Norm Macdonald 1959-2021

In many cases, an artist, musician, actor, writer, or celebrity becomes a favorite because that performer verbalizes or otherwise captures very closely the feelings that fans experience inside their own heads. It’s especially powerful when the fan is never quite able to express those feelings, but the performer has that ability. Norm Macdonald was that figure for me. Norm, for many, is in the running for the title of funniest person ever. I agree with that, and Norm’s comedy has provided me laughs of a degree and nature that simply do not happen with any other comedian. He might hold…

Post author By Job Leach
Post date March 10, 2021
No Comments on Ways I Approach Writing: Other People’s Ideas and a Neil Young Jam

When the subject of penning a book comes up in conversation, I’ve had a variety of people tell me they’ve had a great story idea bouncing around their heads for years. Sometimes it’s a fictional novel idea, and sometimes it’s that they think their memoirs would be interesting. It might sound mean, but I think most people vastly underestimate how interesting a memoir has to be to ever get close to being published. Or a fictional story, for that matter. Anybody who has published a book gets the inevitable “I have a great story idea!” from folks who mostly mean…

Post author By Job Leach
Post date February 17, 2021
No Comments on What I’ve Been Reading: Gotti’s Rules by George Anastasia

I used to read a lot of true crime non-fiction, including a multitude of books about the American Mafia. These days, I mostly get my fill of true crime with documentaries on Netflix. However, I do still enjoy a good true crime read every now and then. I would say Gotti’s Rules by George Anastasia is one of the better ones I’ve read in years. Gotti’s Rules tells the story of John Alite, a hit man, enforcer, all-around criminal, and close associate of the Gotti family from the 80s until the early 2000s. Alite was already entrenched in the criminal…

Post author By Job Leach
Post date February 3, 2021
No Comments on What I’ve Been Reading: Just Like Me: When the Pros Played on the Sandlot

Just Like Me: When the Pros Played on the Sandlot gathers the reflections of several retired professional baseball players about their youth and coming-of-age in the sport of baseball. Written by Sunbury Press author Kelly G. Park, this collection might provoke some nostalgia from baseball fans and former sandlot players, but it’s also a very real, humble look at the path that it takes to become a professional athlete. I always enjoy a film, article, or book that humanizes the pros. Those who make it to the highest levels of sport often have mythical status surrounding their money, lifestyle, and…

Post author By Job Leach
Post date July 3, 2020
No Comments on Someone I Know Published a Book. Where Should I Buy It?

In the short time that I’ve had a published book on the market, people have frequently asked where they should buy it. Those asking the question usually want to make sure that I get the most money possible from their purchase. That’s great –and certainly appreciated– but there are reasons why the most profitable transactions for an author are not the only sale types that can benefit them in the long run. This information is geared towards people who know an author from a small, independent publisher. So, what are the different options to buy a book from these types…

Post author By Job Leach
Post date December 11, 2019
No Comments on What I’ve Been Reading: Tough Girl in the Jam by Larry Loebell

Larry Loebell is a Sunbury author who I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with at some book events where we talked writing and life. He’s an accomplished writer in a variety of areas including drama, television writing, and short fiction. He was also a professor and taught such subjects as film history, dramaturgy, screen writing, theater history, and play writing. He also led creative writing workshops. Tough Girl in the Jam is his first novel. He also happens to have one of the coolest bio bullet points of any writer I’ve met personally –he won an Emmy writing on…

Post author By Job Leach
Post date October 31, 2019
No Comments on What I’ve Been Reading: Magic Diary by Pat LaMarche

My reading and blog writing has been limited for some time. I’ve been doing some traveling for a couple friend’s bachelor parties – one in Vegas and one in Dallas, both requiring several days of recovery afterwards. I’ve also devoted a majority of my spare time at night to writing my next novel, which I’m just about halfway through. That being said, I met a few authors from Sunbury at a book event in Doylestown and want to read their books and write reviews for them. Pat Lamarche was one of those people, so I started with her book Magic…

Post author By Job Leach
Post date September 18, 2019
No Comments on Attending the Bucks County Book Fest on 10/13/19!

I will be at the Bucks County Book Fest on October 13th! Myself and several other Sunbury Press authors will be selling and signing books in the Book Marketplace area of the event from around 11:30 to 5:30. There are activities in various areas in Doylestown, but the Book Marketplace will be on Hamilton Street between State Street and Oakland Avenue. The Fest is organized by Discover Doylestown and aims to support literacy and connect authors with readers while also encouraging people to enjoy the Doylestown area. There are workshops, children’s events, a pub crawl, and a marketplace for independent…

Post author By Job Leach
Post date August 13, 2019
No Comments on What I’ve Been Reading: Breck’s Quandary by Mark Mitten

Breck’s Quandary is another novel by a fellow author from the Milford House imprint of Sunbury Press. His name is Mark Mitten and he has written three novels including: Sipping Whiskey in a Shallow Grave, Hard to Quit, and Breck’s Quandary. All are available at the Sunbury Press online store and Amazon. Mitten specializes in western-style stories written in the vein of Cormac McCarthy. Breck’s Quandary introduces the reader to Sheriff Breckenridge “Breck” Dyer, the main lawman in a remote Colorado ski town named Quandary. Breck is aided by only one other deputy, a manifestation of an underfunded department. His…

Post author By Job Leach
Post date July 7, 2019
No Comments on What I’ve Been Reading: On the Run by Scott Stevens

On the Run is an action/suspense thriller from the Milford House imprint of Sunbury Press – the publisher of my novel. Scott Stevens is a talented author and former sportswriter that Sunbury added to their stable in early 2019. This novel is one of three books he has written, the other two being Twister Town and On Ice. On the Run is available through Sunbury and Amazon. The other two are available on Amazon, although they will be re-released by Sunbury in the future. On the Run is an interesting take on the suspense genre. It takes the motif –made…