For the Love of Books Podcast

Author Lauren Persons pens Deer Diary, What Happened to Chester?

Happy Independence Day, let freedom ring.

Children's author Lauren Persons is a firm believer in William Shakespeare's “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” 

Sponsored by Modern History Press, Moravian Sons Distillery https://moraviansonsdistillery and author Brian Talarczyk.

 

Lauren’s rich and varied roles as actor, director, playwright, newspaper columnist, teacher, poet, wife, mother and grandmother have contributed to her latest role—children’s author of Lost But Found, The Real Story:  Chappie’s Tale, What Happened to Chester, The Perfect Gift and Deer Diary.

Listen in for a chance to win signed copies of Deer Diary and What Happened to Chester?

Copyright (c) 2025. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.

Authors Alley at LAF features 23 Michigan Authors

In a powerful display of camaraderie, Michigan Authors have become a staple of the Lakeshore Art Festival coming to downtown Muskegon this weekend June 28 &29 on Clay Street.

Sponsored by Modern History Press, Moravian Sons Distillery https://moraviansonsdistillery.com and authors Brian Talarczyk and Jennifer Raines.

Stop by this weekend to support more than 20 authors who write in all genres from children's books to memoirs and mysteries.

Copyright (c) 2025. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.

Author Jon Stott pens Wild Blueberry Summer

In sixty short prose poems, Jon Stott, celebrates the timeless rhythms and unexpected events that mark the passage of the late spring and summer months beside a woodland lake in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Sponsored by Modern History Press, Moravian Sons Distillery https://moraviansonsdistillery.com, authors Brian Talarczyk ,Jennifer Raines and Caroline Topperman.

 

Beginning with his anticipation of departing from the “City of the Pavements Grey” (Albuquerque, New Mexico) and the excitement of arriving at “The Little Cabin in the Big Woods” after spending many months so far away, he then chronicles such simple events as the sighting of the tiny flowers of May, the first appearance of a loon chick riding on its parent’s back, the joyful noise of Fourth of July celebrations, the spotting of the first red maple leaves,

and the melancholy hours of packing up and closing the cabin for the season. The theme of wildblueberries runs through the book.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Wild Blueberry Summer.

Copyright (c) 2025. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.

Author Brian Talarczyk pens I Am Not Bipolar: A Memoir

Happy Father's Day from the For the Love of Books Podcast with host author Emma Palova

In this candid memoir, author Brian Talarczyk delves into his harrowing journey with bipolar disorder—a legacy he unknowingly inherited until his father’s sudden death in 2001.

Sponsored by authors Brian Talarczyk, Jennifer Raines, Caroline Topperman and Lowell-based business Moravian Sons Distillery.

 

With vulnerability and humor, Talarczyk recounts the soaring highs and crushing lows of his experience, from manic episodes and terrifying psychosis that led to his stay at the Yale New Haven Psychiatric Facility, to the profound depression that nearly claimed his life. I Am Not Bipolar is a raw and compelling account of a man’s battle with mental illness, the lessons learned, and his resolve to break the silence surrounding mental health.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of I Am Not Bipolar: A Memoir

Copyright (c) 2025 Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.

Australian author Jennifer Raines pens A Just Man Choosing Family Book 4

No matter where you run, the past will find you…

Kelly needs to enhance her resume. Why else would she accept a placement in Tullamore facing her phobia about country towns? Years ago, a rookie cop humiliated her during an illegal strip search.

Sponsored by authors Jennifer Raines, Caroline Topperman and Moravian  Sons Distillery.

Problem is, that former cop is now the deputy principal of her new high school and her boss. Sharing a house, a commute, and now an investigation to unravel a series of disasters that look like sabotage, Kelly takes the previously unthinkable step from enemies to allies to lovers.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of A Just Man Choosing  Family Book 4.

Copyright (c) 2025. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

Author Caroline Topperman pens memoir Your Roots Cast a Shadow

Caroline Topperman's own move to Poland is a central part of Your Roots Cast a Shadow memoir as she grapples with her "Polish roots" while being a "Canadian by nature".

