BookSpeak Network

Shawn McLain creates characters that are not always all-powerful, nor are they perfect. He works toward the relatable, even when delving into fantasy, horror and his other interests. In "Thorn," McLains kicks off a new series in which a young elf seeks adventure, but also, freedom in a world where elves and men are segregated due to prejudice. A chance meeting with a half-elf girl leads to a quest to stop an evil witch from world destruction.Through their interactions, acceptance is learned, as well as Magic, they must also consider a dark secret. McLain draws on zombies, elves, trolls and a love for both Tolkien and Dungeons & Dragons for the worlds he has created. He joins Lawrence Knorr on the Sunbury Press Books Show to tell of "Thorn" and his other books, including "Respect the Dead" and the "Grey Girl" Trilogy. He writes promotional copy and materials for the Pennsylvania Cable Network.

All Josh wants is to have one final weekend getaway with his high school buddies before they have to get serious about life. A spooky October camping trip in rural Appalachia fits the bill...what could possibly go wrong?Kyle Alexander Romines returns with the latest of his thriller series, "The Vengence of the Crows" on the Sunbury Press Books Show. Dr. Romines, we should say--a physician, winemaker and prolific author, Romines joins host Lawrence Knorr to discuss his series, which can be found on the Hellbender Books imprint. "The Keeper of the Crows" and "The Whispers of the Crows," like this new release tap into different elements of horror and suspense. Kyle is the author of 15 books, which also include the western novel "Atonement," the "Tales of Fál" fantasy series, and standalone works that include "Thrall" and "Seeking to Devour."A practicioner of family medicine, he lives in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Author Ronald T. Waldo returns to the Sunbury Press Books Show with the latest in a series of detailed looks back at the "Deadball Era" of baseball, in Days of Reckoning: Players Punching Their Ticket Out of Pittsburgh During the Barney Dreyfuss Era. The book focuses on the Pittsburgh Pirates and the years 1900 to 1932, during the ownership of Barney Dreyfuss.A powerhouse of the National League in the early 20th century, the Bucs were home to numerous players who would go on to the Baseball Hall of Fame, or at least became household names. Players such as Rube Waddell, "Happy Jack" Chesbro, Honus Wagner, "Rabbit" Maranville, Dick Bartell and many more are recalled in Waldo's work. Despite Dreyfuss being one of the more generous owners, many players found their way out of Pittsburgh, often due to issues with their boss. Waldo also talks about the early structure of Major League Baseball, and how the upstart American League made its own way to prominence.Waldo's first book, Fred Clarke: A Biography of the Baseball Hall of Fame Player/Manager was published in 2010. He also the author of Deadball Trailblazers: Single-Season Records of the Modern Era, which was a Modern Era finalist for the Larry Ritter Book Award. That work is talked about in length on a previous episode of this program. Fans of baseball, history and especially the Pirates will most certainly enjoy Waldo's new book, available at Sunbury Press dot com.

Philadelphia, 1837. Twelve-year-old tomboy heroine Rian Krieger has successfully escorted "self-emancipated" slaves from Philadelphia to their next station on the Underground Railroad. When her father, Otto finds out, he renews his plans to send Rian off to a finishing school in Switzerland. This, however, Rian will not have--she would have to wear dresses all the time!For Rian, the Philadelphia of this time is one of industrialization and change. Increased prosperity and commerce lead factory owner Otto to make decisions that come back to haunt him. The Panic of 1837 has threatened the social and economic fabric of the city, and the Krieger business and home face foreclosure.When two visitors from Tsarist Russia present themselves at the factory, Rian believes their mission may save her father's business, and solve her own problems as well.The fantastic journey of Rian Krieger continues in "The Coachman," book two of the series from the pen of Roger A. Smith. He returns to the Sunbury Press Books Show to speak with host Lawrence Knorr about not only Rian's growth, but provides a historical background to the US in pre-Civil War days.Smith is a former high school history teacher who has had many careers: farmer, summer camp and wilderness expedition program operator, cofounder of a participatory science museum, and woodworker. With "The Conductor" and "The Coachman," Smith may with all justification add "author" to his resume. He lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts; find out more about Roger here.

A teacher's quest to investigate a horrific murder leads Hannah Stein and her students into an adventure and shadows of her past in "The Class Assignment is Murder." Author Carolyn Kleinman draws on her own life and experiences as a teacher to bring this, her second novel for Sunbury Press Books. Hannah discovers her move to Parkerville, a small town in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is not the idyllic place everyone says it is. She discovers that in 2005, a teenage boy named Matthew Baker murdered his family and raped his cousin.Fifteen years later, Matthew now says he is innocent. Hannah enlists the aid of three of her students to investigate the Baker case and dredges up a past that some do not want disturbed. For Hannah, the assignment brings up her own past, having witnessed her mother's murder at the age of five (but did not see her attacker's) face.Carolyn Kleinman grew up in the Twin Cities and earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Minnesota. She has taught English and English as a Second Language, and is also the author of "Love, Faith and the Dented Bullet." She discusses with host Lawrence Knorr what drew her to create her own stories, and how drew upon true crime and incidents for her works. She lives with her husband Steven in Lancaster, PA.

