For the Love of Books Podcast

Modern History Press publishes U.P. Reader Volume #8

“It's the perfect gift for Father's Day. Don’t give your father, The World’s Greatest Dad mug, or a barbecue apron. He doesn’t care. He needs something else to feed his brain,” Victor Volkman, senior editor at Modern History Press said in the newest episode of For the Love of Books Podcast on Thursday.

Give him U.P Reader Volume #8 instead. The hefty publication with a beautiful cover photo of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore between Munising and Grand Marais is filled with fiction and non-fiction stories, essays, poetry, memoirs, humor, and history.

It’s 181 pages long with historical archive photos and includes six stories from the winners of the annual Dandelion Cottage contest from all of the UP’s participating schools.

“It feels very solid and very significant,” said Volkman. “This is the biggest it’s going to get, ever. We’ve expanded it with the first, second, and third-place winners of the contest. Kids like to write long.”

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of U.P. Reader Volume #8

Sponsored by Doc Chavent.

Copyright (c) 2024. Emma Blogs, LLC

Holiday Author Talk & Moravian Sons Liquor Tasting

Get into the holiday spirit this Saturday at The Book Nook & Java Shop in cozy Montague with four authors and four spirits.

The special holiday event organized by Written in the Mitten starts with author founder Ingar Rudholm talking about book descriptions, followed by Rudholm on memoirs and short stories, authors H. William Ruback and Marie Lapres.

Moravian Sons Distillery based in Lowell will offer free samples of 100 percent Michigan-made liquors and cocktails, available for purchase at the bar of The Book Nook.

Come and enjoy the spirit of the season on Dec. 16 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 8744 Ferry Street in downtown Montague.

Sponsored by Doc Chavent.

UP author Hilton Everett Moore pens North of Nelson Vol. II

In his second book of short stories North of Nelson Vol. II, UP author Hilton Everett Moore explores themes that most authors will not touch; Moore exposes stories of incest, lust, love, and hate all set in the rugged terrain of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

The five stories include "The Cell Tower," "The Ditch Dog," "Ode to a Lone Wolf," "A Beast Called Fate," and "Lust and Lightning."

Author Sue Harrison has written the following review: North of Nelson should be read slowly, savoring the quirky characters, the poetry of the words, and the odd fierce stories. Hilton Everett Moore is far more than a regional writer. His words and stories place him in high literary circles indeed.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of North of Nelson Vol. II.

Sponsored by Doc Chavent and authors Hilton Everett Moore and Ed Bentley.

Shining new U.P. Reader Volume 7 released

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

Sponsored by Doc Chavent and The Lowell Ledger

Author Hilton Everett Moore pens North of Nelson short stories collection

In his North of Nelson anthology of short stories, author Hilton Everett Moore skillfully captures the heart of Michigan's Upper Peninsula with its unique characters.

"The very area is a character," he said. "The land expresses itself. It makes my stories work."

 

Moore lives in a cabin in a remote area of Baraga County and transforms the ruggedness of the U.P. in his magnificent six short stories which have a common thread.

"Each short story has a moment in time," he said.

The protagonists, the Martins, are featured in each story as they accompany each individual character.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of North of Nelson.

Sponsored by Doc Chavent and The Lowell Ledger.

Michigan Reads connects authors with the world

Michigan Reads is a functional gateway for Michigan independent authors which started out with authors Ingar Rudholm and Andrew Allen Smith. The site was tested and more authors were added.

"The purpose is to centralize Michigan authors in a single place," said Smith. "I will be offering it to all authors in February or March."

Eventually, more features were added such as electronic billboards. In the works are streaming and TV. The proposed cost per author per book is $10, and a requirement to write a review of somebody else's book.

"You can have as many books as you want," Smith said. "It's a place that is easy to remember."

The main innovation is name recognition, according to Smith.

Listen in for more details.

Sponsored by Doc Chavent and The Lowell Ledger

How to survive NaNoWriMo 50k word challenge ending up with a rough draft of a novel

That is the million-dollar question that today's panelists authors Jean Davis, Vera West, and Emma Palova will attempt to answer. There is not a one size fits all guideline to win the 50,000-word challenge coming up in November.

At times, the challenge reminds me of final exams in college, when you had to pull it all together in one month, and in four different subjects. As authors, we each have a different approach to getting it done. I like to have some kind of pillars to rely on kind of like a suspended bridge, not necessarily a full-blown outline, but rather a synopsis as Davis suggested.

Davis has been participating in NaNo for 17 years, which has increased her productivity immensely. Out of that, she won 15 times. West enters every year but does not always win. So far, she has won once.

