BookSpeak Network

Guy Graybill is an author, educator, poet, and commentator. In his time with Sunbury Press Books, Guy has helped to preserve and chronicle the history of some of Pennsylvania's most unique characters. Among these, Prince David Farrington, brought to life once more in Prohibition's Prince: The Bizarre Life of America's Millionaire Moonshiner, a work now in its Second Edition. Another figure of the state's history, Henry Wharton Shoemaker, is profiled in Scoundrel of the Susquehanna. 

Graybill speaks of these men and other topics, and offers another of his interests, poetry. Rhymes from the Hinterland, on the Brown Posey Press imprint, is a collection of rhyming works, some serious, some poignant, and others hilarious. Guy also premieres a new piece, about a certain celebrity wedding...

A graduate of Gettysburg College with a degree in History, Guy Graybill taught the subject for more than three decades in the Middleburg and Loganton schools in Pennsylvania, and also in Colorado. His "careers" have included working in the State Capitol mailroom, a brick plant, and Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. He also served a four-year term as chairman of the Snyder County Board of Commissioners. Guy's other pursuits include travel, photography, and amateur archeology. 

Michael Robert Drane takes the reader back to the Gilded Age in Western Pennsylvania with his novel Their Wonted Fires. An old saying has it that "Pittsburgh is Hell with the lid off." This story takes you beneath the age's lavish facade of those days, to struggling rural communities and steel towns, including Braddock, PA.

The Moran family is the face of this tale, as they face the changes of a fast-moving, industrializing society, and they are forced to question whether they have the strength to persevere.

Their Wonted Fires appears on the Catamount Press imprint of Sunbury Press Books. Michael Robert Drane was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania, and fell in love with storytelling at a young age. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography, a B.S.Ed. in History from Shippensburg University, and a Master's in Public Policy from the University of California-Berkeley.  

When he is not writing or reading 130-year-old newspapers, Michael spends his time in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family.

Duncan is four years old and has been told he needs to find a mate. As a crow, however, living in New York City and with his parents dead, he must lead the family and keep it fed. 

Around Duncan, his sister Cloud and three fledglings, however, the crows are dying. "The Blind Death" has already taken their parents, and humans are now taking notice. Not only crows, but flamingos begin to die as well, and then people are showing up at hospital ERs...and the crows are being blamed.

Shade of Wings takes the reader inside the mind and body of Duncan, his family, plus a young bird enthusiast and a scientist, all of whom have their own ideas about what is going on. 

Author Pam McGaffin is a journalist whose work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and literary journals. Shade of Wings is her second novel, on She Writes Press. Her debut, The Leaving Year, was published through Spark Press and took First Place in 2018's Best Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction.

A proud "Bird Nerd," Pam lives in Seattle, Washington.

Four lycanthropes in a van, bound for Las Vegas...what could possibly go wrong?

The third volume in the Satan's Petting Zoo series, Circus of Ugly Angels finds Chad and his fellows going west, with Chad believing he will be the greatest of the species ever. In search of Sage, a guru-like lycanthrope who is said to be able to change into a variety of animals, the group decides to attend a high-profile gaming convention.

Before they even arrive, there's trouble: a run-in with a biker gang, a brawl with another pack of lycanthropes, and questions about motive and loyalty rise. The conflict within Chad also rages, as he cannot change his inner animal. Will this trip be worth it? Will they find Sage, and will Chad's answers lie in the Nevada desert?

Circus of Ugly Angels comes on the Verboten Press imprint, and is the latest in a string of dark, humorous, and fantastical tales told by Brian Koscienski, Chris Pisano, and Jeff Young, collectively known as "The Novel Guys." In this episode of the Sunbury Press Books Show, Koscienski offers insight into the series, plus the others he and his colleagues have produced, such as The Shattered World Saga, and The Vengeful Prince Saga. 

The Novel Guys all live somewhere in Pennsylvania.

A stolen mandolin leads insurance investigator Valerie Sloan on a chase that leads her and others from Nashville to Philadelphia in Flood Risk.

A country music legend's daughter wants the instrument back, while an obsessive collector will do anything to get his hands on it. Caught in the middle is a musician, connected to both the daughter and Valerie, and Mother Nature, who brings about a calamity of its own.

The second volume of the "Risk" series comes from Sandy Nork, who takes the reader into the Nashville music scene, as well as the city itself. The forces behind the characters--what drives Valerie in her side quests to solve crimes also include her search for self. With her erstwhile driver/sidekick Rocky Russo, Valerie navigates her own feelings, the threat of the collector's daughter, and if someone doesn't kill Valerie, the flood might.

A career in the business world, plus 23 years as a public librarian, are among the influences that bring Sandy Nork to the literary world with her debut, Special Risk, and her latest, Flood Risk on Red Haven Press. The third volume, entitled Personal Risk, is anticipated for release later in 2026. She lives in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area with her musician husband, Bill. 

When law student Anna Freeman picks up a videotape on energy policy, she steps into the heart of a conspiracy. Powerful lobbyists, corrupt politicians, and billion-dollar interests will do whatever it takes to keep their secrets secret.

