12 Quotes from Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake

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 now I am catching up.

Here is the synopsis and twelve quotes for Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake, one from each chapter.

Enjoy!

Before supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer can figure out the questions, one man disappears and another dies. To find the answers, Cornell must cross the lake - but all who tried never came back. Will Cornell survive and solve the mystery?

Prologue: 

"Will you leave me, too?" she sobbed.

"Hush," he squeezed her hand. "I will never leave you."

But she left him because of a man, a mean old man with important papers. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to his boat.

Chapter 1: A Stone's Throw Away

Mr. Hogley and Mr. Basset looked up from their game of checkers and sneered at Cornell, too.

But Cornell did not care. Supernatural super sleuths are too busy to pay attention to the scorn of others.

Chapter 2: Stumps, Dumps, and Car Trunks

Finally, they reached the dump. It was full of broken items on top of each other: sinks and lawn mowers and grills, along with rolled-up moldy carpet, yellow-stained mattresses, dry-rotted truck tires, broken lamps, sofas with scattered cushions, upside down desks and bureaus, and random trash bags and plastic wrappers.

Cornell tossed his empty can and bottle in the direction of the wrappers, not because he liked to litter, but because that seemed like the place they should go.

Chapter 3: Jack of all Trades

Cornell hadn't seen smoke that thick and dark since the heat wave of 1972 when he was in New York banishing a poltergeist from a shoe store.

But Jack turned to Cornell with a wide smile. "Don't worry, friend. I can fix that."

Chapter 4: Trouble Under the Hood

"Don't forget to collect your things," Jack said. "There's a boarding house at the end of the lane. Tell the owner I sent you, and she won't charge you a cent."

So Cornell pulled his magic carpetbag from under the sofa and began grabbing a few essentials: potions, cards, crystal balls, maps, an entire shelf of code-breaking books, and a llama.

Chapter 5: A Haunting Tale

"Inside this town lived a boy and girl, the strangest boy and girl you could ever meet."

"What made them strange?" Cornell asked.

"They were inseparable." Jack said as he set a small part on the floor. "They were born right next to each other. They learned to crawl together and walk together. As they grew up, they played together. They were like one person with two bodies."

Chapter 6: The Very Sad Funeral

Someone else in Marbleheart had also wanted to sail to the other side of the lake. Someone Cornell had met in the dump right before he met Jack.

That's when he realized someone very important had not attended Jack's funeral.

Chapter 7: A Splinter on Deck

"Sir, do not interfere with important work. I am the great Professor Cornell Dyer, supernatural super sleuth. I fear nothing and no one. And I most certainly do not fear this lake and what's on the other side."

The boatman pointed his finger rudely at Cornell's face. "Bad things happen to people who try. Look what happened to poor Jack. I'm warning you, don't go."

Chapter 8: Big Water and Deep Trouble

"It's a trick," Cornell thought. "My mind is tricking me because of the fever."

But a supernatural sleuth that cracks the hardest supernatural mysteries and breaks the most stubborn of curses won't be broken by a splinter and a fever.

Chapter 9: Sometimes He Comes Back

Jack wore a bright excited look, the type little boys wear on Christmas morning when they see the tree and know the gift they wanted most of all is lying beneath it.

Chapter 10: Two for the Price of One

Only water surrounded him on every side as the boat sailed at an even pace across the placid, sparkling lake under a pleasant sunny sky.

Epilogue

"I'll help you!" Cornell cried. "Just as soon as I have a snack!"

With that, he headed to the broken-down car and began rummaging for food.

"Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake" is Now an Audiobook

The Adventures of Cornell Dyer is one of the series in the BryonySeries book world.

Here is its synopsis: Join the incredible, impossible, and marvelous Cornell Dyer as he unravels mysteries, untangles myths, and decides what to have for lunch.

All of the Cornell Dyer books are available in print and Kindle.

And now (ta-da!) one Cornell Dyer book is available as an audiobook: Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake. And that's all due to the hard work of Alby Odum (production) and his daughter Evelyn Odum (narrator).

It's been quiet the journey as a self-publisher to get to this stage, as Alby and his team first reached out to me in 2011, when the BryonySeries had just one book published: Bryony.

We did record Bryony in 2011. And then a lot of "life" happened to everyone involved with the project.

So Alby, Rebekah, and I met a few times at the Book and Bean Cafe in Joliet to move the project forward. 

And then COVID happened - so Alby and his daughter recorded "Cornell" at home. 

Four of us met iin April to finish the setup on Cornell, with the goal of publishing the audiobook of Bryony once Cornell went live.

