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Highs and lows with my tearjerker theme for April! I've got more reading in store, but I think I'll take a break from the sobbing goal. I'm drained! What was I thinking? :) Here's a recommendation video with the books I've read thus far, with highest praise and tear volume awards going to Me Before You (Jojo Moyes), This Book Made Me Think of You (Libbby Page), and Pack Up the Moon (Kristan Higgins). What are your favorite books for a cathartic cry? If I’m looking for real tear-jerker guarantees, what do you think of this stack? Which book(s) made you bawl vs sniffle? @ Instagram.com/get.rec_d/  It's been 10 years since winning the 2016 Soon to be Famous Illinois Author Project! Where has the time gone?? For writing, it's been a great decade... poetry, essays, a novella, all published through small and indie presses (which we celebrate in March!). As a thank you to all the readers and supporters of the book (and me!), I've started a Goodreads Giveaway! Ten lucky winners will get a signed copy of Lines along with my sincere gratitude! Remember to support small, indie, and local! :) The last few months have been filled with excitement for local author events! On April 8, I was honored to participate in a Faculty Writers Panel at Fenwick High School. The readings, followed by an enthusiastic Q & A, were inspiring! I was truly blessed to speak with my colleagues Laura Gallinari and J. Shep. Next, on June 5, authors from publishing company Christopher Whisperings were featured at the historical Cheney Mansion in Oak Park. While presenting in the exquisite Blue Solarium room, WGN's Ana Belaval and the "Around Town" crew stopped in, and the authors were a part of the show! What a fun experience! The CW trio were then featured at The Pile Bookstore in Berwyn on August 19. This community shop has become a hub of activity, showcasing local writers and book lovers alike. Visit soon! The most recent event took place on September 6 at the Printers Row Lit Fest. Before getting to the Chicago Writers Association tent, I was able to make a quick trip around the book-lined streets and found the new Soon to be Famous Illinois Author table! Hooray for STBF representing at the fair!! As the 2016 winner of this award, it was a treat to meet the newest recipients! Networking continued throughout the day, and I enjoyed meeting readers, talking about my craft, and signing copies of When Walls Talk (2024) and Lines (2015). Even my sons and J. Shep made it out on this beautiful day!  Toni has the chance to start her own business in the building of her family’s old bakery. But history waits within those walls. In Geralyn Hesslau Magrady’s novella, When Walls Talk, Toni and her father uncover secrets they could never have expected. (Keep reading... )
I had the privilege of participating in an online interview with Kelly Fumiko Weiss. Check it out here, and spend some time on this site to learn about Kelly and other writers.
Deborah Kadin from the Wednesday Journal came to the Friendly Coffee Lounge to interview me about Lines-- and the Soon to be Famous Illinois Author award. The online piece can be found here! It's still an amazing ride, and I promise to write a real blog post in the near future! As always, thanks for your support!
I am truly proud of this interview, and I am honored to be included in this respected literary blog. Thanks, Evanston Public Library! And special thanks to Russell Johnson for reaching out, reading the book, and asking some great questions!
 In the first part of the book, Jake Mulholland is a college broadcasting student from Pittsburgh. He’s an average guy who comes from a loving family, and like most average guys from loving families, he has hangups—with his father, especially, and with his father’s voice, specifically. Author David W. Berner describes “voice” from the onset of the story, effortlessly placing the reader in an era of 1970s radio. One doesn’t need to have radio background to grasp the intricacies of a station, due to the author’s conversational style and masterful detail. Furthermore, the audience might not even know it desires a connection to this world, but once Berner’s intelligent music references and subtle time-period elements surface, the reader can’t help but get addicted.