The life of Francis Kalnay is deconstructed by Katherine Fennelly in her new Sunbury Press work, "Family Declassified--Uncovering My Grandfather's Journey from Spy to Children's Book Author."Kalnay's tale sounds like something out of a John LeCarre or Ian Fleming novel--a Jewish Hungarian immigrant who arrived in the United States more than a century ago, he rose to become a top-level spy for the Allies during World War II. The charismatic, multilingual Kalnay led an elite espionage unit, had numerous affairs, and suffered the muder of his sister and nephew by Hungarian fascists (a matter he never spoke of).In 1954, Kalnay abandoned his family and fled to Mexico where he remade himself, as a designer of homes and an award-winning children's author. He is perhaps best known for the Newbery-Award-winning "Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa" in 1959. The details of his secret life were buried in Office of Strategic Services (OSS) files, and unearthed by his granddaughter.Katherine Fennelly is Professor Emerita at the University of Minnesota. She has also served as dean of the University of Minnesota Extension Service, a faculty member and department head at Penn State University, and a faculty member of the Columbia University School of Public Health. Her research and outreach interests include the human rights of immigrants and refugees in the US, and the preparedness of communities and institutions to adapt to demographic changes. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Inspired by real events, author and educator Jon Volkmer takes readers back to his native Nebraska for his new novel, "Brave in Season." What happens when an African-American railroad crew is dropped off in a tiny, close-knit rural farm community? Will friction build up to an all-familiar tragedy, or will a game of baseball possibly inspire hope and understanding?On this episode of the Sunbury Press Books Show, Volkmer discusses his upbringing in Nebraska City, the changing of American railroads and the need to prepare them for the new diesel engines. He recounts how the small town of Julien was the backdrop for a fast-pitch softball game, and inspired his new work.Jon Volkmer is a professor of English at Ursinus College; his chance reading of Jack Kerouac sent him off on a hitch-hiking tour of the nation. He earned his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Colorado, an MA in Creative Writing from Denver University and his PhD in Literature from the University of Nebraska. His works include a Young Adult biography of baseball great Roberto Clemente, a collection of poetry involving grain elevators, and a travel work, "Eating Europe." His work has appeared in Commonweal, Cimarron Review, Maine Review and Prairie Schooner. "Brave in Season" is available through Sunbury's Milford House Press imprint.

"Shadow Lands" is a collection of black and white photos taken over a five-year period through the lens of photographer Gabriel Spangler. Self-taught, but with influences that included his creative parents and film, Spangler turned to cinematography and later stills. This collection of candid/documentary street photos shows what has been described as Spangler's film noir style. Spangler discusses his travels, placing himself in the right spot and taking shots that seem posed or staged but are not. In an age of digital and disposable cameras, the lost art of photography, the use of film, and development are seeing a rebirth. Spangler continues to push the boundaries of his gear, film, and technique in "Shadow Lands," and future projects.Gabriel Spangler lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Find out more about him at his website.

The groundbreaking, and controversial work of educator Jane Elliott is one that continues to draw attention today. For more than five decades, Elliott put forth the question: What if, by eight years old, children could possess the mechanism to disrupt prejudicial tendencies? In "Shades of Brown: The Official Biography of Jane Elliott and the Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes Exercise," Todd Mealy examines the origins, use, and implications of her eye color exercise.Following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, Elliott set out to prove or disprove her case, first with elementary school students in her hometown of Riceville, Iowa, and later with adults in seminars of corporate, correctional, educational, and military personnel. The Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes role-playing concept was the way, Elliott discovered to mitigate inclinations of racism and prejudice and to teach the central lesson that we are one race.Todd Mealy is an adjunct professor of History at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and is also a teacher at McCaskey High School in Lancaster, PA. He has spent two decades teaching both History and Writing at schools in the Keystone State. He is also the founder and director of the National Institute for Customizing Education, and has written several books on education, race and history, including "Equity in the Classroom," "Legendary Locals of Harrisburg," and "Glenn Killinger, All-American.""Shades of Brown" is available through Sunbury's Oxford Southern Press imprint.

"Life in Appalachia is like a kid standing in the center of a seesaw. It’s a fragile balance, somewhere between the old world and the new, flat-broke or getting by, rooted in place or getting out. Sometimes, folks here lose footing, lean too far one way or another. If one end of the seesaw comes down hard, it knocks them right off. "This is a description of "In The Cut," Michael Lockett's new collection of tales released on Catamount Press. Stories of hardscrabble, everyday Appalachians are brought to life, as they struggle with rural life, its constrictions by place, religion, and a changing world. In this discussion with Lawrence Knorr, Lockett tells of the origins of these characters, sheds light on his Central Pennsylvania roots, and secures his spot as a storyteller from a unique section of the country.Michael Lockett graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication from Clarion University and has an MFA in Creative Writing from Carlow University. His stories have been published in the "Northern Appalachian Review," "Twisted Vine," "Matthew's Place" and "Quarter Press." He is also a 2022 nominee for the James Baldwin Literary Award. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Find out more about Michael at michaellockett-author.com