Publishing Portal--November 26, 2024

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 children's author Ken Korber is celebrating a birthday this week (November 30). Ken has written eight books for us over the years, our most prolific author. Here he is with publishers Rick and Dave holding up a few of his covers....

=For more about Ken, check out this Q&A with the author.

I Bear Witness

=Don't forget that this Saturday (November 30) from 1-4pm Dan McNeil is having his book launch party at Bridges in Griffith Indiana (121 N. Griffith Road). He'll be signing and selling copies of his very timely book about Chicago Bears dysfunction. This photo from the book (Dave Wannstedt & Dan) was actually taken at Bridges.

The Flip Side

=We'll be getting the copies of this hot-selling book into our warehouse any day now, and will start shipping them out to the hundreds of you who have already pre-ordered it. The authors (Carl & Larry Rosenbaum, and Ken Churilla) already have their copies. 

 

=In the meantime, here's a free picture from the book. This week's birthday boy Howie Mandel (November 29) with Flip Side co-owner Carl Rosenbaum.

=Launch Party for the book is scheduled for Sat - Dec 7th from noon  to 3p at Garibaldi's in Hoffman Estates. 2346 W. Higgins Road.  It's actually next door to their former flagship store location. Come meet the authors, get a book signed, and get some pizza.
=Then there's another upcoming event for this book along with two other Eckhartz Press books. On Sunday December 8th, the authors of four captivating books will be answering questions and signing books at the Studio 64 room on the 2nd floor of the Arcada Theater noon and 2:00 pm. These books and their authors are:

Ø The Flip Side – Where Chicago Rocked by Flip Side record store chain founders and music entrepreneurs Carl and Larry Rosenbaum.

Ø The Loop Files – An Oral History of the Most Outrageous Radio Station Ever by Eckhartz Press publisher, writer and Chicago radio producer Rick Kaempfer.

Ø Doin’ the Cruise – Memories from a Lifetime in Radio and Rock & Roll by Legendary Chicago FM radio personality Mitch Michaels: 

 Ø 70s Chicagoland Rock Concerts by veteran rock concert photographer Jim Summaria and writer Mark Plotnick.

At 3:00 pm, The Ides of March will be performing on the Arcada Theater’s main stage. Purchase tickets and make it a day of great rock ‘n’ roll memories. The Arcada Theater is in St. Charles.

The Loop Files

=Last year at this time, Loop Files author Rick Kaempfer was all over the place. His first appearance (November 24) was at Blue Village Vinyl in Westmont. A bunch of former Loopers joined him there. (Mitch Michaels, Leslie Harris, Scott Childers, and Jeff Hoover)

=The same day Rick went to another former Looper's house, Leslie Keiling, and appeared on yet another former Looper's podcast, Garry Meier. Former Teenage Radiation drummer Gregg Potter was on that podcast too. You can watch it here.

=A few days later (November 29) Block Club Chicago profiled Rick and the book, giving it a tremendous review. That review was nominated for a Peter Lisagor Award.

=That same day Rick appeared on the WGN-TV Morning News. You can still see that here.

=And the following night (November 30), the official book launch party happened at Pippin's Tavern in Chicago. This is where a lot of Loopers used to hang out back in the day. Many, many of them turned out for the party. Thanks to Will Byington for hopping on the bar to take this photo of us.  

=And happy birthday to Looper and artist Tony Fitzpatrick. His birthday was November 24. Tony is also featured in the book. As is today's birthday boy (November 26) Roman Sawczak. Roman was the leader of Steve Dahl's band Teenage Radiation, and also later the producer of Steve & Garry's show.

Surviving Sue

=Those of you who have read Victoria Atkinson's book Surviving Sue know about her sister Lisa. She is one of the main characters of the book. Lisa is currently a resident at Clearbrook, and Vicki wrote a wonderful piece on her blog in support of that fine organization. You can read it here. Please consider giving to Clearbrook this holiday season.

Gel Strong!

=This week in 2016 (November 26), Mark Gelinas held the first of two book launch parties for his book Gel Strong. This one was at that Broken Oar Marina Bar & Grill in Port Barrington. Huge turnout. Great night.

Ike and Me

=Ryan Baker is celebrating a birthday this week (November 25). The Channel 2 sportscaster was kind enough to come out to Rich King's book launch party at Guaranteed Rate Field and interview Rich and Ike. The interview aired on Channel 2's morning show.

 Last Comiskey

=Thanks so much to Jim O'Donnell of the Daily Herald for mentioning that Last Comiskey is a finalist for CWA Book of the Year. 

Your Dime My Dance Floor

=Two huge sports stars were born this week, Joe DiMaggio (November 25) and Oscar Robertson (November 24). Chet Coppock knew both men and featured them in his Eckhartz Press book Your Dime My Dance Floor. This photo of Chet and Oscar was taken in the locker room following the Milwaukee Bucks championship in 1971.

Chili Dog MVP

=This week in 2021 (November 30) Chili Dog MVP authors Dr. David Fletcher and John Owens were interviewed by the Hall of Very Good.

