Gen. Warren Inne to host kickoff for new book, 'Reporting the Revolutionary War'

I received the below press release from Chester County author Bruce Mowday regarding an event for the soon-to-be released book "Reporting The Revolutionary War: Before It Was History It Was News" by Todd Andrlik (Sourcebooks, Nov. 1, 2012, 400 pp., $39.99):

General Warren Inne hosts Chester County kickoff

of new book Reporting The Revolutionary War

with special event on Wednesday, Nov. 14

Author Bruce Mowday will give a talk on book and local history

          MALVERN - The General Warren Inne is hosting the Chester County kickoff event of an exciting new book, Reporting The Revolutionary War: Before It Was History It Was News.

            The book is scheduled for release in the beginning of November by Sourcebooks, Inc. of Naperville, Illinois. According to the publisher, “Coming together to help put the original newspapers accounts in context are 37 top historians — professors, scholars, authors and park rangers — who have contributed more than 60 fascinating essays that chronicle the impact these papers made on America’s War of Independence.”

            “I was honored to be asked to contribute the sections on the battles of Brandywine and Germantown,” Chester County author and journalist Bruce Mowday said. Mowday authored the book September 11, 1777: Washington’s Defeat at Brandywine Dooms Philadelphia.

            Mowday will be the featured speaker at the Wednesday, November 14, 2012, event at the General Warren Inne, 9 Old Lancaster Avenue, Malvern. The evening begins at 6:00 p.m. with a chance to talk to Mowday and look at the 400-page full-color book. Dinner will be served at 7:00 p.m. with Mowday’s talk following.

            “The General Warren is a historic inn that is linked to the American Revolution,” proprietor Patrick J. Byrne said. “We are happy to host the kickoff event. We’ve prepared a special menu for the night. This is a perfect setting for Reporting The Revolutionary War and Bruce, an engaging speaker, author and journalist, is the right person to give the talk.” 

            The special menu includes a first choice of General Warren House Salad, Snapper Soup with Sherry, Wild Mushroom Soup or Caesar Salad. The entrée course will be a choice of Grilled North Atlantic Salmon, Crab Cake, Roasted Chicken Breast, Vegetarian Penne Pasta or Grilled Sirloin Steak. Petit Sweets and Petit Fours will be served during Mowday’s talk.

            The cost of the meal, including soft beverages and coffee, is $45.00 per person. Taxes, gratuities and alcoholic beverages are additional. “We’re expecting a good crowd so reservations are recommended,” Byrne said. Reservations can be made by E-mailing to info@generalwarren.com or calling the inne at 610 296-3637.

“From one of America's leading Revolutionary War newspaper archivists, Todd Andrlik, and guided by scores of historians and experts, Reporting the Revolutionary War brings you into the homes of Americans and lets you see through their eyes the tinderbox of war as it explodes,” according to the publisher. Andrlik authored some of the chapters. The book costs $39.99 and will be available for sale.

Mowday will also have some of his other books at the event. He has authored books on serial murderers, Jailing The Johnston Gang, Jim Herr, Life With Flavor, Richie Ashburn, Why The Hall Not, and others. For a full listing see www.mowday.com. To contact Mowday, E-mail him at mowday@mowday.com.

Herr's founder writes about 'Life with Flavor'

For all you snack lovers, the following comes from a press release I received recently from Chester County writer and publisher Bruce Mowday:

Life with Flavor: A Personal History of Herr’s

Jim Herr, founder of international snack food company, writes about business, life

          OXFORD, Pennsylvania - A new book, Life with Flavor: A Personal History of Herr’s is now available for pre-ordering through New York Publisher Barricade Books and internet sites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

            President George H. W. Bush endorsed the book and wrote, “If you want valuable guidance on how to succeed in business and, more importantly, how to succeed in life, then Life with Flavor is a must read. Meet Jim Herr and learn. And whatever you do, do NOT skip Mim’s Notes in the Epilogue!” 

The story of the lives of James S. Herr and Miriam Hershey Herr are contained in the book and could have been taken directly from pages written by the 19^th-century author Horatio Alger, who wrote novels about hard-working Americans gaining success through their determination and honesty.

With a $1,750 loan Jim and Mim Herr built Herr Foods from a small, one-kettle potato chip concern in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to one of the major snack food companies in the nation.

Jim Herr authored the book along with his daughter June Herr Gunden and author Bruce E. Mowday. Jim shares his experiences, from the difficulties to the triumphs, to help readers apply some of his life lessons to their life and work. Jim’s passion was to fan into flame the entrepreneurial spirit. He encourages readers to look for opportunities, invest energy wisely and to seek guidance from your Creator. He also believed that small business makes the United States strong.

