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Rick Czaplewski – Kenosha Book Festival 2024

Rick Czaplewski is coming to Studio Moonfall’s Kenosha Book Festival 2024 on April 28th and May 26th.

In his freshman year of college, Rick’s parents arrived unannounced at his dorm room door to tell him, “Son you have Hodgkin’s Disease, cancer.” That semester, he fought cancer in silence, while still attending college among his peers. Struggling to fit in, he told no one; Rick walked alone.

After a relapse, he dropped out of college to get chemotherapy and more radiation. Nine months later, Rick’s doctor pronounced him cancer-free.

Now a 27-plus-year survivor, he graduated and took his second chance to climb Mt. Rainier, run the Boston Marathon, swim from Alcatraz to shore 12 times, and more. He has a college-aged son, Lance and has written Better Dirty Than Done, a book about survivorship. Professionally, he has worked as a project manager, manager, and senior director in several industries. Rick founded Dude, I Have Cancer to help men deal with cancer and survivorship.

Today, as a motivational speaker, Rick has spoken to large and small audiences including students, survivors, physicians, and corporations.

Here’s a sneak peek at their book Better Dirty Than Done, an Inspirational True Story:

Inspiring. Emotional. Profound.

A Cancer Diagnosis and a Relapse …
Grim Medical Results …
The Expiring Clock …
The Unquenchable Thirst to Live and Thrive …

Already facing a wretched cancer diagnosis, a young man’s prospects for survival dim as he
learns his treatments have not worked. Writing against the clock, he feverishly authors a story of profound joy and sadness exploring the life he could have lived. Desperately told, his story takes you through poignant memories, intimate relationships, and fantastical triumphs in a quest to make sense of it all and leave a legacy behind.

An addictive, inspiring memoir, Better Dirty Than Done will have you turning pages and
questioning the value of your own time. What would you do if your life suddenly had an
imminent expiration date? Grab a box of tissues and reflect on both the fragility of life and its limitless potential for joy.

Beautifully told through an authentic, intimate voice Better Dirty Than Done will inspire anyone seeking to make sense of life. It fits perfectly with the missions of hospitals and cancer organizations and on resource lists of inspirational reads for cancer patients and survivors. This is the perfect book for college students or university “book talk” events.

If you can’t wait until you meet the author at this summer’s Kenosha Book Festival, pick up your copy at https://amzn.to/3U8RzFf

Stop by Studio Moonfall for more books by local authors and my friends from the indie publishing world, visit https://bookshop.org/shop/studiomoonfall to shop online, or https://www.libro.fm/business?bookstore=studiomoonfall for audiobooks.

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Michael J. Adams – Kenosha Book Festival 2024

Michael J. Adams is coming to Studio Moonfall’s Kenosha Book Festival 2024 on April 28th and September 22nd.

Michael J Adams credits Pencil and Paper Role-Playing Games (aka Dungeons & Dragons and Shadowrun) for growing his vivid imagination. Following college, he’d engage in weekly 10-hour binge sessions with friends.

Unfortunately, with age came responsibilities. Between full-time jobs, wives, and children, keeping these activities alive in even small groups became impossible. Writing became a go-to method for rekindling those portions of unused imagination.

Michael J Adams lives with his wife and two children in the Chicago suburbs. During the day he works full time in the IT industry. At night, it’s a different story. Once the chaos of everyday life subsides, he retreats to his office where he reads, writes, and/or absorbs himself in video games. And once in a while, he still sneaks in a role-playing session.

Here’s a sneak peek at their book A Tooth Fairy’s Promise:

Who needs detective skills when you can track down missing children by swallowing their lost teeth?

PI Tiffemory Greenstone treats each missing person case like she would her own child. But when Mallory Sanderson is kidnapped for the second time, Tiff takes it especially personally. It’s hard not to when the kidnapping is her fault.

Jeck, the rogue fairy she banished six months prior, has returned and is seeking revenge. In a world that believes the tooth fairy is only a myth, Tiff is the only one who can stop him.

But finding her nemesis will be an uphill battle. And facing a foe who’s more than her equal may cost Tiff her life. The other option is watching the city’s youths disappear one at a time.

If you can’t wait until you meet the author at this summer’s Kenosha Book Festival, pick up your copy at https://amzn.to/49GG2RC

Stop by Studio Moonfall for more books by local authors and my friends from the indie publishing world, visit https://bookshop.org/shop/studiomoonfall to shop online, or https://www.libro.fm/business?bookstore=studiomoonfall for audiobooks.

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Sharon K. Angelici – Kenosha Book Festival 2024

Sharon K Angelici is coming to Studio Moonfall’s Kenosha Book Festival 2024 on April 28th, August 25th, and September 22nd.

Sharon K Angelici was born in the American Midwest, but her heart belongs to Colorado. She is a full-time wife, mother, artist, and lover of life.