=Because the book is about the 1972 White Sox, every single member of that team gets a mention in the book, including Jorge Orta, born this week (November 26) in Mexico. Jorge was very young in 1972, but went on to become a World Series champion (with KC).

Back in the DDR

=This week in 2022 (November 25), Podcaster (Destination Eat Drink) Brent Petersen interviewed Back in the DDR author Rick Kaempfer about the many foodie moments in his novel. You can listen to that here.

 
Truffle Hunt

=If that name Brent Petersen sounds familiar, you're right. He's also an Eckhartz Press author. This week in 2017 (November 30), he was following the war crimes trial from the Hague. The criminals on trial were the sorts of men portrayed in Brent's novel Truffle Hunt.  

 The Balding Handbook

=Author David Stern was at his guerilla marketing best this week (November 27) in 2012 when he was promoting his book The Balding Handbook. He went viral when he took out an ad for an obituary in a Seattle newspaper for Hedda Haire. Get it? Read more about that here.

Father Knows Nothing

=This week (November 30) in 2016, Rick Kaempfer released this video to promote Father Knows Nothing. The song lyrics appear in the book. The video makes it come to life. Ironically, the video is edited by Rick's son Tommy, the original target of the song. Vince Argento is the singer.

Cameo

=This week in 2018, Beth Jacobellis's Eckhartz Press novel Cameo became an e-book. Guess what? You can still get the e-book version here.

 Life Behind the Camera

=Nobody got bigger celebrity endorsements for his book than Life Behind the Camera author Chuck Quinzio. How does he do it? At the time of this photo, Rahm Emanuel was the Mayor of Chicago, and Chuck was a photographer for WFLD-TV, Channel 32. Rahm's birthday is this week  (November 29).

The Living Wills

=This week in 2011 (November 30), we released our first ever book, The Living Wills. We weren't expecting it to get such an outpouring of good reviews. Here are a few from readers...

 "I absolutely loved this book! I enjoyed everything about it - the characters, the storylines, and how it all fits together in the end. It took a few chapters for me to really get into it, and then I didn't want to put it down. I cried when I finished it, but mostly because it was over. The story illustrates how connected our lives really are to so many other people, and in ways that we may not even realize. I read Rick Kaempfer's first novel, "$everance", and I liked that one too, but this one was even better! I would love to see more books from this team of authors - keep it up, guys!!"

--Chocoholic mom

""The Living Wills" is a wonderful story of the meaning of family and friendship in life. This book especially strikes a chord if you're from Chicago, but I would think that any reader would identify with at least one of the main characters, their problems, joys and relationships. Highly recommended!"
--Dina S.

"I am an avid reader across many genre. I enjoy taking diverse ideas and rubbing them together to see how I might surprise myself and learn something new, feel something different. The Living Wills is a terrific story that does the same thing between its covers. I laughed, I cried, I thought deeply, and I have taken action based on the wonderful and realistic story. This is a magnificent book for adults and particularly those of us who are into the second half of our lives or who know someone who is. It gives new insights into how to measure the meaning of one's life - whether in its entirety or just two seconds."
--Gil H.

"I absolutely loved this book! I loved the characters, the storylines, and especially how the stories all came together at the end. I also laughed and cried, and was sad when I finished the book. I would love to read more books by these two authors. Keep writing, guys!!!"
--Carol R.

 

Publishing Portal--November 5, 2024

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

NEW BOOK RELEASE: The Flip Side

Available for pre-order now!

Birthed by Chicago natives Carl and Larry Rosenbaum, “The Flip Side” grew from an idea into a store and then into a chain. Somewhere along the way, those stores sprouted an entire second identity as Chicago’s premier concert promoter, putting on some of the biggest rock shows Chicago saw in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

In so many ways, Flip Side defined music for hundreds of thousands of Chicagoland music fans.

The Flip Side: Where Chicago Rocked takes you through the lifespans of both the record store chain as well as their concert business. We’ll give you a look ‘behind the counter’ and show you how everything was built, how it all lived and breathed, and we’ll share many of the fun and not-so-fun stories that took place. More than that, we’ll give you a warm look back and a chance to revisit what was a great time in Chicago and an even better time in rock and roll.

As Emerson, Lake & Palmer so famously once said, welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. We’re so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside…

 

Worth a Second Look

=Don't forget to mark your calendar for the upcoming book launch party for Eric Litt's Worth a Second Look. He'll be at Sketchbook in Skokie (4901 Main Street, Skokie) on Tuesday night November 12th at 7:30pm. Sketchbook is a great local brewery and tap room with a biergarten, live music, and visiting food trucks.

=Eric sat down this week to do a Q&A about his new book. You can read that here.

Behind the Glass

=This week in 2021 (November 5), Randy Merkin announced the release of his book Behind the Glass live on the air on ESPN Radio in Chicago. 

=Robert Feder also wrote about Randy's book in the Daily Herald (November 8).

