On September 25, 2025, WriteOn Joliet held its first open mic night at Critical Grind in Shorewood.
Charter member Duanne Walton emceed and videotaped the entire event.
Here is the video to the second half hour of short performances.
Enjoy!
The official blog of Denise M. Baran-Unland, author. Discover her books for all ages at bryonyseries.com.
Thursday, March 5, 2026
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Sue's Diner: Sue's Diner: Yorkshire Raised Biscuits
This week's recipe is an especial favorite of mine. But then, I really, really like homemade breads, especially right from the oven and with plenty of butter.
Our featured recipe, Yorkshire Raised Biscuits, is adapted from Miss Beecher’s domestic receiptbook: designed as a supplement to her Treatise on domestic economy,
This recipe is also featured in the BryonySeries cookbook: Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony," which is a permanent fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties.
Moreover, this recipe is also quintessential Victorian. Meaning, some of the ingredients used and the directions for making these biscuits is vague and non-specific. So have fun!
It was at the Harrington’s ball that Melissa met Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, for the very first time. The Yorkshire Raised Biscuits is one of the food items Melissa choked down while the Steward explained his ruthless dictatorship.
You can try the recipe for Yorkshire Raised Biscuits on the Sue's Diner page on the BryonySeries website.
But try the recipe this week. It will be gone some time next week. A new recipe will take it's place.
If you have any troubleshooting questions or comments, email us at bryonyseries@gmail.com.
Not sure what (or where) Sue's Diner is? Read: "Sue's Diner Through the Years."
By the way, Sue's Diner is only real in the BryonySeries world. But didn't Timothy do a great job making the page look like a real menu at a vintage diner?
Here is the full diner page: bryonyseries.com/sue-s-diner-food. You can't really order, of course (wouldn't it be great if you could?).
Check out all three BryonySeries cookbooks at bryonyseries.com/merchandise.
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
32 Quotes from "House on Top of the Hill"
When we were getting ready to release Bryony back in 2011, my daughter Sarah (who did a lot of the marketing for me) suggested I pull thirty teaser quotes from the book that she could post on Facebook, one each day.
We did the same for the second book, Visage, which is also part of the BryonySeries.
But for some reason, I never did the same for another book.
So I'm catching up with the other books.
Here is the synopsis and chapter headings for House on Top of the Hill, (the third book in the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy), followed by thirty-two quotes, one from each chapter.
Enjoy!
Change comes slowly to Munsonville, and for Steve
Barnes, who spends his entire life in the village, that's just fine. From
boyhood to manhood, he savors the slow pace and friendly smiles, even while
working by his parents' side from sunup to sundown to run the family diner.
The only blight is this fishing village's
preoccupation with an empty mansion in the woods, whose tales of former glory
and catastrophe fueled a rampage of ghost stories. Steve doesn't believe them,
but some do – and no one can deny the power the crumbling old building holds
over them.
Especially when it changes everyone, including Steve,
forever.
Prologue
Amazing word, isn’t it?
Asclepius was more commonly known as the “hopeless
case clinic” – when it really should be called the “hopeful case clinic.” For
any patient who passed through its glass doors was healed.
Or so the media said.
Still, Asclepius was the only facility in the world
offering revivification, hematophagy, alba faelis anima transference, corpus
vis separation, pneuma preservation, and odic force conduction, processes that leaped
the great expanse from science fiction to actual science.
And here I stood, letting a really good coffee get
cold while ruminating on a word I couldn’t even pronounce.
Chapter 1: The Traveling Salesman
Lenny drummed his fingers on the desk while Lou,
coffee in hand, strolled into the office. His eyes roamed over the dingy space
and faded carpet. He’d stood in plenty of lobbies over the years, everything
from palatial hotels with marble floors and thick oils on the walls to
roach-infested shanties, no bigger than an outhouse. They all bought mirrors,
every single one. In fact, Lanny couldn’t remember any hotel, motel, inn, or
boarding house that refused to buy mirrors.
Chapter 2: Roundtable
A voice rang out, “Excuse me, Mr. Mayor.”
