Monday, January 06, 2025

Publishing Portal--January 6, 2025









The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.


I Bear Witness

=Dan McNeil is still making the rounds promoting his critical darling, I Bear Witness. It has gotten rave reviews in the Daily Herald and mentions on national shows like Colin Cowherd and Pat McAfee. Thanks for everyone who came out to his many appearances in December.

=It's not too late to meet Dan at an appearance. He will be in Morton Grove at AU Sports Memorabilia (6006 Dempster Street) on January 11 from Noon-1:30pm, Blue Island Beer Company (13357 Olde Western Ave.) on January 14th from 5-7pm, and at the Sportscard collectible show in Orland Park (The Orland Park Civic Center) on January 19th. 

=Dan will be making the podcast rounds too. He will be on John Siuntres popular podcast Word Bubble, and here's one you might not have had on your scorecard.



*The Kiss of Night
=A new novel is coming soon to Eckhartz Press. It will be called The Kiss of Night, and the name has something to do with this sign. That's all we'll say for now. More info to come including the name of the author.


EveryCubEver
=A new and improved 7th edition of the book is coming out for Opening Day (and will feature more than a hundred photos of all-time Cubs), but in the meantime you should follow author Rick Kaempfer's Just One Bad Century facebook page. He is featuring Cubs from the book every day. Here's an example from Saturday...


Chili Dog MVP
=This is going to be a big year for Chili Dog MVP because the star of the book, Dick Allen, was voted into the Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be in July. You'll be hearing a lot about it in the coming months, including this interview with Chili Dog MVP co-author Dr. David Fletcher...

=The Daily Herald featured the book this week in 2022.

=One of the other players featured in the book, the late Bart Johnson, was born this week in 1950. 


The Flip Side
=The reviews keep pouring in for The Flip Side. (Click to enlarge)

=Nice write up in the Cook County Chronicle about Larry Rosenbaum's appearance at the Arcada Theater in December. Also attending the symposium were fellow Eckhartz Press authors Rick Kaempfer from the Loop Files and Mitch Michaels from Doin the Cruise, and Jim Summaria and Mark Plotnick. (Click on the article to enlarge it)



The Loop Files

=This week in 2024, Rick Kaempfer appeared on WLS Radio with Pete McMurray and Steve Cochran.

=The Chicago Writes podcast also featured The Loop Files

=There were some truly great reviews of The Loop Files, and perhaps none better than this one by Christopher Sutter. 


Surviving Sue

=Surviving Sue is a memoir about dealing with an extremely difficult mother, beautifully written by Vicki Atkinson. Occasionally on her blog she shares the other side of the coin, dealing with a wise and thoughtful father. Recommended feel good blog post from Vicki.



Truffle Hunt

=Truffle Hunt is approaching its tenth anniversary and author Brent Petersen is featuring a series of articles on substack explaining the process of how it came to be. Here's the first one: How the International Criminal Tribunal Influenced the Creation of one of my Characters.

=Brent Petersen (Truffle Hunt) was featured in Illinois Entertainer this month in 2024, talking about his podcast Destination Eat Drink.



*Doin the Cruise

 =This week in 2018, West Suburban Living reviewed Mitch Michael's book.

=Rod Stewart is celebrating a birthday this week. You may not realize that Doin The Cruise author Mitch Michaels played a key role in Rod's song "Maggie Mae" becoming a big hit. He tells that story in the book. (That's Mitch in the middle of the pic below)


We Have Company

 =Bobby Skafish's 2016 Eckhartz Press book We Have Company: Four Decades of Rock and Roll Encounters is a rock and roll lover's dream. Bobby has met and interviewed them all. Two of them have birthdays this week; the late David Bowie and Dave Matthews. Their stories (and these photos) are in the book. Matthews was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week.




Behind the Glass

 =Randy Merkin's 2021 book Behind the Glass: Stories from a Sports Radio Producer is the sports equivalent of Bobby's book. For instance, three Hall of Famers who were born this week in history, Bruce Sutter, Bart Starr and Dick Enberg, are featured.


Monkey in the Middle

 =Dobie Maxwell's gripping personal story about a bank robbery was reviewed this week in 2017. Dobie's book remains one of our best sellers. 


 Records Truly Is My Middle Name

 =John Records Landecker's book was a finalist for CWA Book of the Year in 2013. When John was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2017, we re-released the book with additional stories and photos. Among the new photos...this one of John and his daughter Amy with the richest man in the world (at the time), who happens to be celebrating a birthday this week.



*Back in the DDR

 =This week in 2023, Rick Kaempfer made his first book club appearance for his novel Back in the DDR. 


Sepsis

The former Chicago Daily News arts reporter (and Northwestern University professor) Jack Hafferkamp released his novel Sepsis via Eckhartz Press this week in 2017.



The Balding Handbook

 =We sold out of the book, but before it went out of print, The Balding Handbook helped countless balding souls. Twelve years ago this week author David Stern was on Mancow's television show talking about it.


Always a Pleasure

In 2022, Eckhartz Press released Chuck Swirsky's memoir Always a Pleasure. It features some great stories about his life as a sportscaster, and some memorable photos as well. Here he is with this week's birthday boy Lou Holtz. 


Your Dime My Dance Floor

In 2018, Eckhartz Press released the final book from another great Chicago sportscaster, Chet Coppock. Your Dime My Dance Floor is a tour through the history of Chicago sports, told by someone who had a front row seat. This photo from the book features Chet with this week's birthday boy, former White Sox slugger Ron Kittle.


The Living Wills

=13 years ago this week, Rick and Brendan discuss the tricky collaboration that led to the first Eckhartz Press book, The Living Wills.


Transatlantic Passage

=In 2021 we released a book about all the American soccer players who had gone to play professionally in the Premier League. It's called Transatlantic Passage, and was written by Paul Banks. Here's what this week's birthday boy Dave Kerner had to say about it...

  • “You’ll love reading about what it’s like to be a soccer (always going to be football to me!) fan from multiple perspectives. Thanks to Paul and this in depth look at the evolution of international soccer in the United States, in some ways negative for the men’s game, and in some ways positive for the women’s game.”

    Dave Kerner, Sports Anchor, WBBM Radio