The book costs $22 and can be obtained by pre-ordering through amazon.com, bn.com, barricadebooks.com and by contacting Mowday at mowday@mowday.com.

Herr, who died just before the book was printed, was a member of a number of national business organizations, local civic organizations and the Mennonite church, which he actively supported. He also was a philanthropist.

Joining President Bush in endorsing this book are former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge; Congressman Joseph R. Pitts; Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse; Bill Giles, Chairman of the Philadelphia Phillies; Dick Wood, Chairman of Wawa; Dan Danner, President of the National Federation of Independent Businesses; James McCarthy, President of the Snack Food Association; Mark Taylor, President of Tyndale House Publishers; and John Haggai, Chairman of the Haggai Institute.

“Jim Herr has a knack for keeping things simple. Remarkably, his wisdom is the application of simple truths to life’s challenges, and he often quotes from the biblical book of Proverbs. This book is not only for budding entrepreneurs – it will add zest and flavor to anyone’s life who applies its wisdom,” from Life with Flavor.

Area bookstore and radio station launch book-related radio show

Chester County Book and Music Company and BrandywineRadio.com, a regional classical music Internet-based radio station, are starting up a new radio program that focuses on local authors and the book industry. The first episode of "The Brandywine Book Report" is set to air this Friday, Sept. 24, at 5 p.m.

Hosting the half-hour show will be Bruce Mowday, a local author and former managing editor of The Mercury's sister paper, The Daily Local News, from Chester County Book and Music Co., 975 Paoli Pike, West Goshen (a fine, large and well-stocked bookstore, if you ever have the chance to visit. Check out their events calendar here, they often have booksignings and other fun events).

“We’re excited to have this radio outlet to promote local authors!” said Thea Kotrobe of the Chester County Book and Music Co., in a press release.

Mowday will interview local authors and talk to publishing executives about the book industry. The show will be broadcast every fourth Friday at 5 p.m., and will be repeated on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Mowday is the author of books on Chester County history, business and true crime. His books include "Jailing The Johnston Gang: Bringing Serial Murderers To Justice" and "September 11, 1777: Washington’s Defeat at Brandywine Dooms Philadelphia." For more information on Mowday and his books, visit http://www.mowday.com/.

BrandywineRadio.com, the nation’s first all local Internet Radio station, operates 24 hours a day and serves Chester and Delaware counties and the Main Line from studios in Kennett Square.

*

On a side note, CCBMC will host this event on Thursday, Sept. 23 (from their website):

Thursday, September 23, 2010 7 p.m.:

Writers featured in PROMPTED, a new collaboration between Philadelphia Stories and the Greater Philadelphia Wordshop Studio, will read from and discuss their work in this anthology. From internationally published author Julie Compton ("Tell No Lies," "Rescuing Olivia") to first-time poet Marsha Pincus, PROMPTED’s connective tissue lies in a deep love and respect for the craft of writing as it explores the human condition via poetry, personal essays, and fiction PROMPTED is edited by Greater Philadelphia Wordshop Studio Director Alison Hicks Featured authors who will include Kay Peters (poetry), Joyce Meyers (poetry), Jeanne Obbard (poetry), Rosalind Kaplan (non-fiction), and Deborah Derrickson Kossmann (non-fiction).

Author to sign 'Jailing The Johnston Gang' at Stottsville Inn Sept. 23

The historic Stottsville Inn will host a book talk and signing by Chester County author Bruce Mowday on his latest book, "Jailing The Johnston Gang: Bringing Serial Murders to Justice," at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 23. The free event is open to the public. The Stottsville Inn, which looks like a classy place per its website, is located at 3512 Strasburg Road, Coatesville.

"Jailing The Johnston Gang" tells the story of the law enforcement officials who "placed their own lives in danger to incarcerate brothers Bruce, David and Norman Johnston and their band of paid killers, rapists and thieves," according to Mowday.

Chester County District Attorney Joseph A. Carroll called the leader of the gang, Bruce A. Johnston Sr., the most notorious criminal in the history of the county.

While Johnston was convicted of six counts of first-degree murder, Mowday uncovered information linking Johnston to 10 murders, one of them unsolved, including the ambush slaying of two Kennett Square policemen.

Incidentally, or not, I guess, in this case, one of the first victims was murdered and buried near the Stottsville Inn, the Chester County site of the booksigning.

Mowday, a resident of Uwchlan, Chester County, covered the criminal case of the three Johnston brothers when he was a reporter for The Mercury’s sister paper, The Daily Local News in West Chester. The book was released last year by Barricade Books of Fort Lee, N.J.

While we’re on the subject, Barricade Books Publisher Carole Stuart recently announced that "Jailing The Johnston Gang: Bringing Serial Murders to Justice" will be printed in paperback this fall.

