Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, Oct. 29 to Nov. 4, 2022

Good morning!

I have a ten stories to share with you and a couple more not yet posted - and more to come after that, since I'm working through the weekend. So do check back on The Herald-News site: shawlocal.com/the-herald-news. 

It's been an extremely full week. I worked through the weekend. We took some of the grandchildren trick-or-treating on Monday, which made for a compressed workday. And Rebekah has had at least one doctor's appointment or test (sometimes several) every day this week, which has also made for some early and late workdays.

So please send up good thoughts/prayers etc. for Rebekah. 

Rebekah is absolutely integral to the BryonySeries, not to mention our family. She oversees its all its financial aspects, handles all book production, manages two social media accounts, and is the go-to person at events. Plus, she's a wonderful person. We need her to feel much better soon.

WriteOn Joliet's sixth anthology is live and you can buy it here on Amazon. Or you can purchase it on Dec. 8 at WriteOn Joliet's annual anthology release party, which will be held at the Joliet Public Library, one of our community partners. Details are here.

One the fiction side of things, Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, gave me a ride home from WriteOnJoliet last night and we had a lovely hour talk in the driveway about all things BryonySeries and the story ideas he wants to develop. 

Ed is trying to finish the first draft of his second novel. He was feeling a bit discouraged because he wanted to release his second book by Calkins Day 2023 (Feb. 13). but he's since accepted the delay and is full of ideas and plans for moving ahead.

You can find Ed's first novel here.

I'm currently working on a new Adventures of Cornell Dyer story: Cornell Dyer and the Hounds of Basketville. You can find other titles in the series here. Timothy has not yet added our latest titles to the BryonySeries bookstore. But all titles are also on Amazon. 

Next up in the series: a Sherlock Holmes parody (the main character is Sherman Homes), which has a solid outline. Sue Midlock is already working on the cover and the interior art: Sherman Homes and the Howls of Basketville.

And we also  released Call of the Siren (the second book in the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy, with gorgeous cover art by Nancy Calkins). It, too, is not available in the BryonySeries bookstore yet, or on Kindle yet,  but it is available on Amazon.

I'm currently outlining the final book in the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy: House on Top of the Hill. 

And I'm also working on a guide book to the series called: Welcome to Munsonville: the People, Places, and Things of the BryonySeries.

And I'm also working on a novella. But I'm not sharing any details yet. Well, I did share a few details with Ed last night. But only because he brought up a certain character.

Jennifer Wainright (frontispiece artist for Lycanthropic Summer) has completed three portraits for  "Girls of the BryonySeries" series for tween girls and is currently working on a fourth. The portraits are beautiful and it shows that artist Jennifer Wainright can draw anything from werewolves to portraits! 

We have three books nearly ready to go and hope to release them at WriteOn Joliet's anthology release party in early December.

Rebekah is also working on updating the BryonySeries YouTube and Pinterest accounts, so watch for those. 

Now back to the stories. Simply click on the link of the story that looks interesting to you. Happy scrolling!

But before the stories, I have a list of additional resources and information. Please check them out, too -

Finally, if you'd like to find more kindness in your life, consider this book.

And have a great Friday!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Sue's Diner is a fictional restaurant in the fictional Munsonville that only exists in the BryonySeries.

Each Sunday, we post a new recipe. The recipe is either featured in one of our cookbooks or will be featured in an upcoming cookbook.

Check out the 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. We also have a marketing arm that's getting longer every year, well, except this 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 support in your writing, I highly recommend this Twitter group: #5amwritersclub. I  joined it last year. Writers support each other on Twitter and meet every three weeks at 5 a.m. (4 a.m. CST - needless to say, I am often late!) on Zoom.

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 do post the briefs on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61.

BryonySeries stuff: I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries on Twitter at @BryonySeries and 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.

BRYONYSERIES BOOKS

For books and more information about the series, visit bryonyseries.com.

BRYONYSERIES EVENTS

A full month of virtual events can be found at bryonyseries.com/calendar-of-events.

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 theater to host a ‘truly charming and heartwarming’ live performance of ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas.’: Give your family the gift of live theater this holiday season. 

‘Stranger Things’ home in Plainfield good for neighbor’s Pumpkin Riot Productions display: Brian Hunter is carrying on his mother’s tradition of hand-making Halloween props.

Will County education: Is your child’s school making the grade?: Illinois released its state report card on Thursday. School officials share their impressions.