Sponsored by author Caroline Topperman, Moravian Sons Distillery and Doc Chavent.

 

She experiences cultural differences, language barriers, and a growing awareness of the political climate in modern-day Poland, particularly the rise of nationalism and racism.

Her journey to understand her family's past is intertwined with her present-day observations of Polish society, including its attitudes towards history, religion, and social acceptance.

The book ultimately questions how personal history intersects with global events to shape identity and the challenges of balancing one's origins with new surroundings.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Your Roots Cast a Shadow.

Copyright (c) 2025. Emma Palova. All rights reserved.

UP Author Sue Harrison pens Rescuing Crash, the Good Dog

Britta, an eleven-year-old girl, has lived in soul-deep sorrow since her mother left their family. When Britta's father forgets her birthday, he decides to give her a dog as a late birthday gift. (Britta wants a cell phone.) They adopt Crash, an Australian shepherd from the local animal shelter in Sault Ste. Marie, a small city in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and their adventures begin.

"A powerful tale of finding friendship in the most unexpected places. "

Nikki Mitchell, author of the Magic Shoebox Adventures

Rescuing Crash, the Good Dog is a story about broken hearts--not only Britta's and her father's hearts but also a dog's broken heart--and it is a story about the bonds between daughters and fathers and good dogs and also not-always-so-good cats.

Sponsored by Moravian Sons Distillery and Doc Chavent

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Rescuing Crash, the Good Dog.

Copyright (c) 2025. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.

Author Ryder Jones pens Westville

WATCH THE RIVER. STAY OUT OF THE WOODS. AND WHATEVER YOU DO—DON’T FOLLOW THE LIGHTS.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed book by Ryder Jones.

Sponsored by Moravian Sons Distillery and Doc Chavent.

 

 

Westville was never the kind of town where people went missing—

until the night thirteen-year-old Millie Thompson vanished without a trace.

Hometown cop Casey Benson is no stranger to regret. When Millie disappears, his quiet routine shatters. What begins as a missing persons case quickly spirals into something far more disturbing—

corporate cover-ups, shadowy government agents, and a secret buried deep beneath Westville’s streets.

Meanwhile, Millie’s best friend, Olivia Fischer, refuses to stay sidelined. She was the last to see Millie—and she knows something else is out there.

Copyright (c) 2025 Emma Paova. All rights reserved.

Author Emily Johnson pens Parents- The Prophets of the Home

 Happy Easterl

 

Emily’s newest book, Parents—The Prophets of the Home, invites mothers and fathers to step into their God-given roles as culture-shapers and spiritual leaders in the home.

Sponsored by @Moravian Sons Distillery and Doc Chavent

 

She aims to help families trade fear-based control for heart connection and raise children who know God’s voice and walk confidently in their Kingdom assignment. Emily lives with her family in the mountains of Mammoth Lakes, California, where she’s building a legacy of peace, presence, and purpose.

Copyright (c) 2025. Emma Palova. All rights reserved.

True crime author Rod Sadler pens Depraved Obsession

"You can't say the last evil person in this world was Hitler."

Those were the words of Circuit Court Judge Timothy Kenny when he spoke of Ronald Lloyd Bailey, a Michigan serial killer serving a life sentence without parole.

 

During a sunny Labor Day weekend in 1985, thirteen-year-old Shawn Moore was kidnapped while riding his bike near his home in Brighton, Michigan. Still on edge from a series of unsolved murders dubbed the Oakland County Child Killings in the mid-seventies, a task force of up to seventy-five investigators worked day and night to find Shawn.

In an almost unheard-of series of events, local, state, and federal law enforcement combined their resources and efforts to track down the killer. They knew the kidnapper could be anywhere, and there was an urgency to find Shawn Moore alive.

 Depraved Obsession: The Gripping True Story of Law Enforcement’s Hunt for a Sadistic Serial Killer launches on May 6.

Sponsored by Moravian Sons Distillery, Doc Chavent, and author Carla Stockton.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Depraved Obsession.

Copyright (c) 2025. Emma Palova. All rights reserved.