Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, Dec. 10 to Dec. 16, 2022

Good morning.

Today I have thirteen features and news stories to share with you today in what has been a very long/short week since I worked nonstop through last weekend. More stories will be posted over the weekend, So do check back on The Herald-News site: shawlocal.com/the-herald-news. 

On Tuesday, Rebekah, our BryonySeries books, a stack of edible vampire slaying kits, and I hung out at The Book Market in Crest Hill from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Book Market is located at 2365 Plainfield Road in Crest Hill.

How did we do? We sold six books and gave away three kits, which wasn't bad (for us) on a daytime Tuesday.

On Saturday, we will be at the Elder Brewing Co. holiday market in Joliet from 2 to 8 p.m. Elder Brewing Co. is located at 218 E. Cass St. in Joliet. For anyone living in the area, this is the last opportunity to receive a free edible vampire slaying kit with select purchases (while kits remain on Saturday).

For details on this offer, go here.

Fiction-wise, These first three books in the new Girls of the BryonySeries subseries are released. They are Julie and the Too-Hard Homework,  Summer Sisters, and Katie and the Big Fear, which are all now available on Amazon.

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. 

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

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. 

Rebekah is also slowly 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

Tim Placher’s music show heading to Wilmington historic theater, benefitting charity: Placher has hosted collaborative music events that showcase local talent since 2017.

Lockport Love’s annual parade Saturday featured carols, gifts and Santa: The nonprofit helps families in need throughout the year.

Rusty Nutz Car Club makes yet another donation, this time to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox: Dave Grossklaus: ‘We give back. That’s the whole reason for the club.’

Old Joliet fruitcake to be rehomed at historic home in Bloomington: The fruitcake is on its way to Ewing Manor in Bloomington

Christmas auction in New Lenox raises thousands for scholarships: Jennifer M. McManus: ‘We’re excited that every year we make more.’

Lockport celebrated its new StoryWalk and 2 murals on Saturday: The ribbon cutting was the next step to the city’s dedication to art

‘Sister Vivian,’ Joliet visionary, ministered tirelessly to inmates at Will County jail: Dale Santerelli: ‘The loss is going to leave a mark, that’s for sure’

Joliet District 86 to discuss school bond measure for April 4 election: Funds from an approved referendum would be used to replace both Gompers and Hufford junior high schools on the same site.

Few show for public meeting on possible Joliet District 86 bond referendum

Joliet District 86′s 99.5 million proposed school bond measure would demolish, rebuild 2 junior high schools

Proposed $99.5 million bond referendum won’t increase District 86 tax rate. Here’s why.

Pets of the Week: Dec. 12, 2022: Will County rescues have dogs and cats for adoption.

5 Things to do in Will County: Celebrate the holidays with music, classic movie.: Plus, take a ‘Soup-er Chili’ hike on Saturday.

Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage"

Slay Vampires With Just One Bite

Don't believe that?

How about slay a holiday sweet tooth with just one cookie?

For anyone in the Will County, Illinois area that's "dying" for a complimentary edible vampire slaying kit, you have one last opportunity on Saturday to possibly receive one.

On Saturday, Rebekah, our books, the kits, and I will be hanging out at the Elder Brewing Co. holiday market in Joliet from 2 to 8 p.m. Elder Brewing Co. is located at 218 E. Cass St. in Joliet.

Bob Okon, senior reporter at The Herald-News, wrote a wonderful story about Elder Brewing Com. last year when this family-owned business celebrated its fourth anniversary. Read Bob's story here.

The edible vampire slaying kit is not for sale. It is a "thank you" gift for select purchases. Read on for details.

By the way, Timothy replaced all of the silver stickers (above) with red wax rose-shaped seals before we distributed the first one (below).

He felt they looked more vampire-slaying authentic.

See the difference?

Books and Edible Vampire Slaying Kit:

Soooo...

Every person who buys one (or more) of these book combinations will receive a free, locally chef-made edible vampire slaying kit per combination - while edible vampire slaying kits last.

Edible vampire slaying kits are not limited to one per customer. But for each additional kit, you must still purchase one of these four combinations.

