The Book Market's Two-Sided Movable Shelves

This post is a long time in the making.

Last year, Jan Staley, owner of The Book Market in Crest Hill, told me about some shelving another organization in town was planning to donate to her at some point.

Jan was super excited about the shelves because of their weight, their amount of space, and their versatility - the shelves are double-sided and moveable.

She promised one shelf for BryonySeries books (one side) and books by WriteOn Joliet authors (one side).

Earlier this year, Rebekah and I came into the store after work to help reorganize the entire local author section and move all BryonySeries and WriteOn Joliet books to the shelves.

Timothy created all the signage templates for both sides - and for future use at other places and events. 

Rebekah and I looked for the right cardholders and finished the setup in mid-June, right before yet another bout of diverticulitis for me.

The top of the shelves are reserved for WriteOn Joliet's "Author of the Month," whenever we're able to re-launch that program, either late 2026 or January 2027.

For now, the top has a bin for books, along with a sign asking patrons to purchase and donate any book by a WriteOn Joliet author (which includes books in the BryonySeries, since I have dual membership).

These books will be given away from the WriteOn Joliet booth at Kids Fest on Aug. 1, at he City Square in Downtown Joliet.

And when you're done checking out the books on this moveable shelf, be sure to browse the rest of the local author section and the other books The Book Market has to offer.

Founded in 1977, The Book Market offers used books, novels, children's literature, graphic novels, audiobooks, religious texts, sports books, and much, much more, all at very reasonable prices.

What can be more heavenly on a hot and humid July than a leisurely browse through a bookstore?

Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, Receives a Birthday Limerick

Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, BryonySeries author and Irish vampire character, reads the birthday limerick WriteOn Joliet member Recapper Jenny presented to Ed on Calkins Day (Feb. 13) 2026 at The Book Market in Crest Hill.

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!

 

Calkins Day is Less Than a Week Away!

Calkins Day is less than a week away!

What is Calkins Day, you may ask?

It's the BryonySeries official holiday, and a day to celebrate creativity, generosity, and laughter.

This post will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Calkins Day (and most likely more than you ever dreamed possible).

The flyer at the bottom of today's post sums up the event experience (although you really need to attend for the full experience).

Can't attend due to prior commitments? Live to far away?

Why, just attend in your imagination, which is an Ed Calkins-approved way to attend anything.

Concerned financial restrictions might impede your ability to celebrate? Then check out "Calkins Day on a Budget."

However, if you live reasonably close to The Book Market in Crest Hill, the only financial concern is gas money for your car, since the entire event is FREE (unless you buy a book, which is highly unlikely, as Ed is more likely to simply give you one).

Wearing a striped shirt like this one is optional and only if you have one. One year I didn't wear mine, and Ed called me out on it. However, that's only because he knows I DO own one. So you probably have more flexability on this point.

Your greater concern really should be your answer to this question: "Are you a member of the IVA?" And my advice to you is to carefully consider your answer and ONLY after you read this post.

And remember: CALKINS DAY IS LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY!

Save the Date: Calkins Day 2026

Calkins Day (Feb. 13) is the BryonySeries' official holiday. It's a day to celebrate laughter, imagination, generosity, and the birthday of Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara: man, myth, and author.

And we are inviting you to that celebration from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at The Book Market in Crest Hill.

The drop-in celebration will include free food, a chance to win an original acrylic waterscape painted by Ed’s wife Nancy Calkins (an accomplished artist and retired art teacher), and the opportunity to purchase books authored by Ed and books in which Ed appears as a character.

One of those books will include “Recovering Ruthless,” the third book in the outrageous, literary nonsense BryonySeries Ruthless series, all authored by Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara.

The first book is simply called “Ruthless.” The second book is titled “The Fifth.”

Ed also wrote my Irish genealogy. (I’m not Irish).

Ed also appears as himself (as in himself, a ruthless dictator, and an Irish vampire) in “Bryony,” “Visage,” and “Staked!”

Who is Ed Calkins? Here is a twenty-question interview withthe real Ed Calkins, here is my Calkins Day address from 2020, and here is Ed’s Calkins Day message from 2018.