And this, MeeMaw, is where the meeting flipped. I jotted
comments as rapidly as they fired. I couldn’t attribute most of them and didn’t
even try. Just read on. You’ll get the gist of it.
Chapter 3: Bottle of the Red Stuff
Soon Marjorie was on her feet, shaking cobwebs out of her head and smoothing her rumpled slacks and bouse. She dug her brush out of her suitcase and freed the tangles in her brown hair while watching Shirley, who stood before the old bureau mirror and reapplied her red lipstick with a tiny brush. Shirley’s reflection stared unblinkingly into Marjorie’s, and Marjorie instinctively squeezed her thighs together as she stroked, stroked, stroked. Picture perfect, that’s how people described Shirley. “Too negative” – that’s how people perceived Marjorie. Shirley and Marjorie. Light and shadow. Little did they know.
Chapter 4: Cracking Open the Nest Egg
“Sam, simmer down. I just don’t understand why you surprised her with such a car. Women like jewelry. You could have bought her a nice ring for a fraction of the cost.”
“She can’t drive a ring to California!”
Chapter 5: Scrawls on the Wall
A bell jangled when she opened the diner’s door, announcing her arrival. Male heads swerved in her direction and nodded in greeting and approval. She acknowledged them with a toss of her pretty head and a half smile as she scanned the room. Counter or table? Five men sat at the counter, munching triangular sandwiches or slurping coffee and smoking cigarettes. Helen’s parents always warned her of the dangers of sitting alone at a counter full of men. Helen worried more about the passive taste of tobacco in her ice cream.
Chapter 6: Whispers of the Heart
“So my mother – remember, I told you they owned and
operated Munsonville Inn – so my mother sent me to Harper’s for a two-pound bag
of coffee, as she’d run out and her large shipment came later in the week. She’d
tied up the coins – all eighty-three cents of them – in a fresh handkerchief
and instructed me to present the entire parcel to Mrs. Harper and come immediately
home with the coffee – and no dawdling, because, well, I was quite the dawdler.
But when I walked through the door – oh my word, I saw Steve! He was wearing an
old droopy undershirt and old droopy pants, and he was leaning against the
vending machine, gulping that cola like someone might wrest it from him. And my
heart just – stopped.”
Chapter 7: I Run at Night
I stretch, get out of bed, and yank the old blanket back to air the bed. (Terry Rule No. 2). It’s an old creaky bed, but it’s a bed. I wasn’t allowed on the bed when Ma was alive. But that’s all changed now. She’s dead and I have the bed.
Chapter 8: Laid to Rest
Despite Chester’s background Chester always lived within his means, and Mindy never complained. When Chester was between jobs, his father only gave Chester enough money to keep the wolf from the door, as Roderick liked to say. But modestly never meant slovenly. Mindy was a good little woman and kept their tiny home spick-and-span and filled with mouth-watering smells, for Mindy cooked and baked as well as she cleaned, as good as or better than any of his father’s private chefs. But this little cottage stank of garbage, and Chester sneezed repeatedly at the herd of dust bunnies scampering across the room as he crossed the small parlor. Unruffled, Fred led the way into the kitchen where a woman about Chester’s age sat at the kitchen table in a cloud of choking cigarette smoke. She wore a bright orange and green frock that looked more like a tent than a dress. The table was filled with supplies to make jewelry: gold wires and chains, silver wires and chains, hoops, bells, zebras, trout, spires, rutabagas. Dishes caked with cement food were stacked high on the counter and in the sink. Food scraps, paper plates, and foam cups spilled out of the metal garbage can and formed molehills on the floor. A small paper strip had fluttered off the table, so Chester bent to retrieve it:
Moonstone (hecatolite) is named for
Hecate, goddess of magic and the underworld. She waits for you at the
crossroad. Bring your requests to her, for she sees the past, present, and
future.
Chapter 9: Necking
“Ah, Madison, I can never think of Steve’s first kiss without also thinking of Ollie and Floyd.”
Madison choked and tea ran from her nose as she groped for a napkin. “Ollie and Floyd? More boyfriends?”