She has been writing works of fiction, short stories, and poetry since childhood. Her first book, Dear Kane; what I wish we would have said,”” was published through Write with Light publications, and it along with the rest of her work, can be found on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and direct from her website.

Here’s a sneak peek at their book Conned:

For Ella Eastman, firefighting is life.

She’s devoted her body to being the best, but everyone needs a break from reality once in a while. For Morgan Hail, art is life, but she has to make a living. Their lives collide when television fandoms intersect at The Blacktree Comic Palooza. Morgan’s captivating fanart leads to a heated misunderstanding, and a cosplay contest brings these two women together–though only one of them knows the truth.

This unlikely pair heats up when their real-world lives collide, but what will happen to their budding romance when Ella reveals her secret identity? And can they find a way to make things work when Ella’s job hits a little too close to home?

Conned is a story of love, loss, new beginnings, and fandom.

Trigger warning: child death, fire trauma and suicide

If you can’t wait until you meet the author at this summer’s Kenosha Book Festival, pick up your copy at https://bookshop.org/a/9574/9798375789521

Stop by Studio Moonfall for more books by local authors and my friends from the indie publishing world, visit https://bookshop.org/shop/studiomoonfall to shop online, or https://www.libro.fm/business?bookstore=studiomoonfall for audiobooks.

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Aliyah Jackson – Kenosha Book Festival 2024

Aliyah Jackson is coming to Studio Moonfall’s Kenosha Book Festival 2024 on April 28th, July 28th, and August 25th.

Planting Gardens on the Moon is Aliyah Jackson’s debut poetry collection that explores themes of depression, isolation, and uncertainty in religion, spirituality, and relationships, using vignette-like poems that offer relatable details of the human journey.

Here’s a sneak peek at their book Planting Gardens on the Moon:

Planting Gardens on the Moon is the first full length poetry collection by Aliyah Jackson. It centers around themes of depression, isolation, and the uncertainties behind the refuge in religion, spirituality and interpersonal relationships.

“In Planting Gardens on the Moon, Aliyah Jackson tills the fertile soil of her experiences, her fears, and the quiet that eludes her mind to expose it to the light. With no words wasted, each poem is like its own vignette where you are sure to find the details of your own journey.”

  • Esteban Colon
    ’18-’19 Kenosha Poet Laureate
    Author of Hell Creek and Things I Learned the Hard Way

If you can’t wait until you meet the author at this summer’s Kenosha Book Festival, pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.

Stop by Studio Moonfall for more books by local authors and my friends from the indie publishing world, visit https://bookshop.org/shop/studiomoonfall to shop online, or https://www.libro.fm/business?bookstore=studiomoonfall for audiobooks.

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Justin O. Rose – Kenosha Book Festival

Justin O. Rose is coming to Studio Moonfall’s Kenosha Book Festival 2024 on April 28th and June 23rd

Justin Rose is an author from Superior, Wisconsin. You may find his short stories in scattered literary journals and his novels, including his Tales of Rehavan series on Amazon, Smashwords, and numerous other online retailers. Inspired by both the classics of Western literature and the speculative fiction of the 20th century, Rose’s work is a blend of literary art and speculative adventure that interweaves the higher themes of the classics with the adventurous spirit of genre fiction.

Here’s a sneak peek at their book Ariel’s Tear:

“Beauty is always worth protecting.”

Set in the fictional world of Rehavan, Ariel’s Tear tells the story of Reheuel, Captain of the Guards in the small human city of Gath Odrenoch. An aging soldier haunted by memories of his bloody youth, Reheuel lives a sedate but contented life with his family. Disillusioned with warfare and the glories of his nation’s conquests, he raises his children to value beauty and the wonders that enrich their lives.

His peaceful world shatters, however, when a tribe of goblins threatens both Gath Odrenoch and the nearby Fairy City. Intent on saving his family and on protecting the innocence of the childlike fairies, Reheuel sets off on a journey to save both cities. Lifting his sword once more, he rediscovers the true cost of earthly beauty.

If you can’t wait until you meet the author at this summer’s Kenosha Book Festival, pick up your copy at https://bookshop.org/a/9574/9781517289294

Stop by Studio Moonfall for more books by local authors and my friends from the indie publishing world, visit https://bookshop.org/shop/studiomoonfall to shop online, or https://www.libro.fm/business?bookstore=studiomoonfall for audiobooks.

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Richard Bell – Kenosha Book Festival 2024

Richard Bell is coming to Studio Moonfall’s Kenosha Book Festival 2024 on April 28th.

Born in Chicago. Joined the Navy at 18. Self-taught the bass guitar. Took six years to get a bachelor’s degree. Worked a variety of jobs. Married at 39. Started writing short funny stories to make myself laugh while wife had leukemia. She survived. Again worked a variety of jobs. Laughter is good medicine.