1) One "regular" young adult or adult BryonySeries book (choices include any book in the "drop of blood" trilogy, Lycanthropic Summer, The Phoenix, Call of the Siren, Ruthless by Ed Calkins Steward of Tara or any of the Before the Blood books) or Nine Months of Kindness.

2) Any two books in The Adventures of Cornell Dyer series.

3) Any two books in the Girls of the BryonySeries series.

4) Any three books in the Bertrand the Mouse series.

5) All three of our BryonySeries cookbooks.

To check out details of most of those books, visit bryonyseries.com/general-store.

To be clear, you cannot buy one of these edible vampire slaying kits at the anthology release party. They are strictly gifts for select purchases.

The cookies that make up these kits were made locally from scratch and packaged by three local chefs (pastry and otherwise). Jasmine provided much of the creativity and delicate decorating. Timothy and Rebekah provided a lot of labor.

Each cookies is individually wrapped and sealed and displayed inside a matte finished box. These cookies also freeze well.

If you can, pop in to say, "hi" and maybe purchase a book (or two or three) and take home some really interesting and delicious holiday treats.

Sue's Diner: Easy Santa Cookies

This week's recipe is a favorite in our family, an easy way for even the youngest child to help prepare holiday treats.

This recipe isn't featured any BryonySeries cookbook. But we have made this recipe almost every year since my own children were young, 

And, pre-COVID, my grandchildren made them, too. In fact, the cookies in the photo were made by grandchildren.

However, the cookbook Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony," is a permanent fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties and features all the recipes referenced in the novel Bryony. 

The cookbook makes a great gift for people of all ages who like to cook, love history, or are simply curious as to the foods people once liked to eat.

Two other fun cookbooks with recipes easy enough for children to make (with the help of an adult), have mouse and cheese-themed recipes and werewolf-themed recipes. 

You can try the recipe Easy Santa Cookies 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.

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. You can't really order, of course (wouldn't it be great if you could?).

For more BryonySeries recipes, check out our three cookbooks at our BryonySeries bryonyseries.com/general-store.

Uncle Barty and Bertrand the Mouse Party at the Joliet Public Library

I was so busy at WriteOn Joliet's anthology release party last week without my better WriteOn half (Tom Hernandez had a last minute emergency), that I neglected my own table of books.

Fortunately, I had plenty of help from Rebekah and Jasmine, as well as little Bertrand The Mouse and his Uncle Barty.

They came decked out in their best crocheted mice finery, mingled with guests, showed off BryonySeries books for sale, directed passersby to the book giveaway boxes, and made sure everyone's attention was directed to our edible vampire slaying kits.

Below is a quick photo recap of Uncle Barty and Bertrand's night.

And if you missed Thursday's fun, come out to The Book Market in Crest Hill today (Dec. 13) from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

Rebekah, the books, the edible vampire slaying kits, the mice, and me will be hanging out there.

The edible vampire slaying kits are not for sale. They are thank you" gifts for select purchases as long as kits last.

Details are here.

Oh, and The Book Market is located at 2365 Plainfield Road in Crest Hill. 

And it has a new trailer. 

Watch it here.

Hope to see you there!

Books, Cookies, and Beer

For anyone in the Will County, Illinois area that's "dying" for a complimentary edible vampire slaying kit, you now have two more opportunities this week to possibly receive one.

On Tuesday, Rebekah, our books, the kits, and I will be hanging out at The Book Market in Crest Hill from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Book Market is located at 2365 Plainfield Road in Crest Hill.

Then on Saturday, we will be at the Elder Brewing Co. holiday market in Joliet from 2 to 8 p.m. Elder Brewing Co. is located at 218 E. Cass St. in Joliet.

Read on for details on how to get your edible vampire slaying it.

Books and Edible Vampire Slaying Kit:

Every person who buys one (or more) of these combinations will receive a free, locally chef-made edible vampire slaying kit per combination - while edible vampire slaying kits last.

Edible vampire slaying kits are not limited to one per customer. But for each additional kit, you must still purchase one of these four combinations.

1) One "regular" young adult or adult BryonySeries book (choices include any book in the "drop of blood" trilogy, Lycanthropic Summer, The Phoenix, Call of the Siren, Ruthless by Ed Calkins Steward of Tara or any of the Before the Blood books) or Nine Months of Kindness.

