Tag Archives: angel ackerman

After Action Report: Write Stuff Conference 2025

March 17, 2025 philgiunta@ptd.net Leave a comment

The weekend before St. Patrick’s Day saw a new and improved venue for the Write Stuff writers conference, organized by the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group (GLVWG). For 2025, our home was the beautiful Homewood Suites in Center Valley, PA.

I wasn’t able to attend on Thursday, so my conference began at 9AM on Friday with keynote speaker Tiffany Yates Martin teaching her excellent full day class on Mastering Backstory. I was interested in this topic given the fact that my first novel, Testing the Prisoner, is a poster child for backstory, memories, and flashbacks. I must have done something right since the book has won eight awards and continues to earn excellent reviews!

Tiffany Yates Martin teaching Mastering Backstory at the Write Stuff writers conference

Friday evening’s events began at 7PM with an excellent presentation on How to Go Deep with Point of View by writer pal, Dianna Sinovic and concluded with our traditional 8PM soiree starring Mark Twain (portrayed by Charles B. Kiernan) who regaled us with a brief anecdote of his writer’s journey.

Writer pal Ginny Shephard as Professor Minerva McGonnegal

Saturday was the final day of the Write Stuff conference. In the morning, I attended two brilliant presentations by Katherine Ramsland on Creating Mental Maps and Observation for Writers. In between, Tiffany Yates Martin discussed ways to avoid that Middle of the Book Sag after which, she delivered an inspiring keynote speech over lunch.

I skipped the afternoon classes to set up my table for the book fair. At about 4PM, the classes ended and the shopping began as well as the judging and awards for the flash literature contest.

Phil's table at the Write Stuff 2025 Book Fair

In addition to the new hotel, another element that made this year’s conference special was the release of our 2025 anthology, Writing a Wrong, which included my 30th published short story, “Give Them Peace,” the first short story featuring psychic-medium Miranda Lorensen from my paranormal mystery novels. Special thanks to Dianna Sinovic for managing the anthology from start to finish. I hope to take over for the 2027 anthology.

It was a blast spending two days with so many friends and colleagues in the writing community including GLVWG president Angel Ackerman, Dianna Sinovic, Charles Kiernan, Ginny Shepherd, Bob Gelik, Susan Kling Monroe, Carla Jones, Tammy Burke, GLVWG’s official photographer, Joan Zachary, Write Stuff co-chairs Charles Kiernan and Donna Brennan, Joanne McLaiughlin, and Ann Stolinsky from Celestial Echo Press, and so many more!

Onward to the next one…

Blog, Opinion, Retrospective, Tribute

You Didn’t Come This Far Only to Come This Far

December 24, 2023 philgiunta@ptd.net

Despite recent bouts of COVID, depression, and elevated stress, I had occasion over this holiday season to reflect on everything for which I’m grateful, and the list is long.

Yes, 2023 was a challenging year. I struggled with severe anxiety attacks that began in September 2022 and continued until mid-August 2023. They left me debilitated for the first hour or two every morning and were often accompanied by bouts of depression, some lasting weeks. There were days when I thought they would end me, but I live by two mottos: “life might knock me down, but it can’t keep me down” and “you didn’t come this far only to come this far.”

I’ve been grappling with the demons of depression and anxiety for over 45 years. For most of that time, I’ve been alone in my fight, but on this occasion, I had the help of three amazing women—my wife, my therapist, and my favorite singer on the planet, Dido (never say music doesn’t heal a broken soul). They are all my heroes.

‌‌My wife planned and booked every step of our June trip to Niagara Falls and the Thousand Islands, culminating in a visit to Boldt Castle on my birthday. It was a fantastic week. Travel does wonders for mental health.

It was also in June when my detective tale, “Pearl of Great Price,” was published in Hard-Boiled and Loaded with Sin by Hawkshaw Press. That also helped loosen anxiety’s grip on me.