Neighbors didn’t mind ‘Stranger Things’ display in Plainfield: Jim Bautista: ‘There’s more traffic than we’re used to. But it’s no big deal.’

Joliet’s CYC legacy continues as The Center finds a place at The Table every Thursday night: The Center’s Thursday night meetings are open to any teen or young adult.

A holiday fundraiser for ‘godmother of the arts’ in Joliet: Artists invited to make Christmas ornaments in special fundraiser.

Caparelli-Ruff challenges Walsh for Will County Regional Superintendent: Both candidates have similar priorities.

5 Things to do in Will County: Halloween makes a comeback on Plainfield, Lockport stages: Plus browse a holiday fair, gather milkweed, enjoy a spaghetti dinner

When is trick-or-treating? Use this guide.: City of Joliet also has online map for Halloween and seasonal décor of Joliet residents.

Pets of the Week: Oct. 31, 2022: Will County rescues have dogs and cats for adoption.

Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage"

"Eat a Bug"

The following event brought back a memory that made me grin.

https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/event-calendar/october-2019/eat-a-bug/eat-a-bug-october-12

Years ago, when Ron and I ran The Higher Ark youth ministry on our property for our church, we had a back porch full of kids eating bugs.

Live crickets, to be exact.

For a celebration of the feast day of St. John the Baptist.

It started off with one man in his early 20s, who brought his younger siblings to the group. He approached me and asked if I thought if the kids would like to see him eat a live cricket dipped in honey. Knowing kids, I told him they would.

So he stopped at pet supply store on the way to my house to buy a bag full of live crickets. He poured honey on a plate, dipped a live cricket, and to a chorus of Ewwwws!" ate it in front of a dozen kids.

 The kids all thought it was gross until a 17-year-old, who had been running late due to babysitting, showed up and said, "Game on!"

From that point forward, the kids outdid each other as to who could eat more of them. One teen girl got a feeler stuck in her tooth and simply pulled it out.

One teen boy polished off the last three with a large spoonful of honey and turned a bit green. But he only said, "The honey is too sweet."

I was fearing latent cricket allergies and irate parents.

Neither happened.

But it turned out to be a great lesson in peer pressure for the kids.

This is nothing against the Forest Preserve District of Will County's event (many of the world's population do eat bugs, enough that the Old Testament has rules of the ones the Israelites may eat), which is a good way to teach cultural awareness.

But it does show how easily kids, maybe even adults, can be swayed, in either direction, if the right person sways them.

They went from "ick" to practically tripping over themselves to try the same activity once one of their own thought it was cool.

Something to ponder.

Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony." 

Laboring on Labor Day Weekend

For some people, Labor Day weekend is the last weekend of summer, a time to enjoy summer activities a final time before putting them away until next year.

For others, it's the first weekend of autumn, a time to start unearthing Halloween decorations, readying the yard for winter, and planning fall activities over a cup of pumpkin spice something.

For some, it's another working weekend, either by default or by choice.

I worked this past weekend. By choice and on purpose.

Writing is my job and my hobby. I love both.

When I was part of the weekend editor rotation, I always offered to work Labor Day. It was my way of expressing thankfulness for working a job I love. Not everyone is so blessed.

Now that I'm out of that rotation, I still work, although not all of the work is job-related.

For instance, I spent part of Friday afternoon presenting an abridged journalism seminar to area youth who are creating a newspaper with positive messages for other youth.

I spent most of Saturday and Sunday working my way through the remaining notes of eighteen months of interviews. The interviewee is a Joliet woman in her nineties. Her family hired me to ghost-write her memoir.

Those were two extremely productive days. I only need two more interviews, one more weekend of writing, and I'll have a draft she can read. She has already seen how the book will look in a template. It looks like, well, a book. And she cried when she saw it.

I updated an editing client on his novel.

On Monday, I worked all day on odds and ends of work-related projects.

Some were the ones that take time to complete but are impossible to tackle on deadline, and so keep getting pushed back.

Some were projects I normally handle on Monday.

Was the long weekend all work? No.

I visited a friend who has lung cancer on Saturday.

We had family financial meeting on Sunday.

I spent time time talking with Rebekah on Monday.

I called Sarah and talked with her, too, the first time since we came back from Raleigh.

I took two walks each day.

I stayed up late reading on Sunday night.

