Cornerstone Books in March

Salem has a bunch of stores that I just want to hug. Cornerstone Books is one of them. It's a great place to hang out, browse the shelves, see an author read, meet with your book club, or grab a latte.

Here's what they have cooking in March:

Friday March 5^th at 7pm
Debra Crosby's A Quest Actor's Studio Presents A Night Of Entertainment!
Students aged 9 through 70 will be performing their monologues and stories. Debra Crosby's A Quest Actor's Studio is more than an acting studio. Founder Debra Crosby says: "Master the Craft of Acting & Discover the Confidence to Succeed in Life, on Stage and on the 'Big Screen!'" Debra Crosby invites everyone from actor to non actor to embrace the techniques from the performing arts and apply these skills directly to their life. A Quest Actor's Studio has a unique philosophy and approach in that each student is encouraged in a safe, supportive and positive environment to see their life as the ultimate creative expression or performance. Through humor, compassion and insight each student is urged to become engrossed in the Artistry of acting.

Saturday March 6^th at 1pm
Paul Tremblay and No Sleep till Wonderland
The Boston Globe just named Paul a likely heir to Robert Parker's "face of Boston" crime fiction! In the follow-up to the much-lauded, Bram Stoker Award nominee The Little Sleep, narcoleptic detective Mark Genovich is back! Come hear Paul read from No Sleep till Wonderland (Henry Holt, ISBN 978-0805088502, February 2010, $14.00) and see why he's being praised as one of Boston's best!

Sunday March 7^th at 11am
Discussion: The Environment
Do you like the Earth you live on? Do you care about it? Do you want to share your thoughts with others in our community who also appreciate our planet? Then come to Cornerstone Books on Sunday, March 7th at 11:00am. The group will be a free flowing discussion about any environmentally related topic! The goal is to get students and members of the community together to share their ideas and create a more connected community, with the environment in mind. The first ice breaker topic will be the movie Avatar, just to get the discussion going but where it stops nobody knows! Sponsored by the Salem High School Environmental Club.

Sunday March 7^th at 2pm
The PSIence Society Meeting
Come together and collaborate, discover, and discuss the PSIence of consciousness and mind potential. Hosted by Matthew Liscomb; please go to www.meetup.com/ThePSIenceSociety/calendar/12748432/ for more details.

Thursday March 11^th at 7pm
Calling All Educators: Julie Hahnke presents curriculum for The Grey Ghost
Middle-grade author Julie Hahnke meets with teachers to present her Parent's Choice Award-winning book The Grey Ghost, and demonstrate ways using the book can be integrated into classroom curriculum. Julie also demonstrates a presentation that she can deliver in YOUR classroom or school!

Thursday March 25^th at 7pm
Thursday's Theatre of Words and Music
Thursday's Theatre of Words & Music features established and emerging writers and artists to read/display/perform their work for the public at Cornerstone Books in Salem, MA. An open mike will be held following featured writers/artists--artists are chosen by first-come-first-serve. March's featured artists:

• Timothy Gager is the author of eight books of short fiction and poetry--and has received eight nominations fo rthe Pushcart Prize. His latest, Treating a Sick Animal: Flash and Micro Fictions (Cervena Barva Press), features over forty stories, many previously published in various literary magazines. He hosts the Dire Literary Series in Cambridge, Massachusetts every month and is the co-founder of Somerville News Writers festival. Timothy is the current Fiction Editor of The Wilderness House Literary Review, the founding co-editor of The Heat City Literary Review and has edited the book, Out of the Blue Writers Unite: A Book of Poetry and Prose from the Out of the Blue Art Gallery.
• Gloria Mindock is editor and publisher of Cervena Barva Press and editor of the Istanbul Literature Review based in Turkey. She is the author of 2 chapbooks, Doppelganger and Oh Angel, and two poetry collections, Nothing Divine Here (U Soku Stampa) and Blood Soaked Dresses (Ibbetson St. Press). Her third poetry collection, La Portile Raiului, Romanian translation (Ars Longa Press) is forthcoming. Gloria has been published in numerous anthologies and journals including UNU: Revista de Cultura and Citadela in Romania, Arabesques, Poesia, Phoebe, Poet Lore, Blackbox, River Styx, and Bogg. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, the St Botolph Award, and was awarded a fellowship from the Somerville Arts Council. Gloria works as a Social Worker and freelances editing manuscripts and conducting workshops for writers.

To get the most out of Cornerstone Books, visit their web site and sign up for their emails. Then you will get their events on a regular basis, as well as coupons and reminders that are sure to inspire you to add Cornerstone to your schedule!

A Perfect Souvenir

Photographer Ulrike Welsch published, Salem At Its Best at the end of 2008. It's a perfect souvenir! The book includes beautiful images taken around Salem.

You can buy it at many of Salem's gift shops, including The Trolley Depot (Essex Street at Central Street), The Salem Witch Museum Shop, and The Peabody Essex Museum shop.

To see more images by Ulrike Welsch, visit http://www.UlrikeWelschPhotos.com. You can also order the book online from Commonwealth Editions.

The Lace Reader

This is, I will warn you, the first of a few posts about The Lace Reader. It's just too exciting to talk about it only once.

Here's the skinny: Salem native Brunonia Barry has written a wonderful novel called The Lace Reader. William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers is publishing the book this summer - it hits book stores on July 29th. Brunonia will launch her national book tour in Salem at The House of the Seven Gables at an event presented by Cornerstone Books (get your tickets now through Cornerstone Books! All proceeds will benefit HAWC - Help for Abused Women & Children - in Salem).

Why all the "Bru-ha-ha," you ask? Well... the book happens to be set in Salem. And it visits some of our favorite places! The Salem Ferry, the Friendship, Chestnut Street, The First Church in Salem, Reds, the Roger Conant Statue (He's not a witch, by the way, but that's another post altogether.) , and on and on. It is a love story to Salem! And it has been a lot of fun for me to collaborate with William Morrow on the promotion of The Lace Reader and Salem.

So, mark your calendars to pick up The Lace Reader on July 29th, and check out Salem.org/lacereader for information on a fantastic sweepstakes that William Morrow is offering for a trip for two (there are two prizes!) to Salem! The sweepstakes launches next week, and I'll post a link at that time.

In the meantime, watch a video of The Lace Reader's Salem, listen to Brunonia talk about Salem, and join in the excitement about The Lace Reader!

The Lace Reader

There are some very cool things afoot in Salem these days. One of them is the upcoming publication of the novel, The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry. The book takes place almost entirely in Salem, and features some of our favorite spots including The Hawthorne Hotel, Salem Common, Derby Wharf, The Custom House, The Salem Ferry, Reds, The Peabody Essex Museum, The Ropes Mansion, the First Church, Chestnut Street, The Willows (need I go on?).

In preparation for the promotion of the publication of the book, William Morrow sent Fireman Productions to Salem to shoot two short videos. They shot all over town, and did a lot of work with Brunonia Barry. I can't wait to see the final product!

Because The Lace Reader is about women who make Ipswich Lace (Lace making in Ipswich is believed to be one of the first female industries in America), local lace maker and historical reenactor Linda Lane was brought in to demonstrate the impressive art of lace making. These photos are of Linda's lace making pillow and her beautiful bobbins, and of Linda and film makers Claude and Jeff at work in the Hawthorne Hotel.

The novel comes out on July 29. Visit www.lacereader.com for more information.