Cranbrook crowned, but Rommel takes tops fiction among Sunbury Press bestsellers

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released the bestsellers list for May, 2015. The Cranbrook Schools took the top spot with their Women of the Worldanthology. Chris Papst’s Capital Murder held strong at #2. Along the Bethel Trail, by the Friends of Bethel, showed at #3. Keith Rommel’s newly released The Devil Tree led Fiction from the 4 spot.

SUNBURY PRESS – Bestsellers for May, 2015 (by Revenue)
Rank	Last Month	Title	Author	Category
1	NEW	Women Who Changed the World	Cranbrook Schools	YA Biography
2	1	Capital Murder	Chris Papst	Investigation
3	2	Along the Bethel Trail	Friends of Bethel AME	History
4	NEW	The Devil Tree	Keith Rommel	Thriller Fiction
5	16	The Complete Story of the Worldwide Invasion of the Orange Orbs	Terry Ray	Paranormal
6	7	The B Team	Alan Mindell	Sports Fiction
7	—	Rockabilly Rebel	Mack Allen Smith	Music History
8	—	At the End of the Day	Madelyn Killion	Literary Fiction
9	—	Visions of Teaoga	Jim Remsen	Historical Fiction
10	24	The Fossils of Blackberry Hill	Kenneth Gass	Paleontology
11	—	The Closer	Alan Mindell	Sports Fiction
12	6	Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last	Mike Campbell	History
13	21	H Is for Hershey	Heather Paterno	Childrens
14	22	Winter of the Metal People	Dennis Herrick	Historical Fiction
15	—	Keystone Tombstones Philadelphia Region	Farrell and Farley	Biography
16	NEW	Where Elephants Fought	Bridget Smith	Historical Fiction
17	13	Pit Bulls	Anthony Julian	History
18	—	Head Over Wheels	Ken Mercurio	Medical Memoir
19	—	The Oxygen Factory	Renee des Lauriers	YA Thriller
20	—	Ambush at Dry Bone Gulch	Sid Davis	Western
21	—	The View from Four Foot Two	Judi Markowitz	Medical Memoir
22	5	Call Sign Dracula	Joe Fair	War Memoir
23	—	Well I’ll Be Hanged	Tim Dempsey	History
24	23	That Night at Surigao	M Ernest Marshall	History
25	27	Forts, Forests, and Flintlocks	John L. Moore	History
26	—	Hour 30	Brandon Musgrave	Medical Memoir
27	30	Rivers, Raiders, and Renegades	John L. Moore	History
28	17	The Sign of the Eagle	Jess Steven Hughes	Historical Fiction
29	25	Bows, Bullets, and Bears	John L. Moore	History
30	29	Traders, Travelers, and Tomahawks	John L. Moore	History

What a month! The company had its best month ever, topping March’s record. Compared to last May, sales more than doubled. YTD Sales are up 82% from last year. Hardcover books have grown to a 43% share of sales. EBooks recovered a bit this month, tracking at 4.2% of sales. Trade paperbacks slipped to 45%.

Women Who Changed the World, by the Cranbrook Schools, grabbed the top spot thanks to a promotion at the end of the school year. Chris Papst’s Capital Murder held strong due to author activity and breaking news about the Harrisburg financial scandal. Along the Bethel Trail, by the Friends of the Bethel AME, was helped by its release party at the Simon Cameron Mansion in Harrisburg. Keith Rommel’s The Devil Tree debuted at #4 thanks to author appearances in Florida. Terry Ray’s popular The Complete Story of the Worldwide Invasion of the Orange Orbs vaulted to #5 thanks to MUFON activities. Alan Mindell’s sports novels The B Team (#6) and The Closer (#11) were bolstered by author appearances and interest in The Kentucky Derby. Mack Allen Smith’s Rockabilly Rebel returned to the charts at #7 thanks to author activities. Madelyn Killion’s At the End of the Day took #8 thanks to author activities. Jim Remsen’s Visions of Teaoga returned to the chart at #9 due to author appearances. Kenneth Gass’s The Fossils of Blackberry Hill was climbing the charts to #10 before it was withdrawn from publication. Mike Campbell’s Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, held at #12, thanks to ongoing interest in the lost aviatrix. Heather Paterno’s H Is for Hershey rose to #13 due to sales in the Hershey region. Dennis Herrick moved up to #14 with his Winter of the Metal People. The book is popular in New Mexico. The Joes, Farrell and Farley, grabbed #15 due to regional interest in with their recently-released Keystone Tombstones Philadelphia Region. Bridget Smith’s new historical novel Where Elephants Fought charted at #16 thanks to sales in Mississippi. Anthony Julian’s ever-present Pit Bulls charted again at #17 because of ongoing interest in the subject matter. Ken Mercurio’s Head Over Wheels returned to the rankings at #18 thanks to author activities. YA Thriller, The Oxygen Factory, by Renee des Lauriers found #19 thanks to author events. Sid Davis’s western, Ambush at Dry Bone Gulch, took #20 due to author interest. The View from Four Foot Two, by Judi Markowitz, returned to the rankings at #21 thanks to author activity. Call Sign Dracula, the Vietnam memoir by Joe Fair, continued to chart at #22 thanks to steady sales in bookstores. Tim Dempsey’s Well I’ll Be Hanged charted at #23 thanks to author activities.  Ernie Marshall’s That Night at Surigao maintained #24 thanks to interest in the last fight between battleships in WW2. John L. Moore grabbed the four spots #’s 25, 27, 29 & 30 with 4 of the 8 books in his Frontier Pennsylvania Series. Interest remains strong from local bookstores and retailers. Brandon Musgrave’s medical school memoir Hour 30 took #26 thanks to steady ebook sales. Jess Steven Hughes was at #28 with The Sign of the Eagle. Hughes continues to benefit from his regular bookstore events.