Here is why we celebrate Calkins Day.

Here is how to celebrate Calkins Day in our "Guide to Becoming Un-Serious."

I must also add that Ed is very dyslexic, which makes writing more challenging for him than many other writers. But he not only works through the challenge, he’s made dyslexia a key part of the plot in his Ruthless trilogy in ways that has nothing to do with reading or writing.

You also might want to listen to this podcast.

And if you follow those links, you might find yourself almost prepared to celebrate Calkins Day at The Book Market on Feb. 13.

But if you really want to impress the Steward of Tara (also known as Your Ruthlessness), come prepared to recite a limerick about him as WriteOn Joliet member Mauverneen Blevins did in 2023.

Or memorize “Birches” by Robert Frost and recite it to him.

And then watch the magic unfold.

Happy Saturday!

New "Ruthless" Book in Progress

So Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, is working very hard on a new book in his Ruthless series.

In Ed's true literary nonsense style, the book will include himself (in Irish vampire and Ruthless dictator format), an eclectic cast of BryonySeries characters (his and mine), and a focus on the Templar Knights, COVID-19, and Kellen Wechsler.

Ed's publication goal is Calkkins Day 2027 (for the unenlightened Calkins Day is celebrated with great festivity from 6 to 8:30 p.m. each February 13 at The Book Market in Crest Hill. Yes, you are invited. Stay posted for details!).

Ed has an idea for a title, which I won't share now because he's not certain he's keeping it.

I will share his working table of contents, which clarifies nothing.

But hopefully you are intrigued.

Happy Saturday!

Table of Contents

Kingdom of the Damned

              First Forward: On Human Sacrifice

1 The King of Cows

2 Tangles and Timelines

3 Time to Talk Templar

4 Shoes of the Fishers

5 A Very Cold Case

6 The Ghost of Almost

7 Trigger Treat

7.5 Retraction of Chapter 7

8 The Internet Never Lies

9 Love, Lose, and the Tourist Industry

Covid Finds Munsonville

              Second Forward; Covid Compliance

              10 On Wearing Clean Socks

              11 Hero’s Forest

              12 The Land of a Hundred Kings

              13 The Privilege of Service

              14 Demise of the Mad King Part I: Dear Me

              15 Demise of the Mad King Part2; Nun Shall Pass

Romance, Sex, and Other Trash

              16 What Must Never Be Told

              17 The Bridegroom Wished He Knew

              18 What Happened to Two Aging Virgins

19 What Boys Do in the Shower

The Children’s Crusade

              20 Show and Tell

              21 The Whereabouts of the Mad King

              22 Direct Orders

 

Four Locally Authored Christmas Books You Can Buy Now

The days leading up to Christmas and beyond are perfect to snuggle into a warm blanket with a warm drink in one hand and a good Christmas story in the other.

Here are four locally authored Christmas book you can enjoy now.

All four are available on Amazon.

The first three are also available at The Book Market in Crest Hill.

The first two are also available for immediate reading on Kindle.

The last is only available in print on Amazon.

So although that fourth book may not arrive in time for Christmas, it's still sweet reading for the holiday season.

And if you'd like more local author suggestions, check out this list I assembled in late 2019.

And remember, even if you don't want to read the books yourself, you can make the holidays brighter for a child who does.

Happy reading!

Bertrand and the Christmas Surprise

It's Bertrand's first Christmas, and he can't wait to meet Santa. But instead of the man in the red suit, Bertrand comes face to face with a bit of Christmas magic.

Cornell Dyer and the Flu

It’s Christmas Eve and a very sick Cornell Dyer is stuck in the hospital, frustrated because he can’t find the vending machine and because he’s too sick to solve his latest supernatural mystery. Another patient tries to help Cornell, not with food and medicine, but with a journey into realms Cornell doesn’t want to go.

Write Where We Are: Holiday Edition: Stories, poems, and essays for the holiday season

Nearly everyone has traditions. For the last eight years, Write On Joliet has assembled an anthology of our members’ works, published and offered to the public as a way to share our passion with the community.