Today is my writing day, and I'm in good shape for it. That means, all my main interviews for this week's feature stories are done, and I spend the day writing drafts for all of them. It's an intense day, but it makes for a more streamlined week if they only need editing and layout.

It was a wonderful three-day weekend. I hope yours was just as good or better.

Before the Dawn

We all have different definitions of "sleeping in."

For some, starting a weekend before noon is unthinkable. For others, it's past the time they might rise for work.

For me, it's any time after the sun is up. In fact, a part of me feels I've lost a significant chunk of the day if I waken after the sun does.

I blame early childhood experiences.

Before my maternal grandmother died the summer I turned seven, I spent quite a bit of time at her Chicago home. My grandfather had to be out the door by four o'clock in the morning for work, so she rose around three to prepare breakfast for him, and I invariably rose with her.

The memories are vivid: sitting at the table in the tiny kitchen that used to be a porch, gazing out the little window at my right into darkness, a silent contrast to her bustling in the lit room. I can smell the sizzling bacon and the coffee; I can hear the hiss of the percolator.

After my grandfather left, my grandmother and I headed back to bed for a couple hours.

As a middle school student and a teen, I suffered from insomnia. I often woke abruptly around one in the morning, never drifting back to sleep (i.e. a short nap) until five or so, a problem when one began school at seven-thirty!

I passed those hours reading (middle school) or reading and listening to music (high school).

For the first decade or so of motherhood, I was a nursing mom, so waking up one or more times at night was simply part of normal routine.

Those days merged into my single motherhood days shortly after my youngest turned two. And thus began a dozen years of rising before midnight to deliver newspapers, a job that grew from being responsible for ninety-nine papers to several thousand per night.

I met my second husband during that first year and moved to his childhood home in Channahon during my second year. He and I started our church's first and only youth ministry and remodeled outbuildings on our property to host meetings and events for up to fifteen youth of various ages.

He also set up a coffee pot with a timer in the game room since our kitchen was tiny and had no extra room for a coffee pot. Each afternoon, I'd prepare and schedule the coffee for the next day.

Every morning, shortly after awakening I took the dog outside (by morning, I mean shortly after midnight). He'd wander behind the buildings while I unlocked the door, the warm scent of freshly brewed coffee greeting me, especially welcome on chilly winter mornings.

Then Scooter and I would head back to the house - him for a snack and a nap, me up the metal ladder to my attic office to check email, social media, and slowly wake up. About an hour later, I'd wake up the kids so they could do chores, grab a snack, etc., while I did some housework and packed our lunches.

Yes, lunches. Breakfast was after the route.

The routine today is similar: I wake up in the dark, head downstairs to feed the cats and make coffee, and back upstairs to check email and schedule social media with darkness around me. Gradually, the sun rises and so does my level of alertness.

The biggest decision I make during those initial moments is which coffee pod to choose (Daniel buys a variety of dark roast) and which mug to to choose (as I've been gifted with many from generous family and friends). Here is today's choice.

Good morning! :)

Community News: Dec. 2, 2017

Check out upcoming general events in the Joliet area, as well as the awesome things people are doing. 

Joliet Rotary salutes Big Brothers Big Sisters for exemplary service to community

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/11/30/joliet-rotary-salutes-big-brothers-big-sisters-for-exemplary-service-to-community/a86mikw/

Joliet Junior College community band to present concert Dec. 3

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/11/30/joliet-junior-college-community-band-to-present-concert-dec-3/aesfpts/

Romeoville nursing professor recommends health literacy

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/11/14/romeoville-nursing-professor-recommends-health-literacy/afis2jv/

Plainfield school district receives awards from two fire protection agencies

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/11/28/plainfield-school-district-receives-awards-from-two-fire-protection-agencies/aozrjjz/

Firearm dear season ends Dec. 3 plus other Illinois hunting season information

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/11/15/hunting-season-information/ap136f4/

Antibiotics – You don’t always need them  

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/11/14/antibiotics-you-dont-always-need-them/aqvvfdi/

ISBE announces revised dates for Illinois 5EssentialsSurvey

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/11/27/isbe-announces-revised-dates-for-illinois-5essentials-survey/a2lksla/

Junior College presents its 40th Annual Madrigal Concert on Dec. 8

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/11/30/junior-college-presents-its-40th-annual-madrigal-concert-on-dec-8/a9oqq4d/