The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
=Our latest book is Randy Merkin's follow up to his well-regarded Behind the Glass. This one is called Beyond the Glass. It features a who's who in the sports world.
My relationship with Randy goes back over 20 years. I have always admired his professionalism and attention to detail each time we’ve worked together. What truly stands out about Randy, though, is the human side. A simple congratulatory message or birthday wish from him is always appreciated and goes a long way. Randy is a true pro’s pro!
Throughout my tenure in sports media, there have been few people who have been more gracious and professional than “Merk.” He was an outstanding executive producer, but more importantly, a trusted and respected colleague, plus an exceptional storyteller. Much like his first book, this is a must read from one of the industry’s best.
If I hadn’t witnessed some of these moments myself, I might not have believed them! Very few people have experienced what Merk has over the years; he’s dealt with every player, coach, executive, and media personality in the business, both local and national. Whether it is booking a big guest, breaking big news, or putting out a big fire, he always knows how to handle the situation. And like any good consigliere, he knows when and how to give it to you straight. Go along for the ride with a great raconteur!
Merk is the single best radio pro I’ve ever worked with. He builds genuine relationships and earns the trust of the people around him. There’s a reason why the biggest names in sports still answer the phone when his name pops up! What sets him apart from his peers is his ability to cultivate lasting personal connections with the people who he has covered over the years. That trust is the foundation of his work, and his track record speaks for itself. Randy Merkin has been great at what he does for decades because he never stops putting in the work. He invests his own time to build up the people around him. In a relationship-driven business, there’s no greater compliment than knowing people trust you to be there whenever they need you. Merk has earned that trust time and again. That’s why his Rolodex isn’t just extensive — it’s one of the strongest in the business.
(Beyond The Glass is available for pre-order now!)
Slivers
=This eerie novel is next on our agenda. It's getting very close. By next week we may even have it available for pre-order (fingers crossed). Here's how former Pioneer Press writer Melanie McGauren describes it...
Disembodied voices. Moving objects. Mind-reading. We jump right into Vicki Atkinson’s Slivers with her characters besieged by supernatural forces they don’t understand. The slivers are getting bolder; a terrible tension is building. With Atkinson’s “in-the-moment” storytelling, I felt it almost immediately.
Over one week in the summer of 1973, we see the three protagonists struggle against not only the slivers, but the emotional exposure of a terrible family secret shattering everything they once knew.
Slivers gave me Anne Rice vibes. Humans and entities finding a fragile peace and work to share a common ancient history. Love that! I enjoyed so many details of this highly creative storyline. I hope Atkinson continues on this track.
As a fan of supernatural stories, Slivers delivers.
The Write City Review, Volume 5
=Here's another upcoming book. It will be done in time for the Chicago Writers Association annual "Let's Just Write" conference on June 20. Cover photo by Randy Richardson. Edited by Maggie Smith.
Two chances to meet Eckhartz Press authors this week...
=This Wednesday, April 8, Nick Digilio (40 Years, 40 Films) will be at the Lake Theater in Oak Park showing the funniest film ever made, "The Producers". The movie starts at 7:00, and Nick normally does a pre and post game show about the films. This week Rick Kaempfer will be stopping in as well...
=This coming Sunday, April 12, Jim Elsener (Sirens in the Loop) will also be in Oak Park. He is doing a book signing at the Book Loft (1047 Lake Street) from 12:30--1:30.
Six More Opportunities to meet Eckhartz Press authors coming before the end of the month...
=Your chance to meet Jeff Reiter will be at Wheaton Public Library for their Local Authors Fest on April 25th. Register here.
=There was an incredible review of Jeff Reiter's book last week by the ABA (American Birding Association). Check it out here.
=A small taste of the review (by Joel Greenberg)...
Reiter considers his first encounter with a Hooded Warbler, observing the striking bird and then going through the process of identifying it, as “a sighting experience that launched [him] into this wonderfully addictive hobby.” But of greater importance were his parents, not birders themselves but aware of avian presence. They maintained feeders, kept a Peterson guide handy, and engaged in bird-oriented activities like listening for woodcocks while volunteering at an environmental learning center near their home in Canton, Ohio. Books like this one might well inspire someone to take that first step into the world of birding and natural history, a move fulfilling for the person and potentially valuable for the larger world of which they are a part.
=This week in 1990 (April 7), famous bird illustrator Arthur B. Singer passed away. Jeff Reiter included one of Singer's illustrations in his book. It was a Sports Illustrated cover from 1955, the magazine’s “Bird Watchers’ Guide” cover story.
=This year for Record Store Day (April 18) Mitch Michaels is making a return appearance to Blue Village Vinyl in Westmont. He'll be signing and selling copies of his book Doin the Cruise, and has also agreed to bring along copies of The Loop Files as well. If you don't have either book yet, and you were a big fan of the radio station, you are missing out! We've been told it's going to be a star-studded day at the record store. There will be live music (Michael McInerney) as well.
=Last week Jim Slusher was in Texas spreading the word. Here is he is at the Lyndon B. Johnson presidential library (which is awesome by the way--highly recommend visiting there).
=This month Jim has a few appearances/presentations/book signings on his calendar. Come on out...