"For me, any progress is better than none," she said.

True, if you enter and get 10,000 words written, that's 10,000 words more than you had before entering.

These experienced NaNoWriMos offered invaluable tips in the special episode: Have two projects in the works in case you get stuck on one, and work hard in the honeymoon phase at the beginning before exhaustion settles in.

Don't go back to fix anything, keep moving forward even if you don't like the way the story is evolving; you might not like it two hours later either.

"There are two ways to go about it," Davis said. "First you can outline that you have to write 1,667 words a day, secondly you can just work on something like I do."

Whichever way you pick, just stick to your commitment.

Find out what to do when you do get stuck. And we all do, indeed.

Sponsored by Doc Chavent and The Lowell Ledger

 

Victor Volkman publishes U.P. Reader Volume 6

Victor Volkman is the publisher of the U.P. Reader, senior editor at Modern History Press based in Ann Arbor, and president of the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association.

The U.P. Reader is the brainchild of author Mikel Classen. Volkman said he can't be a Yooper because Yoopers are born, not made. The hefty publication features thirty to 50 contributing writers, most are members of the UPPAA.

"People who live in the U.P are great writers, the U.P. Reader exposes their writings for other people to explore," said Volkman.

Volkman said he's especially proud of the inclusion of Cottage Dandelion winners, young writers who receive a traveling trophy for their school, kind of like the Stanley Cup.

"We're making the next generation of writers," he said. "We provide training wheels for young writers. We're able to accept 90 percent of writing."

The all-inclusive publication, which is distributed to all the libraries in the U.P.,  features contemporary fiction, short stories, humor, history, memoir, poetry, and much more.

"I am a publisher, and this helped me build a relationship with writers," he said. "We work hard to keep the price reasonable."

Some of the highlights of the UPPAA are the spring conference in Marquette in June and the picnic on the first Saturday after Labor Day in Marquette.

Submissions for the U.P. Reader Volume 7 will be accepted until November.

"It's a lot of fun," he said. "I love the sense of community in the U.P."

To become a member of the association go to https://www.uppaa.org/

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

Listen in for a chance to win an autographed copy of the U.P. Reader.

Have an awesome Fourth of July.

 

 

Author Andrew Smith unleashes horror in Another Slice of Fear

In his second book in the Slice of Fear franchise, Andrew Smith explores fear in all its dimensions and takes it down deep into this rabbit hole he had found along the way.

 

"I believe that fear is at the core of who we are and it makes us alive," he said. "Fear is a lot of fun. I use fear to entertain people."

Another Slice of Fear is an anthology of 16 stories that will stir your imagination.

A man finds the secret to immortality, or does he?

A monster awakens and has to decide who is the monster?

A selfish woman gets eternal servitude, for a price.

A family fortune is saved by unlikely allies.

A scene unfolds from three different perspectives and creates a problem for Kate with exciting results.

A man wins a special vacation for the newly almost divorced.

Early reviews long for the continuation of The Edge carried from the first book into the second one as "The Edges."

"Much to my delight, Andrew added an act two to the story he began in the first volume. Where he began with "The Edge", he continues here with "Edges". I was fascinated by the first act of this tale and having the opportunity to see how the story evolves in the second was marvelous. The introduction of a sacred book to the story requited my desire for new secrets, enticing my imagination with how the sword was forged and why it was sanctified for its purpose. Like a chocolate torte cake, each layer reveals a little bit more delicious tension and suspense. I am hopeful this story will one day grow into a novella or a full stand-alone novel. My anticipation for even more layers to be revealed is undeniable."

                                                                 -Diana Kathryn Plopa

Listen in for a chance to win signed copies of the books from the Slice of Fear franchise.

Sponsored by Doc Chavent, the Lowell Ledger and Modern History Press

YA novel ”Thanks, Carissa, For Ruining My Life” set for February release

Author Dallas Woodburn skillfully flips friends into lovers in the love triangle between Carissa, Brad, and Rose using two points of view.

Set for February release the friends-to-lovers romance delivers a heartwarming message about self-improvement, identity, and acceptance in an image-obsessed culture.

This is Woodburn's second novel with a short story collection How To Make Paper When the World is Ending slated for June publication.

A former John Steinbeck Fellow in Creative Writing, Woodburn's writing has been honored with the Cypress & Pine Short Fiction Award, the international Glass Woman Prize, and four Pushcart Prize nominations.

When she's not writing, Dallas hosts the podcast "Overflowing Bookshelves." Woodburn is also a book doula.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Woodburn's new novel.