Jake is in a relationship with the likable Sarah, but he questions love and all it has to offer. Ridden with guilt from family history as well as the decisions he makes as a college student, Jake accepts his self-inflicted shame and simply lives with the stigma rather than dealing with it. Such an indiscretion can only lead to a downward spiral, which it does in the second half of the book where themes of loss, redemption, and second chances come to view. Berner finally sheds light on Jake in the only way the main character could possibly emerge from the darkness—behind the microphone. I highly recommend Night Radio, David W. Berner’s first published work of fiction. His knack for weaving musical and literary nuances throughout the story will have any middle-aged reader reaching for an old record album or classic book collection. Berner also uses a stripping motif that readers might take as just one part of the hippie trinity of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll; however, for this reader, it serves as a symbol for ones need to bare the soul, to be exposed in order to face demons and move forward. Through Jake, the author also writes with wisdom, as can be seen in the line, “Maybe we are simply defined by what we are trying to be, not what we are at any given moment—slaves to our own visions and whatever the gods are asking us to discover.” I am a fan of Berner’s memoirs, but I look forward to more fiction from this award-winning author. You should, too! Night Radio is available at Amazon.com. - Geralyn Hesslau Magrady  Some updates:
First, my speech for the Soon To Be Famous Illinois Author Project announcement event has been shared in the Illinois Library Association's Reporter. Don't forget about the Printers Row Lit Fest (6/12, 10am-2pm, Tent A) and the Berwyn Library's July Book Club that will read LINES—! Stay tuned for a couple of online literary interviews, too. What else? I'm writing a musician interview blog for the Friendly Music Community! What a great way to give back to a community that has embraced and supported my writing endeavors! I hope you check out the latest post about Oak Park's, Terry White. It's a true honor to be able to meet these talented artists. If you live in the area, stop by the Friendly Tap for local live music at night, or come visit me in the Friendly Coffee Lounge in the morning because... I'm working on ideas for Book Two! That's right! Livia's story is begging for more, and I've got some outlining and research to start. There's no better place to do that than my "happy place." Between my sons' sports' leagues and camps, driver's ed, and a weeklong youth service project, I hope to schedule a few road trips to libraries along Route 66. I'm not sure how that will pan out, but I'm crossing my fingers that I can pull it off. Summer is almost here, and I have a feeling it's going to be over before I know it! So much to be grateful for!  I don't know where to begin. The thrill of April 14, 2016 has remained in my thoughts, as reminders continue to pass through my daily life, usually through emails—invitations to author fairs and book clubs, requests for appearances and interviews, a press release, a Q&A document. I'm still in amazement that this literary interest is being pointed at ... me! I printed up new "STBF 2016 Winner" stickers for the books that are sold directly through me. I had business cards designed to show my new title. I met with the movers and shakers of the STBF committee and RAILS reps at a social event in the city, and it is there that I learned about the vision and plan to bring this contest to other states and encourage publishing companies to get on board. Someone pinch me!
And did I mention that the RAILS (Reading Across Illinois Library Systems) organization ordered a ton of my books to give out at Book Expo America at McCormick Place last week, and they passed them out as promotional gifts to spread the word about the STBF project? I'm blown away! So, it's one month later, and summertime is a breath away. I look forward to visiting as many libraries as possible, participating in the Printer's Row Lit Fest, meeting with the Berwyn Library book clubs, and getting back to my table at Friendly Coffee Lounge to start sketching out all the character and plot ideas that are waking me up at night... Yes, Livia is talking to me again, and apparently, the more I learn about the history of the towns down Route 66 (I've got a couple of road trips in mind), my protagonist is guiding me in directions I never knew existed! Stay tuned!  On 4/14/2016, Geralyn Hesslau Magrady was named the 2016 Winner of the Soon to be Famous Illinois Author Project! Learn more about the novel, LINES—! Be sure to check out the NOVEL tab for more photos! WOW!!!
I promise to get a real blog post up here soon, but I've got some crazy cool stuff going on right now, and here's the latest: LINES— was just announced as a finalist in the Soon To Be Famous Illinois Author Project! So excited and appreciative to have such a wonderful opportunity!
My poem "Seven Steps" was published on the Autumn Sky Poetry DAILY website! Check it out!LINES-- is a semi finalist for the Soon To Be Famous Illinois Author Project |
Photo from Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors
