For the Love of Books Podcast

Author Pamela Withrow pens memoir Madam Warden

Pam Withrow was an Indiana farm girl transplanted to Michigan. After a teen marriage and a stint on welfare, she graduated from college and began work with the Michigan Department of Corrections. Within seven years she was named the first woman to head a prison for men in Michigan. She then worked at the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia for 15 years.

 

Madam Warden takes the reader with Pam as she moves through progressively responsible positions in the Michigan Department of Corrections, introducing you to the people who lived and worked in the institutions she managed. Evidence-based programs and the story of one prisoner who benefitted from cognitive restructuring are featured.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Madam Warden.

Sponsored by Doc Chavent

Author Kenneth Harmon pens In the Realm of Ash & Sorrow

When bombardier Micah Lund dies on a mission over Hiroshima, his spirit remains trapped in the land of his enemies. Dazed, he follows Kiyomi Oshiro, a war widow struggling to care for her young daughter, Ai.

 

Food is scarce, work at the factory is brutal, and her in-laws treat her like a servant. Watching Kiyomi and Ai together, Micah reconsiders his intolerance for the people he’d called the enemy. As his concern for the mother and daughter grows, so does his guilt for his part in their suffering. Micah finds a new reality when Kiyomi and Ai dream—one which allows him to interact with them. While his feelings for Kiyomi deepen, imminent destruction looms. Hiroshima is about to be bombed, and Micah must warn Kiyomi and her daughter.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of In the Realm of Ash & Sorrow.

Sponsored by Doc Chavent

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.

Author Cassie Veselovsky creates sing-along Bingo Books

Making reading time a bit more musical with Bingo Books.

 

 

Author librarian Cassie Veselovsky makes reading time a bit more musical in her sing-along books for the five-year-olds and under crowd, and their grown-ups.

"I've taken my old rhymes and converted them into books," she said in the podcast interview.

A librarian of 40 years, Veselovsky also loves pairing books with readers to see the joy in kids' eyes when they say, "I loved the book."

In her sing-along books, Veselovsky matches up the rhymes with online purchased illustrations.

"Rhyming books are not easy," she said, "so they don't sound silly."

She would like to disperse a common misconception about her Bingo Books that they are like a bingo game.

"They're not a game," she said. "They're sing-along books with five-letter words."

Veselovsky will be at Winter Whimsy in Hartford on Dec. 8.

She has attended Reading Rocks in Rockford, hosted by the Rockford branch of the KDL system.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of 'Tis the Season."

Happy Holidays.

Sponsored by Doc Chavent and author Ed Bentley.

 

 

NaNoWriMo special panel advises to keep on writing

Are you up to the 50k-word marathon challenge that starts on Nov.1 aka NaNoWriMo?

The NaNoWriMo special panelists suggest just keep on writing without any interruptions even if you hit the proverbial wall. Make November your writing month.

"This is my writing month," author Jean Davis said.

Davis will be participating in the 18th year of the challenge.

That sentence resonated with all the panelists because as Jane Smiley said, 

"Every first draft is perfect because all the first draft has to do is exist. It's perfect in its existence. The only way it could be imperfect would be to NOT exist." 

Don't be too hard on yourself. Don't punish yourself, and have fun. Enjoy the camaraderie.

"I try to keep the momentum going," author John Winkelman said.

The panelists are authors- Vera West, Emma Palova, Jean Davis, John Winkelman, Andrew Smith, and Ed Bentley.

Listen in for a chance to win some free E books, and mainly to win the challenge.

Sound editing and effects by Douglas Kelly of Evolve Solutions, LLC.

Sponsored by Doc Chavent, Emma Palova, Ed Bentley, John Winkelman, and Andrew Smith.

Author Ed Bentley pens What a Way to Go! Death in Oshkosh in the 1880s

Author Ed Bentley's hobby as a researcher in genealogy led him to research early American artists and journalism in the 1880's. The writing enabled him to literally visualize the incredible loss of life as if it were happening in front of Ed at that moment.

"My intention in assembling these life-ending stories is to share the fascination with, and the appreciation for, journalism in the 1880s. Such a relief it is that our own future is hidden from us."

                                                    -Ed Bentley-

 

 

 

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Ed's book What a Way to Go! Death in the 1880s. 

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

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.

Author Janice Afman pens memoir SariSari

Jan Afman spent 10 years in Taiwan and six years in the Philippines during a difficult time in her life. She managed to write about it in her memoir SariSari many years later after processing her experience.

"It was hard to pry myself out of my comfort zone," she said. "I had to get over a culture shock."

However, she encourages people not to avoid difficult experiences since they are opportunities to grow.

"I learned to look for good things each day," she said. "I learned about growing from not being a happy camper to contentment."

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of SariSari.

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

Grim Paradise: The Cold Case Search for the Mackinac Island Killer

In his fourth true crime book Grim Paradise: The Cold Case Search for the Mackinac Island Killer author Rod Sadler offers an in-depth account of the brutal murder of Frances Lacey on Michigan's Mackinac Island in 1960.

So, why would anyone commit a murder in this paradise on earth?

"Well, it depends on who you ask," Sadler said during the podcast interview.

The city officials think it was somebody who lived on the island; the island folks think it was an insurance job and others think it could have been a young serial killer who moved on in his "criminal career."

Sadler went through a 2,000-page police report and interviewed the islanders who remembered the atmosphere; however, nobody mentioned what happened with the evidence items taken off the victim's body.

Will new DNA technology help identify the Person of Interest in the Mackinac Island cold case?

Embark on a journey with Sadler for a detailed look into the murder of Frances Lacey.

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of Grim Paradise: The Cold Case Search for the Mackinac Island Killer.

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

Author Rich Nelson pens This Tender Man - My Father’s Story

In his memoir, This Tender Man-My Father's Story Nelson explores the journey of an ordinary man caught up in the extraordinary circumstances of war. "My father nearly died of malaria in the jungles of WWII New Guinea" is the opening line of the book.

 

Woodrow F. Nelson served in the U.S. Army's 1462nd Engineer Maintenance Company in the tropical Pacific during WWII, coming home damaged by war but committed to leaving the war behind and going back to work, starting a family, and serving his community. 

However, like many veterans, he never shared any of the war stories with his son. Author Rich Nelson embarked on a journey to find out about his father's experience.

The book also delves into Muskegon's colorful historical and cultural tapestry.

 

Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of This Tender Man-My Father's Story.

 

Sponsored by Doc Chavent, The Lowell Ledger, and UP author Hilton Everett Moore