2) Any two books in The Adventures of Cornell Dyer series.

3) Any three books in the Bertrand the Mouse series.

4) All three of our BryonySeries cookbooks.

To check out details of most of those books, visit bryonyseries.com/general-store.

To be clear, you cannot buy one of these edible vampire slaying kits at the anthology release party. They are strictly gifts for select purchases.

The cookies that make up these kits were made locally from scratch and packaged by three local chefs (pastry and otherwise). Jasmine provided much of the creativity and delicate decorating. Timothy and Rebekah provided a lot of labor.

Each cookies is individually wrapped and sealed. These cookies also freeze well.

If you can, pop in to say, "hi" and maybe purchase a book (or two or three) and take home some really interesting and delicious cookies.

O Holy Night - Incredible child singer 7 yrs old - plz "Share"

Book Recommendations From Santa

Looking for last minute gifts for the readers on your Christmas list?

Well, look no further.

Santa stopped out at WriteOn Joliet's anthology release party on Thursday and posed with some of his favorite books.

The rest of the year, Santa is Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, BryonySeries author, BryonySeries character, and overall kind and generous human.

Ed wasn't looking to promote his books on Thursday night. He wanted to promote the books of others.

Here are Santa's recommendations. Ordering information is hyperlinked.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy Reading! 

Santa recommends any book by Colleen H. Robbins, one of the founding members of WriteOn Joliet.

Robbins also did some of the editing on quite a few books in the BryonySeries.

For a complete listing of all titles, visit Robbins' Amazon author page.

Santa also recommends I Know That Bird! by WriteOn member Maureen Blevins. This book for children of all ages features Blevins' original photography.

Blevins will be at Wild Birds in Joliet today (Dec. 10) from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for storytime and book signing.

Reader her Positively Tuesday blog at maureenblevins.blogspot.com.

Santa also recommends Flower Power by WriteOn Joliet member Lindsay L. Lake. Yours truly did the final copyedit on this book. so if you find any mistake, blame me. The story was thralling, and eyes may have glazed right over a typo or two in their eagerness to keep reading.

Santa also recommends two books by WriteOn Joliet member Robert Hafey: Boomhood and Bumping and Snacking. 

Yours truly helped with some of the editorial work on the second book. If you like armchair travel, this is the book for you. The first book is a memoir of a baby boomer growing up mostly in Joliet.

For information and purchase links for all of Hafey's books, visit roberthafey.com.

Santa also recommends all titles by WriteOn co-leader Tom Hernandez.

For a full listing of titles, Hernandez's blog, and purchase information, tomhernandezbooks.com.

"Santa" is showing his favorite page in Bryony - that of Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara.

To purchase Bryony and for other books in the BryonySeries (including books authored by Calkins), visit bryonyseries.com/officialstore.

Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, Dec. 3 to Dec. 9, 2022

WOW! - What a night last night!

WriteOn Joliet hosted its annual anthology release party last night at the Joliet Public Library, Black Road Branch, and the night was phenomenal in ways an event can be phenomenal.

Attendance was our best yet - we were full for two solid hours. And "by attendance," I mean people we've never met, people we know but never met in person, people who support us every year, and people who regularly support us and brought friends.

By "attendance," I also mean attendees who were having a really good time. The room buzzed with conversation. Everyone was either smiling or looking as if they were having fun. And why not? 

Attendees mingled, browsed books, enjoyed free food, asked questions, caught up with old friends: this is what I mean by phenomenal attendance.

Everyone sold - and some sold very well.

We sold eleven anthologies; the anthology is also available for purchase on Amazon.

We had high praise for the, upscale appetizers and desserts Timothy laid out on two tables.

The Book Market in Crest Hill successfully held its first remote event.

Jasmine, the cookie baker and chief decorator for the edible vampire slaying kits, had lots of interest in her skills and distributed quite a few of her own business cards.

And Bertrand the Mouse and Uncle Barty had a night to remember!

I will recap more next week - once I find people who took photos.

Today I have twelve features and news stories to share with you today. But more will be scheduled this weekend, since I am working all weekend. So do check back on The Herald-News site: shawlocal.com/the-herald-news. 

