BookSpeak Network

On this episode of Milford House Mysteries, co-hosts Sherry Knowlton and J.M. West talk to Joe Walters, editor, marketer, publishing entrepreneur, and writer about the marketing aspect of book publishing. Walters will share his expertise on book marketing in general as well as some specific thoughts about the challenges of getting books noticed during the pandemic. Founder of Independent Book Review, he manages the acquisitions, services, and publication departments there. In addition to his work at IBR, he is a book marketing specialist for both Sunbury Press and Paper Raven Books. When he's not doing publishing work, he's working on his novella and trusting the process.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

On this episode of The Milford House Mysteries, co-hosts Sherry Knowlton and J.M. West share their “Tips on Editing Your Manuscript.” Although this  podcast is primarily targeted to authors, these tips could be useful to anyone who does a lot of writing, whether for publication or for their job. Most of these tips are geared to authors preparing to submit a manuscript to an agent, a publisher, or to the self-publishing process. Sherry and Joan discuss topics like: ideal word count; the basics of grammar, spelling and punctuation; style manuals; hidden pitfalls like wordiness, repetition, unnecessary words; and techniques to help the writers with the editing process. Please tune in.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.

"Bountiful Calling" is the third book by Fred Burton, who paints a tale of environmental fiction, based in his hometown of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Joe is an assistant to a powerful senator, as the question of natural gas drilling and "fracking" are a hot topic.While assured of his call to public service is a noble one, he begins to have second thoughts, as he meets Nicole, whose father owns pristine land wanted by the gas companies for exploration.The worlds of industry and activism collide in "Bountiful Calling."

Joseph A. Rosen is a freelance photogapher, who has taken pictures all over the world. His work has appeared in the pages of The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Sports Illustrated and many other pubications. Among his clients are the biggest names in the world of music, but many would not be known to mainstream fans.Rosen's love of music, particularly blues has led him to festivals and events all over the world, and some of his finest work has made to "Blues Hands."Joseph A. Rosen joins Tory Gates on the Brown Posey Press Show to talk about his career, his love of music, and why the hands of those who make it are so important, and also, so fascinating.

Timothy Jay Smith makes a return visit to the Milford House Mysteries to talk with co-hosts Sherry Knowlton and J.M. West about his new book, Fire on the Island. The novel is a playful, romantic thriller set in contemporary Greece, featuring Nick Damigos, a gay Greek-American undercover FBI agent, who is on the island to investigate a series of mysterious fires. Set against the real refugee crisis on the sun-drenched Greek islands, this novel portrays a community in crisis. Fire on the Island won the Gold Medal in the 2017 Faulkner-Wisdom Competition for the Novel, and his screenplay adaptation of it was named Best Indie Script by WriteMovies. Join us to hear more about this latest Timothy Jay Smith thriller as well as his fascinating life, much of it spent traveling the world. 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.

San Cicaro is a coastal California town that's fallen on hard times. Those who dare to come here find themselves wrapped up in its past, with experiences of the paranormal, the macabre, and the downright terrifying. "Welcome to San Cicaro" is a creation of Thunderbird Studios, from numerous authors, each of whom add a dimension to a strange land. Thunderbird co-founder James Fadeley and contributing authors Ichabod Ebenezer and Ali Habashi join Tory Gates, to discuss a town that captures imaginations, and much more. The studio's vision, and the work of the authors will also be examined, on the Brown Posey Press Show.

John B. Kachuba is the award-winning author of over a dozen books. Many are nonfiction about paranormal and metaphysical topics. With Sunbury Press, he has two novels: The Savage Apostle and Dark Entry, both set in New England. He also is a contributor to the new Hellbender Books short story compilation: Hellbent Volume 1. John is a regular speaker at universities, libraries, and conferences, and has made numerous appearances on TV, radio, and podcasts.

On this episode of Milford House Mysteries, Sherry and Joan interview fellow Milford House Press author about his debut novel Chestnut Street.  This suspense novel involves a dangerous plot spanning five decades which looms over Philadelphia. Powerful men are willing to do anything to keep the truth from coming out. But when they make the mistake of framing Sam Brighton for a crime he didn’t commit and take away everything he holds dear, they unknowingly unleash a dangerous enemy who will do anything to bring them down.Readers' Favorite says, "Simon Landry's first novel, a fiction thriller, and it ticks the boxes when it comes to a unique plot, an engaging main character,good use of dialogue throughout, reasonable pace, unexpectedtwists and a satisfying ending...if ever there was a story that exemplifies how a person's life can suddenly spiral out of controlwhen bad things happen to a good person, Chestnut Street is it." Join us for a conversation with Landry about this book, his other work, and his journey to become an author.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.

Keeping up appearances is paramount in Vintage Woods. In his fiction debut, Josh Penzone tells eleven tales of the dysfunctional, the strange, and the outragous in the characters of a suburban housing development. People struggling with their past, those seeking some kind of future, and others who realize the life they thought they wanted is not all they hoped for. A Pushcart Prize nominee, Josh Penzone's stories have appeared in Eunoia Review, Junto Magazine, Five on the Fifth, Blue Lake Review, and other publications. A public educator for two decades, he lives in Ohio with his family.

Dead Letters: Delivering Unopened Mail from a Pennsylvania Ghost TownOn assignment for a small-town newspaper in rural Pennsylvania, rookie reporter, Jessica Weible, meets Joan Swigart, a creative fireball and “pioneer in print.” As the two women forge a relationship based on their passion for storytelling, Joan reveals a mystery that she had discovered years ago, but had never solved—a pile of dead letters found in an abandoned general store, just before it was torn down. Joan gives Jessica the letters, each stamped and dated over a hundred years ago, and encourages Jessica to investigate the untold stories of the people and places contained in each one.What begins as yet another assignment for the reporter, a young millennial who relies happily on email and texting as the primary means of communication, develops into a heartfelt mission to tell the story of the people and places in the letters. The young reporter’s journey takes unexpected twists and turns through the quiet lumber towns of Pennsylvania, the early American settlements in Massachusetts, the bustling crowds at Ellis Island, the violent strikes at the Passaic textile mills, and beyond. Dead Letters is an intimate portrait of small town America and the people who, at times, risked everything in pursuit of economic prosperity, religious freedom, and social equity.ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Jess Weible is a freelance writer and reporter. She is also a founding editor for The Watershed Journal, an inclusive, regional literary magazine for the western Pennsylvania wilds. Jess leads two writing groups, the Writer’s Block Party and the Rebecca M. Arthur’s Young Writers. She lives with her husband and two boys in Brookville, Pennsylvania.