Here is that book's synopsis:

A cry for help. A glowing green ball. An old tired town with a mysterious old dump. A tale of heartbreak. Before supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer can figure out the questions, one man disappears and another dies. To find the answers, Cornell must cross the lake - but all who tried never came back. Will Cornell survive and solve the mystery?

So far, Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake is available through these retailers.

Happy listening!

NOOK Audiobooks: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cornell-dyer-and-the-eerie-lake-denise-m-baran-unland/1132194819

Kobo, Walmart: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/cornell-dyer-and-the-eerie-lake

Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/575563234/Cornell-Dyer-and-The-Eerie-Lake

Libro.FM: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781949777994

Chirp: https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/cornell-dyer-and-the-eerie-lake-by-denise-m-baran-unland

BingeBooks: https://bingebooks.com/book/cornell-dyer-and-the-eerie-lake

Audiobooks.com: https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/cornell-dyer-and-the-eerie-lake/596926

Storytel: https://www.storytel.com/se/sv/books/3160369

BryonySeries Moment of the Day: Cornell Ditch

My BryonySeries super fan recently pulled over on a highway to snap this picture of Cornell Ditch in Indiana.

She sent it to me over the weekend. It certainly made me smile.

The crazy coincidence about "Cornell Ditch" is that supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer had his motor home stolen in Indiana at the end of his"Eerie Lake" book. He then trudges down the hot highway in the opening pages of "Never Robbers."

Apparently, these chapters in Cornell's life are considered historic and marked with a sign.

For your amusement today, here are excepts from those chapters.

"Eerie Lake"

Four hours later and enjoying his favorite Wagnerian opera on his favorite classical music radio station, Cornell was far, far away from Marbleheart and pondering where he might find his next supernatural mystery.

            Up ahead, he saw a car leaning to one side. Two of its tires were flat. Steam was rising from its hood.            

            After parking his motor home safely at the side of the road, Cornell shut off the engine, grabbed his all-purpose fix-up-a-car magic wand, and lumbered to the stranded motorists.

            Immediately a snow gun jammed into his side.  The wand dropped. Cornell froze. He caught a flash of the gun as his assailant rushed away.

            The side of the gun read: Made in Toyland.

            Amateurs, Cornell thought.

            He figured a spell from such a gun would not last long. And he was right.

            He spun around in time to see his motor home speeding away.

            In the back, a girl with curly red hair held up a sign.

            The sign read: HELP ME!

            Cornell waved to show he understood.

            "I'll help you!" he cried. "Just as soon as I have a snack!"

            With that, he headed to the broken-down car and began rummaging for food.

"Never Robbers"

Cornell Dyer felt very miserable indeed.

          For over two hours, he'd trudged down the dusty shoulder of Highway 52, blazer slung over his shoulder, in pursuit of his motor home and the thieves who drove away with it.

          He spun around in time to see his motor home speeding away.

          In the back, a girl with curly red hair held up a sign.

          The sign read: HELP ME!

          The blinding sun stung Cornell's eyes, even as sweat rolled into them from his forehead, and scorched his bare forearms.

          The top of his damp curly black head practically sizzled in the heat.

          His stomach rumbled. The jelly snack cakes and cheese curls he'd rummaged out of the glove box of the thieves' broken-down car were only a memory.

          His dry mouth tasted like a wad of cotton. The bottle of cream soda he’d retrieved from under the car's front seat was also a memory.

          How dare anyone, much less a group of anyones, steal the motor home belonging to the great Professor Cornell Dyer, supernatural super sleuth of supernatural mysteries?

          Just wait until he caught up with them. Just wait.

          His motor home had better be intact. Not not one scratch. Not one dent. Not one fizzy potion or sandwich cookie missing.

          He'd long passed the Indiana border. But the farther he walked, the stranger the landscape became.

          No cars zoomed past.

          No people on bicycles whizzed past.

          No joggers zipped past.

          The air was strangely silent. No hum of an airplane or twitter of birds.

          Cornell reached inside his pocket for his enchanted everywhere map and brought up gloop.

          The gloop smelled bad and smeared the lines of the map into all the wrong directions.

          Cornell had forgotten, again, to throw away the old mayonnaise packets. Well, when one is busying solving important supernatural mysteries, one cannot remember everything.

          He shoved the map back inside his pocket and felt it squoosh against the mayonnaise. But Cornell did not believe in littering.

          Then he squatted, dragged his fingers across a grassy patch to remove the smelly goop, and resumed his trudge.

