BookSpeak Network

Donald Dewey has written some 40 books of fiction and nonfiction, as well as contributed scores of stories to magazines and other periodicals. He has also had some 30 plays staged in Europe and the United States. Donald's awards include those named after Nelson Algren and the Actors Studio. Dewey is a widower with one son and lives in Jamaica, New York. At one point he lived in Europe for 14 years, writing screenplays and working for the Italian news agency ANSA. Dewey was editor of the ASME-award winning magazine Attenzione and was editorial director of the East-West Network, overseeing a dozen in-flight magazines and the PBS organ Dial. He has also been a theater critic for WNYC in New York and spends far too much time for his health watching the Mets.

The two volumes of "The Godseed Saga" introduce us to a land of fantasy, science fiction and dystopia. In Books 1, 'Ran Mar: The First Seed' a lawyer, Edward Warren finds himself transported to a strange place where he faces death, joins with cat-like creatures and battles not only warring factions and dread enemies, but comes to terms with his own self."Chianta: The Second Seed" brings us Jane, a woman taken from an abusive life on Earth to a 'World of Dragons,' who also must take her own journey.These come from the pen of author MJ Souder. In addition to writing, Souder is a musician in groups such as Wendigo Project, a craftsman and a Pagan minister. He lives with his family in Boyertown, Pennsylvania.

Penny Fletcher won more than 30 press awards while working for Media General Communications Inc. and Sunbelt Newspapers in Tampa Bay, Florida. She has edited more than 300 books while working for Amazon’s initial publishing company, BookSurge, Guru.com, and her own editing and coaching business at www.writeyourheartout.biz.  The author of both traditionally and self-published previous books, she has also taught fiction classes locally. She counts her biggest accomplishments as having helped start two shelters for abused women and working in organizations for justice and equality, while her main interest has always been the study of world religions and the miracle workings of God. A widow, she is the mother of seven, counting two stepchildren and an adopted biological granddaughter. Learn more at www.pennyfletcher.com.

Virginia Soenksen has always enjoyed creating new worlds and characters, and at some point started writing her ideas down. An art historian and museum director, she also writes about Japanese textiles. She lives in the Shenandoah Valley and enjoys finding inspiration through travel. Follow her on social media for more information on the Genetics Chronicles and exciting new projects.   www.virginiasoenksen.com

On this episode of Milford House Mysteries, co-hosts Sherry Knowlton and J.M. West interview author Margaret Meacham about her book The Ghosts of Laurelford. The mystery, set in 1919, features a teenage heroine and a story that intertwines the women's suffrage movement with a mysterious mansion, a ghostly legend, a family tragedy, and séances with unexpected results. Meacham will talk to us not only about this suspenseful novel but her other mysteries for children, young adults and grown-ups. We'll also hear about her prolific writing and teaching career. Join us for a spooky episode.Milford House Mysteries Co-hosts - Sherry Knowlton is the author of the Alexa Williams series of murder mysteries including Dead of Autumn, Dead of Summer, Dead of Spring and Dead of Winter Joan West (JM West) is the author of the Carlisle Crime Cases series including Dying for Vengeance, Courting Doubt and Darkness, Darkness at First Light, Had a Dying Fall, and Things Strangled.

When Penny McAllister returns to her New Hampshire hometown to settle the family estate, memories, good, bad and terrible flood back. In the small town of Walton, everyone knows everyone, and the adult "PJ" captures the attention of her former best friend, Ethan Dunford. That, however, means going over the past, one that Penny must come to terms with.Letters from a box are signposts for Penny to follow, and an icon of New England culture, a sugar house, becomes the focal point as she tries to lay those smalltown memories to rest.Kat Szmit grew up in New Hampshire and is a graduate of the Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. She lives in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, where she works as a journalist, book editor, and is a "stand-up paddleboarder, lover of life, badass."

Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, doing the weather on TV for 40 years of his 47-year career. His specialty has been in forecasting and severe weather, especially hurricanes. He co-authored the award-winning “Philadelphia Area Weather Book” in 2002 and was inducted into the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2010.He graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Meteorology in 1972. His first forecasting job was at AccuWeather. From there, he went to the National Weather Service at the National Hurricane Center, working with many internationally-recognized authorities. After transferring to the NWS office in Atlanta, his title became “Disaster Preparedness Meteorologist” for the state of Georgia.Glenn was recruited into TV in 1979 after doing a live interview on WAGA-TV in Atlanta as Hurricane Frederick approached. He has also worked in several other TV stations around the country. He covered Hurricane Andrew on his first day at WINK-TV in Ft. Myers and returned to his hometown of Philadelphia in 1995 where he has been a widely-recognized on-air presence in commercial television for the past 24 years. In 1985-86 he became the first “storm chaser” at The Weather Channel and was one of their designated “Hurricane Specialists.” He got his nickname in New York City after an anchor saw video of him being blown around during one of his hurricane chases. He lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with his wife, Sherry, and is a lifelong Philadelphia sports fanatic.

Louis Greenstein is the author of the 2014 novel Mr. Boardwalk (New Door Books) and the co-writer of One Child Born: The Music of Laura Nyro, a one-woman cabaret featuring collaborator Kate Ferber that had critically acclaimed productions at the New York Musical Festival, A.R.T.'s second stage Oberon Theater, and Joe's Pub at the Public Theatre as well as a successful east coast tour.Louis has written for Nickelodeon's EMMY-winning show Rugrats and he was commissioned to write two children’s plays for New Jersey’s Stageworks touring company. A recipient of a Pennsylvania Council of the Arts playwriting fellowship, Louis’s one-act plays, Smoke, Interview with a Scapegoat, and The Convert were commissioned by Theatre Ariel, published by Dramatic Publishing and produced many times in the U.S. and abroad. He is the co-author of the critically acclaimed With Albert Einstein, a one-man show about the great scientist that featured Don Auspitz and has been performed at the Walnut Street Theater, Princeton University, and in schools and science museums around the nation. His short stories have been included in Margins Magazine and Philadelphia Stories and presented by the award-winning performance series, Writing Aloud.Louis is also a freelance magazine writer whose articles about popular culture, history, public health, medicine, nursing, business, and technology have appeared in publications including Philadelphia Magazine, Wharton Magazine, the University of Miami Medicine Magazine, and Penn Nursing. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Author Marcus Cook has crafted a series of compelling, thoughtful, and downright funny stories. A fan of sci-fi and thrillers, Cooks was inspired by the likes of Dean Koontz, Kevin Smith and Elmore Leonard. His works include "Ava Edison and the Burning Man" (Burning Chair Press), "Not My Vessel" (Deep Space Anthology, Black Hare Press), and such tales as "A Fool's Moon" and "How to Make Slime."Marcus lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

On this episode of Milford House Mysteries co-hosts Joan West and Sherry Knowlton interview author Tara Lush. Lush a Florida-based author and journalist. She's an RWA Rita finalist, an Amtrak writing fellow and the winner of the George C. Polk award for environmental journalism. Since 2008, she's been a reporter with The Associated Press in Florida, covering crime, alligators, natural disasters and politics. She also writes contemporary romance set in tropical locations under the name Tamara Lush. We'll talk with Lush about her leap from Romance to Mystery and what's in the Sunshine State's air that creates so many Florida-based writers.Milford House Mysteries Hosts - Sherry Knowlton is the author of the Alexa Williams series of murder mysteries including Dead of Autumn, Dead of Summer, Dead of Spring, and Dead of Winter. Joan West is the author of the Carlisle Crime Cases series including Dying for Vengeance, Courting Doubt and Darkness, Darkness at First Light, Had a Dying Fall and Things Strangled.--