BookSpeak Network

Baseball cards were collected, traded, and used in games we made up as kids. In recent decades, however, the collectibles market has turned these into a multi-million-dollar business. They are the stuff of memories, the object of historians, and an addition to some people's portfolios. A recent discovery of a rare set of T206 cards sold in cigarette packs in the early 20th century has become a book, "What's in Ted's Wallet?" The owner of these cards was Theodore "Ted" Edison, the youngest son of Thomas Alva Edison. In the summer of 1909, Ted began collecting these cards and soon amassed a collection of 61, including 58 players. Many of them ended up in the Baseball Hall of Fame, such as Ty Cobb, Frank Chance, Walter Johnson, and Christy Mathewson. He kept them in a wallet made that year, and they were found among Ted's donated papers in the 1990s. When J.B. Manheim and co-author Lawrence Knorr found these during archival research on Edison and baseball, they knew they had a book!J.B. Manheim is Professor Emeritus at The George Washington University, where he developed the world's first degree-granting program in political communication. He is also the founding director of the School of Media & Public Affairs. He is the author of "The Deadball Files," a five-volume series on the early years of professional baseball in the 20th century. He is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, and International Thriller Writers.

"Promised Rewards" is a tale that takes the reader through 9th Century England, and follows an aspiring Bard, who tells the tales of the axe-wielding hero Sigurd. They don't quite start out that way, but seeking adventure means conflict, friendship, and perhaps even love as the two make their way through uncertain times.The story is one of many from Clif Flynt, who joins the Brown Posey Press Show to discuss how Bard and Sigard came about. With a background in folk music, computer programming and as a technical author, Clif has turned his skills toward short stories and the soon-to-be ongoing epic of his heroes.Clif is also the author of "You're Not From Around Here, Are You?" These and other works can be found on his website. He lives Michigan.

The full, eventful, and rich life of Lew Wallace is examined in detail in "Lew: The Life and Times of the Author of Ben Hur." Biographer Michael E. Fox appears on the Sunbury Press Books Show to discuss Wallace's career, and how one of the most popular novels of the 19th century was not religious, but a semi-autobiographical account of his own times.Fox traces Wallace's early life in Indiana (Fox was raised in Crawfordsville, where Wallace was sent for schooling at the age of nine, and where he retired), his experience in the Mexican War, and his time serving as a field commander under General Ulysses S. Grant during the western campaigns of the American Civil War. Wallace also served as Governor of the New Mexico Territory, where he completed "Ben Hur," and as a US Minister to the Ottoman Empire.Wallace's greatest work, "Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ" is considered the most spiritually influential novel of the century. He also wrote several other novels and a biography of President Benjamin Harrison, a fellow Indianan and Civil War general. Michael E. Fox developed friendships during his childhood with men who knew Wallace. He is a graduate of Purdue University, an attorney, and with a Master of Law (LLM) with Honors. He has worked for Eastman Kodak and served as President of Screen GP Americas, a maker of high-speed, high-resolution printing equipment and is considered a pioneer in modern-day printing and publishing technology. Now retired, he lives in Southern California.

Book 3 of the Rian Krieger's Journey takes Roger A. Smith's tomboyish heroine to Russia in "The Blackmailer." Thirteen-year-old Rian (that's Ree-in) runs away to Russia in 1838 to assist her uncle and cousin as they build a railroad for Tsar Nicholas I. There's a problem, though perhaps not for Rian--she is masquerading as her uncle's coachman, a boy. Rian's bravery and resourcefulness are soon noted by the Tsar, and Rian finds herself assigned to his palace, companion to Grand Duke Konstantin, his young son. Across the ocean, an economic depression has struck the US, and in Philadelphia, where Rian's family is based. Jules Freeman, a man who fled slavery years before works as foreman of Krieger Coach, while his home serves as a stopover on the Underground Railroad. He is then tasked with a new project, one that intrigues and challenges him.Roger A. Smith continues to combine his love of history with a story that has been ignored for nearly two centuries. In his third appearance on the Sunbury Press Books Show, Smith discusses what brought Rian, her family, and friends to life, and how a girl who has already accomplished much in her life will live history. A teacher of mentally gifted students, a farmer, an entrepreneur, and director of a rural arts council, Smith lives on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Find out more about him at RogerASmith.com