The book was released by Barricade Books in 2009 and the hardback version is in its third printing. Stuart wrote in her blog, "The book caught on and was the cleanest selling book of our list last year. To the non-book people: no returns."

"I believe this book reveals the dark side of human nature on the part of the Johnston brothers and also depicts what is best about the law enforcement community," Mowday said.

Mowday is working with Delaware County’s Jim Donahue on a new book, "Why The Hall Not," for Barricade Books. Due to be released next year, the book is about Philadelphia Phillies great Richie Ashburn’s road to the Hall of Fame and Donahue role in leading a petition drive by fans to have Ashburn inducted.

For more information about the Stottsville Inn booksigning or to make dinner reservations, call Janice Keller-DiGennaro, manager of the Stottsville Inn, at 610-857-4090.

Mowday, who has written books on the Civil War, American Revolution and Chester County history, has scheduled additional talks on Jailing The Johnston Gang. For more information, visit http://www.mowday.com/.

I wrote about "Jailing The Johnston Gang" and how it was a basis for the 1986 film "At Close Range" (think Sean Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Christopher Walken, and a soundtrack including "Live to Tell" by Madonna) in a blog post in April 2009. To check out that post, click here.

Local author Mowday to sign books April 15

Uwchlan-based author Bruce Mowday will be signing his books, including "Jailing The Johnston Gang: Bringing Serial Murderers To Justice," pictured at right, at the Concordville branch of Alliance Bank, 979 Baltimore Pike, Glen Mills, as part of Community Banking Week. The book-signing will be held on Thursday, April 15, at Concordville branch from 4 to 6:30 p.m.

"I’m looking forward to having a chance to meet and talk with Alliance Bank’s customers and the area residents," Mowday said in a press release. "This is a perfect location for the book signing as the Johnston gang was active in the area."

Mowday has written a number of books on local history and will have copies of his books on the Battle of Brandywine, Fort Delaware, the Brandywine River and West Chester. For more information on Mowday and his books, visit http://www.mowday.com/.

"Jailing The Johnston Gang" tells the story of the dedicated law enforcement officials that placed their own lives in danger to incarcerate brothers Bruce, David and Norman Johnston and their band of paid killers, rapists and thieves. The Johnston gang terrorized citizens in the Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland area for decades. Chester County District Attorney Joseph A. Carroll called the leader of the gang, Bruce A. Johnston, Sr., the most notorious criminal in the history of the suburban Philadelphia county.

I wrote about "Jailing The Johnston Gang" and how it was a basis for the 1986 film "At Close Range" in a blog post last April. To check out that post, click here.

Former-newspaperman's publishing business helps local authors

This news article was originally published in "The Daily Local News" on Tuesday, March 30, 2010.

Photo of Bruce Mowday, at right, president of The Mowday Group Inc., with some of his publishing company's books, is by Tom Kelly IV.


New service helps authors through publishing process

By Brian McCullough
Journal Register News Service

So you’ve written the Great American Novel — or maybe a not-so-great American novel — what do you do with your labor of love now?

That, according to Bruce Mowday, the author of 13 books and a former editor at the Daily Local News, is a question he has been getting with increasing frequency in recent years, and one he had to answer himself when he first became an author 10 years ago.

“As a writer, you’re sitting there with your manuscript. What do you do next?” asked Mowday, whose first book, “Unlikely Allies: Fort Delaware’s Prison Community in the Civil War,” came out in 2000.

In response to that question, Mowday’s Brandywine River Publishing is launching a new set of services for aspiring authors, including consulting, coaching, marketing and publishing.

“Aspiring authors, especially first-time authors, are faced with many decisions. The wrong decision can be frustrating, cause them to abandon their dreams and cost them money,” Mowday said.

Mowday’s books are on true crime, history and business topics, and sales of his books are in excess of $500,000.

For most people motivated enough to want to publish a book, rivaling the works of the world’s great fiction writers isn’t usually the goal.

Most are passionate about a particular subject and want to weigh in on those topics or want to recount for history a particular accomplishment of themselves or of loved ones.

Mowday, through personal experience, said he is able to identify what the market might be for their work and how they should proceed with getting it published.

Authors must decide what publishing method makes the most sense for their book, said Mowday, of Uwchlan, whose Mowday Group also handles media relations and political consulting.

“In the past few years, I’ve been approached by a number of authors wanting to know about obtaining a traditional publisher, the pros and cons of self-publishing and marketing issues,” Mowday said. “In today’s publishing world, authors need to do more than write a manuscript. That is just the beginning. Each book is different and a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in publishing.”

There’s self-publishing, in which new copies of books aren’t printed until orders have been received; vanity publishing, in which authors pay a publishing house to publish the book; and traditional publishing, in which publishers assume the risk of publication and production costs.