Here’s a sneak peek at their book Life Seemed Good, But….:

This book is a collection of very short stories with unpredictable endings. It is dedicated to all those who supported someone suffering with cancer or any serious illness with the premise that laughter is good medicine.

Many of the stories come from Bell’s magazine column entitled Modern Fables previously published in Wassup Local Magazine (Lake County IL). He began writing as therapy in 2004 when he was laid off from his job shortly after his wife got leukemia.

Although the category is fantasy humor, Life Seemed Good, But…. contains parodies, elements of the surreal, as well as anti-humor and portrays diverse attitudes and takes on life from a somewhat dark but intelligent and laughable perspective as animals, food and other inanimate objects take on human qualities.

These multi-layered stories offer a glimpse into a life of struggling to cope yet provide a ray of hope in the simple act of continuing on, accepting the good, bad, and frustrating as a part of what we all have to endure and overcome.

Contains a wealth of hidden trivia and a portion of the proceeds is donated to cancer and Alzheimer’s research. The author describes himself as “”just an ordinary guy and nobody special.””

If you can’t wait until you meet the author at this summer’s Kenosha Book Festival, pick up your copy at https://bookshop.org/a/9574/9780692980460

Stop by Studio Moonfall for more books by local authors and my friends from the indie publishing world, visit https://bookshop.org/shop/studiomoonfall to shop online, or https://www.libro.fm/business?bookstore=studiomoonfall for audiobooks.

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Richard Sweitzer – Kenosha Book Festival 2024

Richard Sweitzer is coming to Studio Moonfall’s Kenosha Book Festival 2024 on April 28th and June 23rd.

Richard Sweitzer is an award-winning author, voice actor, morning radio host, and comedy writer.

He received his Master of Arts degree in English/Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he was an Assistant Editor for the school’s literary journal. During his tenure at UWM, his short story collection won the Faculty Fiction Award.

Prior to that he studied English Literature and Creative Writing at UW-Stevens Point, winning the English Department award four years in a row, the L&S Distinguished Achievement Award, and the prestigious Ellen Specht Memorial Scholarship, all while graduating summa cum laude.

He has taught programs on Creative Writing and Publishing, and one of his novel excerpts won the top prize in a nationwide writing contest.

When he is not writing, he hosts a popular morning radio show in central Wisconsin. His decades-long tenure in radio has earned him numerous broadcast awards and significant recognition for his public service.

Here’s a sneak peek at their book ODE: The Scion of Nerikan:

The old stories were true! Ancient tales speak of the fabled Nerikan Prison where fearful creatures were once locked away. These were thought to be simply fantastic stories, but centuries later the lost prison has been found and its last living captive has escaped! A massive and hateful beast has been unleashed unto the world and is once again rampaging towns and hillsides. What it seeks, no one knows; but what it finds is a little girl who is not afraid. And the bold child has one simple request of the monster: to help her find her home.
An ode to timeless fantasy stories of long ago The Scion of Nerikan is an adventure that redefines family and friendship on an epic scale.

If you can’t wait until you meet the author at this summer’s Kenosha Book Festival, pick up your copy at https://amzn.to/3xGd3Ak

Stop by Studio Moonfall for more books by local authors and my friends from the indie publishing world, visit https://bookshop.org/shop/studiomoonfall to shop online, or https://www.libro.fm/business?bookstore=studiomoonfall for audiobooks.

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Madeline Crane – Kenosha Book Festival 2024

Madeline Crane is coming to Studio Moonfall’s Kenosha Book Festival 2024 on April 28th.

Madeline Crane has been in love with fantasy since childhood, when her father read her The Hobbit as a bedtime story. She has two degrees in English literature (a BA with an emphasis in medieval literature and an MA with an emphasis in education), and she lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two cats. Her first book, Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea, was published in 2022, and The Book of the New Moon Door is her second.

Here’s a sneak peek at their book Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea:

After losing everything in a foolhardy quest to slay a sea serpent, Eske of the Bear Clan journeys across the world to the holy city of Phyreios. There, he meets warriors from faraway lands, a rebel leader with the courage to defy the gods, and a gentle healer whose dreams foretell a great calamity.

While at first Eske seeks only an opportunity to test his strength and a distraction from his grief, he soon becomes entangled in a clash of gods and monsters that will change the fate of Phyreios-and the world-forever.

Inspired by Robert E. Howard’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN and Ursula LeGuin’s EARTHSEA novels, BEYOND THE FROST-COLD SEA is an epic tale of love, loyalty, rebellion, and ruin.

If you can’t wait until you meet the author at this summer’s Kenosha Book Festival, pick up your copy at https://amzn.to/49DVQ7K

Stop by Studio Moonfall for more books by local authors and my friends from the indie publishing world, visit https://bookshop.org/shop/studiomoonfall to shop online, or https://www.libro.fm/business?bookstore=studiomoonfall for audiobooks.