Featured Authors of the Month: Bethlehem Writers Group
December 1, 2018 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Bethlehem Writers Group, BWG, Featured Author of the Month
Featuring Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC (BWG), founded in 2006, is a community of mutually supportive, fiction and nonfiction authors based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The members are as different from each other as their stories, spanning a range of genres including: children’s, fantasy, humor, inspiration, literary, memoir, mystery, paranormal, romance, science fiction, women’s fiction, and young adult.
BWG has published five anthologies. Each anthology has an overall theme—broadly interpreted—but includes a variety of genres, and all but the first anthology include stories from the winner(s) of The Bethlehem Writers Short Story Award. Their first anthology, A Christmas Sampler: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales (2009), won two Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Best Anthology and Best Short Fiction.
Besides anthologies and yearly writing contests, the group publishes a quarterly literary journal, The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and hosts twice monthly writing workshops and a critique groups for local members. You can see the schedule of BWG meetings and events, including author signings here.
About A Christmas Sampler
Christmas is a time for love, laughter, and wonder. A Christmas Sampler: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales, is an award-winning compilation of twenty-three Christmas stories commissioned by the Bethlehem Writers Group to capture all of Christmas’s myriad possibilities.
Paul Weidknecht’s “Those Things Remembered” is about a long-time mall Santa who realizes he has forgotten a child’s name. Courtney Annicchiarico believes against all evidence that she is pregnant in “Mis-conceptions.” Hilarity reigns in Headley Hauser’s explanation of a bachelor’s Christmas traditions in “A Modern Single Holiday.” In Carol L. Wright’s “You Better Watch Out” a small-town lawyer takes on a mystery when Santa falls from her roof three weeks before Christmas. In “Walter and Stella,” by Ralph Hieb, Walter finds himself dead on Christmas Eve, but refuses to leave his beloved alone for the holiday. And in “The Perfect Gift,” Emily P. W. Murphy explores that moment in a relationship when one partner is ready for marriage, and the other seems not to notice.
This premier anthology also features stories by Jeff Baird, Carol A. Hanzl Birkas, Cindy Kelly, Jerome W. McFadden, Stanley W. McFarland, Sally Wyman Paradysz, Jo Ann Schaffer, and Will Wright.
These heartwarming, hope-filled, and hilarious tales will delight readers of any age.
Next up for BWG
BWG is working on their sixth anthology, Fur, Feathers, & Scales: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales.
In connection with this anthology, they are hosting The Bethlehem Writers 2019 Short Story Award. The 2019 Short Story Award will open on January 1, 2019. The theme will be Animal Stories,broadly interpreted. Stories of 2,000 words or fewer about WILD ANIMALS, PETS, or IMAGINARY BEASTS will be welcome (so long as an animal is an important character or element of the story). The winner will receive $200 and may be offered publication in the above mentioned upcoming anthology. The 2019 guest judge will be John Grogan, best-selling author of Marley & Me.
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Geralyn Corcillo Featured Author
November 29, 2018 by A Slice of Orange in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Bestselling Author, Featured author, Geralyn Corcillo, romantic comedy
Gerayln Corcillo Featured Author
When she was a kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo dreamed of one day becoming the superhero Dyna Girl. So, she did her best and grew up to constantly pick up litter and rescue animals. At home, she loves watching B&W movies, British mysteries, and the NY Giants. Corcillo lives in a drafty old house in Hollywood with her husband Ron, a guy who’s even cooler than Kip Dynamite.
Geralyn is not only an author of romantic comedy and women’s fiction novels, novellas, and short stories, she is also an avid and eclectic reader. You can read her book reviews here on A Slice of Orange, in her monthly column Things That Make Me Go Mmmrrh . She loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter—drop her a line or leave a comment here.
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Geralyn Corcillo Featured Author
November 21, 2018 by A Slice of Orange in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured author, Geralyn Corcillo, romantic comedy
Geralyn Corcillo Featured Author
When she was a kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo dreamed of one day becoming the superhero Dyna Girl. So, she did her best and grew up to constantly pick up litter and rescue animals. At home, she loves watching B&W movies, British mysteries, and the NY Giants. Corcillo lives in a drafty old house in Hollywood with her husband Ron, a guy who’s even cooler than Kip Dynamite.
Geralyn is not only an author of romantic comedy and women’s fiction novels, novellas, and short stories, she is also an avid and eclectic reader. You can read her book reviews here on A Slice of Orange, in her monthly column Things That Make Me Go Mmmrrh . She loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter—drop her a line or leave a comment here.
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Geralyn Corcillo Feature Author for November
November 7, 2018 by A Slice of Orange in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Geralyn Corcillo, November Featured Author, romantic comedy
Geralyn Corcillo Featured Author
When she was a kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo dreamed of one day becoming the superhero Dyna Girl. So, she did her best and grew up to constantly pick up litter and rescue animals. At home, she loves watching B&W movies, British mysteries, and the NY Giants. Corcillo lives in a drafty old house in Hollywood with her husband Ron, a guy who’s even cooler than Kip Dynamite.
Geralyn is not only an author of romantic comedy and women’s fiction novels, novellas, and short stories, she is also an avid and eclectic reader. You can read her book reviews here on A Slice of Orange, in her monthly column Things That Make Me Go Mmmrrh . She loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter—drop her a line or leave a comment here.
Catch a Falling Star is Corcillo’s only romantic comedy to feature an alpha hero (she tends to write beta heroes.)
When TV star Wendy Hunter is about to have her most closely guarded secret viciously exposed by the paparazzi, she desperately tosses out a juicy bone to distract them: she announces her engagement to southern high school football coach Colin Scott. One problem. She’s not really engaged to him. In fact, she barely knows him. Um … barely. But will one unforgettable night last year be enough to get him to go along with her charade? To Wendy’s surprise, Colin agrees … as long as she plays by his rules.