          He hoped the girl was unharmed, but she, at least, was inside his motor home. Cornell trusted the motor home to protect her.

          As soon as Cornell reached a town, he would go straight to the police. He would report the theft, and he would report the kidnapping.

          If he had known thieves would steal his motor home, he would not have left Larry the Llama in Marbleheart.

          If he still had Larry, he would not be hot, tired, and still walking.

          But, no, the llama wanted to stay with Mrs. Horsehair. Ungrateful beast.

          The view up ahead blurred into squiggles.

          Cornell stopped.

          He shaded his eyes.

          He squinted through the sunlight.

          And then he blinked. Was that a lake?

          Yes, that was definitely a lake, shimmering irresistibly, just past the highway.

 

 

 

Endings, Beginnings, and To be Continued...

An extremely productive weekend in lots of areas!

Read the proof copy of Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake, made the changes, and then Rebekah tweaked the cover and reuploaded the book. Waiting for approval from KDP.

Incorporated the copy edits into the fifth and final installment of Before the Blood. Rebekah uploaded it. Waiting for approval from KDP. This one is a little bittersweet.

Except for homeschooling my children, this has been the most time-consuming of all my projects, eight years in all for the BryonySeries prequel, from concept to outline, to research, to writing, to editing, to all the rest. It's weird, but extremely, satisfying to see it end.

However, I did begin writing Lycanthropic Summer in earnest on Saturday. And then on Sunday, I put my notes from Timothy for Cornell Dyer and the Never Robbers in a workable format. I hope to get some serious writing done on both these stories accomplished next weekend.

I also created a handout guide for the BryonySeries for events.

I worked a bit on Saturday and Sunday since I have two doctor's appointments on Monday and Tuesday.

I did some serious housecleaning.

I took care of a few bills and a whole bunch of filing that had piled up.

Joshua, and Amber the kids came over for dinner on Saturday night (Rebekah bought the ingredients, Joshua cooked), and I spent some time assessing Ezekiel's reading (Joshua and Amber are homeschooling him next year) while Rebekah made cookies with Jessica and Riley. I also made some curriculum suggestions to Joshua and Amber.

Not to digress too much, but poring through old school materials and helping to structure a program for my grandson made me realize just how much road the kids and I have traveled over the years. I found myself marveling at the realization I taught my kids how to read, do math, etc. It felt routine and natural in the moment.

Oh, yes, and I sent out the monthly letters to nine of the grandchildren.

Finally, I also watched some of the first season of Soap (Friday night and Saturday night) with Daniel and Rebekah (a Mother's Day present from Daniel).

I did not (yet) get to see my friend with lung cancer (mostly due to lack of a ride and too much rain to walk, but we did text a bit), and I did not make it down to Morris to see Ron in the nursing home (same reason, but more due to the fact he is not adjusting well).

I also didn't get much work done on Phyllis' memoir, so that goes to the top of my list for next Sunday afternoon.

For all of you reading this blog right now: I hope you had an ever better weekend, and I hope today is the start of a week that's even better than that!

Mother's Day Weekend Snapshots

I had just five plans for Mother's Day weekend: work, stopping at The Book Market for Jennifer Russ' book signing (which went extremely well, eleven copies sold), Phyllis' memoir, working on my werewolf story, and copy editing the fourth installment of Before the Blood, as it was due on my doorstep on Saturday.

And walking, but that's a given. And I had a tentative breakfast with Timothy on Saturday to plot out the fourth book in the Adventures of Cornell Dyer series.

Here's what really happened.

Timothy and I did meet for an early breakfast on Saturday morning. After a couple hours, we were still in chapter three of Cornell Dyer and the Never Robbers. But we did pick it up for about four more hours on Sunday afternoon. We are still not through chapter five. And we had a great time!

Then I went home and worked for a few hours, and Timothy ran errands. When I found a ride to take some photos for a story in Monday's Herald-News, I also stopped at The Book Market to take photos of Jennifer Russ for the WriteOn Joliet Facebook page.

When I'd met all my deadlines for work, I turned my attention to the memoir for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I did not pick this back up the rest of the weekend. So I did not accomplish as much as I'd wished.

When I went downstairs to reheat my coffee and check the mail, the Amazon truck was pulling up. I am now halfway through the proof copy of a book that's over 90,000 words. BTW, the font isn't crooked, the cover is now curled from frequent handling and resisted staying in place for the photo.

After Jasmine and Rebekah got off work, we went to my oldest son's house in Mazon for an impromptu birthday party for one of my grandsons, who turned 7 on Friday and did NOT want to smile for my camera.