At the same time, plans to release the second edition of Testing the Prisoner were coming to fruition. By early June, the book was fully re-edited by yours truly and two months later, artist pal Scott Barnett produced a cover that not only popped but exploded.

The book was released on September 18th. What happened next was nothing short of amazing.

First, I ran an Early Reviewers giveaway on LibraryThing, which resulted in five stellar reviews from the happy winners.

In October, after purchasing a copy of Testing the Prisoner from my table at the Easton Book Festival, writer and publisher Angel Ackerman—current president of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group—praised the book on her blog as well as Amazon and Goodreads. By this time, Testing the Prisoner had been named as one of five finalists in American Book Fest’s 2023 Best Book Awards (Horror Category). Wow!

I was then contacted by horror writer Carson Buckingham who offered to review the book for Hellnotes.com. I sent a paperback to her in mid-November and shortly after Thanksgiving, she posted her effusive review, giving Testing the Prisoner six out of five stars!

As of this writing, I’m on the final round of re-edits to By Your Side, the second edition of which is slated for release on February 5, 2024 with a new cover by the aforementioned brilliant artist, Scott Barnett. The official launch will happen at Farpoint SF Convention in Pikesville, MD.

As I sit here on December 23rd, the house decked out for Christmas, anticipating a glorious week off from work and all of the writing and editing ahead of me, I do indeed have plenty to be grateful for. I hope you do as well. If you’re struggling, remember that you didn’t come this far, only to come this far. Life will knock you down at times, but problems and setback are temporary. Please don’t let them keep you down.

I wish you peace, love, and joy this holiday season and throughout the new year!

Blog, Book Signings, Events

Easton Book Festival 2023

September 22, 2023 philgiunta@ptd.net

October is nearly upon us and with it, the Easton Book Festival, which will take place October 19-22 in downtown Easton, PA. The central hub of the festival is Book & Puppet Company at 22 Centre Square but programming is scheduled all over town including:

International Fusionism Museum
Nurture Nature Center
College Hill Tavern
Easton Area Public Library
Skillman Library
Quadrant Book Mart
Easton Farmers Market

The full schedule of impressive events can be found here on the festival website.

I’ll be participating on Sunday, October 22 in the following events:

11AM – 5PM – Easton Small Press Expo. Author tables will set up in the Easton Public Market located at 325 Northampton St. Come on out to see local writers Angel Ackerman, Michael Stephen Daigle, Phil Giunta, Christopher Ochs, Ginny Shephard, Felicia Heath, Dianna Sinovic, and Tom Lubben.

11AM – Noon – Grit and Crime: The Art of Writing Noir with Albert Tucher, Suzanne Mattaboni, Dianna Sinovic, Phil Giunta (moderator).

Noir is a subgenre of crime literature featuring cynical characters and bleak settings. Dark in theme and subject matter, noir often features systemic corruption and a disturbing mixture of sex and violence. It is frequently associated with hard-boiled detective fiction, but they’re not exactly the same. Panelists will discuss the similarities and differences between noir and hard-boiled fiction, and what inspired them to write in these genres. Panelists will read excerpts from their stories in “Hard-Boiled and Loaded with Sin,” the latest crime noir anthology from Hawkshaw Press.

2PM – 3PM – A Dark and Stormy Night: Game Show with Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group. Host: John Evans. Participants: Phil Giunta, Bernadette Sukley, Michael Stephen Daigle, Suzanne Mattaboni, Dianna Sinovic, Charles Kiernan.

Storm clouds gather as the audience votes on their favorite excerpts read by three GLVWG authors in a literary “gameshow.” Each round showcases the authors’ mastery of an element of fiction: dialogue, setting, character with the audience as the judge. Expect audience participation, a literary trivia quiz, door prizes, and fun for all.

3:45PM – 4PM – I will be reading a 10-minute excerpt (unless I speak quickly and finish the entire thing!) from my short story, “Where Halloween Never Ends” at the Easton Public Market.