“No, dear. Not boyfriends. Drifters and drunks.” She gestured to the platter. “Do try a sandwich.”
Chapter 10: Spider and Fly
Chester kept his head down as he rolled the cart into
the kitchen. He hated talk of Simons Mansion, and he hated village roundtable
meetings. He hated the conflict; he hated the drama. But he attended every
meeting for the sake of Mindy and the children. Like him, they thrived in
Munsonville – as he knew they would. Kenneth, age ten, Douglas, age eight, and Melody,
age six, rapidly shot to the top of their respective classes at Munsonville
School. Even little Jakey, now age four, attended school, although he couldn’t
partake in any of the work. But that didn’t matter to the little boy. Jakey
loved school, and tears welled up in Chester’s eyes just thinking about it. All
Chester’s children tugged at his heart – but Jakey tugged a little harder.
Chapter 11: Death Heard Round the World
“John Simons forever grieved the death of Bryony and
his unborn child,” said Dorothy Fisk, John Simons historian and author of “And
God Said, ‘Let There Be Music:’ The Definitive Biography of John Simons.” Fisk
added, “Because of this wound in his heart, John Simons was able to fully
devote his entire being to his music and attain a brilliance a family man could
never have reached.”
Chapter 12: Mine
Lou started to take a sip from his empty cup, but
Vicki was already scurrying up with the coffee pot. After a couple of quick fortifying
gulps, Lou smiled encouragingly at his audience, which only increased Chester’s
disquiet.
Chapter 13: Second Sight
Hand in hand, we strolled across the grass to the dock
and settled at its edge. In silence, we removed our shoes and socks and dragged
our feet in the water. For a time, the only sound in our world was the light
splashing of our feet.
I broke the silence first.
Chapter 14: Chop, Sizzle, Broil, and Bake
The Sandman smiled and waved from the dock, and the world whirled around her, and his cane tapped out the words, and she remembered when she used to traipse out to see her friends, silent and bloated blue under the rippling waters and gazing at her with purpled eyes and grinning with full inky lips, and she laughed aloud.
Chapter 15: The Rage
“Janice,” Bob clasped her hands and leaned close to
her face, not to intimidate her, for Bob was never intimidating, despite his
size. He leaned close to reinforce their solidarity, that he was with her, on
her side. “You been on the lake. You know there’s more in the lake than anyone
will ever know. You’ve been in the woods. You know there’s more in the woods
than anyone will ever know. But you haven’t been inside Simons Mansion. And I
believe ‘things’ happen inside that mansion we’ll ever know.”
Chapter 16: Hard Choice to Make
I’m past ninety – and I’ve never experienced a darkness as dark as Munsonville when the lights go out.
Chapter 17: Through the Camera’s Eye
Pure sunshine, he thought, wishing he’d brought his
camera and then instantly killed his wish. Standing at the window snapping
photos of her was decidedly creepy, especially since he was forty-six, and she
looked no more than twenty-five. Still – he’d love to capture the soft pink in her
cheek as she bent to sign the children’s hardcover book and then, beaming,
raising her head and placing the copy into the outstretched hands of its new
owner, her eyes bright with excitement. Did she realize how honestly lovely she
looked?
Chapter 18: Words Enough For Me
She cocked her head and smiled kindly, well
pseudo-kindly. She sure as fuck didn’t fool him. “You’re ruining your health.”
“It’s my health to ruin.”
“And if you die, what happens to me?”
“That’s why I’m here today. To plan for your care.”
She took his hand. “A good son should care for his
mother.”
He yanked his hand away. “Well, I’m a shitty son.”
Chapter 19: The All-Hallowed Albatross
Anna Marchellis’ room was last on the left. She lay in
bed in the airless little cage, covers flung aside, curtains drawn. She looked too
gaunt and too pale for his liking. Probably due to an outdated wartime rations
policy. He’d talk to the staff. He certainly paid enough for this dump.
Chapter 20: Dancing in the Past
June stretched her toes, hoping she carried an inkling
of Granny Bea’s gumption in those shoes. Granny Bea also grew up in Boston;
she’d known another life. But she met a mountain man while on holiday with her
family and eloped with him under the cover of night. In those days, Granny Bea
was Miss Beatrice Wilson, the “surprise” child of her parents, their second and
their last. Beatrice’s sister Bertha was twenty years older than she and
married by the time Beatrice landed on earth. So Beatrice’s parents poured
their time and wealth and Boston’s finest tutors into her. Beatrice birthed one
child late in life – Maureen – and Maureen birthed one child late in life –
June. Both women’s husbands died before the babies arrived; both women raised
their daughters themselves. June broke that tradition. June birthed no one,
because of Mickey.
Chapter 21: The New Professor
At that moment, Dirk Weston walked up to their table. It
was only a matter of time. Dirk had started canvassing the cafeteria the moment
the girls set their trays on the table. Dirk had curly brown hair, brown
glasses, a permanent solemn expression, and brown “abandoned puppy” eyes that
spoke of his greatest desire: getting laid – by anyone; he wasn’t choosy. But. as
president of Jenson College’s music club, Dirk made it his personal mission to
recruit all three members of the Friendship Harmony to whatever project he
cooked up (and secretly hoping one might take pity on him afterwards by, well,
you know). “You ladies coming to the fundraising dance on Saturday night?”
“The ‘what’ dance?” Robin asked.
Dirk set a flyer on the table with a smirk. “This one.
If you’d attend club meetings…”
Chapter 22: Enigma in Residence
“Why Julie,” Mrs. Clements said. “Is something wrong?”
“Did you see a strange person with a dog?” Julie asked
breathlessly.
“A dog!” Mrs. Feigel said with a laugh. “In the
library?”
“So – no?”
Chapter 23: Rain
“I’m almost ashamed saying it, but Steve’s mother
‘gave me the creeps’ that day; there’s no other way to explain it. She was
huddled in a chair, a ratty blanket to her neck, staring out the picture window
with glassy eyes, and muttering, “Rain-rain-rain-rain-rain-rain,” in such an
unsettling way that even the recollection raises the hair on my arms and neck.
I remember my gaze traveling with hers. I saw the shining sun glistening off
the deep blue water. What she saw, I do not know.”
Chapter 24: From Fry Pan to Factotum
The remainder of the meal passed with more lively
banter, and they left Sue’s Diner together. Scott needed to walk a stray dog
and scoop his growing collection of litter boxes. Someone dumped four white
kittens at his door last night, he said.
“I’m also behind in paperwork,” Scott added as they ambled
down Main Street.
“That’s what you get for frittering your time with a
fishing pole.”
Their soles thunked in unison on the old wooden
planks. June tried not to think about Vicki.
“I sure could use a secretary. Feel like
moonlighting?”
“Hmm, well, I sure could use a clerk at the
circulation desk. Know anyone?”
“Still won’t bite? Well, then, could I interest you in
a tabby? She’s s a sweet girl, about nine years old.”
Chapter 25: Nutty Tina Swanson
“I hate people sometimes,” Ann said as she reluctantly
returned “her” puppy to its cage.
“Me, too,” Dr. Samuelson said, which made all three
girls look up in surprise. They’d never heard an adult speak like that,
especially an adult resembling Santa Claus. “That’s why – when you find a good
person – you treat that person like royalty. A good person is a rare breed
indeed.”
Chapter 26: Preternatural Guest
I rouse to unearthly screaming, but the room was gray
and silent except for the low rumble of the television. I was silent, too. Someone
else was shrieking. Someone not in this room. It happens here. It happens often
here at this time of day.
Chapter 27: A New Lease on a Very Old Dream
“Finally, let’s not forget that John Simons’ wife and
only child died in that mansion.” Dr. Rothgard paused to relight his pipe. “So
while we’re touting the name of John Simons and parading strangers through his
home, we should be mindful of the heartache he endured there. Will we show off
the bed where his wife – one of Munsonville’s own – and his baby passed into
eternity? Will his grief be part of the tourism? If so, we should charge an
appropriate price.”
Chapter 28: The News That Changed Everything
“Hurry up, Katie. Don’t you want to ride on the new trail?”
