The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
Happy Birthday!
*Eckhartz Press author Janet Sutherland (Nose Over Toes) is celebrating a birthday this week (February 14). Back in 2019 she wrote an inspiring memoir about her recovery from a brain aneurysm. This photo was taken at her book launch party at Ditka's Restaurant in Chicago.
Happy Anniversary!
*This week in 2015, Brent Petersen's Eckhartz Press book Truffle Hunt came out. This is the photo of the first time he held his foodie novel in his hands. He has gone on to become a world renowned foodie podcaster and webmaster (Destination Eat Drink.)
*Close Encounters of a Chicago Kind
=Vicki Quade isn't just an Eckhartz Press author. She's also an incredibly hilarious playwright. Her claim to fame is the show Late Night Catechism, but she has done many more. Her Bingo series is really worth your time. Here's some more info about the newest one...
Easter Bunny Bingo: Jesus, Resurrection, & Peeps!,
which returns on March 1, just in time for the Easter season, at the Greenhouse
Theater Center, Chicago. Easter
Bunny Bingo will run for five weeks only
during the Lenten season, starting Friday, March 1, through Saturday, March 30.
There is no show on Easter Sunday. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8
p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. All performances are at the Greenhouse Theater Center,
2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. Ticket
prices are $35, group rates available. For tickets, call the box office at
773-404-7336 or go to: https://www.greenhousetheater.org.
=Look who is coming into town! Lauren LoGiudice wrote a book for Eckhartz Press during the Trump years about her nationwide tour impersonating Melania. This time she is coming back to Chicago with a slightly different agenda.
=The Loop Files features some of Chicago's all-time broadcasting greats. One of those talented broadcasters is celebrating a birthday this week, Wendy Snyder. She tells some great stories in the book and also provided a few photos from her early days, including this one...
=Also, mark your calendar for this upcoming book signing. Bringing Mitch Michaels and John Landecker along too...
*Records Truly Is My Middle Name
=Speaking of John Landecker, when he published his award-winning memoir Records Truly is My Middle Name, he never dreamt that it would satisfy the final requirement for his college degree. Despite his Hall of Fame radio career, John had never gotten his college degree. His Alma Mater Grand Valley State University did some research into his transcripts and realized he just needed one more writing course. Writing a book certainly qualified. So, this week in 2018, John was awarded his degree. I wrote about that for Illinois Entertainer. This is John on graduation day.
*Surviving Sue
=This week in 2018, Lee Kingsmill was also making the rounds doing interviews, including WGN Radio. Lee (photo) is widely respected as a writer. Fellow author Michael Lister said this...
“The best books expand our humanity by the vicarious experiences and opportunities for compassion they provide. Lee Kingsmill’s Safe Inside is just such a book. It’s rich and textured, filled with family dynamics, religion, sexuality, the refuge of the imagination, the sanctuary of movies, and most of all, the depth, truthfulness, and complexity of humanity.”
=Eckhartz Press has a retired judge in our stable of authors. Judge Michael Bender's book Protecting Children came out in 2018 and was featured this week in the Chicago Tribune.
*Everything I Know I Learned From Rock Stars
=Author Bill Paige conducted hundreds of interviews with rock stars from 1975-1995. Two of them are celebrating birthdays this week, Peter Gabriel (Feb 13) and Gary Clark Jr. (Feb 15). Their stories are featured in Bill's timeless book.
=Another great Eckhartz Press book about rock and roll is Bobby Skafish's acclaimed We Have Company. Bobby dedicates a chapter in his book to native Chicagoan, Doors organist Ray Manzarek. Ray was born this week in 1939.
=When we formulated the story line of The Living Wills using improvisation techniques, Brendan and I were surprised that the actor Lorne Greene was referenced repeatedly. You never know what will come out in improv. In particular, this song became an important plot point. Happy birthday Lorne, and thanks for the subliminal inspiration.
=Deep into Cubs-land these days writing the new updated version of EveryCubEver. There are two entries that don't need to be updated, this week's birthday boys Barry Foote and Carl "The Iceman" Lundgren.
*The Balding Handbook
=David Stern's self-help masterpiece The Balding Handbook: Five Stages of Grieving for Your Hair Loss is sold out and out of print, but this tribute to Burt Reynolds lives on, and so does this song, Cueball Wizard, which came out this week in 2014...