The environmental activist in Anna is ignited, as the system thinks she's one of theirs. Instead, Anna plays a dangerous game as an undercover source for The New York Times. The one thing Anna didn't count on: she and the industry's top lobbyist are falling for one another. That, coupled with decisions Anna has to make, could cost her everything, including her life.

Set in 1988 Washington, DC, Temperature Rising is the latest environmental thriller from Joel Burcat. Stepping off from a real-life experience, Burcat again drives a story with compelling characters, both righteous and ruthless. In this conversation with host Tory Gates, Burcat discusses the efforts to discredit climate change then and now, and what can be done before the planet can no longer be saved.

An environmental attorney with more than four decades' experience, Joel Burcat has turned his talents to novels, with Drink to Every Beast, Amid Rage, Strange Fire, and Reap the Wind. Burcat is also the author of Whiz Kids: A Novel, which covers Philadelphia in 1950 and how the city rallies around the Phillies in their quest for the National League pennant.

Joel has also co-edited two of the pre-eminent volumes on environmental, oil and gas law in Pennsylvania. He has co-edited several editions of Pennsylvania Environmental Law & Practice, as well as two editions of The Law of Oil and Gas in Pennsylvania.

A Philadelphia native, Joel Burcat lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You can find out more at his website.

Justin Strawser is an award-winning reporter for The Daily Item newspaper in North-Central Pennsylvania. He currently covers the news and happenings in Union County and presents the Hidden History Series, a collection of tales that spotlight the lore of the Susquehanna Valley.

He has also self-published his first collection of poetry. Those Who Wait offers more than one hundred pieces from the past two decades. Assembled in a series of chapters, these cover the wide expanse of human existence and emotions.

Speaking with host Tory Gates, Justin talks about his early experiences with creative writing. They also talk about the current state of local journalism and the future of newspapers. 

A graduate of Bloomsburg University with a degree in Mass Communications, Justin lives in Northumberland County with his family.

The medium that remains the most immediate, apart perhaps from the internet, is radio. Imagine listening over the years for music, news, the weather, and so forth--who are the people's voices that come out of that box, those speakers?

Tim Scheld was on the front line for much of a five-decade career in broadcasting, and he tells some of those stories in My Front Row Seat: A Newsman's Journey. A reporter for WCBS-AM and a national correspondent for ABC News, Scheld served as news director of WCBS Newsradio 880 for two decades. He tells of being on the ground in New York City on September 11th, 2001 -- he also covered the Oklahoma City bombing and the death of Princess Diana. 

In this book, in collaboration with Dr. Paul Semendinger, Scheld brings these stories to life, his recollections, and provides a defense of journalism in America when it is needed the most. You know the stories; now learn how they were covered. 

In addition to his award-winning broadcast career, Tim Scheld now teaches journalism at Montclair State University. Dr. Paul Semendinger is the author of works that include From Compton to the Bronx, Scattering the Ashes, West Point at Gettysburg, and The Least Among Them.

Trouble seems to seek out Giovanna Rogers. The thought that her new job as manager of the luxurious Leisure Dreams Resort in the Galapagos Islands would bring a change is quickly brought back to Earth.

A famous documentary filmmaker is dead in her suite. Aided (in more ways than one) by Detective Victor Zuniga, Giovanna sets out to find the killer. The victim has made plenty of enemies, and there's a string of likely suspects, but...the culprit could be indigenous to the islands themselves. Who, or what, acted on their motives?

Sharon Marchisello returns to the BookSpeak Network with this latest in a series of mystery novels. We met Giovanna in "Secrets of the Galapagos." Sharon has also authored "Going Home," along with the DeeLo Myer cat rescue mysteries, "Trap, Neuter, Die," and "Trapped and Tested" with Level Best Books.

A native of Tyler, Texas, Sharon has a Bachelor of Arts in French and English from the University of Houston and a Master's in Professional Writing from USC. A longtime Delta Airlines flight attendant, Sharon has written "Live Well, Grow Wealth," a book on personal finance, along with short stories, plus articles on travel and book reviews. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia--you can find out more at her website.

How do we see the animals we love (and perhaps do not)? Through human eyes, these come about with the help of science, but also the vision of artists, and in the case of the guest in this episode, poetry.

David Parmalee has combined all three for children (and their parents) in There's More to Hippos Than You Know ~ 25 Poems about Real Animals with Hundreds of Fun Facts. These short poems, humorous and genuine, tell about the animals, both familiar and foreign, such as the bunny, the Dachshund, the moray eel, and of course, the hippopotamus. The stories behind these animals are told, with knowledge and things you might not have known. For example: did you know the komodo dragon was the inspiration for King Kong?

An author, educator, playwright, director, actor, and columnist, David Parmalee's work includes a Civil War-era historical novel, The Sea is a Thief, two upper-grade children's works, Miss Feesenschneezen Is Ill, and Miss Feesenschneezen Is Fit, with illustrator Maria deCerce, and The Traveler's Guide to Chincoteague and Assateague. Educated at Brown University, Parmalee has written 13 one-act plays, all produced by the Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the Gaslight Theatre, and the Scranton Fringe Festival, also in PA. Find out more about his works here. David and his wife, Toni Jo live in Northeast Pennsylvania.