Fiction-wise, These first three books in the new Girls of the BryonySeries subseries are released. They are Julie and the Too-Hard Homework,  Summer Sisters, and Katie and the Big Fear, which are all now available on Amazon.

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. 

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

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. 

Rebekah is also slowly 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 church hosting new holiday production; tickets are free : Show times for ‘The Mall Messiah’ are Dec. 16, Dec. 17 and Dec. 18.

Joliet District 86 teacher’s union reach tentative agreement: The union consists of 737 certified staff members 

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet, seeking clients, volunteers for new program: Crystal Del Rio: ‘You can connect from the comfort of your own home’ 

New Lenox H.S. hosting basketball clinic for kids with special needs: Any child with special needs is welcome. 

Art plays key role in Lockport’s revitalization.: Steven Streit: ‘Artists and designers have a passion that brings excitement and energy.’

Baran-Unland: Remembering the heroes among us: History isn’t dry facts between the covers of a book. It’s the experiences of the people who lived them.

Give the gift of lifesaving blood this holiday season in Will and Grundy counties: Donations of type O blood and platelets are especially needed

Children’s Tylenol, Motrin scarce as ‘tridemic’ hits northern Illinois: Northwestern Hospital pediatrician asks parents to not hoard hard-to-find drugs

Ancient tradition at Joliet church on Sunday brings hope for ‘dark times.’: Lucia Fest is the forerunner to the Christmas holiday in Swedish culture.

Naperville man found shot dead in Bolingbrook: police

5 Things to do in Will County: holiday concerts let the spirit ring.: Plus, holiday stories for kids and adults.

Pets of the Week: Dec. 5, 2022: Will County rescues have dogs and cats for adoption.

Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage"

Meet Uncle Barty and Bertrand the Mouse Tonight

Uncle Barty and Bertrand Mouse would like the pleasure of your company tonight at WriteOn Joliet's anthology release party tonight, Dec. 8.

The anthology releade party will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Joliet Public Library, Black Road branch, 3395 Black Road in Joliet.

Admission to the anthology release party is free.

The celebration includes complimentary appetizers and desserts, an informal meet and greet with local authors who are members of the group, including Uncle Barty and Bertrand the Mouse. 

Even from WriteOn's first anthology release party in 2017, Bertrand has not be shy about mingling with guests.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase copies of the anthology as well as as individual works by individual authors.

Bertrand the Mouse will have limited amounts of his books to sell. He just fulfilled a large order for Santa and Amazon wasn't able to ship replacement copies that quickly.

The BryonySeries will also feature this special "thank you" gift for select purchases.

Founding member Duanne Walton plans to set up a table and play the videos from WriteOn Joliet's open mics and individual events through the years. So be sure to stop by his table and listen for a bit.

The Book and Bean Cafe, which is located inside the library, will have a variety of heartier food as well as coffee, tea, and other beverages, available for purchase.

Janet Staley, owner of The Book Market in Crest Hill, will handle checkout. Everyone who buys a book, either the anthology or a book from the other tables, will receive a Book Market bookmark that features a ten percent discount on books at Staley's store through January 31, 2023.

The party is for all ages. So if your children and grandchildren have yet to visit Santa this year, bring them out. 

Photos with Santa are free. Santa, known as Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara the rest of the year, will also be signing and selling his own books.

He will also most likely sign any book in which he appears as a character.

Santa will also be giving away free candy canes as long as he has some left to give.

Uncle Barty and Bertrand are so concerned about being late, they are dressed and heading out to the cold car to wait for the humans to get done with their work.

And they're excited to meet every one of you.

See you soon!

Never Too Old

In 2016, I wrote a column for The Herald-News on how our family's St. Nicholas tradition began.

And the tradition is indeed a cherished one for ALL members of the household, complete with the hanging up of stockings, giving of gifts, and putting together little stockings for adult children and grandchildren outside our immediate household, too.

If you think that the feast day is only for children, consider the words from this blessing prayer for candy canes, which, along with chocolate gold coins, always are added to our St. Nicholas stockings.

The prayer is from Prayers From the Domestic Church, a book we used until it fell to pieces from so much, well, use. Fortunately, the St. Nicholas Center has the prayer online. 

