Good morning!
I have just fourteen features stories to share with you today and quite a bit more that will be posted over the weekend (I'm working through the weekend), so do watch for them.
Is anyone else still feeling full today - full of good food and full of blessings and gratitude? I hope the answer is "yes" for us all.
Now before I share a recap/update on my BryonySeries projects, I'd like to share one upcoming event.
WriteOn Joliet will host its annual anthology release party in person this year but not at The Book Market in Crest Hill, our usual location.
We will host it at the Joliet Public Library, another one of the group's community partners, which has more open space for social distance.
However, Janet Staley, the owner of The Book Market, will be there, handling checkout.
You see, Jan always receives a portion of our sales, our gift to her for asking her to keep her store open after-hours on a Friday night once a year. It also frees up WriteOn Joliet-ers from handling purchases and collecting tax, giving them more time to interact with attendees.
It's also Jan's first-ever remote event, and she is very excited.
One other change for this year is that my chef son Timothy won't be creating free, upcscale refreshments. Tammy Duckworth, owner of the Book and Bean Cafe inside the library, will also stay open after hours (she's been closing early since the pandemic) to make refreshments available for purchase.
Tammy, too, is excited to help us out. This will be our first WriteOn Joliet event that involves her cafe since our last open mic event (which we held on Calkins Day) a month before the shutdown on 2020.
But some features will never change.
We will still have our fifth anthology for sale, which is a fundraiser for the group. So not only do you get to buy and read some wonderful, original pieces by local authors, you will also support programs that improve their craft.
Past anthologies will also be available for purchase.
In addition, you'll have the opportunity to meet individual WriteOn Joliet-ers who have published, buy their individual books, have them personally signed to you or another, ask them questions, praise their works, and do some general mingling and chatting over wonderful food and drink from the Book and Bean Cafe.
Finally, be sure to stop at the BryonySeries table. We are offering a special gift with certain book purchases and a couple of cool raffles, too.
All of this will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Joliet Public Library, 3395 Black Road in Joliet. We sincerely hope to see you there.
Even if you own all our books - please stop, buy a drink, and celebrate with us.
Even if you don't like to read - please stop by, buy a drink, and celebrate with us.
And now, an update on my fiction projects.
I am currently re-reading my scribbled first draft for Call of the Siren (the second book in the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy) and starting to color in the lines. I'm anticipating a late spring publication date, but progress is slow, so we shall see.
Barring the unforeseen, we do plan to publish the book in 2022. Rebekah already has the cover ready to go.
Sue Midlock has completed the art for Cornell Dyer and the "Mistical Being" (cover looks great, by the way) and I'm hoping she can begin art soon for Cornell Dyer and the Calcium Deficient Bones.
Timothy has also scheduled (and canceled) a couple of "Cornell" breakfasts to start working on the next book, a Sherlock Holmes parody (the main character is Sherman Homes) as life has gotten in the way for us. But we will get to it soon.
Sarah also had a crazy dream that sounded perfect for An Adventure of Cornell Dyer mystery. But she wants time to draw some sketches, a map, and write the "rules." It's called Cornell Dyer and the House of Broken Portals.
Bertrand the Mouse has returned, and you can read about it here, here, and here.
Jennifer Wainright (frontispiece artist for Lycanthropic Summer) has completed two portraits for "Girls of the BryonySeries" series for tween girls and is currently working on a third. The portraits are beautiful and it shows that artist Jennifer Wainright can draw anything from werewolves to portraits!
And Rebekah Baran is working on cover art for two of "Girls of the BryonySeries" books. They are beautiful!
I currently have one book in the series completed, and I am working on the second, which I'll revisit this weekend when I'm off work. The rest of the books are outlined. The goal is to have three of the eight done before I release any of them.
Now back to the fourteen 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.
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.
ARTISTS
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 at @BryonySeries. And assorted related content at www.facebook.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-1.
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.
Will County’s ‘unprecedented need’ for services in 2020 isn’t much better in 2021: Donating to the Herald-Angels campaign will help decrease that need.
Evidence of prehistoric life found at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie: Archeologists identified prehistoric remnants Oct. 22
Joliet Noon Lions Candy Day was a success: Supporters donated more than money, people in need will benefit
Lockport student earns a perfect score on AP exam: Sophia Marcial received maximum score on each portion of the Spanish Language and Culture exam in May 2021
Troy 4th graders making holidays brighter for the troops: Student ambassadors collected donations, wrote letters, drew pictures
Morris Hospital giving away free wigs to cancer patients with hair loss: Make an appointment for a free one-on-one consultation
JJC culinary purchasing specialist ‘talking turkey’ to callers this holiday season: Javier Reyes one of the experts on Butterball’s Turkey Talk-Line
Helping people with disabilities is as easy as sipping tea and arranging flowers: The virtual Winter Holly & Evergreen Tea benefits Center for Disability Services in Joliet
Mystery Diner in Joliet: MOOYAH is the place for homemade taste, hand-cut fries and overall great experience: Website for its burgers, fries and shakes fun to visit too
5 Things to do in Will County: Welcome the holiday season with tree lightings: And work off that turkey dinner on Saturday morning at a volunteer work day for the forest preserve
Baran-Unland: Snuff out this holiday tradition for goodCandles are pretty and they smell good. They also cause deadly fires.
Joliet’s Holly Club to hold 1st in-person ball since 2019: Deadline to purchase tickets is Nov. 29
Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage."