The company released four new titles during the month of May.

SUNBURY PRESS – New Releases for May, 2015
Women Who Changed the World	Cranbrook Schools	YA Biography
Where Elephants Fought	Bridget Smith	Historical Fiction
Plain and Deadly	Barbara Workinger	Murder Mystery
The Devil Tree	Keith Rommel	Thriller Fiction

For a list of Sunbury’s best-sellers, please see the Sunbury Press web site:
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/BESTSELLERS_c3.htm
For a complete list of recent and upcoming releases, please see:
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/COMING-SOON_c47.htm

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Papst smears the competition — “Capital Murder” leads Sunbury Press bestsellers

Sunbury Press has released the bestsellers list for April, 2015. Chris Papst’s expose on the financial collapse of Harrisburg, Capital Murder, took the top spot., followed by the Bethel AME church history Along the Bethel Trail.Flying Pants, by Lola James, claimed the third spot.

SUNBURY PRESS – Bestsellers for April, 2015 (by Revenue)
Rank	Last Month	Title	Author	Category
1	23	Capital Murder	Chris Papst	Investigation
2	NEW	Along the Bethel Trail	Friends of Bethel AME	History
3	—	Flying Pants	Lola James	Childrens
4	—	As the Paint Dries	Carrie Wissler-Thomas	History
5	16	Call Sign Dracula	Joe Fair	War Memoir
6	26	Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last	Mike Campbell	History
7	NEW	The B Team	Alan Mindell	Sports Fiction
8	—	Rising Hope	Marie Sontag	Historical Fiction
9	25	The Wolf of Britannia, Part I	Jess Steven Hughes	Historical Fiction
10	24	Jesus the Phoenician	Karim El Koussa	Religious History
11	—	There Is Something About Rough & Ready	Lawrence Knorr et al	History
12	5	Rising Sun Descending	Wade Fowler	Thriller Fiction
13	18	Pit Bulls	Anthony Julian	History
14	NEW	Keystone Tombstones Anthracite Region	Farrell and Farley	Biography
15	NEW	Keystone Tombstones Susquehanna Valley	Farrell and Farley	Biography
16	8	The Complete Story of the Worldwide Invasion of the Orange Orbs	Terry Ray	Paranormal
17	9	The Sign of the Eagle	Jess Steven Hughes	Historical Fiction
18	—	Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania	George Donehoo	History
19	—	Freemasons at Gettysburg	Sheldon Munn	History
20	—	The Wolf of Britannia, Part II	Jess Steven Hughes	Historical Fiction
21	1	H Is for Hershey	Heather Paterno	Childrens
22	12	Winter of the Metal People	Dennis Herrick	Historical Fiction
23	30	That Night at Surigao	M Ernest Marshall	History
24	3	The Fossils of Blackberry Hill	Kenneth Gass	Paleontology
25	—	Bows, Bullets, and Bears	John L. Moore	History
26	—	Pioneers, Prisoners, and Peace Pipes	John L. Moore	History
27	—	Forts, Forests, and Flintlocks	John L. Moore	History
28	—	Cannons, Cattle, and Campfires	John L. Moore	History
29	—	Traders, Travelers, and Tomahawks	John L. Moore	History
30	—	Rivers, Raiders, and Renegades	John L. Moore	History

April has been a historically weak month for Sunbury Press. The company had its 2nd best April ever. YTD Sales are up 77% from last year. Hardcover books have grown to a 36% share of sales. EBooks have now slipped to less than 3.9% of sales. Trade paperbacks remain steady at 54%.