On Sunday, while I accompanying Timothy on some of his errands, I received this "BryonySeries" sweet from mall staff. I saved it to split with Rebekah. It's actually a Rise Krispies treat.

In late afternoon, I forsook my usual Sunday work (I usually spend the afternoons working to get a jump on Monday) in favor of a long "Cornell" talk with Timothy (and to drink the Gloria Jean's coffees he bought for us, and to eat up nearly an entire loaf of the banana bread with chocolate chips Rebekah baked after the birthday party) and housework after he left with Jasmine for a Mother's Day celebration on her side of the family.

But I also received another Gloria Jean's coffee from the Rebekah and Jasmine when they arrived (so now I have leftovers for today). I should also mention Timothy bought me a dark roast from Brewed Awakenings in Morris on the way to Mazon (the dark roast of the day was from Honduras. And it was delicious).

Along with this card and gift card:

And plenty of flowers: from Jasmine, Rebekah, and Daniel. Don't judge the plastic pitcher/makeshift vase, LOL. The baggie on the left is the remaining banana bread. BTW, We had banana bread because Rebekah made two loaves as a Mother's Day gift for a woman at her work. She also made two pumpkin pies on Saturday night, one for us and one for another woman at work, also for a Mother's Day present. I just wanted to add this because Rebekah and Jasmine have worked twelve to fourteen hour days since Thursday because of the holiday. 

I also talked to my own Mon via phone and twice with Sarah (Saturday and Sunday). And her son Lucas called me to wish me a Happy Mother's Day.

After I did housework, I popped popcorn, Rebekah grated cheese, and we sat down to hear about her day. Then Daniel came home with more flowers (we were out of vases, having lent one, so we used the pitcher) and a gift from him and Timothy.

I foolishly abandoned the Sunday work for the evening and settled down to watch four episodes with Daniel (whose favorite character is Bert), Rebekah (who also loves the show), and Timothy (who was mildly surprised we started without him) when he returned from his event.

From time to time, we had to pause the viewing for one last lovely surprise: updates on the cover for Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake (the third book, which is just waiting for art), from illustrator Sue Midlock, which I kept showing to Timothy for his comments, too.

I woke up this morning to a nice Mother's Day text from Joshua. And I received (and sent) texts from other mothers I know and love.

I did not get any work done on the werewolf story, but one can't have everything. But I DID have a lovely writerly weekend filled with family time and sprinkled with delightful surprises.

I didn't write this post to brag about the terrific weekend I had. But I did want to give those who follow this blog a glimpse what I value in life: giving and receiving love. And this past weekend was filled with examples of it.

Because, yes, even my books qualify. My ability to write is a talented I've worked hard to develop to ultimately inform, inspire (my feature stories for The Herald-News, Phyllis' memoir), and entertain (readers of the BryonySeries).

And now Monday is tightly packed because I didn't work yesterday.

But I will have plenty of Gloria Jean to help me through it.

Have a blessed Monday, readers, writers, and BryonySeries fans! :)

More Productive Than I Thought

Saturday was so restful, I didn't realize how much creative work I accomplished until I reviewed my weekend list and checked off the boxes.

The third installment of Before the Blood is copyedited and ready for reformatting.

A special "cheetah" anthology for WriteOn Joliet is also ready for reformatting and upload.

A very short story called The Witches Spell is in the hands of my WriteOn Joliet collaborator, who liked it and is taking the concept from there.

Three to five-minute selection for WriteOn Joliet's next open mic on April 1 is selected.

A brand new Bertrand book (Bertrand Spends the Night) is uploaded, ordered, and (fingers crossed) available for purchase on Saturday.

Timothy is still reading Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake. But then, he did frame all that artwork. ;)

I'll expound on the cheetah anthology and the collaborative project for another post, closer to May, which is when WriteOnJoliet will host a special event.

I also walked nearly 20 miles between Saturday and Sunday. :)

But it felt good to start Monday mentally recharged.

When Creativity Fills the House

What a wonderful weekend on so many levels!

First, I had only about four hours of work carryover into Sunday, the first time in a very long time, and I actually took all of Saturday off. The last couple days were not only restful, they were creative, for me, and for others, too.

I finished the WriteOn Joliet cheetah anthology (more on this later) last night and sent it to Rebekah to give it a fresh look. After we receive the cover art, we can upload it.

We spent a good 90 minutes on the phone with KDP with a wonderful representative who fixed almost all of our issues. A HUGE THANK to Daniel's girl friend Cindy for getting curious about my box of still unpacked books and reading through all the Bertrand ones. She's the one who found the printing errors.