Katie kicked a stray stick off the porch. “I
don’t know.”
“Come on. Ghost or no ghost, it will be fun.”
Chapter 29: Journey of a Thousand Heartaches
Darlene gripped the steering wheel with slippery hands
as the attendant cleaned her windows and headlights and then checked the tires
and under the hood. She had never driven out-of-state alone – until now, at age
forty-two. She dreaded the trip, not because she was alone but because of what
being alone meant. Plus, she’d never felt this degree of anguish, anger, betrayal,
and terror, and she felt them simultaneously and struggled to process them.
Process them? Who was she kidding? She was barely coping.
Chapter 30: Severed Links
“And you’ll both have the chance to get to know Grandma Marchellis.”
That was a selling point?
Epilogue
He chuckled because of all the families that could have
moved onto the Simons estate, the absolute best family would soon move onto it.
Fate finally dealt him a card he could actually play.
Monday, March 2, 2026
Quotes and Paws
Don't you love how one opportunity leads to another?
On January 31, Cindy, Rebekah, and I participated in Critical Grind Board Game Cafe's first author fair.
Behind me, I heard a woman talking to an author who wrote on-the-spot poetry about an upcoming fundraiser for a cat rescue and needed items for one hundred swag bags.
So quite spontaneously, we decided to participate.
Cindy crocheted one hundred kitty paws, and we created one hundred BryonySeries Mystery Quotes.
We did this over two weeks where Cindy (who had never crocheted kitty paws) was also working a many hours while caring for a rescue cat, and Faith's health was failing.
The rescue founded asked us to deliver the items to one of the volunteers on February 21. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the day Faith crossed the rainbow bridge. So shortly after Faith passed, Rebekah and I got in her car and delivered quotes and paws.
The actual fundraiser is March 7 and tickets are still available, for anyone interested in helping, too.
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/a-night-in-paris
Sunday, March 1, 2026
Soothing Relaxation: Relaxing Piano Music & Water Sounds for Sleep, Meditation, Spa & Yoga
Anyone new to the BryonySeries blog might wonder why I post piano music on Sundays and how that fits into the BryonySeries world.
That's because one character - John Simons - was a nineteenth century world-renowned pianist and composer before he died and became a vampire.
Today I'm sharing a a piece with several BryonySeries elements by a Norweigian composer - Peder B. Helland - whom I accidentally discovered while writing "Call of the Siren."
He posts his pieces on YouTube under his name and also Soothing Relxation.
Here's how I discovered him.
I had random piano music playing in the background in my room on a January 7, 2022. I remember the date because it was a sunny morning, and I was getting ready to celebrate Old Calendar Christmas with family.
Faith, my calico cat, was pacing on the bed, clamoring for attention. So I sat to pet her while this piece started playing in the background, and I marveled that the day was so sunny outside, the birds were actually chirping.
Well, real birds weren't actually, I later discovered. These were bird recordings in the background.
But that piece, ironically called "Sunny Mornings," broke through my nine-month writer's block with "Call of the Siren," a block that was less about words but finding the "music" in the words, the sound and tempo, and pacing that I felt was especially important to telling this story.
I can never hear that song without this entire memory coming to mind.
I started listening to more of Helland's music (you can find more on this blog by searching his nametag), and shared the ones that "felt" like "Call of the Siren." Those pieces, for me, became the book's unofficial soundtrack.
And I often listened to the "right" piece as I wrote "Call of the Siren," the only time I've ever listened to music while I wrote, preferring silence over distriction.
Sundays on the BryonySeries Facebook page are dedicated to the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy, which explores what happens when time and progress seemingly stop in a Northern Michigan fishing village. "Call of the Siren" is the second book in that trilogy.
So for reasons of piano music, Helland, the sounds of water in the background, and the fact "Call of the Siren" is today's featured book, I'm sharing this piece with you today.
Enjoy!
Saturday, February 28, 2026
The Last Of The Mohicans - tin whistle version by Leyna Robinson-stone
Good morning!
I've been battling a stomach virus since Monday night, but I'm very slowly (too slowly for my perspective) improviing.
