BookSpeak Network

Charles Lindbergh was not the first to fly across the Atlantic, non-stop--two British officers, largely lost to history did it eight years before. Robert Harder tells the story of Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown, who made it from St.  Johns, Newfoundland to Cliveden, Ireland on June 14-15, 1919. At a time when aviation was beginning to capture the public's imagination,...

Rule #1 of the Underground Railroad: If someone doesn’t need to know something, don’t tell them. Rian Krieger is an 11-year-old girl living in a time and place of great change, Philadelphia, 1835. Kicked out of three schools for fighting, the tomboy Rian is brought into her father Otto's carraige-making business, Around Rian, the city is a hotbed of industrialization, and the winds of change...

Francesco Da Vinci's life and activities have spanned the most turbulent times of US history. A journalist, nonviolent activist, public speaker and documentary filmmaker, DaVinci is the author of "I Refuse to Kill: My Path to Nonviolent Action in the 1960s," on Sunbury Press Books. Speaking with Lawrence Knorr, Da Vinci discusses his transition from bystander to activist in the Sixt...

Reginald F. Davis is a pastor, scholar and author of several books in the fields of theology and religion. "God's Truth to Youth in a World Full of Lies and Deception" is the title of his latest work, and he sits down with Sunbury Press Books founder and host, Lawrence Knorr. Davis says this book is like a GPS, or spiritual atlas to help navigate life and be successful, but also joy...

A prolific author of short stories and poetry, Joseph ("Joe") Farley brings gritty, rough-hewn and intriguing characters to life in "Farts and Daydreams," his latest collection of tales, courtesy of Dumpster Fire Press. Drawing on elements of his personal life and native Philadelphia. At times humorous, also dark, spiritual and strange, Farley brings the reader along on a serie...

American history is full of larger-than-life characters, many of whom made a difference that went unnoticed and unrecognized. One of those was William Gould (W.G.) Raymond. His descendants, brother and sister William and Donna Burtch have rectified this, in "W.G. - The Opium-Addicted, Pistol-Toting Preacher Who Raised the First Federal African-American Union Troops," on Sunbury Press Boo...

What happens when three authors, of like (and unlike) minds come together? For years, Brian Koscienski, Chris Pisano and Jeff Young have written separately and collaborated on projects that take readers inside their imaginations. The results of this remain debateable, but they are worth visiting time and again. The BookSpeak Network has placed microphones inside the secret lair of the trio, odd fa...

Kasey and Kevin Coolidge, owners of From My Shelf Books & Gifts in Wellsboro, PA sit down with Brown Posey Press Show author and host Tory Gates for a completely unscripted, "shoot-style" interview. Located in Tioga County in Northern Pennsylvania, Wellsboro is like any small town, and for many years, From My Shelf has been part of that community. The Coolidges talk about their love...

Pennsylvania's historical record does not include merely the likes of William Penn and the Founding Fathers. It is also home to folk tales and lore, of ghosts, strange disappearances, dreadful crimes and things that just cannot be explained. Marlin Bressi has chronicled many of these in "Pennsylvania Oddities," Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Among the stories elaborated on with host Lawrence...

A self-described "genre-promiscuous" author, Ichabod Ebenezer does just that, with short stories and novels of suspense, mystery and horror, and these appear in standalone works and collections. Joining Tory Gates on the Brown Posey Press Show, Ebenezer discusses the stories in his collection, "Beyond the Rail and Other Nightmares." Among these, "Singalong" tells of t...

Author Merrill Shaffer joins SPB host Lawrence Knorr to discuss his sports-related works. "Roaring Tigers: The History of Southern Columbia Football" chronicles one of the most successful high school football programs in the nation, and its enduring influence on Northern Pennsylvania. Shaffer talks about the coaches, players and the special fondness the people of the region have for the...

Ronald Rand has performed among, but was also trained by giants of the theatre. An actor known around the world for his portrayal of Harold Clurman in the one-man show "Let It Be Art!" Rand outlines not only his own life and career, but that of many of his peers in "Solo Transformation On Stage: A Journey into the Organic Process of the Art of Transformation," his latest releas...