“If it’s too localized a subject, publishers won’t do it,” Mowday said. “One of my first questions (to authors) is, who do they really think will read it?”

In recent years, Mowday has helped local marketing executives put out a book on the Phillies’ world championship run, a West Chester trucking company produce a book marking 85 years in business, and a daughter capturing the passion of her father in “The Changing Boundaries of Pennsylvania From 1493 to 1921.”

“People have tons of different reasons for doing a book,” noted Mowday, whose own passions trend toward Civil War and Chester County history.The West Chester trucking firm that used Mowday’s services recently put out “The First 85 Years: A History of A. Duie Pyle.”

Chairman Peter Latta said the trucking company wanted to publish the book to honor past and present employees with the idea of giving it as an employment anniversary gift to current employees, as keepsakes for retirees and their spouses and as gifts to customers.

“It wasn’t done with the idea of selling copies, although we have gotten some calls from people saying they’ve heard we’ve put out a really nice book and they’re looking for a copy,” said Latta, whose daughter, Sarah, co-authored the book. “Bruce knew we wanted to create a nice piece of memorabilia on the history of the company to pay tribute to the people who made contributions to its success.”

Mowday’s biggest contribution was “creating the skeleton and building the flesh around it,” Latta said. “He kept it on schedule and on task.”

For authors seeking a general audience, the second part of the process can be more daunting than their research and writing, Mowday noted.

“Selling the book once you have it, that can be a shock,” said Mowday, who has - what else? - written a book out on the subject, “The Selling of an Author.”

Mowday makes himself available as a speaker, always brings along his books. When he’s releasing a book on the Civil War, he reaches out to historical societies, senior citizen groups and Civil War organizations.

Authors also need to know how to work with bookstores and online book sellers, how to properly price their books, how to calculate and remit sales taxes, how to get an ISBN, and decide whether they will take checks and credit card transactions.

Said Mowday, who worked as a reporter and editor at the Daily Local News from 1974 to 1997 and whose latest book is on the notorious Johnston Gang, whom he covered for the newspaper: “There are lots of costs in selling. That’s why making these decisions is better done before than after. It may be a case where 300 (books) is better than 5,000. If you’re not careful, all of a sudden you can lose a lot of money on a book.”

On the Web: www.mowday.com/brandywineriver.htm.

Brian McCullough is the business editor for The Daily Local News and may be reached at business@dailylocal.com.

Live to Tell

The 1986 film "At Close Range" was based on the real life Chester County crime family led by Bruce Johnston Sr. in the 1960s and 1970s. Starring Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, the film happened right here in Mercury territory. It that doesn't ring a bell, Madonna's "Live to Tell," which got a lot of airplay, was written for the film (I think she was still married to Sean Penn at the time).

I haven't seen the film in at least 20 years. Curiosity makes me want to go unearth it from the drama stash at Blockbuster some night. But what the bibliophile in me should do is check out local author/journalist Bruce Mowday's new book, "Jailing The Johnston Gang: Bringing Serial Murderers to Justice" (Barricade, $22.95, 272 pages). Barricade recently announced the book is already in its second printing.

Or I could just read Mercury Editor Nancy March's blog about it, True-crime novel brings back memories. She covered the Johnston murder trials when she was a reporter for The Mercury.

And if you'd like to meet the author, he has several area appearances coming up:

“I’ve been receiving calls to schedule additional talks throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland," said Uwchlan Township resident Mowday in a recent Barricade press release. "There is tremendous interest in this story of criminals who terrorized this area for decades. The book has also been selling extremely well on Amazon.com.”

Signed books can be obtained from the author, Mowday, by calling him at 610-873-0727, E-mailing mowday@mowday.com or visiting www.mowday.com. The 272-page book, with 17 photographs, costs $22.95.

Mowday’s local speaking and signing schedule includes:

*April 18 Signing at Exton Barnes & Noble 9 a.m. until noon.
*April 23 Talk and signing at Longwood Rotary at 6:45 a.m.
*April 25 Parkesburg Community Day signing from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.
*April 29 Talk and signing at Easttown Library at 7 p.m.
*April 30 Talk and signing at Coatesville Rotary at noon.
*May 3 Book signing at Mystery Book, Mechanicsburg. 1 to 4 p.m.
*May 4 Talk and signing at Chester County Corvette Club at 7 p.m.
*May 15 Talk and signing at Caesar Rodney Rotary Club, Wilmington, 7:30 a.m.
*May 16 Signing at Downingtown’s 150th anniversary celebration.
*May 18 Talk and signing at Okahocking Society at 8 p.m.
*May 21 Talk and signing at Boyertown Lions at 6:30 p.m.
*June 6 Signing at Bayard Taylor Memorial Library Home and Garden Tour
*September 12-13 Chadds Ford Days signing.