This past week is probably the longest I've gone without posting anything since we lost our home in 2013.
I'm hoping that this lovely piece is the first other regular posts again.
Since the beginning of the BryonySeries, we've dedicated Saturdays to Ed Calkins and all things Irish.
Musical pieces that feature the tin whistle are also an important part of the BryonySeries novel "Staked!"
Enjoy!
Monday, February 23, 2026
A Gift of Poppyseed
I have a longstanding love for poppyseed that extends deeply back into my youngest years.
Last week, someone gifted me with this poppyseed roll during Faith's last week.
Rebekah and I had bought a variety of tempting foods for Faith, and her interest in them increased as the week progressed.
Her favorite was a soup with minced chicken pieces. By Saturday morning, Faith only had one soup left. I save it, just in case she stayed with it and needed it later in the day.
Unfortunately, "staying" was not in Faith's best interests. Dr. Beechler came with tuna and chicken sticks and asked which Faith might prefer.
Faith, of course, preferred the soup.
Fortunately, a bit of this roll still also remained on Saturday.
After Dr. Beechler left I had a slice of poppyseed roll in Faith's honor, completely a comforting culinary circle of life.
Sunday, February 22, 2026
Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You (Piano Cover by Riyandi Kusuma)
Anyone new to the BryonySeries blog might wonder why I post piano music on Sundays and how that fits into the BryonySeries world.
That's because one character - John Simons - was a ninetweenth century world-renowned pianist and composer before he died and became a vampire.
Today I'm sharing a lovely cover for anyone who believes in love.
Enjoy!
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Foggy Dew - Tin Whistle Cover
Saturdays on this blog are dedicated to BryonySeries author and Irish vampire character Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, and all things Irish.
The tin whistle is the instrument of choice for Glorna, wood sprite come to life from character Ed's imagination.
"Foggy Dew" is an Irish ballad/Lament composed around the time of the Easter uprising in 1916, and this particular rendition is especially poignant.
Enjoy!
Friday, February 20, 2026
Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, Feb. 14 through Feb. 20
Good morning!
I have twelve stories online to share with you today. More stories will go live over the weekend and next week. So please check back at shawlocal.com/the-herald-news.
To see the stories that ran in print this week and aren't online yet, click on the e-edition option at the top of The Herald-News website.
Before the stories, I also have a list of additional updates, resources, and information. Please check them out, too.
And if you'd like to find more kindness in your life, consider this book.
And have a great Friday!
Calendar
The BryonySeries calendar offers links to games, crafts, music, activities, science experiments, and recipes that pick up themes to one or more of our books.
For January, all activities center around becoming your best self.
To participate, visit bryonyseries.com/ourcalendar.
Events (or where to find the BryonySeries) - so far:
Due to a recent slew of family (human and pet) emergencies these past few weeks, we have not (yet) scheduled another appearance.
But please check out our books by popping into The Book Market in Crest Hill (if you live in the area) or bookshop.org or Amazon if you don't.
Also, many titles are available at the Joliet Public Library and the Downers Grove Public Library.
Please note: Bookshop and the libraries do not carry all of our books.
What is the BryonySeries?
Please read "Books of the BryonySeries: A Quick Overview"
For more information on the developing "parent brand" that is removing some of the heavy marketing lifting from me, visit bryonyseries.com/blocks.
BryonySeries books-in-progress
Bertrand the Mouse: We have plenty of Bertrand photos and ideas. Several are at the top of the list. At some point, we will assemble and release some more.
The Adventures of Cornell Dyer: Cornell Dyer and the House of Horreur" (because the toymaker's last name is "Horreur.") is finally begun, although albeit very slowly. I'd like to get enough done over the next month or so to finally give Sue Midlock (our artist for The Adventures of Cornell Dyer) some ideas for the book's cover and chapter heading illustrations.
Brainy Ann: The fifth book in The Girls of the BryonySeries is outlined and four chapters are written, hurray! Jennifer Wainwright has finished the cover portrait. I let this book slide for other BryonySeries projects. But the goal is to release "Brainy Ann" in 2026.
