Wild River Books makes it official:

Mark Lyons' remarkable story collection Brief Eulogies at Roadside Shrines is being released on October 7.

Building on the tradition of roadside "story shrines," Lyons introduces a motley and vivid cast of characters, including a hobo who prides himself on his roadkill cookery, a returning soldier who raises pigeons,  and a snake-charming preacher.

Watch for this book wherever good fiction is sold -- and perhaps wherever the dinner menu includes stewed vulture.

Though the official pub. date is a couple of months away, it looks as though the book can already be ordered on Amazon and preordered through IndieBound.

Thanks to the overflow crowd who came to Musehouse on July 19 for a reading by the Working Writers Group to celebrate Philadelphia literary publishers.

New Door Books author Sam Gridley read and signed books, and Louis Greenstein (a.k.a. Mr. Boardwalk) made an appearance and autographed books as well.

We also got to hear Mark Lyons read from his forthcoming novel Brief Eulogies at Roadside Shrines, Miriam Seidel from The Asteroid Belt Almanac, Debra Leigh Scott from her collection Other Likely Stories, David Sanders from his novel in progress Busara Road, and Ann de Forest from her memoir "Peace."

The publishers showcased, in addition to ourselves, were Wild River Books, The Head and the Hand Press, Sowilo Press, Philadelphia Stories and PS Books, and Cleaver Magazine.

All we lacked was enough chairs for the enthusiastic audience!

In honor of Nikola Tesla's birthday, Miriam Seidel writes about his contributions not just to science but also to science fiction. Click on the image to read her blog post.

Happy birthday, Nik!