For the Love of Books Podcast

In his debut novel The Last Huck, author J. D. Austin tells the stories of cousins Jakob, Niklas, and Peter Kinnunen who have inherited a family farm in Michigan’s U.P. The cousins spent their childhood playing together on the berry farm on Keweenaw Peninsula, and now they’re older facing major challenges in their lives. Jakob goes to prison, while Niklas goes bankrupt in the recession of 2008. Wh...

In Odin's Eye: A Marquette Time Travel Novel “John” has a problem. He doesn’t know his real name. He doesn’t know where he’s from. He’s not even sure if he’s in the right time. "He wants to wear a t-shirt and shorts," Tichelaar said in a recent podcast interview. "But they didn't wear that in the 1900s."     When John is found unconscious at the Huron Mountain Club and brought back to Marquette, M...

In her children's book Church Da Surfin' Staffy, author Melinda Falgoust tells the story of a real-life therapy dog Chuch, whom she met while visiting her favorite island Maui. "I saw a dog surfing on a surfboard with a young child," she said in the podcast interview. "I followed the owner and asked if I could tell Church's story."   Once there was a tiny pup who needed a good home-born on Maui is...

Happy Easter from For the Love of Books Podcast with host author Emma Palova.   In The Wind That Did Not Blow, author Tim Doppel transports readers to a time and place of great turmoil and faith and will be captivated by the lives of three characters as they face unexpected revelations and come together in the name of love. Doc Chavent and Australian author Jennifer Raines sponsor the new Apple Po...

Happy International Women's Day from all of us at the For the Love of Books Podcast show hosted by author Emma Palova, and sponsored by Doc Chavent and Australian author Jennifer Raines. On this great holiday dedicated to women around the globe, the show is proud to present two great romance authors Jennifer Raines and Karin Beery. In Masquerade, the main character Kate uses a disguise to prevent...

Happy International Women's Day from all of us at the For the Love of Books Podcast show hosted by author Emma Palova, and sponsored by Doc Chavent and Australian author Jennifer Raines. On this great holiday dedicated to women around the globe, the show is proud to present two great romance authors Karin Beery and Jennifer Raines. Beery penned her fifth book Finally Forever about how winning the...

Classen's first novel started with a one-word prompt: Crystal. Find out how a short story writer takes a one-word prompt to a 256-page action-adventure fantasy novel Indiana Jones style. The main character Isabella Carter is an archaeologist who is on the brink of discovery about how some ancient artifacts could change the future destiny of mankind. Unfortunately, there are evil forces led by the...

Cynthia Beach is a longtime professor of Creative Writing and author of Creative Juices for Writers and the novel The Surface of Water. Her articles, short stories, and contributions appear in newspapers, journals, and books like Hope in the Mourning, which is Zondervan's grief bible. Her novel tackles the complex theme of the celebrity status of megachurch pastor Matthew Goodman who is challenged...

When an introvert winds up at a summer leadership camp, it's a comedy of errors and a romance she'll never forget. Seventeen-year-old bookish Andy has no friends.   When her over-involved mother dares to ship her off to summer leadership camp, she's thrust into an introvert's nightmare. Everyone is a Communicator with a capital C, icebreaker activities are scheduled into every waking moment, and h...

In Marie LaPres' young adult fiction Beyond the Fort, the main character Christine Belanger has always loved learning about the past. Still, she may get more history than she bargained for when she finds herself at Colonial Michilimackinac in the year 1775. In the past, Christine meets fellow time travelers, Henri and Jacques, French fur traders, and British soldiers. She quickly learns that the t...

In an age where magic and the wizards that wielded that power, have faded into disputed myth. The Darkness and the evil it shrouds is an all too real presence. Young Gareth has spent his life training, dreaming of following in his father's footsteps as the greatest warrior to have served the Crescent Lands. Knowing the true horror of battle, his father has other plans for his son. He has used the...

Pam Withrow was an Indiana farm girl transplanted to Michigan. After a teen marriage and a stint on welfare, she graduated from college and began work with the Michigan Department of Corrections. Within seven years she was named the first woman to head a prison for men in Michigan. She then worked at the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia for 15 years.   Madam Warden takes the reader with Pam as she mo...

