The region’s top publishers, authors, editors, designers, and distributors recently gathered in Saint Paul, Minnesota for the 29th Annual Midwest Book Awards Gala. The sponsor of the event, the Midwest Independent Publishing Association (MIPA), is a nonprofit association that serves the independent publishing community in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin through educational programming, networking opportunities, collaborative support, and peer recognition. According to MIPA President Suzzanne Kelley and the panel of judges, “The awards recognize creativity in content and execution, overall book quality, and the book’s unique contribution to its subject area.”

 

 

Larry Broutman’s “Chicago Eternal” won the Silver Medal in the Art / Photography / Coffee Table Books category. “Chicago Eternal” is no stranger to critical acclaim. Just last month, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) recognized this new book’s high merits with the Benjamin Franklin Awards’ Silver Medal in the Regional category. American Book Fest named “Chicago Eternal” a finalist in the Photography category of their Best Book Awards. “Chicago Eternal” has garnished praise from Chicago and national news outlets, graveyard associations, and fellow professional tombstone photographers.

 

In “Chicago Eternal,” the lives of Chicagoans are raised up through a photographic journey of over thirty Chicagoland cemeteries. “Chicago Eternal” celebrates the sports icons, artists, inventors, entrepreneurs, politicians, and even gangsters that make up the Windy City’s colorful history. The book also brings to light everyday heroes, such as veterans and young victims of tragic fires. Historical context is provided for each of the hundreds of poignant photographs of graves, mausoleums, and monuments.

 

To learn more about the Midwest Independent Publishing Association’s Midwest Book Awards, please go to: mipa.org/midwest-book-awards/

 

To pick up your own copy of award-winning “Chicago Eternal,” visit: https://www.everythinggoesmedia.com/product-page/chicago-eternal

 

Bodies floating to the surface of a lake in a graveyard.

Bodies laid to rest in coffins not their own.

For ex-cop turned P.I. Theo Tate, it's a case he must solve....one that began when his life was torn apart by tragedy, and pushed him over an edge no policeman should cross.

An edge he may be crossing again.

A masterfully written noirish thriller that delivers in spades, Cleave takes the story right to the razor's edge at points, but keeps things on track with a deft hand, and creating a uniquely human character in Theo Tate.....one with real depth who I look forward to reading more about.

Highly recommended.

 

The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) has announced the finalists in its 31st Annual Benjamin Franklin Awards for excellence in book publishing. Chicago Eternal by Larry Broutman is one of three finalists in the Regional category. The highly regarded IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, which recognize excellence and innovation in independent publishing, are one of the nation’s top honors for independent publishers. Gold and Silver winners will be announced on April 5, 2019 at the gala dinner ceremony at the Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile in Chicago. The ceremony is held in conjunction with Chicago’s IBPA Publishing University.

 

Over 1,500 entrants were thoroughly evaluated by 160 librarians, booksellers, and design and editorial experts during a seven-month judging process. IBPA CEO Angela Bole explained, "Unlike many other award programs, the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards demand both editorial and design excellence and entrants are judged independently on both." With over 3,100 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the US.

 

Already recognized as a finalist in American Book Fest’s Best Book Awards in Photography and praised in many national and local reviews, Chicago Eternal takes readers on a journey through Chicago’s storied past with illuminating photographs of gravestones and mausoleums from thirty Cook County cemeteries. Commentary sheds lights on the rich lives behind the tombstones.

 

To learn more about the IBPA and this prestigious award, visit:

https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/440987/31st-Annual-IBPA-Benjamin-Franklin-Awards.htm#reg

 

To get your copy of award-winning Chicago Eternal, go to:

https://www.everythinggoesmedia.com/product-page/chicago-eternal

 

There is a place in my town called “Stepp Cemetery” and local legends talks of a sad, lonely ghost of a Woman in Black who wanders the graveyard. There are many different versions of why this ghost is there, but in all versions she remains behind, mourning over a lost family member. Some say she sits on an old tree stump, protecting the graves of loved ones and if you listen you can hear her cry. Growing up we always heard about the stories, so of course, it was common for people to go ghost hunting and exploring. A lot of dark stuff is rumored to take place there as well.

 

It was after Halloween, around 2am of the next morning. I was a teenager. My family and some of my neighbors randomly decided to load up and go to the graveyard. We had the idea that we would go and find the Woman in Black, but what we found proves that the living are far more scarier than the dead.

 

Stepp Cemetery felt eerie, but that was to be expected. The wind was howling and you could imagine the sounds of a crying female and dark, fleeting shadows were always just around the corner. It is safe to say that we thoroughly spooked ourselves. I don't know if anything ghostly we saw or heard was real or imagined, but at the time it all felt real.

 

Some of us took the experience seriously, but most of us were just being silly and goofing off, though I don't think in an overly disrespectful manner. Just kids and kids at heart being kids, I guess.

 

After exploring for a while, we came across a grave of what looked like a young child. It had an Angel headstone. There was a melted candle on top of it. Our first thoughts went to devil worshiping; it just felt wrong. The sound of the wind suddenly seemed louder, the cries that may or may not have been the ghost, sounded more desperate. We were more unsure and nobody was joking around anymore.

 

 

That frightened us enough that the adults decided we should probably head back to the cars. As we were heading back, we noticed two people far in the distance. They also felt so-so wrong. Nobody spoke. We all felt this. One by one we got behind a huge tree, hiding from view. Luckily, the men hadn’t noticed us. As the men came near us, we moved around the tree to stay out of view. It would have been comical, like something from an old cartoon had it not been so scary.

 

The men got to the gravestone with the melted candle. One bent down and started digging. “Where is it?” He sounded gruff and furious. There was a glint at his side. He was armed.

 

A fight or flight moment happened and without speaking again, we all bolted and ran back for our cars. The men saw and started to chase us. The wind seemed to be chanting go, go, go!

 

“Give it back!” Whatever the men were looking for, they thought we took it. Was the burning candle a marker for something? What could these men possibly want to find in this old forgotten cemetery? What was so important that they would come armed? Was it drug related or something darker?

 

Somehow we made it to the cars. It was now around 3am, I noticed as we pulled out.

 

As if the men weren't bad enough, as we left a van full of men in white masks and black robes pulled into the graveyard. They stared at us and it felt like they were burning our image into their memory. I will never forget the fear I felt and I am sure everyone else felt the same terror. A couple more minutes and we would have been caught by whoever these men in masks were.

 

 

Were they devil worshipers? Were they just college kids doing a fraternity initiation? We will never know, but they felt bad.

 

As for the Woman in Black? I think she is real and a protecting spirit. We have family buried at Stepp Cemetery, so was she protecting us as well and whenever we did things unspoken as a whole, I wonder if it was because of her influence.

.

 

 

The moral of this story is be careful when you go to a place where you only expect the dead. The living are far worse

 

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I always finish Zafon's books thinking that I missed a bunch of things—in a good way. His stories are complex, but his characters are so well developed that they just jump off the pages. There's no doubt that some of his storylines are a little . . . weird. But I learn about about the Spanish mentality from his books, and he has a great gift for creating a sense of the place. (In this case, Barcelona.) They say that fiction is the willing susension of disbelief, and Zafon's books are just that for me. His author-view so unique that I thoroughly enjoy his work.

I'd call The Angel's Game a coming-of-age thriller story, and a twisted romance. I recommend it if you're looking for something off the beaten path.