Keep scrolling to read an excerpt …
From Catch a Falling Star
“But what about a ring?” Becks Astie called. “You’re engaged, but I notice there’s no ring. Where’s the ring?”
Wendy kept her smile bright even as the reporters started murmuring their excitement about The Ring. She laughed as sweetly as wind chimes on the breeze as she leaned into Colin. But what was she going to say?
“It’s simple,” Colin announced, kissing her on the head. “I’m—”
“He’s going to make me one!” And Wendy gave a little hop of glee. “Isn’t it too exciting?”
“Make you one,” one of the reporters echoed. “You mean, like, out of scrap metal? Or wood?”
Wendy managed to turn her hysterical giggle into another trill of laughter. “No, I mean he’s going to design it himself. Nobody knows this, but … Colin loves to design jewelry. It’s how he relaxes.”
Wendy braced herself for a pinch or a poke from Colin, but he just pulled her closer. “It’s true,” he said, smiling like a goofball as he squeezed her shoulders. “But Wendy is so into Hello Kitty that it’s a challenge getting the whiskers just right. And I still haven’t decided on the best stones for the bow.”
The front sidewalk erupted with queries.
“Really, Wendy?”
“You’re going to have a Hello Kitty engagement ring?”
“Coach, can you post your designs online?”
“Has Wendy worn your jewelry designs before, Coach?”
Wendy turned to Colin and looked at him with a cutesy-fake-mad face. “Colin …”
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November 1, 2018 by A Slice of Orange in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as chick lit, Geralyn Corcillo, Miss Adventure, romantic comedy
Featuring: Geralyn Corcillo
When she was a kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo dreamed of one day becoming the superhero Dyna Girl. So, she did her best and grew up to constantly pick up litter and rescue animals. At home, she loves watching B&W movies, British mysteries, and the NY Giants. Corcillo lives in a drafty old house in Hollywood with her husband Ron, a guy who’s even cooler than Kip Dynamite.
Geralyn is not only an author of romantic comedy and women’s fiction novels, novellas, and short stories, she is also an avid and eclectic reader. You can read her book reviews here on A Slice of Orange, in her monthly column Things That Make Me Go Mmmrrh . She loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter—drop her a line or leave a comment here.
Miss Adventure has hit the top of the Amazon Kindle charts and has won awards for both humor and romance. Keep scrolling to read an excerpt …
MISS ADVENTURE
Can a daydreaming city girl find her backbone by going on daring adventures with an adrenaline junkie?
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CHAPTER 7
“Yes, Lisa. Naked.”
“Naked, naked?” I swallow, then take a deep breath. He can’t be serious. “You want my naked skin touching this thing?” I look at the long, black wetsuit in my hands. We drove all the way back to his house up in the hills of Glendale just to get this stupid suit that’s not going to fit me, no matter how naked I get.
“It’s the best way.”
“So there are other ways.”
Jack sets the duffle on his kitchen table. “Yes,” he says, unzipping the bag. “Some people wear a swimsuit underneath, or Under Armour.”
“Armor?” It’s for the sharks, I know it!
“Under Armour. It’s like a spandex body suit.”
“Let me do that, then. You must have one lying around here somewhere.” I look around Jack’s house. Nothing.
Just beyond the big wooden table in the kitchen, the room morphs into a family room. But the kitchen looks like a normal kitchen with a fridge and stove and all, and the family room just looks like a regular family room. Couch, TV, coffee table. No spandex lying around anywhere.
I wander into the living room at the front of the house and hit pay dirt. At least, potential pay dirt. The spacious room, which I think is supposed to be part dining room—the demarcation is unclear because of the mountain bike and the saddle—is messy with gear, junk, and working-type stuff, just like his office at Into the Wild.
Jack follows me.
“Lisa, do you know the point of a wetsuit?”
I don’t answer. As far as I’m concerned, a wetsuit is for wearing if you’re on a show like The Man from Atlantis or if you work at Sea World.
He gets in front of me, right in my face. “It keeps frigid water away from your skin.”
“But you were in shorts this morning!”
“I had to test the suit, and I didn’t want to wait until July. Anyway, I’m a little more used to it than you are.”
“Then the body armor stuff will keep me a lot warmer than wearing a wetsuit with nothing on underneath.”
“Wrong.”
In that one word I hear the thumping finality of a guillotine.
“Anything you wear underneath,” he explains, facing me squarely, “even a bathing suit or a pair of underwear, allows air between the suit and your skin.”
“Letting your skin breathe is good. I saw that James Bond movie where—”
“Air in a wetsuit is bad,” he says, cutting me off as he heads back to the kitchen.
I have no choice but to follow him. Back to the kitchen. Back to the duffle of doom. He starts unloading the bag. A small yellow box, flippers.
“It increases the chances that ice-cold water can seep in,” he continues. “And guess what, Lisa?” He turns to meet my eyes. “It won’t seep back out again. You’ll just freeze your ass off until you become a medical risk. Then I’ll bring you back.”
He turns his attention back to unloading the duffle. Is that a bulletproof vest? What kind of adventure is this going to be? Beginners have to deal with bullets? He must be purposely trying to scare me to see if I’ll back down.
I look back at the wetsuit I’m holding. It looks so much slimmer than I feel.
“So, I just get naked and squeeze in?”
Jack hands me the little yellow box. “This should help.”
I look down at it. “It’s cornstarch.”
He taps his nose. “Full marks for being able to read your native language.”
I look at him. I’m guessing he doesn’t want me to bake a cake with it. “Thanks?”
“Use it like talcum powder.”
I am so totally screwed. “Where do I suit up?”
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