Here is the excerpt that always stands out to me, especially the last line:

We rejoice that you are the holy bringer of gifts

and that so many have been delighted

through your great generosity.

Help us to be as generous of heart.

So, no, the celebration isn't for just for children. I don't think we grow out of celebrating the feast day of St. Nicholas. I think we, if we follow God's lead, we grow to fit into it.

My youngest three adult children still have their original stockings from babyhood. But they may retire them after this year since the fabric is so worn, it's separating from itself. But the enjoyment of the day is what matters, not the actual stockings or the gifts.

May anyone reading this today feels some of that joy and is forever rich in the gifts that matter.

Books and Edible Vampire Slaying Kits

If you come out to WriteOn Joliet's sixth anthology release party on Dec. 8 at the Black Road branch of the Joliet Public Library, be sure to stop by the BryonySeries table and check out our books, a "Books and Edible Vampire Slaying Kit" special offer, and opportunities to win a copy of the holiday version of Visage, which is out of print, and one complete set of Bertrand the Mouse books.

You want details about these, right? Sure you do!

And here we go!

Books and Edible Vampire Slaying Kit:

Every person who buys one (or more) of these combinations will receive a free, locally chef-made edible vampire slaying kit per combination - while edible vampire slaying kits last.

Edible vampire slaying kits are not limited to one per customer. But for each additional kit, you must still purchase one of these four combinations.

1) One "regular" young adult or adult BryonySeries book (choices include any book in the "drop of blood" trilogy, Lycanthropic Summer, The Phoenix, Call of the Siren, Ruthless by Ed Calkins Steward of Tara or any of the Before the Blood books) or Nine Months of Kindness.

2) Any two books in The Adventures of Cornell Dyer series.

3) Any three books in the Bertrand the Mouse series.

4) All three of our BryonySeries cookbooks.

To check out details of most of those books, visit bryonyseries.com/general-store.

To be clear, you cannot buy one of these edible vampire slaying kits at the anthology release party. They are strictly gifts for select purchases.

These kits were made locally by three local chefs (pastry and otherwise). Jasmine provided much of the creativity and delicate decorating. Timothy and Rebekah provided a lot of labor.

A LOT of labor. 

We have twenty-two kits of six large cookies, all made and packaged by hand.

I know, I know. You want to know if the items sparkle? Well, yes. Some DO sparkle since they are sprinkled with edible glitter. 

Seriously, glitter alone should slay any real vampires. But I digress.

I also have this surprise collection of edible titles, etc.. I wasn't expecting these, and I'm not certain of their fate - yet. 

Bertrand the Mouse giveaway

We will also "give away" one complete set of all Bertrand the Mouse books published (to date) .

NO purchase is necessary. Just drop your name and contact information in our Bertrand Box. 

A random person (not anyone from our team) will select the winner at the end of the event and leave the prize package at the library's circulation desk for the winner to pick up at his/her convenience.

Holiday "Visage" Giveaway

This BryonySeries book is the second book in the "drop of blood" trilogy and can be read as a standalone.

The book is out of print and only available from us.

It has some "extras" in the back of the book that are not in the official version (such as a picture of me in a kangaroo suit).

The cover is very different.

And it has an introduction by me celebrating artists and creative folk. This is the first and only BryonySeries book that has an introduction.

We will be giving away three of these. Again, NO purchase is necessary. You only need to drop your name into the "Visage" Box.

A random person (not anyone from our team) will select the three winners at the end of the event and leave the prize package at the library's circulation desk for the winner to pick up at his/her convenience.

WriteOn Joliet's Sixth Anthology

And, of course, we will have plenty of anthologies (the 2022 anthology and a limited number of past anthologies) available for sale - along with the opportunity to meet many of the writers who contributed to these wonderful books of poems, essays, and short stories.

The anthology is a fundraiser for WriteOn Joliet, so all money stays with the group to support additional programs.

You may also purchase the anthology on Amazon.

But I live too far away....

For anyone near or far who cannot attend the actual event: message me at bryonyseries@gmail.com if you're interested in some of the BryonySeries books.

I will reward your reading of this post by working out a special discount just for you.

