Along with a constant downpour, Saturday brought a successful book reading and speaker event in Lambertville, NJ, at my home-away-from home: Soupcon at Bucks on Bridge Coffee Shop.

I helped Tara Benedetti’s mother, Lynda Young, publish her daughter’s book of poetry and arranged for a reading and speaker on schizophrenia. Shea Dibley, VP of  NAMI Hunterdon, spoke to us after the readings about his own experience living with schizophrenia. It was a true success, and an opportunity be of service.

Some photos

I met Phillip Guirand recently at one of my workshops and he asked me to help him get his book out. It was a pleasure! And it looks great.

“In this stirring and deeply personal narrative, Phillip Guirand charts the harrowing descent and spiritual awakening of a man wrestling with the consequences of his choices. Set against the backdrop of addiction, fractured relationships, and a world quick to condemn, this powerful story follows one man’s fight to reclaim his soul. With raw honesty and emotional intensity, Guirand delves into the pain of brokenness and the long, uphill battle toward forgiveness—not only from others, but from within.

Phillip Guirand brings unmatched authenticity to this redemptive tale. Drawing from real experiences and universal struggles, he offers readers more than a story—he offers a mirror. Through heartbreak and healing, Guirand delivers a message of hope: no matter how far one falls, redemption is always within reach.”

All times are eastern (New Jersey) – 2 Hours in most cases
Register at the links below

IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS IN LAMBERTVILLE
NEW HOPE ADULT WRITERS GROUP
NEW HOPE LIBRARY JOURNALING GROUP
CLINTON ADULT WRITERS GROUP
JULY WORKSHOPS VIA ZOOM
IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS IN SEPTEMBER

ADULT WRITERS GROUPS (ONGOING)

EVERY 2ND  AND 4TH TUESDAY
Adult Writers Group
6:00 – 7:00 pm
Location: New Hope Free Library
93 W. Ferry Street, New Hope, PA
RSVP

LAST WEDNESDAY OF EACH MONTH
Adult Writers Group
6:00 – 7:00 pm
65 Halstead St, Clinton, Clinton, NJ
REGISTER AT THE LIBRARY WEBSITE

MONTHLY AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL JOURNALING
NEW HOPE LIBRARY
EVERY FIRST WEDENSDAY (STARING JULY 2)
REGISTER HERE

This was one of my best workshop experiences yet: enthustiastic attendees who told me it could have gone another two hours. Several of them expressed interest in a self-publishing workshop and spoke to the program director about it afterward. Such a great morning.

May 3 is just around the corner! It’s a busy workshop month for me, kicking off with Fiction Writing Essentials in Bristol, PA. Support your local library!

“I’ve been working with Mark on my autobiography for several months. He is insightful, talented, and a wonderful asset in bringing my life’s story to the page. He made it possible and pleasant. And fun!” – K.C.

CLICK TO ENTER

For U.S. residents only, per Goodreads

Win 1 of 100 copies of ‘Night Flight to Murder Town: A Marshall James Thriller.’

Marshall James returns for one more walk down murder’s memory lane in ‘Night Flight to Murder Town, Book  4’. Marshall is thinking of leaving New York City with his husband for a new life away from the hectic pace of the nation’s largest city. But how did he get here in the first place? After three stories detailing his harrowing Hollywood past, where lovers, losers, and a serial killer or two nearly ended his life before he could make something of it, he finally tells us how and why he left LaLa Land for Gotham.

It was 1991 and a Christmas card showed up in the mail. An old flame was inviting him to make the move. L.A. had become a ghost town for Marshall and he was ready to get as far away as he could, as fast as a plane would take him. He caught a night flight to New York, and he soon found himself on a new and deadly path to a future he never saw coming.
Money laundering, drug dealing, murder, and high stakes crimes by high-profile people all welcome him with a lethal embrace. It’s an origin story like no How did he end up here? Why did he stay? And is love possible after all that death and destruction? Find out in Night Flight to Murder Town. You’ll need to fasten your seat belts for this one.

Mark McNease is the author of the Kyle Callahan Mysteries, three of which have been best sellers on Kindle. His Linda Sikorsky Mystery, Last Room at the Cliff’s Edge, was called a winner by Publishers Weekly. He has released four Marshall James Thrillers, two Maggie Dahl Mysteries, and three books in the horror/supernatural genre under the name M.A. McNease.

Mark has won two Emmys for Outstanding Children’s Program for Into the Outdoors, a television show he co-created that is now in its 23rd year.

Along with being a current MWA-NY board member, Mark is a Certified Guided Autobiography Instructor, guiding small-group participants through the process of thematic journaling. He also conducts workshops in fiction writing and self-publishing. He leads two adult writers’ groups at two libraries (NJ and PA), and a monthly journaling group for New Hope Celebrates, a local LGBTQ community organization