Chris Papst’s Capital Murder grabbed the top spot thanks to advance sales and author activity. Along the Bethel Trail, by the Friends of the Bethel AME, was also helped by advance sales. Lola James’s childrens book Flying Pants soared to #3 due to author events. Carrie Wissler-Thomas’s As the Paint Dries was boosted to #4 by ongoing sales at the Art Association of Harrisburg. Call Sign Dracula, the Vietnam memoir by Joe Fair, continued to chart at #5 thanks to steady sales in bookstores. Mike Campbell’s Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, soared to #6, up 20 spots, thanks to ongoing interest in the lost aviatrix. Alan Mindell’s new horse racing novel, The B Team, debuted at #7 thanks to support from his reader base. Rising Hope, Marie Sontag’s first volume in the Warsaw Rising Trilogy, charted at #8 due to author activities. Jess Steven Hughes nabbed 3 spots: #9 with The Wolf of Britannia Part I, #17 with The Sign of the Eagle, and #20 with The Wolf of Britannia Part II. Hughes benefitted from multiple books at his regular bookstore events. Karim El Koussa’s Jesus the Phoenician rose to #10 from combined sales of the paperback, ebook, and hardcover editions. There Is Something about Rough and Ready, by Lawrence Knorr, Steve Troutman, Elaine Moran, Cindy Baum, Christine Hipple, and Jeanne Adams returned to the rankings at #11 thanks to sales in the Rough & Ready area. Wade Fowler’s novel Rising Sun Descending slipped to #12 the month after his Sunbury Press Store event. Anthony Julian’s ever-present Pit Bulls moved up a few spots to #13 because of ongoing interest in the subject matter. The Joes, Farrell and Farley, grabbed numbers 14 & 15 due to regional interest in with two of their newly-released books: Keystone Tombstones Anthracite Region and Keystone Tombstones Susquehanna Valley. Terry Ray’s popular The Complete Story of the Worldwide Invasion of the Orange Orbs stayed on the chart at #16 thanks to ongoing interest in the UFO phenomenom. George Donehoo’s classic Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania joined the rankings at #18 due to sales in the up state. Sheldon Munn’s Freemasons at Gettysburg climbed to #19 due to orders from Gettysburg retailers in advance of Memorial Day. Heather Paterno’s H Is for Hershey slipped to #21 following her event at the Hershey Historical Society. Dennis Herrick maintained #22, slipping 10 spots, with his Winter of the Metal People. The book is popular in New Mexico. Ernie Marshall’s That Night at Surigao climbed 7 spots to #23 thanks to interest in the last fight between battleships in WW2. Kenneth Gass’s The Fossils of Blackberry Hill preserved #24 thanks to author activities. John L. Moore grabbed the remaining spots #’s 25 to 30 with 6 of the 8 books in his Frontier Pennsylvania Series: Bows, Bullets, and Bears, Pioneers, Prisoners, and Peace Pipes, Forts, Forests, and Flintlocks, Cannons, Cattle, and Campfires, Traders, Travelers, and Tomahawks, and Rivers, Raiders, and Renegades.

The company released nine new titles during the month of April.

SUNBURY PRESS – New Releases for April, 2015
Charlie Caw	Paul Argentini	YA Fiction
Capital Murder	Chris Papst	Investigation
Keystone Tombstones Philadelphia Region	Farrell and Farley	Biography
Along the Bethel Trail	Friends of Bethel AME	History
The Fossils of Blackberry Hill	Kenneth Gass	Paleontology
Keystone Tombstones Susquehanna Valley	Farrell and Farley	Biography
The B Team	Alan Mindell	Sports Fiction
Keystone Tombstones Anthracite Region	Farrell and Farley	Biography
The Best of Keystone Tombstones	Farrell and Farley	Biography

For a list of Sunbury’s best-sellers, please see the Sunbury Press web site:
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/BESTSELLERS_c3.htm
For a complete list of recent and upcoming releases, please see:
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/COMING-SOON_c47.htm

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Harrisburg’s historic Bethel African Methodist Episcopal church predates the Civil War

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released Along the Bethel Trail: The Journey of an African American Faith Community presented by Friends of the Bethel Trail.

About the Book:

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Harrisburg, 1835 – 2015

Throughout its history, the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Harrisburg has been a critical link in the chain of places, people, and events that bind and strengthen Pennsylvania’s quest for equity, parity, and social justice. Along the Bethel Trail is an anthology of articles by area authors, scholars and humanists that guides readers through the history of this resilient congregation in relationship to the legacy and impact on the community that it serves. Each contributing author writes of a specific historical period and geographic site where the church was located. From that vantage point, the authors explore the social and civic engagement of the congregation and its leadership in time and place, as the church and surrounding communities were continuously uprooted to make room for the expanding state capitol complex. Together their articles frame the impact of the church and congregation on the development of Harrisburg’s diverse community. The combined articles also articulate the struggle of Harrisburg’s African-American community for economic development, sustainability, and a sense of place over the past 180 years.

The anthology of articles supports the eight paneled interpretive signage and self-guided experience along Harrisburg’s Bethel Trail. Discover the location of Bethel’s first church at the current Amtrak station, key 19^thcentury sites at Harrisburg’s Forum, Fountain, and Justice buildings along Commonwealth Ave, its 20^th century site at 6^th and Herr and Bethel’s current 21^st century home in midtowns at 1721 N.5^th street.

Along the Bethel Trail: The Journey of an African American Faith Community
Authored by Lenwood O. Sloan, Nancy Mendes, and Michael L. Barton
List Price: $29.95
Hardcover: 60 pages
Publisher: Sunbury Press, Inc. (April 15, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 162006586X
ISBN-13: 978-1620065860
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.3 x 11 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
BISAC: History / African American

For more information, please see:
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/Along-the-Bethel-Trail-9…

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