When bombardier Micah Lund dies on a mission over Hiroshima, his spirit remains trapped in the land of his enemies. Dazed, he follows Kiyomi Oshiro, a war widow struggling to care for her young daughter, Ai.   Food is scarce, work at the factory is brutal, and her in-laws treat her like a servant. Watching Kiyomi and Ai together, Micah reconsiders his intolerance for the people he’d called the ene...

Get into the holiday spirit this Saturday at The Book Nook & Java Shop in cozy Montague with four authors and four spirits. The special holiday event organized by Written in the Mitten starts with author founder Ingar Rudholm talking about book descriptions, followed by Rudholm on memoirs and short stories, authors H. William Ruback and Marie Lapres. Moravian Sons Distillery based in Lowell wi...

Making reading time a bit more musical with Bingo Books.     Author librarian Cassie Veselovsky makes reading time a bit more musical in her sing-along books for the five-year-olds and under crowd, and their grown-ups. "I've taken my old rhymes and converted them into books," she said in the podcast interview. A librarian of 40 years, Veselovsky also loves pairing books with readers to see the joy...

Are you up to the 50k-word marathon challenge that starts on Nov.1 aka NaNoWriMo? The NaNoWriMo special panelists suggest just keep on writing without any interruptions even if you hit the proverbial wall. Make November your writing month. "This is my writing month," author Jean Davis said. Davis will be participating in the 18th year of the challenge. That sentence resonated with all the panelist...

Author Ed Bentley's hobby as a researcher in genealogy led him to research early American artists and journalism in the 1880's. The writing enabled him to literally visualize the incredible loss of life as if it were happening in front of Ed at that moment. "My intention in assembling these life-ending stories is to share the fascination with, and the appreciation for, journalism in the 1880s. Suc...

In his second book of short stories North of Nelson Vol. II, UP author Hilton Everett Moore explores themes that most authors will not touch; Moore exposes stories of incest, lust, love, and hate all set in the rugged terrain of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The five stories include "The Cell Tower," "The Ditch Dog," "Ode to a Lone Wolf," "A Beast Called Fate," and "Lust and Lightning." Author Sue H...

Jan Afman spent 10 years in Taiwan and six years in the Philippines during a difficult time in her life. She managed to write about it in her memoir SariSari many years later after processing her experience. "It was hard to pry myself out of my comfort zone," she said. "I had to get over a culture shock." However, she encourages people not to avoid difficult experiences since they are opportunitie...

In his fourth true crime book Grim Paradise: The Cold Case Search for the Mackinac Island Killer author Rod Sadler offers an in-depth account of the brutal murder of Frances Lacey on Michigan's Mackinac Island in 1960. So, why would anyone commit a murder in this paradise on earth? "Well, it depends on who you ask," Sadler said during the podcast interview. The city officials think it was somebody...

In his memoir, This Tender Man-My Father's Story Nelson explores the journey of an ordinary man caught up in the extraordinary circumstances of war. "My father nearly died of malaria in the jungles of WWII New Guinea" is the opening line of the book.   Woodrow F. Nelson served in the U.S. Army's 1462nd Engineer Maintenance Company in the tropical Pacific during WWII, coming home damaged by war but...

Find one good thing a day.......... Farrell's inspirational memoir touches all who feel they are broken, alone, have no hope in their future, and those who seek a true purpose for their life.   The story starts with Farrell's crippling childhood anxieties to a desire to end the author's life after believing there was no future or purpose for his life. "If you look for bad things you will find them...

In "A Mirage of Golden Glitter," author Preethi Saravanakumar paints a breathtaking tapestry of reflections.   This book is more than just a collection of poems; it's a voyage that resonates deeply, guiding readers to introspect, celebrate their authenticity, and cherish the shimmering threads of wisdom that weave the fabric of their lives. A captivating symphony of emotions, wisdom, and self-disc...

In her debut novel After the Before-Times, author Jan Leland portrays the story of seven people, who end up together at an inn on a lake in Michigan during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. They find friendship, hardship, and ultimately resilience together. Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of After the Before-Times.   Sponsored by Doc Chavent and The Lowell Ledger