*Monarch Landing in Naperville on April 21
*Aurora Public Library on April 23.
=Another Gloria Golec appearance is coming later this month. April 25, Gloria Golec (South Side Memories) will be at Wheaton Public Library Local Authors Fest. (Photo: Gloria with EP publishers Rick and Dave)
Everything I Know I Learned from Rock Stars
=On April 11, 2007, famed author Kurt Vonnegut died. One of Bill Paige's prize possessions is a letter Vonnegut once sent to him. Note the date mentioned in the letter--Palm Sunday 1981. Bill published it in Everything I Know I Learned from Rock Stars. Turns out, Bill also learned something from a famous author. Here's the letter...(click on it to enlarge it)
=We met The Kiss of Night author Mark Wukas at a Bill Paige (above) event a few years ago. Mark mentioned that he was working on a novel, and we encouraged him to send it to us when he finished. He did, and we were blown away. This week in 2025, we were at the is/was Brewery for the book launch party for The Kiss of Night. We sold out of books! Thanks to everyone who came out to help Mark Wukas celebrate the release of his book.
=This week in 2024, we released one of our best selling books of the year, Last Comiskey. The goal of Last Comiskey is to serve as a permanent companion to the documentary that will provide a physical and tangible reminder of the final surprising season at “Sox Park.” The book blends both Ken Smoller’s photographs along with the content from the “Last Comiskey” documentary film, supplemented by new material to provide greater context. The book is intended to capture the spirit of the documentary and the reflections of the many participants in the interviews Matt conducted for the film.
=One of the players featured in Last Comiskey is Dave Gallagher. He is celebrating a birthday this week (April 12)
=Reading The Flip Side is like a taking a journey through the Rock and Roll adventures of Chicagoland. This week in 1978 (April 6), REO Speedwagon released their multi-platinum album You Can Tune a Piana, But You Can't Tuna Fish. Naturally their promotional tour included a visit to Flip Side records.
=On April 10, 1966, the song "Sweet Talkin’ Guy" was released by the Chiffons. One of the fun things about Pat Motto's book To the Men I Loved is that she suggests musical accompanient to each of her chapters. Chapter 7 suggests "Sweet Talking Guy".
=Two contributors to The Loop Files are celebrating birthdays this week. Happy birthday to Bob Stroud (April 13) and Dorothy Humphrey (April 7). Both played a significant role in the success of Chicago's all-time favorite radio station. (Top Photo: L-R, Looper Tricia Mladic, author Rick Kaempfer, Bob Stroud)
=This week in 2018, the second edition of Kipper McGee's broadcasting book Brandwidth was released. Kipper appeared on the Sound Off podcast to discuss it.
=Yet another Cubs book in the Eckhartz Press library is Cubsessions. One of the contributors to that book, best-selling author Scott Turow, is celebrating a birthday this week (April 12).
=This week in 2014, the Beverly Arts Center hosted An Afternoon with Joel Daly. Penny Golden interviewed Joel in front of a large BAC audience.
Records Truly Is My Middle Name
=Just weeks after Landecker's book came out in 2013, his childhood crush Annette Funicello passed away. You can listen to John's interview with Annette here, or you can read the free excerpt from his book (about Annette).
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Here, in an honest sensitive voice, Ann Wilson recalls being yanked out of her 1970’s teenage life in Western Springs, Illinois, when her dynamic architect father is assigned to a two-year project in Hong Kong, transplanting the family. ‘You’re afraid,’ he tells her on their first night in the new vertical city with its teetering apartment buildings and rickety bamboo scaffolding. ‘Of what?’ she asks, and he mumbles, ‘Of the unknown.’ Little does this American teenager know how much her father will become that ‘unknown.’ Wilson looks back and chronicles it all in brave, vivid prose—not just the strange flavors and sounds, but the unanticipated changes in herself and the impact Hong Kong ultimately has on her family.
=It's not often an Eckhartz Press book gets a recommendation from the likes of Chicago author Stuart Dybek (celebrating a birthday this week/April 10), but Don Evans' collection of short stories managed to do just that when it came out in 2018...
Don Evans can get the streets to talk as if they’re telling their own stories. One hears in his work an immediately recognizable offhand tone that rings true, empathetic, street smart, and very funny.
=This week in 2023, Chuck Swirsky appeared on the podcast of old colleague Garry Meier to discuss his book Always a Pleasure. This is what Chuck looked like when he and Garry worked together at the Loop in 1980 (photo by Paul Natkin/from The Loop Files)
=This week in 2018, Beth Jacobellis appeared on WGN Radio to talk about her novel Cameo.
=This week would have been Hugh Hefner's birthday (April 9). Pat Colander used Hef's name in her book's title because one of the most powerful tales in her book is the one about Hefner's secretary, and her tragic end (a true story). Illustrator David Mosele contributed this sketch (below) of Hef and his secretary Bobbi to the book. Hugh Hefner's First Funeral: And Other Tales of Love and Death in Chicago will always be a special book for us. It's the first book that won an award for us (CWA Book of the Year), and Pat Colander was one of the most caring and encouraging people we've ever met. She passed away in 2018 and we still think about her all the time.
