Upper Peninsula Publishers & Authors Association

Nancy Barr – Writing Regional Mysteries

Victor — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:57:47 +0000

On January 4th, 2012 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with regional mystery maven Nancy Barr. Nancy served as news editor at the Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton for three years and now works at Michigan Technological University, where she recently earned a master’s degree in Rhetoric and Technical Communication. Her novels include Page One: Hit and Run(July 2006), “Page One: Vanished” (May 2007), and “Page One: Whiteout” (November 2009), all from Arbutus Press. She spoke with us on all the particulars of regional mystery writing including:

Challenges of writing about real locations in rural areas
Character development — deciding who deserves a repeat appearance and who is a one-book wonder
Plotting versus characterization. Each book has been different for me.
Other mysteries worth reading that feature the rural upper Midwest.
The pros and cons of small, regional publishing houses.
Marketing

Nancy Barr

A transplant to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula at the age of 9, Nancy Barr grew up in the tiny town of Rapid River nestled at the top of Little Bay de Noc. She earned an associate’s degree with honors from Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba, Mich., and graduated cum laude from Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., with a bachelor’s degree. Her love of reading and writing led her to a career in newspaper journalism where she spent several years covering police, courts, schools and local governments for the Daily Press in Escanaba. An animal aficionado, she lives on the Keweenaw Peninsula with two demanding, but lovable, cats. When not writing, Nancy enjoys hiking and photographing the natural beauty that abounds in the Upper Peninsula.

Page One: Hit and Run

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2011 in review

Victor — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:30:02 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,300 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Authors at Snowbound Books

Victor — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:27:07 +0000

UPPAA member Lon Emerick of North Country Publishing and Mary Kinnunen (with the new book UP Puzzles) at a six-author booksigning at Snowbound Books on December 10th. Hooray for independent bookstores

Lon Emerick and Mary Kinnunen

Donna Winters – Writing Regional Historical Romances

Victor — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:20:52 +0000

On December 14th, 2011 Irene Watson and Tyler R. Tichelaar spoke with romance author, publisher, and entrepreneur Donna Wintersabout writing regional historical romances. Donna Winters and her husband Fred Winters are the owners of Bigwater Publishing. Since 1989 they have released 15 of Donna’s historical romances for ages 12 and up under the Great Lakes Romances imprint. We covered a wide-range of topics from writing to marketing, including:

Historical romances vs. contemporary romances
Research methods
Historical characters
Images
Names
Character development
Historical dialog
Historical costumes
Historical transportation

Donna Winters

Donna adopted Michigan as her home state in 1971 when she moved from a small town outside of Rochester, New York. She began penning novels in 1982 while working full time for an electronics firm in Grand Rapids.She resigned from her job in 1984 following a contract offer for her first book. Since then, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Zondervan Publishing House, Guideposts, and Bigwater Publishing have published her novels. Her husband, Fred, a former American History teacher, shares her enthusiasm for history. Together, they visit historical sites, restored villages, museums, and lake ports, purchasing books and reference materials for use in Donna’s research.Donna has lived all of her life in states bordering on the Great Lakes. Her familiarity and fascination with these remarkable inland waters and her residence in the heart of Great Lakes Country in Upper Michigan, make her the perfect candidate for writing Great Lakes Romances®.

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UPPAA author Gretchen Preston in Marquette holiday events

Victor — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:18:26 +0000

Gretchen Preston

Gretchen Preston will be signing her new book More Valley Cats at…

The Holiday Outback Show at the Marquette Armory Nov 26 10-6 and Nov 27. from 11-5 in Marquette.
She will also have a signing at Donckers Restaurant in Marquette Saturday Dec 3rd, 3-5pm.

Visit her at www.prestonhillpress.com

UPPAA author Tyler Tichelaar to appear in Marquette holiday events

Victor — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 02:01:28 +0000

My Marquette featured at upcoming events!

UPPAA author Tyler R. Tichelaar will be appearing in two upcoming Marquette holiday events

Sat. & Sun, November 26 & 27^th 11am-5pm.
The Outback Holiday Art Fair. Marquette Armory, corner of Wright and Lincoln Streets. Marquette, Michigan. Over thirty other vendors will be there selling holiday gifts.
Fri. December 2, 5-9pm, Sat. AND
Dec 3, 10am-6pm, Sun, Dec 4 11am-4pm. The TV 6 Christmas Craft Show in the Superior Dome, Marquette, Michigan. Over 100 vendors selling everything from books to crafts to food to mittens and anything else you can imagine.

UPPAA author Lon Emerick in Houghton, MI, Nov. 26

Victor — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:53:45 +0000

Paradise North

North Country Publishing author Lon and Lynn Emerick will be offering their Upper Peninsula books at the Home for the Holidays Gift Market on November 26th from 10-4 pm at the MTU Rosza Center, Houghton MI.

Event sponsor writes: “We are excited to have your beautiful books in our show this year.” (Wasn’t that nice?)

UPPAA authors @ Snowbound Books, Dec. 10th

Victor — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:45:50 +0000

Snowbound Books, 118 N. Third St., Marquette

Regional Author Extravaganza at Snowbound Books, Marquette. December 10th 1-3 pm. Six regional authors — several members of UPPAA — will be joining together to meet fans at this very popular independent bookstore. Books will be available for autographs and purchases.

Lon Emerick (Paradise North, You Wouldn’t LIke it Here)
Mary Kinnunen (Upper Peninsula Crosswords)
Lesley DuTemple (One Little Balsam Fir)
Tyler Tichelaar (Marquette Trilogy, My Marquette)
Matt Williams (Superior Dilemma, Superior Death)
Gretchen Preston (Valley Cats, More Valley Cats)

See Snowbound Books announcement

Meet Pam Meyers – enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card!

Victor — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 13:33:49 +0000

Meet Pam Meyers at my blog today and enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card!
Learn about her new book, *Thyme for Love*. Enticing food seasons every page, spiced with a murder mystery and a resurrected romance.
http://greatlakesromances.blogspot.com/

Meet UPPAA author Lesley DuTemple

Victor — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:48:09 +0000

Stars in the Water

Lesley DuTemple, author of Stars in the Water will be making appearances during the upcoming holiday season!

Nov. 17th: Einerlei Holiday Open House (Chassell) 7 – 9 pm
Dec. 10th: Snowbound Books (Marquette) 1 – 3 pm

Stars in the Water, an illustrated storybook for children of all ages—was published in April 2011. Stars in the Water is written by award-winning children’s author Lesley DuTemple, and richly illustrated by Jack Oyler. The three stories in this volume—Coyote’s Star, The Fire Deer, The Water Star—were inspired by traditional First Nation tales as well as Lesley’s love of nature and sense of wonder.

Jack Oyler’s marvelous wooden illustrations were specifically commissioned for Stars in the Water and are a perfect pairing for all three tales. These original works of art were then photographed by local photographer Joe Kirkish, a retired professor emeritus at Michigan Technological University. Joe’s photographs have beautifully preserved the textures, colors, and three-dimensional aspect of Jack’s original art