For those planning to attend:

The anthology release party will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Joliet Public Library, Black Road branch, 3395 Black Road in Joliet.

Admission to the anthology release party is free.

The celebration includes complimentary appetizers and desserts, an informal meet and greet with local authors who are members of the group, and the opportunity to purchase copies of the anthology as well as as individual works by individual authors.

The Book and Bean Cafe, which is located inside the library, will have a variety of heartier food as well as coffee, tea, and other beverages, available for purchase.

Janet Staley, owner of The Book Market in Crest Hill, will handle checkout. Everyone who buys a book, either the anthology or a book from the other tables, will receive a Book Market bookmark that features a ten percent discount on books at Staley's store through January 31, 2023.

The party is for all ages. So if your children and grandchildren have yet to visit Santa this year, bring them out. 

Photos with Santa are free. Santa, known as Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara the rest of the year, will also be signing and selling his own BryonySeries books.

And he will most likely sign any BryonySeries books in which he also appears as a character.

Santa will also give away away free candy canes as long as he has some left to give.

Bertrand the Mouse and his Uncle Barty will also be hanging out all night, greeting guests.

Bertrand will have limited copies of his books to sell. He just fulfilled a large order for Santa and Amazon can't ship more books in time.

Invite your family. 

Invite your friends. 

Invite your neighbors. 

Invite anyone who likes books, outstanding food, great coffee, and meeting wonderful humans.

And invite anyone who really wants to take home an edible vampire slaying kit, which are packed up and ready to go.

"Live" Readings Thursday Night at the Joliet Public Library

So today's big reveal must wait one more day because I don't have a complete "product" to reveal.

I had promised in yesterday's post to give a "sneak peek" of a special "thank you" gift BryonySeries is offering for select purchase of books in the BryonySeries on Thursday night at WriteOn Joliet's anthology release party.

I'm not trying to be mysterious; really I'm not.

The gifts were prepared yesterday. But they won't actually be assembled until today, so I don't have a final product to show.

Last year, we offered this gift. This year, we have something equally terrific.

But I can give you this teaser photo and teaser collage:

I know what you're thinking. And you're only a tiny percentage correct.

In the meantime, let me explain the "live readings" feature for Thursday night's anthology release party.

WriteOn Joliet founding member Duanne Walton calls himself the "intrepid videographer" because he and his video recorder are not far away.

Duanne has recorded every WriteOn Joliet open mic every since the writers group starting holding them in 2013 at the Book and Bean Cafe in Joliet.

But he also pops in to various events individual members are hosting. 

Here is Duanne (right) recording an interview with member Robert Hafey on the official release of his book Bumping and Snacking, which was held at the Will County Brewing in Shorewood.

The event featured a special Bumping and Snacking-inspired beer. Robert will be at the anthology release party selling his books, including this one. He will not have any beer.

Duanne plans to set up a table at WriteOn Joliet's anthology release party on Dec. 8 and play all those open mic videos. So be sure to stop by his table and listen for a bit.

The anthology release party will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Joliet Public Library, Black Road branch, 3395 Black Road in Joliet.

Admission to the anthology release party is free.

The celebration includes complimentary appetizers and desserts, an informal meet and greet with local authors who are members of the group, and the opportunity to purchase copies of the anthology as well as as individual works by individual authors.

The Book and Bean Cafe, which is located inside the library, will have a variety of heartier food as well as coffee, tea, and other beverages, available for purchase.

Janet Staley, owner of The Book Market in Crest Hill, will handle checkout. Everyone who buys a book, either the anthology or a book from the other tables, will receive a Book Market bookmark that features a ten percent discount on books at Staley's store through January 31, 2023.

The party is for all ages. So if your children and grandchildren have yet to visit Santa this year, bring them out. 

Photos with Santa are free. Santa, known as Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara the rest of the year, will also be signing and selling his own books.

He will also most likely sign any book in which he appears as a character.

Santa will also give away free candy canes as long as he has some left to give.

Bertrand the Mouse and his Uncle Barty will also be hanging out all night, greeting guests.

Here are they are from 2021, waiting to be loaded into the car for the party.

We're all looking forward to seeing you on Thursday night!