Good morning!
I have seven stories online to share with you today, with more stories likely going live over the weekend. 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.
To participate, visit bryonyseries.com/ourcalendar.
Events (or where to find the BryonySeries) - so far:
June 5, June 12, June 19, June 26: B.L.O.C.K.S. will be hosting children's games at Food Truck Fridays, which runs 4 to 8 p.m. at Carter Realty Group, 1214 Essington Road, Joliet. We're hoping to be set 5:30-ish on all days except June 12, when we will run games from 4 to 5:30-ish p.m. In addition to children's games, we will offer BryonySeries books for sale during the games. Not in the mood to read? Buy one (or more) books and place it in our collection box for our book giveaways at the July 3 and Aug. 1 events.
June 27: "Presentation 101: An Overview for Authors Entering the Industry" 1 p.m., Joliet Public Library, 150 N. Ottawa St. Joliet. Register here.
July 3: Joliet Eve of Independence: America 250 Fireworks and Celebration: 6 to 10 p.m., Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park & Theatre, 201 W. Jefferson St., Joliet. Live music, food vendors, and children’s activities by B.L.O.CK.S., the BryonySeries umbrella brand. B.L.O.C.K.S. will also have limited giveaways of BryonySeries books for all ages and WriteOn Joliet's upcoming "Shoe" anthology. The evening will conclude with a fireworks display at 9:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Aug. 1: Kid Fest: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., City Square, Downtown Joliet. For the third year in a row, WriteOn Joliet will have a tent at the annual Kidz Fest celebration. Write your own story with our unique, one-of-a-kind, made-just-for-us story manipulable story blocks. And be sure to pick up one (or more) WriteOn Joliet-authored books (titles for all ages), which we will distribute for free.
In addition, 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.
And if you missed it, please check out the "Shades of Noir" photos.
What is the BryonySeries?
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 nearly drafted with some partial editing already begun. We plan to release this book 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 we plan to release a BryonySeries Christmas anthology around the holidays. This will be Christmas excerpts from existing BryonySeries novels along with a few bonus chapters only available in this anthology.
We also have a prologue/first chapter sampler of all the BryonySeries novels and an novel excerpt (so far) that's only available at certain events and another sampler cal;led "Angel or Demon" that is also only available at select 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'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.
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'm gradually reviving BryonySeries on Twitter/X at x.com/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.
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 Junior College board chair Budzinski resigns
Says decision due to one trustee ‘who continues to go
against everything the board does’
New Lenox welcomes new car sales company among other new
businesses
Newsweek recognizes Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox
for the 2nd time in 2026
Will County Pets of the Week: June 22, 2026
Will County rescues have dogs and cats for adoption
https://www.shawlocal.com/the-herald-news/2026/06/22/will-county-pets-of-the-week-june-22-2026/
Three-part story on AI in healthcare
Patients turning to AI chatbots for medical advice,
risking dangerous missteps
Doctors warn that ChatGPT and similar tools lack clinical
context and can fuel health anxiety
Illinois hospitals deploy AI tools to free doctors from
paperwork
From stroke detection to seizure monitoring, artificial
intelligence is reducing administrative burdens and giving physicians more time
with patients
Doctors embrace AI as regulators work to ensure safe use
Survey shows 81% of physicians now use artificial
intelligence tools, prompting new certification standards and calls for
measured regulation
https://www.shawlocal.com/news/2026/06/25/doctors-embrace-ai-as-regulators-work-to-ensure-safe-use/
Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage"
