Midtown Scholar Bookstore Basket Giveaway

Congrats to Joe Barrett, who won the basket of books donated to the Midtown Scholar Bookstore by the Susquehanna Writers.
Preceding the drawing, Mike Silvestri gave a fascinating talk on Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 as part of The Big Read.





Mike donated a copy of "Bark of the Tree" to the basket, which the group provided to the bookstore in celebration of National Bookstore Day.



Four other members of the Susquehanna Writers were on hand for the drawing.

Don Helin, who contributed a copy of "Thy Kingdom Come"


Tina Crone, who contributed "The Yellow Stone"


Lori Myers


Cate Masters, who donated "Picture This" and "One Soul for Sale"


Afterward, Mike had a signing for his new scifi anthology, It Came From Beyond the Sun.



Mike will also be signing copies today at the Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop, where the second Susquehanna Writers basket of books awaits a lucky winner. The drawing is this afternoon, so you still have time to rush over there and enter!

Feed Your Addiction

In the past few weeks, we've celebrated Teen Read Week. Tomorrow is National Bookstore Day. And this month is NaNo, National Novel Writing Month. With all this emphasis on writing and writers, it's evident that people care about books and reading. Most of us wouldn't be writers if it weren't for our love of reading.

My addiction to reading extends to everything under the sun. I'll even peruse every word on a cereal box if nothing else is handy. As an elementary student, I constantly got in trouble for reading books hidden my desk. And at home I hid under the covers with a flashlight to finish those final pages of an exciting novel. Did you do the same?

Why not share that passion with a favorite teen?

Leap Books is offering online Exclusives--free mini-books with pages that turn--all zooped up with fun graphics to enhance the reading experience. Share them with your favorite teens, or enjoy them yourself.

Many websites offer book excerpts to whet your appetite. Others offer short stories to showcase their writers' work. Some of our Susquehanna Writers have free reads or book excerpts online. I hope they'll post the links to share the fun. And feel free to leave links for your favorite free online reads, so we can check them out. The only thing readers like better than reading is sharing books they've enjoyed.

Midtown Scholar bookstore celebrates inaugural event with giveaway

The Midtown Scholar Bookstore will celebrate the first national National Bookstore Day with a giveaway basket of books by central Pennsylvania authors known collectively as The Susquehanna Writers.
Central Pennsylvanians named The Midtown Scholar as the region’s top independent bookstore for six years running.
Publishers Weekly encouraged independent bookstores across the country to celebrate their vibrant culture. Midtown Scholar patrons will have the opportunity to win a basket full of great reads such as:
• The Yellow Stone by T.M. Crone
• It Came from Beyond the Sun by Mike Silvestri (mystery)
• Thy Kingdom Come by Don Helin (military thriller)
• One Soul for Sale by Cate Masters (dark fantasy)
• Picture This by Cate Masters (contemporary women’s fiction)
• The Greater Good by Susan Kelley (fantasy), plus a jeweled book thong
• Spark of Magic by Lily Stone (fantasy; in PDF format on CD)
• Night of the Walrus by Dennis Royer (mystery)
The Midtown Scholar Bookstore has hosted author events for several members of The Susquehanna Writers, including Don Helin and Mike Silvestri. Readers can learn more information about The Susquehanna Writers at http://thesusquehannawriters.blogspot.com.
Bookstore representative Catherine Lawrence agreed to host the giveaway to help the listed authors promote their works and to encourage customers to celebrate National Bookstore Day. “Like other independent bookstores, the Midtown Scholar provides a vital service to the community. We hope residents will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to support local authors and learn about all the Midtown has to offer.”
No purchase is required to enter the giveaway. To enter, visit the Midtown Scholar Bookstore at 1302 North Third Street (across from Broad Street Market) in Harrisburg. The drawing will take place on Nov. 21.
Visit the store online at www.midtownscholar.com.
Below is a photo of the basket (pumpkin not included).

Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop to host SW giveaway

The Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop will celebrate the first national National Bookstore Day with a giveaway basket of books by The Susquehanna Writers.

Publishers Weekly encouraged independent bookstores across the country to celebrate their vibrant culture. Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop patrons will have the opportunity to win a basket full of great reads such as:
• Bark of the Tree by Mike Silvestri (mystery)
• Thy Kingdom Come by Don Helin (military thriller)
• One Soul for Sale by Cate Masters (dark fantasy)
• Picture This by Cate Masters (contemporary women’s fiction)
• The Greater Good by Susan Kelley (fantasy), plus a jeweled book thong
• Summer Lovin’ YA anthology
• Diverse Divorce by Lisa Lawmaster Hess (nonfiction)
• Acting Assertively by Lisa Lawmaster Hess (nonfiction)
• Plus a $10 gift certificate to Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop from award-winning author Carmen McKee
The Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop has hosted author events for several members of The Susquehanna Writers, including Don Helin, Dennis Royer and Mike Silvestri.
Book store owner Debbie Beamer agreed to host the giveaway to help the listed authors promote their works and to encourage customers to celebrate National Bookstore Day. “The independent bookstore provides a vital service to the community. Residents should take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to support our local writers.”
No purchase is required to enter the giveaway. Visit the Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Store at 6 Clouser Road, on the corner of Trindle Road in Mechanicsburg, to enter. The drawing will take place on Nov. 22.
Visit the store online at www.mysterybooksonline.com.

Celebrate National Bookstore Day on Nov. 7

by Cate Masters

Bookstores have an atmosphere like no other place. Novels lining shelves feel like old friends, and I could wander through the stacks all day.

On Nov. 7, the inaugural National Bookstore Day will celebrate bookstores and increase their public visibility through local and national media coverage.

If you have a favorite bookstore, encourage its managers to participate. They can find information from Publishers Weekly on ways to make the experience rich for customers and their store. Encourage them to share their information with Publishers Weekly, who will include it in their online list. PW created logos, bookmarks, signs and other useful materials to let consumers know of their participation, and to encourage them to “Read Locally” and “Get Your Read On.”

We authors can help by proposing events to local bookstores. For instance, if stores want to hold contests or raffles, we could provide copies of our books as prizes. What reader wouldn't love a gift basket filled with writings of The Susquehanna Writers? If your story's only available electronically, then include a gift certificate good for one copy via email. That’s just one example. There are lots more options out there, and opportunities. Time to put our heads together! Let’s hear some of your ideas.

Cate Masters’ novels, novellas, short stories and flash fiction appear at epublishers The Wild Rose Press, Eternal Press, Wild Child Publishing/ Freya’s Bower and Shadowfire Press. Her flash and short stories appear at such web zines as Cezanne’s Carrot, The Battered Suitcase, A Long Story Short, Dark Sky Magazine, and The Harrow. Visit her online at www.catemasters.com, www.catemasters.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook or on Twitter.