I finished Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake and sent it to Timothy to read. So far, he said, it reads like the story he envisioned.

I wrote, and shot, Bertrand Spends the Night. If all goes well, I will have copies available at the March 23 book signing at The Book Market in Crest Hill.

Jasmine showed Rebekah and Cindy over a two-day period how to make gum roses for cakes, etc.

And while I finally unpacked, and put away, my box of books, Jasmine and Rebekah baked four different kinds of Irish soda bread (and some cookies) for my Herald-News food page on Thursday.

A few quick photos below:

On This Monday Morning

So I worked a lot this weekend (good, satisfying work) and almost, but not quite, finished Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake.

In fact, I'm one chapter and an epilogue away from the end.

But they're outlined with instructions for the details. But I'm hoping to use a little time in the early morning today and tomorrow to finish it.

A new Bertrand the Mouse book is also outlined. But that is a project for next weekend.

The formatting for the third book of Before the Blood is done. I'm in the process of giving it a final read.

In non-writing news, Rebekah and I tore the bedroom apart yesterday and did some intense spring cleaning.

It's amazing how serene a clean and organized room can feel.

Especially on Monday morning.

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."

A Fast-Paced, Non-Super Bowl Weekend

At least, the weekend was fast-paced for me.

And I'm not a sports fan, so my only knowledge of the Super Bowl came from The Herald-News headlines this morning.

Although I came into the weekend with the intention of making impressive progress on Cornell Dyer and Eerie Lake (and didn't), I at least had a very productive weekend and am a little amazed I accomplished so much.

Here's a quick recap of Saturday:

1) Re-reading bits of Daraga's Quest for the WriteOn Joliet Gothic Book Club.

2) A nap.

Yep. I was up for a couple hours on Saturday and decided to go back to bed for a couple hours. I used to nap all the time when nursing the kids to sleep back in their babyhood days, and I've only recently rediscovered the luxury of Saturday naps. They're awesome! (especially when drowsing over a good book.

3) Social media/marketing.

4) Stopped in at Ken McGee's book signing.

5) Two lovely hours at the WriteOn Joliet Gothic Book club at the Book and Bean Cafe in Joliet

6) A few hours of work for Monday 

7) 15,995 steps (the goal is 23,000, but I've been a bit under-stepped lately)

8) Walked with Rebekah to Jody's for carryout.

9) A couple hours of Cornell Dyer (an outline, back cover copy, chapter heading picture ideas, a bit of the prologue, and some consultation with Timothy on the last book)

Sunday:

1) Social media/marketing

2) Work for Monday

3) Covered a church service in Channahon

4) Took a short drive and walk by the I&M canal for work and Bertrand photos

5) Stopped for gas and coffee at Casey's (coffee is important), where Rebekah called with an electrical issue at the house.

6) Talked with maintenance as he addressed the issue.

7) Finished Monday's work.

8) Uploaded half a dozen videos for work.

9) Spent a couple hours with a Joliet woman in her 90s (I'm ghost-writing her memoir).

10) Added the corrections from the proof copy of the second installment to Before the Blood and uploaded it for possible publication.

11) Rebekah found discrepancies in ALL Bertrand the Mouse files on KDP. Our files are correct. She successfully uploaded one; the rest are being stubborn, so a phone call is on the list for today.

12) 14,800 steps (which included a walk with Rebekah)

13) Mailed three birthday greetings to grandchildren and one bill.

14) Yoga

15) Consulted with Timothy on his menu for work, my website and various fonts, and the business card he's redesigning for the BryonySeries.

16) Lamented with Rebekah at bedtime at why I can't seem to get anything done! (yes, that's a thing).

So why am I listing this?

Years ago, a very wise Catholic writer and mother of seven children recalled another mother lamenting with having no time for projects, etc. The writer, Mary Reed Newland, responded by saying we need to examine where we waste it.

Another writer, who wrote a parenting book when she had six children, wrote in a 1983 book for stay-at-home moms how a time management expert had told her to "learn to use small modules of time," which is how she got her book written.

For some projects, that's fine. However, many creative projects need large bunches of time to properly unfold.

Looking over this list, to say "I didn't get anything done" is far from the truth.

And as a new week is beginning, maybe I should give myself a virtual shoulder pat and say, "Well done!" instead of dwelling on the list of items (as yet) undone.

Illustration by Christopher Gleason for "Staked!" Follow him at www.artworkbytopher.com.