Jennifer designed the cover portraits for "Julie and the Too-Hard Homework," "Katie and the Big Fear," "Summer Sisters." and "Karla Joins In," as well as the frontispiece for "Lycanthropic Summer."
Other books: I am not writing a novel this year. But I have an idea for a BryonySeries Christmas anthology that I'd like to release in 2026. We also have a prologue/first chapter sampler of all the BryonySeries novels that's only available at certain events.
Rebekah is also slowly (very, very slowly) updating the BryonySeries YouTube and Pinterest accounts. And she' catching up with Kindles for some of the BryonySeries books. So do watch for those.
For books and more information about the series, visit bryonyseries.com.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Sue's Diner is a fictional restaurant in the fictional Munsonville that only exists in the BryonySeries.
Each Wednesday, we post a new recipe. The recipe is either featured in one of our cookbooks, will be featured in an upcoming cookbook, or is just an "extra" we want to share with you.
Check out the weekly recipe here.
WRITERS
If you're a writer anywhere in the world, you're welcome to join WriteOn Joliet's Facebook page. We're based in Joliet, Illinois, but we love to meet and interact with writers outside our area, too.
If you'd like to officially join WriteOn Joliet, we have two tiers of dues and two ways to attend meetings. We also have a marketing arm that's getting longer every year. Check us out at writeonjoliet.com.
If you'd like to officially join WriteOn Joliet, we have two tiers of dues and two ways to attend meetings. We also have a marketing arm that's getting longer every year. Check us out at writeonjoliet.com.
I also suggest this book: Little Book of Revision: A Checklist for Fiction Writers. It's exactly as it says. Each page some with one suggestion for revision. The rest of the page is blank, so you can add your own notes. All proceeds benefit WriteOn Joliet.
If you need editing or help with self-publishing, check out dmbaranunland.com.
ARTISTS
If you need an artist for a project, I offer these recommendations.
NEWSLETTERS
Sign up for The Munsonville Times by emailing us at bryonyseries@gmail.com. The newsletter still isn't official yet, so we don't have an actual link on the website - but we are working on it!
SOCIAL MEDIA
Daily updates: I haven't posted anything on Twitter/X (except a daily Bible verse) since September I can no longer schedule posts in advance. I'm not sure yet how to manage the account without that option. But you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61.
BryonySeries stuff: I used to curated content relating to the BryonySeries on Twitter/X at @BryonySeries and still post assorted related content at facebook.com/BryonySeries, youtube.com/user/BryonySeries, and themes of each book in the BryonySeries at pinterest.com/bryonyseries.
Again, not sure yet about the direction of the BryonySeries Twitter/X account. Still mulling that over.
And of course, please follow the adventures of Bertrand the Mouse on Instagram at bertrand_bryonyseries.
QUESTIONS
Email me at bryonyseries@gmail.com.Thank you for reading The Herald-News. And for reading this blog. And if you've read (or plan to read) any of my books. Your support is greatly appreciated.
FEATURES
Joliet museum celebrates how women of color shaped music
‘Rebel Music!’ new exhibit
Joliet East-side Knights pause fish fry right before Lent
due to Alaskan cod shortage
Where to catch a Will County fish fry this Lent
Photos: Home Cut Donuts in Joliet gets ready for Paczki
Day
Joliet UPS center set to close
https://www.shawlocal.com/the-herald-news/2026/02/17/joliet-ups-center-set-to-close-this-year/
Cemeno’s opens coffee shop at Joliet’s Inwood Athletic
Club
Cost of menstrual products offset by Lockport Township
pilot program
Tree pruning workshops in Grundy, Kankakee, Will counties
Herald-News seeking ‘Women of the Year’ submissions
Entry deadline is April 15
Girl shot in leg in Oswego Township, dead man also found
in home
Joliet man dies after fiery crash Friday in Beecher
Will County Pets of the Week: Feb. 16, 2026
Will County rescues have dogs and cats for adoption
https://www.shawlocal.com/the-herald-news/2026/02/16/will-county-pets-of-the-week-feb-16-2026/
Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage"
Thursday, February 19, 2026
Please Find Alex a Home
Our veterinarian's office has a sweet orange cat named Alex for adoption.
