What do the Lewes History Museum and the Lewes Public Library have in common? My wife and I were at both this past Saturday. Of course, it’s easy when the two are adjacent to one another.
The main reason for our visit to Lewes, DE was the official launch of Beach Secrets, the latest anthology by Cat & Mouse Press, and a celebration of the publisher’s 25,000th book sold.The library provided a wonderful venue and the launch was well-attended.
Nearly half of the writers from the anthology were on hand, myself included, to sign copies and socialize. Cat & Mouse owner and editor, Nancy Day Sakaduski, her husband Joe, and the folks at Browseabout Books did a fantastic job of organizing the event. Fellow writer Donald Challenger provided some light background music. Beach Secrets marks my fourth story published with Cat & Mouse across three anthologies including Beach Nights and Beach Pulp.
The highlight of my day occurred near the end of the book launch when another fellow writer, Renee Rockland, made a point of telling me how much she loved my story, “Limited Time Offer” in the Christmas anthology, Over the River and Through the Woods (Year of the Book Press, 2019). If you’ll pardon the cliché, that was the icing on a sweet cake!
And speaking of cake…
As always, there is cake at the Cat & Mouse book launches!
Donald Challenger on the guitar, ladies and gentlemen!
Cat & Mouse Press owner and editor Nancy Sakaduski (far left at table), signs books for readers.Fellow Cat & Mouse Press author Dave Cooper has had stories in at least three beach anthologies including Beach Pulp, Beach Dreams, and the latest, Beach Secrets.Fellow writer Jim Gallahan has had stories in two Cat & Mouse Press anthologies including Beach Pulp and Beach Mysteries.Cat & Mouse Press author, Nancy Sherman.
Some pictures from the Lewes History Museum below. It is an impressive collection of artifacts and information about “The First Town in the First State.”
The secret is out and my copies arrived this week! Beach Secrets is the ninth annual anthology comprised of winning stories from the Rehoboth Beach Reads short story contest sponsored by Cat & Mouse Press and Browseabout Books.
Beach Secrets includes my story, “Where Do I Begin?” dedicated to my friend Jessica Headlee who lost her yearlong battle with cancer in June at the age of 25.
After a series of tragedies, a middle-aged man moves to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to start a new life. While on his way to a date with a woman he met online, the man is plagued by hostile voices that threaten to undermine his plans—until one voice reminds him that it’s never too late to find happiness.
Another wonderful book signing has come to an end. I had a blast with my fellow Beach Pulp authors at Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach earlier today. Special thanks to Cat & Mouse Press owner and editor, Nancy Day Sakaduski, for publishing another fun anthology and for bringing us together at the beach!
From giant creatures to ghostly specters and from heroic superheroes to hard-boiled detectives, our beach towns are in for a shock. Beach Pulp is a collection of nineteen stories in the style of the old Amazing Stories pulp magazines set in Rehoboth, Bethany, Cape May, Lewes, Ocean City, and other beach towns that covers a range of genres, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, and noir.
My Copies of Beach Pulp!
My tablemates (l to r) Chris Jacobsen, Maria Masington, and Carl Frey.Author Maria Masington at the Beach Pulp signing.Beach Pulp contributors David Cooper (left) and D.M. Domosea (right) chatting with readers.David Cooper and James Gallahan signing copies of Beach Pulp for customers.D.M. Domosea chats with Maria Masington while Steve Myers signs a copy of Beach Pulp.D.M. Domosea and Linda Chambers (foreground). Steve Myers, Patrick Conlon (Beach Pulp associate editor), and Jacob Jones-Goldstein share the center table.Jim Gallahan and I autograph each other’s copies of Beach Pulp while my tablemates, Chris Jacobsen and Maria Masington talk shop.Background to foreground: Beach Pulp contributors David Cooper, Jim Gallahan, Linda Chambers, Nancy Powichroski Sherman, D.M. Domosea, Steve Myers.
Prior to the book signing, my wife and I enjoyed walking the boardwalk and eating lunch at the Green Turtle. Overcast skies in the morning cleared by the afternoon and the welcome sunshine quickly raised the temperature to 73F. We look forward to returning for vacation this summer!