This year, we are offering a special holiday edition of Write Where We Are. We hope this collection of stories, essays, and poems that touch on many aspects of the holiday season, will become a new tradition for your family: a chance to lose yourself in a memory, take a break from the holiday hustle, and enjoy something a little different and home-grown.

Write On Joliet is comprised of writers from across the southern suburbs who share a passion for creative writing. In addition to publishing an annual anthology,

WriteOn Joliet produces a live theatrical reading performance each spring, and its members participate in other community arts events throughout the year.

Sarah's Christmas Wish

A heartwarming Christmas story about a seven year old girl living in an orphanage with her two best friends. Her dream is to find a home with parents for herself and her friends. The orphanage is not one of warmth or compassion but it doesn't stop Sarah's dreaming and good nature.

Give Kids the Gift of Reading This Holiday Season

Please check out a very unique display at The Book Market in Crest Hill - and then consider celebrating gratitude with us and blessing a child with a BryonySeries book this holiday season.

For the past several years, the BryonySeries B.L.O.C.K.S. team has donated Bertrand the Mouse books to a local Santa Services, which Santa distributes to events aimed at low-income children.

Last year, we also spontaneously gave away thirty Bertrand the Mouse books to a local food pantry and one hundred books to local foster families.

In 2023, we partnered with The Book Market and invited patrons to also purchase books for Santa, in order to increase donations. Thanks to everyone's generosity, we provided Santa with 147 books that year.

This year, we are once again collecting Bertrand the Mouse books for Santa Services.

And we are also collecting BryonySeries children's books to donate to the Will County Children's Advocacy Center in Crest Hill: Bertrand the Mouse, The Adventures of Cornell Dyer, and the Girls of the BryonySeries books.

We will be collecting books throughout the holiday season.

For bulk rates, email us at bryonyseries@gmail.com.

You may also purchase BryonySeries books from Amazon (our store is down) and mail to Denise M. Unland, P.O. Box 2789, Joliet, IL, 60436.

Anyone who purchases any TWO BryonySeries children's books at The Book Market may select one of Bertrand's friends and stocking from the Christmas tree (while supplies last) as our "thank you" gift to you, courtesy of Cindy Phan from Ribbit-Ribbits.

Please reach out to us or chat with Jan Staley at The Book Market if you have any questions.

Together, we can bring the joys of reading to local children this holiday season.

Beause literacy is a gift that that keeps giving long past the expression of gratitude or the end of the book.

Please scroll through photos to see samples of Cindy's homemade stockings and mice.

Actual mice and stockings currently available may not match these photos as each one is unique.

Happy Tuesday!

WriteOn Joliet Anthology Release Party: Books and Six Small Businesses

By now, you have read Ten Reasons Why You Should Attend WriteOn Joliet's 2025 Anthology Release Party on Thursday - and you may also have read the post with the menu for all the free chef-created heavy appetizers.

But new this year (and not in any of the previous posts) is each guest receives one FREE raffle ticket for a $10 voucher to one of five local business, which will be randomly drawn at the end of the party.

Most winners will be notified by email with a virtual voucher attached and instructions for redeeming it.

Because most of the vouchers are virtual, store owners will be provided the name of the winner.

The businesses are:

Any of the five restaurants in the Arkas Restaurant Group (winner must be present for this voucher)

Audiophils Records

Black Cat Curiosities

Blue Heron Bagels

Internode Greenery & Home 

PLUS, the first fifty customers  will leave with a bookmark to The Book Market in Crest Hill featuring a ten percent discount regular books at The Book Market through January 31 2026.

So attendees: Be sure to see Carter tomorrow night! He will be walking around with raffle tickets and a very cool hat.

And maybe when you leave the party Thursday night (very full from all the delicious food and balancing stacks of books) will have $10 off toward your next shopping or dining experience.

Happy Thursday!

Saturday is Gratitude Day at The Book Market

For many people, 2025 has been filled with many challenges - so many that sometimes it's also challenging to find the blessings.

