Hello friends,
I know it's been a long time since you've heard from me. In my last blog post in December 2022, I announced I would be working on a book-length version of Minnie's Diary, thanks to encouragement from many readers. Progress has been slow, but I continue to plug along to try to create something worthy of something to place on your bookshelf. Stay tuned and thanks for your patience.
In the meantime, I'm excited to announce that a short story I wrote will be published this month by the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association. UPPAA each year publishes a collection of poems, short stories and short non-fiction pieces in the U.P. Reader. My short story is loosely based on the life of Father Frederick Sperlein, a German-born priest who served as pastor of St. Bruno's Catholic Church in Nadeau for more than 30 years.
Father Sperlein and Bishop Eis
In September 1902, Father Sperlein got in trouble with Marquette Bishop Frederick Eis when he left his parish and checked into a Milwaukee hospital for treatment of an undisclosed condition. Here's a news account that drew my interest. It was published October 1, 1902, in The Daily Tribune of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin:
My story imagines what might have happened in Father Sperlein's showdown with Bishop Eis, and how he ended up at St. Bruno's in Nadeau, my hometown church in Menominee County, Michigan.
I can't share the story here because the U.P. Reader has the rights to it for the next year, but you can read it by purchasing a copy of the U.P. Reader. You'll not only get my historical fiction short story, but also have a chance to read other outstanding U.P.-based literature from other authors.
The U.P. Reader also includes the winners of the Dandelion Cottage short story contest for middle school and high school students in the U.P. I was pleased to serve as a judge for the middle school competition and there are some delightful stories by young authors in that selection.
How to Buy the UP Reader
If you'd like to support my work, you can order a paperback copy of the U.P. Reader from me and I'll earn a little bit of money for every sale. I'll plan to ship the books after I receive them, likely by mid-May. Or, you can buy directly from UPPAA. Either way, you'll pay $19.95 for the paperback version. You can also buy a hardback copy from UPPAA or the e-book version via Amazon.com.
Here are the links: From me: Fill out this form to order a copy of the paperback from me. I will send you an invoice for payment and ship the book once I have them in stock. Sorry for the multiple steps, but I'm still figuring out the merchandising end of this business.
Amazon: Buy e-book (when available) from Amazon.com.
If you are buying from UPPAA or Amazon, make sure you are purchasing U.P. Reader, 8th Edition. It should be available for purchase later this month.
Thank you all for your support! I'll write again to let you know how my book is coming along, and what I've learned about Hermansville in the early 1900s.
All the best,
Jodi