Someone found Alex abandoned with an eye injury (graphic photos to follow, so stop here if you're squeamish), and brought him to the office.
Alex's eye is now doing very well with no loss of vision that anyone can tell.
He is friendly, snuggly, chill, vaccinated, dewormed, and negative for feline leukemia.
Rebekah would claim him if we could (we can't; we have a pet limit where we live).
Alex has come a very long way and deserves a good home.
His adoption fee is $200.
For more information, call VCA Joliet Animal Hospital at 815-729-0770.
Scroll down for before and after photos.
And thank you in advance for any help you can provide!
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
"Ice Cream Dreams" by Joseph Alan
Good morning!
I usually post the new recipe on Sue's Diner each Wednesday.
But I posted this poem Tuesday evening on the BryonySeries Facebook page.
And with all the emergencies in the background (including out calico cat Faith, who goes back to the veterinarian today), this really lovely poem felt appropriate on so many levels.
The author is relatively unknown and began posting his work online a dozen or so years ago hoping people might find it.
He is the one reading the poem, which really resonated with me.
I hope you enjoy it, too.
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Daniel Bought a Bible from 1881
For Last Friday, Daniel bought an 1881 Bible from The Book Market with the help of the store credit that Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, provided every guest during the Calkins Day celebration.
Daniel took the Bible out of its package last night after physical therapy, and he, Rebekah, and I marveled at its weight, thoroughness of helpful information (more complete than any modern Bible study), detailed artwork (including some plates in color), section that once held family portraits (a shame they were removed), string binding.
Of course, 1881 puts us right into many of the scenes in the BryonySeries novel "Before The Blood," so we have that connection, too.
Here are some photos from you to enjoy!
Monday, February 16, 2026
My Cat is a Phoenix
Anyone who's followed by Faith's nearly four-year cancer journey, knows this little kitty has defied the odds (and her eventual fate) more than nine lives should allow - including one dramatic turn for the better one hour before her euthansia more than two years ago.
Well, she's beat them again, at least for this moment.
Because of her longterm steriod use (anticipated to be a couple of months, not years), Faith drinks a lot but can't keep up with the fluid loss. So she was recently prescribed subcutaneous fluids twice a week at home.
Before Faith received Fluid Treatment No. 1, we had the carpet stretchers at opur house. My room and the hall had rather suddenly developed a large, long trail of a hump that urgently needed repair due to its size, location, and hazard (large enough we kept tripping over it).
That means completely emptying my room, a many-hour task on Calkins Day, for which I took the day off work.
Well, the carpet stretchers arrived two hours early, and we were far from done. So they headed to some other jobs and came back at the end of the day. That means a panicked Faith hid somewhere all day and under my bed once they were gone.
Faith stayed there most of Saturday, and I don't think she slept much those two days.
By Saturday night, she'd lost half a pound, looked ghastly, and received her first treatment of at-home fluids.
I worked through the weekend, so she and I hung out together. She didn't eat or drink much, but she did rest her face in the water bowl.
We decided to cancel my PT for Monday, give Tiny's vaccination appointment to Faith, and do whatever we needed to do to address the issue.
That brings us to last night.
At ten o'clock, Faith suddently discovered water.
And kibbles.
And sticks of wet food (the lickable snacks, and she eats an average of ten per day as a supplement).
Well, she ate eight of them last night.
I dozed on the bed and refilled her bowl each time I heard her licking the empty bowl. Untill well past midnight, I was up and down refilling her bowl. I also gave her fresh water around four.
She's still a little dehydrated. But her veterinarian said no more subcutaneous fluids until her next scheduled one, since she's eating and drinking. She also doesn't need to be seen, hurray!
We get that Faith is on borrowed time, and her situation can change on a dime. Her four-year anniversary since diagnosis is less than two months away, and we'd be surprised if she makes that.
In the meantime...
Tiny is rescheduled for next week. I get to go to work and PT as if nothing happened.
Faith is currently hanging out under the bed pecking and food and water.
Not bad for a Monday, right?
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