But even in the darkest of times, the blessings are there, just waiting for us to notice and appreciate them.

And sometimes, just finding those blessings can shine a little light in the dark, and can lighten the heaviest heart.

Some members of the B.L.O.C.K.S./BryonySeries team will be hanging out at The Book Market this Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. exploring blessings and gratitude.

For details, read "Celebrate Gratitude AND Give Kids the Gift of Reading This Holiday Season."

Let's celebrate together!

10 Reasons Why You Should Attend WriteOn Joliet's 2025 Anthology Release Party

Good morning!

It's not too early to be thinking about WriteOn Joliet's Anthology Release Party on Dec. 4, which will arrive before you know it.

To be sure you don't miss the fun, here are ten reasons why should consider putting this event on your calendar right now.

1. FREE, fantastic, chef-prepared heavy appetizers and desserts.

2. FREE photos with Santa.

3. An opportunity to chat with a really great group of local authors and browse through their books with no pressure to buy.

4. One-stop Christmas shop for all the bookworms on your list, children through adult, with one-stop checkout, courtesy of Janet Staley, owner of The Book Market in Crest Hill.

5. A treasure trove of books with a wide variety of genres and storylines you haven't (yet) imagined, including copies of ALL WriteOn Joliet's anthologies, including our 2025 edition.

6. Each purchase supports The Book Market, a local business.

7, Each purchase supports local art, either the authors individually and or the group.

8. Really unique and gift-worthy giveaways at the BryonySeries table with book purchases (while supplies last).

9. Notecards, framed artwork, handcrafted wood pieces, vintage postcards of downtown Joliet: these are some of the other items you may find for sale, since many WriteOn authors are talented in other artistic ways.

10. An opportunity to stroll through the Joliet Public Library if you haven't done so lately. Staff is friendly and ready to assist you. Have you explored all the things you can do in the Digital Media Studio?

And did I mention FREE, fantastic, chef-prepared heavy appetizers and desserts? No rushing home to cook dinner on that night!

The event is from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Joliet Public Library, 150 N. Ottawa Street in Joliet. PLEASE NOTE new location this year while the Black Road branch is being renovated.

For more information, visit writeonjoliet.com. 

We look forward to meeting you!

Celebrate Gratitude AND Give Kids the Gift of Reading This Holiday Season

Please check out a very unique display at The Book Market in Crest Hill - and then consider celebrating gratitude with us and blessing a child with a BryonySeries book this holiday season.

Gratitude

Stop into The Book Market anytime before Thanksgiving and express your gratitude with the BryonySeries gratitude tree.

Cindy created this special tree and the gratitude leaves that will hang from it.

Here's how it works.

Simple select one or more leaves and write your reason for feeling thankful and grateful this year.

Then hang on the tree to inspire the other patrons.

Then return to the store from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 22 and play our very special gratitude game.

Afterwards, you may take your leaf home as a longlasting reminder to you, especially in dark times.

The leaves are free, our gift to you.

Now read on for book donations.

Book donations

For the past several years, the BryonySeries B.L.O.C.K.S. team has donated Bertrand the Mouse books to a local Santa Services, which Santa distributes to events aimed at low-income children.

Last year, we also spontaneously gave away thirty Bertrand the Mouse books to a local food pantry and one hundred books to local foster families.

In 2023, we partnered with The Book Market and invited patrons to also purchase books for Santa, in order to increase donations. Thanks to everyone's generosity, we provided Santa with 147 books that year.

This year, we are once again collecting Bertrand the Mouse books for Santa Services.

And we are also collecting BryonySeries children's books to donate to the Will County Children's Advocacy Center in Crest Hill: Bertrand the Mouse, The Adventures of Cornell Dyer, and the Girls of the BryonySeries books.

We will be collecting books throughout the holiday season.

For bulk rates, email us at bryonyseries@gmail.com.

You may also purchase BryonySeries books from Amazon (our store is down) and mail to Denise M. Unland, P.O. Box 2789, Joliet, IL, 60436.

Read on for closing message.