 

Always a Pleasure

=This week in 2022, Chuck Swirsky was making the rounds promoting his book Always a Pleasure. He did two hours on the radio with Steve Rosenbloom on the Score (November 5), and he also appeared on WGN-TV (November 8)

=In addition, this week in 1995 (November 3), the Toronto Raptors played their first game in franchise history. The man behind the play-by-play microphone was Chuck Swirsky. He talked about that story in this podcast. 

=And finally, this week is the birthday (November 5) of the late great basketball titan, Bill Walton. Chuck wrote about him in his book as well. 

Back in the DDR

=This week in 2022 (November 4), Rick Kaempfer kicked off the publicity campaign to his coming-of-age spy novel Back in the DDR with an interview on WGN Radio. That interview is here. 

=It's not a coincidence that the book came out the same week the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 (November 9). Rick took this first photo of the wall in 1976, the year the book takes place. It appears on the back cover of the book. The second photo was taken just a few weeks after the wall came down. That's Rick and his brother Peter. Lots of stretches like this still existed. It's completely gone now. The third photo is from this summer. Rick is standing outside the East German secret police headquarters (STASI), which has been turned into a museum.

   

  

Grammar Moses

=This week in 2021, Grammar Moses author Jim Baumann was making the rounds promoting his book. He appeared on this podcast with Steve Cochran (November 3), and the Minutia Men Celebrity Interview the next day (November 4). Two days later he was in Elgin, signing and selling copies of Grammar Moses. The pandemic was still raging, and our intrepid author was out there fully masked.

 

We Have Company

 =This week in 2016, Bobby Skafish made two public appearances selling and promoting his book. The first stop was in Des Plaines, Il (November 7). The second stop (November 9) was at the legendary Red Lion pub on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago.

  

Records Truly Is My Middle Name

=This week in 1882, the Dow Jones was founded. Not many people know this, but early in his career, John Landecker actually went by the name Dow Jones on the air. This is the only known picture of Dow Jones, taken outside the radio station in Michigan.

=This week in 2013, John Landecker appeared on Pete McMurray's show on WGN Radio to talk about the book.

=This week in 2017, John was on the air at WBEZ Radio, and WGN-TV talking about the new Hall of Fame edition of the book. His daughter Amy joined him on the WGN TV set.

=One of the contributors to Records Truly Is My Middle Name, Catherine Johns, is celebrating a birthday this week (November 3). She tells a few very memorable stories about Landecker in the book.

Mob Adjacent

=One of the joys of the book Mob Adjacent is the way it intersects the world of the mafia with the world of Hollywood. One of the big stars of the era who is discussed in the book, Art Carney, was born this week in 1918 (November 4).

Your Dime My Dance Floor

=This week in 2018 (November 5), Chet Coppock had the single-biggest-selling day in the life of his book. He spoke at the Polish American Alliance in Westmont, and every single attendee (over 200) bought a copy of the book. Chet was in rare form that day.

Righteous Might

=The Eckhartz Press book Righteous Might takes place on the USS Gerald R. Ford. Now, if you happen to go on that ship, you can read Righteous Might in the ship's library. We got a letter this week (November 6) in 2020 from the ship's Captain. What an honor. Congrats to author Keith Conrad!

GelStrong!

=This week in 2016, Eckhartz Press author Mark Gelinas was featured on a local television station in Atlanta (WSB-TV). Mark passed away a few years later, but this interview, and the book lives on. Mark's story will always remain an inspiration.

 

Father Knows Nothing

=This week in 2014 (November 4), Rick Kaempfer was out and about promoting his humor book Father Knows Nothing. As a bonus for the readers of the book, he released these bonus audio tracks on our website. Two of the boys featured in the book (Tommy & Johnny) come to life via these timeless audio clips.

Cameo

=This week in 2018 (November 9), Windy City Reviews came out with a review of the Eckhartz Press book Cameo. Here's what they had to say about the book....

    Cameo, by Beth Jacobellis, is an interweaving of the past, its impact on the present, and how our feelings can get in the way of understanding what is pulling us through to the future. The book begins in the present, but we are quickly transported to the cameo’s present life in 1994 and then again through vignettes from 1885, 1976 and 1989. Cameo is a charming story to read. It is not a long book, but this type of love story, with layers of the past all playing out at the same time, draws us into Samantha’s quest and carries us through a briskly-paced read. I enjoyed this book for its clear storytelling and mysterious overtones. I also found it refreshing that the past is not always looking to punish but merely to resolve.

City U

=This week in 2021, during the height of the pandemic, Bob Boone gave a talk about his collection of short stories, City U, via zoom. The virtual author event actually took place in Glencoe, but this was around the time we started figuring out that we are no longer confined by our location.

 

Grun Weiss Vor!

=This week in 2023, two of the stars from the book Grun Weiss Vor! were inducted into the Illinois Soccer Hall of Fame. Marcus Laxgang was a Herman Award Winner as the best college soccer player in America, and Joe Filian played along the likes of Franz Beckenbauer on the New York Cosmos. Both players got their start at Green White Soccer Club.