The view from our table at the Green Turtle.The view from our table at the Green Turtle.The view from our table at the Green Turtle.
Anniversaries have been on my mind over the past few years. Last September, my wife and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary while November marked my 25th year as an IT support tech—a career that I hope to change as soon as humanly possible before it destroys my health.
Traditionally, each anniversary is symbolized by a specific, unique material. Appropriately, these materials increase in strength, resilience, or value with each passing year. For example, first anniversaries are associated with paper, fifth with wood, 25th with silver, 50th with gold, and so on.
Tenth anniversaries are marked by aluminum or tin. That being the case, you can call me the Tin Man in 2019, although I’d like to think that I have a heart.
As I reach my first decade as a published author, I am immensely grateful to the critique partners, mentors, editors, publishers, and fellow writers who helped me along the way. While writing is a solitary endeavor, publishing is a team effort.
Deepest thanks to Steven H. Wilson, Howard Weinstein, Aaron Rosenberg, Robert Greenberger, Paul Kupperberg, Nancy Sakaduski, Weldon Burge, Joanne M. Reinbold, Susanna Reilly, Stuart S. Roth, and all of my fellow members of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group.
Below is an image of every book I have written or contributed to over the past ten years. I never dreamed my writing would take me this far. With three novels and nearly two dozen short stories out in the wild, I hope to continue crafting powerful fiction that changes lives and inspires readers as well as young writers.
As I write this, it is the final night of the five-day Mindful Writers Retreat held in the Lamont Lodge at Ligonier Camp and Conference Center in Ligonier, PA. The camp is nestled in the magnificent Laurel Highlands region of the Allegheny Mountains.
The retreat, impeccably organized by the gracious and talented Kathie Shoop and Larry Schardt, occurs three times per year (winter, spring, and fall) and combines meditation with long quiet hours of writing. The cost of this week’s retreat was $400 and includes private room and bath and all meals prepared by the camp’s staff. Each attendee also receives a welcome pack overflowing with goodies including a coffee mug, handmade bowl, yoga mat, pen and pencil set, notebook, and much more.
Writing in the great room before a blazing hearth.
While each attendee can use their day as they see fit, there are suggested activities such as a sunrise walking meditation where each writer sets off on their own perambulation of the trails and surrounding woods (flashlight recommended). This is followed by breakfast and a four-hour quiet writing session. After lunch, a 15-minute seated meditation helps writers refresh and focus before delving back into their work for another four hours until dinner. Evenings are reserved for dessert and yet more writing in the great room for the remainder of the evening. There’s nothing like writing by a crackling fire! And yes, marshmallows were toasted and S’mores were distributed.
Toasting marshmallows for S’mores!Bunk Beds
While most of us congregated in the great room, other options include a second-floor balcony and, of course, sequestering yourself in your room. Speaking of which, each room has two to three sets of bunk beds. After all, this is a camp designed to accommodate scores of kids and chaperones during the summer. For the first time in probably 40 years, I climbed up a ladder to go to sleep each night because naturally, I chose a top bunk.
Writing on the Balcony at Lamont LodgeBagpipes and flute concert.
On this, our last evening, two of my fellow scribes performed a wonderful after dinner concert of flute and bagpipe. Later, several of us gathered in the lobby of the lodge to perform an audio drama written by one of the attendees.
Black Mask Omnibus
Before the retreat, each member was encouraged to bring a book to swap, which I did, and ended up with a spectacular 600-page collection of mystery and crime stories culled from the Black Mask pulp magazine that began in the 1920s.
Will I return next year? Absolutely. After two months of upheaval in my life—which allowed for scant writing time— the retreat allowed me to catch up on the first draft of my WIP and write an outline for a new short story.
Also, on the second day of the conference, I received a call from publisher and editor Nancy Sakaduski of Cat & Mouse Press informing me that not merely one but both of my short story submissions were accepted for their upcoming anthology, Beach Pulp. Click here for more details on that.
Hmmm… Perhaps there’s even a little magic to the Mindful Writers Retreat!
The main reason for our visit to Lewes, DE was the official launch of Beach Secrets, the latest anthology by Cat & Mouse Press, and a celebration of the publisher’s 25,000th book sold. The library provided a wonderful venue and the launch was well-attended.