And finally, please, please reach out to us or chat with Jan Staley at The Book Market if you have any questions.

Together, we can celebrate the blessings in our lives.

And, together, we can bring the joys of reading to local children this holiday season.

Both gratitude and literacy are gifts that that keep giving long past the expression of gratitude or the end of the book.

Four Witches

 Last weekend was a busy weekend, since we participated in "Spirits with the Spirits" on Friday night and hosted a pre-Halloween party on Saturday afternoon at The Book Market in Crest Hill.

But Saturday also was the perfect time to capture a nice photo of the four witches who greeted patrons into the bookstore.

Only see three witches? Scroll down for a closeup of the fourth!

Stella is a black kitten that Cindy found a month ago, literally in a gutter, abandoned and emaciated, while Cindy was out walking.

Under Cindy's care, Stella is filling out, looking healthy, and happy to be a tiny witch cat for our events last weekend. 

Isn't she sweet?

Bertrand likes her, too.

Happy Thursday!

RECAP: BryonySeries Pre-Halloween Party at The Book Market

On Saturday, we held a BryonySeries Pre-Halloween Party at The Book Market in Crest Hill.

The highlight of the event was when owner Jan Staley picked the lucky winner of the BryonySeries crocheted pumpkin decorating contest.

We entertained people in the store with a three-part reading of the BryonySeries version of the Halloween legend "Stingy Jack."

We also distributed treat bags filled with chef-made werewolf kibbles (thank you, Rebekah), Halloween and autumn-themed ribbits (thank you, Cindy), and select BryonySeries books.

We still two or three crocheted pumpkins if anyone would like to decorate one for Halloween.

Pumpkins are free to make and take.

Scroll one more time for a "sneak peek" at what's coming for November.

And here you go! Next month's theme at The Book Market: gratitude.

We invite you to celebrate gratitude with us.

And we also invite you to help us help Santa.

Stay posted for details.

Decorate a FREE BryonySeries Crocheted Pumpkin at The Book Market

Come visit the BryonySeries "Pumpkin Patch" at The Book Market in Crest Hill, with an array of pumpkins ready for decorating!

Here's how it works.

Select one of our Bertrand the Mouse-approved, Cindy-created Ribbit-Ribbit pumpkin.

And then decorate it in the store with sticky back felt shapes and designs, which are divided by shape and design and placed in the plastic Jack-o-lanterns next to the pumpkins.

Leave your pumpkin on the table, so customers can vote "by number." (The pumpkins are numbered).

Write the number of your favorite pumpkin on a sticky note, fold the note in half, and drop it in to the bucket.

Voting ends shortly before 1:30 p.m. October 25 (a the conclusion of the BryonySeries pre-Halloween Book Party), upon which time the notes will be counted and a suprise bookish "prize" will be awarded and all pumpkins may go home.

All pumpkins are free to choose, free to decorate, while supplies last. Decorated pumpkins have an approximate retail value of $25, so this is a free fun way to bring personalized autumn decor into your home.

Questions?

Email us at bryonyseries@gmail.com. Or pop into The Book Market and ask owner Janet Staley.

Happy decorating!

BryonySeries "Jump Into Fall" Book Party

Good morning!

It's been a busy, busy, busy week of work and physical therapy - and this blog will be the shortest and the simplest of nearly all the blogs since I began it on Aug. 1, 2010.

I am looking forward to a lowkey, fun-filled party on Saturday.

Details are on the flyer and on our "pumpkin patch" blog.

Pleaaw join us! 

Decorate a Pumpkin at the BryonySeries "Pumpkin Patch"

The BryonySeries first "Pumpkin Patch" is installed at The Book Market in Crest Hill, with a dozen pumpkins ready for decorating!

Here's how it works.

Select one of our Bertrand the Mouse-approved, Cindy-created Ribbit-Ribbit pumpkin.

And then decorate it in the store with sticky back felt shapes and designs, which are divided by shape and design and placed in the plastic Jack-o-lanterns next to the pumpkins.

Leave your pumpkin on the table, so customers can vote "by number." (The pumpkins are numbered).

