For thirty years, the Minnesota Book Awards have recognized the best in writers, illlustrators, and book artists who are Minnesotans. Last Saturday evening in downtown St. Paul at the Intercontinental Hotel Riverfront, more than 800 people attended the awards ceremony emceed by Rohan Preston, theater critic for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. With more than 250 books submitted for the annual award, a panel of judges narrowed… [Read More]
If you’re a history lover or a fan of good mysteries, then Ann Marie Ackermann’s novel Death of an Assassin: The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee is the book for you. This historical true crime novel details the story of a case that breaks several records, including coldest case ever solved, and intertwines both German and American history…. [Read More]
Today I welcome Linda J. Spielman as a guest-blogger. Linda is the author of A Field Guide to Tracking Mammals in the Northeast (Countryman Press/W.W. Norton). Now that snow is in the forecast, it’s a fabulous time to get outside and start tracking wildlife. Linda Spielman shares her experience of finding bobcat tracks with us. You can enter to win a free copy of her… [Read More]
Kent State University Press released Death of an Assassin: The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee on September 1 and author Ann Marie Ackermann arrives from Germany for her U.S. book tour this week. With a dozen events scheduled in Tennessee, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, Ackermann will spend the month of October meeting and greeting readers. I’m… [Read More]
Elizabeth Rynecki is the author of Chasing Portraits: A Great-Granddaughter’s Quest for her Lost Art Legacy published by NAL/Berkley/Penguin Random House in September 2016. An odyssey spanning generations, decades, and countries, Chasing Portraits is the true story of Elizabeth Rynecki’s search for the lost art of her great-grandfather, Moshe Rynecki. His unique paintings focused primarily on the Jewish-Polish community in Warsaw between the first and… [Read More]
ONE: Your publisher or your publicist will need to send a query letter to the producer of the radio program. It’s much better to have someone else query for radio interviews on your behalf. But doing most of the work to assist your publisher or publicist in booking radio interviews will increase your chances significantly. And if you are a nonfiction writer, there is a… [Read More]
Chasing Portraits: A Great-Granddaughter’s Quest for Her Lost Art Legacy by Elizabeth Rynecki, is the story of her search for the art of her great-grandfather, which disappeared after he was killed in the Majdanek concentration camp. Moshe Rynecki’s body of work reached close to eight hundred paintings and sculptures, which he created between the First and Second World Wars in Warsaw, Poland. Recently, I interviewed… [Read More]
Marcel’s Letters: A Font and the Search for One Man’s Fate by Carolyn Porter, is the incredible story of her search to uncover the mystery of one man’s fate during WWII. Skyhorse Publishing will release it this June. Today is the last day to enter a Goodreads Giveaway for a free copy. Recently, I interviewed Carolyn about the backstory to writing her new book. Jill… [Read More]
As more people come to value the natural world and venture into wildlife areas, a reference guide to help identify the animals who call these places home has never been more useful. A Field Guide to Tracking Mammals in the Northeast will be released July 4, 2017, from Countryman Press (W. W. Norton). I recently interviewed author Linda J. Spielman about how she came to… [Read More]
Larry Scheckel’s I Always Wondered About That will be published by Tumblehome Learning in Fall 2017. This new book has 101 scientific answers to questions you ponder while driving, mowing the lawn, or watching a beautiful sunset. Jill Swenson: When did you first become excited about science? Larry Scheckel: We did not have a television set when I was a kid on the farm in… [Read More]
