin in the mornings enjoys around 200 yogis of all ages.
But back to the manuscript. I am about five to six chapters away from the end. Do I know the ending? I don’t and I like it that way as it keeps me on the edge, and probably preventing me from sleeping too.
What are the major forces in the story now? Well, the secrets of Singapore remain covered with sand. How will they emerge? Who will help uncover them? That remains unknown.
To be continued…
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