Write the number of your favorite pumpkin on a sticky note, fold the note in half, and drop it in to the bucket.

Voting ends shortly before 1:30 p.m. September 27, upon which time the notes will be counted and a suprise bookish "prize" will be awarded.

Make sure your fingers "jump" into our leaf pile for a BryonySeries book discount.

Pull a leaf, take it to the counter, and Jan will look up your discount.

You can then take it or "leaf" it.

All pumpkins are free to choose, free to decorate, while supplies last.

You may take your pumpkin home anytime after September 27. 

Or you may "leaf" your pumpkin at The Book Market as a gift to become part of the store's autumn decor. Just let Jan Staley, the owner, know.

For more fun, plan to pop into the BryonySeries "Jump Into Fall" book party, where we will announce the winner, give out free chef-made packaged werewolf bark, and do spontaneous "turn the leaf" book readings.

Happy Monday!

RECAP: Bertrand's Back-To-School Birthday Bash 2025

Ever since Bertrand the Mouse leaped out of the BryonySeries young adult vampire novel "Staked!" and into his own books in 2013, we wanted to host a "Bertrand's Back-To-School Birthday Bash" to help get people (children especially, even if through adults) excited about reading.

At first, I thought a Facebook party might be fun (remember those)?

But for one reason after another, we delayed the party's execution year after year. 

Finally we held our birthday party for Bertrand in 2023 (in person, complete with Santa and ice cream) which I missed because I was in the ER.

I made the 2024 birthday party for Bertrand, which was quiet, lowkey, and very nice.

But this year on August 30 at The Book Market in Crest Hill was the best (so far) - and not just because I wore normal clothes for the first time since surgery.

And that's really funny, too (not the clothes), because we experienced so many behind-the-schenes glitches.

First, Bertrand thought he packed his birthday hat - but it was his frog hat. 

Then, we had a mixup with the submarine sandwiches, so Timothy and Daniel ran out for snacks.

We couldn't find Bertrand's birthday games-to-go, so we had to print more...around the time we needed to leave the house to set up.

But Cindy made pencil Ribbit-Ribbits, and gave a discount to a repeat customer, whom we met at last's year's birthday bash.

He came out this year on purpose - and bought a copy of "Bertrand Spends the Night."

We gave away most of Bertrand's chef-made birthday kibbles, which are featured in the BryonySeries "Squeak" cookbook.

An author putting her book on consigment at The Book Market bought a copy of the "Grrr" cookbook.

A couple from out of town brought their fourteen-year-old grandson to The Book Market in honor of the grandson's birthday, also on that day. We let the grandson pick out any book he liked. He chose "Lycanthropic Summer."

Grandpa kept wanting to buy Bertrand.

We also shared information about B.L.O.C.K.S.

 And after the event, we sold one copy each of "Bertrand's First Book of Adventures" and "Bertrand's Second Book of Adventures."

Is it wonderful to know that good things can still happen, even if we make mistakes?

Happy Monday! 

Sue's Diner: Bertrand's Birthday Mix

This week's recipe for Bertrand's Birthday Mix is featured in the BryonySeries cookbook Squeak! Twelve Mouse-Themed Recipes.

We gave away chef-made batches of Bertrand's Birthday Mix last Saturday at The Book Market in Crest Hill as part of Bertrand's Back-To-School Birthday Bash. (Recap is coming Thursday).

Bertrand the Mouse is a red herring in the BryonySeries novel Staked! He is also now a crocheted (amigurumi) mouse with his own book series and Instagram page.

Rebekah Baran created this cookbook when she was laid off in 2020. She says this recipe is "the kibbles mix all crocheted mice love." 

People probably like it, too. Even when it isn't their birthday. It's colorful, fun and easy to make - and it's perfect for this time of year: bits of color mixed in with snowy white.

You can try the recipe for Bertrand's Birthday Mix 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. 

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.

All proceeds from "Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles From 'Bryony'" benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties at bbbswillgrundy.org.

Order the cookbook at bryonyseries.com.