Steven Grier Williams brings his latest work, "Skadi and the Geats," the third of the Prose Edda Series to the Sunbury Press Books Show. The heart of the mysterious Ironwood forest has been pillaged and turned into a mine. Hrothgar, the Earl of Lejre has staked his claim as ruler of Midgard, but with force and violence which leaves the kingdom in his grip. But there are those who will fight...Skadi has proven her worth as Viking warrior and now joins the wide and bodiless Mimir in search of his physical form. An invitation from Hrothgar draws Skadi into a conspiracy that involves the Aesir gods, and she realizes that relying on others may be the only way to oust the Earl and restore her home.Steven Grier Williams is a graduate of Northwestern University, and his interest in Iceland and Nordic myths has resulted in the series, which includes, "Skadi," and "Thyra." He lives with his wife Danielle in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Author Dan Van Tassel returns to the Sunbury Press Books Show to discuss his new travel memoir, "Beyond Barron." The sequel to the 2008 release, "Back to Barron," Van Tassel tells of he and his wife Rhoda's travels and career. The memoir focuses on schools and universities attended, taught and visited; homes built, bought and redecorated; vehicles and pets acquired, all done with humor and detail. Dan Van Tassel grew up in Barron, Wisconsin, about 80 miles northeast of Minneapolis, Minnesota and discusses his upbringing in a small town reminiscent of the life Garrison Keillor often wrote and told his own tales about. Van Tassel graduated from St. Olaf College, and earned graduate degrees from the University of Iowa. He taught literature at Muskingum College and Cal State-San Marcos, and now teaches courses for senior citizens. Dan is also the author of the 2022 Sunbury Press release, "Journey by the Book: A Guide to Tales of Travels."He lives in Northfield, Minnesota.

The life of Major William Trent is shrouded in relative obscurity, but his mark on the Colonial period of early US history cannot be taken from him. The son of a Philadelphia shipping merchant, and the namesake for the capitol of New Jersey, Trent served as the factor for one of the most powerful land speculation companies, known for his impeccable record-keeping and penmanship. By the eve of the American Revolution, Trent was the face of westward expansion. He was also purported to be the giver of smallpox-infected blankets to Natives at Fort Pitt in the summer of 1763.Author and historian Jason Cherry works to dispel that notion and to tell how Trent served alongside contemporaries such as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. A research consultant for the 1719 William Trent House Museum and the author of "Pittsburgh's Lost Outpost: Captain Trent's Fort," Cherry brings the biography of Trent forward in this new book. He lives with his family in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In this second of two special episodes, the Sunbury Press Books Show hears from participating authors in the 2024 Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia, held at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Producer and presenter Tory Gates interviews three of these authors:Hilary Hauck, author of From Ashes to Song, on our Milford House Press imprint, discusses the WCONA Conference experience, and her session on writing craft.L.E. DeLano, author of both young adult and romance works, including Traveler, and Dreamer. Her 2021 novel, Blue was named the SPARK Award winner by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and was the 2021-22 Teen/YA Book of the Year by Reader Views Kids. Stephen Sherrill is a Professor of Creative Writing at Penn State-Altoona. He is the author of works that include Motorcycles, Minotaurs and Banjos: A Midwest Odyssey, which documents a personal and musical journey, Joy, PA: A Novel, and Visits from the Drowned Girl. He is also the creator of Despondent Man, a character you must hear about in Sherrill's own words.Through our Northern Appalachia imprint, Catamount Press, Sunbury Press Books aims to highlight not only the past works of authors such as Herbert E. Stover but current works of fiction and non-fiction by authors of this region.

J.T. Kunkel brings his unique brand of writing, setting, description and action in a series of mystery works. We are introduced to Miranda Marquette, an ex-cop turned entrepreneur who cannot get crime-fighting out of her system. From the debut Blood on the Bayou, readers have followed the detective across the US in seven (so far) tales that include Murder in the Extreme, and A Death in Santa Clara.Not to be outdone, Cordelia Corbett makes her first appearance in Under the Influence. Kunkel discusses the mystery genre, the creative process and how Miranda and Cordelia have captured reader's imaginations on the Brown Posey Press Show. A longtime singer-songwriter, Kunkel did his time in Nashville before turning his skills to novels. He lives in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

Debuting in 2019, the Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia honors the authors, past and present who occupy a unique place in this part of the United States. The goals of the annual conference are to help writers continue to evolve, progress, and improve their work while highlighting the region, and its character.Sunbury Press is a sponsor and supporter of this event, held this year at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Producer Tory Gates sat down with several participants in this conference, and in this first special episode, heard from three of the voices of the region.PJ Piccirillo is a founding father of the WCONA Festival. A two-time winner of the Appalachian Writers Award for Short Fiction, he is the author of the novels Heartwood and The Indigo Scarf. He is also an editor of the Northern Appalachia Review, available through Sunbury Press' imprint, Catamount Press.Ben Moyer is an outdoor writer and essayist, whose work appears in numerous publications. Smoke to See By is a new release on Catamount Press, a collection of 21 stories and essays, which won the WCONA Book of the Year Award.Paul T. Ricci is a statistician, author, blogger and educator, with a degree in biostatistics and research methodology from the University of Pittsburgh. The founder of Allegheny Independent Media, Ricci is the author of Wuthering Depths in Johnstown: By the Numbers, a look at the changes of his hometown, and he speaks of Johnstown's history, and what its future may hold.