Sunbury Press Founder Lawrence Knorr sits down with "Keystone Tombstones" authors Joe Farrell and Joe Farley for a "History Through Biography" discussion on three pivotal figures of the American Revolution. Charles Thomson served as Secretary of the Continental Congress during its existance from 1774 to 1789. The Irish-born native was an early leader in the American Revolution,...

When considering the body of work and legacy of Ernest Hemingway, one might ask, what has not been written? Author Wylie McLallen draws on family connections and insights for his two-volume biography, available on the Oxford Southern imprint of Sunbury Press Books."Unbridled Dreamer: Hemingway and the Rise of Modern Literature" looks at Hemingway's early life, his relationship with...

Hundreds, if not thousands of books, films, investigations and documents have tried to shed light into not only who assassinated President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, but why. The truth lies in ground laid in decades past, and is examined through Walter Herbst's two-volume series, "It Did Not Start With JFK."Lawrence Knorr interviews Herbst on the Sunbury Press Books Show,...

The story of the path Harry Deitz, Senior walked remains a remarkable one, out of the Pennsylvania coal mines, to the US Army and to a long and distinguished career as a photographer and journalist. His son, Harry, Jr. followed in some of his father's footsteps, and has chronicled the man's life and times in "Our Father's Journey: A Path Out of Poverty."In this conversatio...

The famous Chincoteague and Assateague Islands are known the world over. For many, the children's classics "Misty of Chincoteague" and "Stormy: Misty's Foal" brought this part of Virginia's Eastern Shore to mind. Tourists flock to this region annually, not only for the horses, but for the points of interest, the art galleries, and the local cuisine. David Parmele...

Dustin Nispel is a poet, an artist, and a thinker. "The Road Home: A Collection of Poems" takes the reader on Nispel's personal journey. Themes of life, death, and all in between, with examinations of spirituality, religion and those who have left us, Nispel has granted a deep look into not only his own life, but the process of dealing with it. The collection is self-published throu...

Eugene Procknow brings to life the tale of one man's remarkable journey through the Revolutionary War and the early years of our nation. William Hunter: Finding Free Speech, A British Soldier's Son Who Became an Early American is the story of a child who accompanied his father during the fight against American rebels. Captured twice, and an eyewitness to war and its carnage, Hunter is th...

The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to 3, 1863, was a key turning point in the Civil War. Covered in this episode are Major General John Fulton Reynolds, Gettysburg citizen John Burns, and Colonel John White Geary. The guys discuss why Reynolds declined President Lincoln's invitation to command the Army of the Potomac, only to fall on the first day of battle. Would he have trapped Lee? Would Gra...

Mickey Maguire saw, and did a great deal in the first quarter century of his life, as detailed in "Feather White". This memoir of Maguire's turbulent upbringing and a search for direction and purpose led this Atlantic City, New Jersey native to working scallop boats on the always-dangerous North Atlantic, to finding peace living "off the grid" before anyone knew the term i...

A teenage gamer from Estonia named Artjom...Delfin, a young man on a perilous journey from Latin America to the United States...three Japanese sisters in LA, and a hijacked cruise ship. Worlds collide in the new novel by Patricio X. Maya, "Reggaeton Cruise." The lives of each character, from different walks of life are drawn into a changing world. Artjom has jumped from the game world to...

Former police officer, armed encounters expert and trainer Brian McKenna recounts a dozen real-life shootouts involving law enforcement in his new book, "Cops Under Fire!" available through the Oxford Southern imprint of Sunbury Press Books. In addition to the life-threatening events these officers survived, McKenna provides expert analysis, plus insight into these encounters. In additio...

Rock journalist and music critic Maxim Furek examines the Northeast Pennsylvania music scene in "Somebody Else's Dream: Dakota, the Buoys, & Timothy," available on Sunbury Press Books. Lawrence Knorr is your host for this informative and intriguing look at a section of the US that offered great music. The Buoys hit over 50 years ago with "Timothy," often referred to as...

On this episode of the Milford House Mysteries, co-hosts Sherry Knowlton and J.M. West interview fellow author, Linda Cotton Jefferies. We discuss Jeffries’ recently published novel, Seeing in the Quiet, as well as her earlier work. We’ll also chat about Jeffries’ journey to becoming a suspense novelist, her work as a teacher, and a stint in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Tune in for a wide-ranging in...