History of Lykens Township Volume 2 is the Sunbury Press bestseller for February

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. —  Sunbury Press has released the bestsellers list for February. The Gratz Historical Society’s History of Lyken Township Volume Two took the top spot. Beagle Tales VI by Bob Ford was runner up.

SUNBURY PRESS – Bestsellers for February, 2016 (by Revenue)
Rank	Last Month	Title	Author	Category
1	NEW	History of Lykens Township Volume 2	Gratz Historical Society	History
2	NEW	Beagle Tales VI	Bob Ford	Humor
3	—	Dinorific Poetry Volume 1	Mike & Ethan Sgrignoli	Childrens
4	2	Seinsoth	Steven k Wagner	Sports Biography
5	41	Call Sign Dracula	Joe Fair	Vietnam Memoir
6	—	The B Team	Alan Mindell	Sports Fiction
7	—	The Closer	Alan Mindell	Sports Fiction
8	—	Bravo!	Guy Graybill	Music History
9	5	Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, 2nd Ed.	Mike Campbell	History
10	—	Freemasons at Gettysburg	Sheldon Munn	History
11	8	The Sign of the Eagle	Jess Steven Hughes	Historical Fiction
12	1	Embattled Freedom	Jim Remsen	History
13	NEW	Planet Jesus #1: Flesh & Blood	Doug & Shaun Brode	Supernatural Fiction
14	NEW	Tories, Terror, and Tea	John L Moore	History
15	—	American Berserk	Bill Morris	Memoir
16	9	Living in the Afterlife	Michele Livingston	Spirituality
17	40	Cast Iron Signs of Pennsylvania Towns and Other Landmarks	N Clair Clawser	History
18	15	Pit Bulls	Anthony Julian	History
19	20	Winter of the Metal People	Dennis Herrick	Historical Fiction
20	—	OneWay: The Oracle	Robin McClellan	Supernatural Fiction
21	26	Jesus the Phoenician	Karim El Koussa	History
22	7	Warriors, Wampum, and Wolves	John L Moore	History
23	12	Settlers, Soldiers, and Scalps	John L Moore	History
24	30	Rivers, Raiders, and Renegades	John L Moore	History
25	24	Traders, Travelers, and Tomahawks	John L Moore	History
26	45	The Ripper’s Haunts	Michael Hawley	History
27	14	Pioneers, Prisoners, and Peace Pipes	John L Moore	History
28	35	Cannons, Cattle, and Campfires	John L Moore	History
29	25	The Wolf of Britannia Part I	Jess Steven Hughes	Historical Fiction
30	19	Forts, Forests, and Flintlocks	John L Moore	History
31	18	Bows, Bullets, and Bears	John L Moore	History
32	27	The Descendants of Johann Peter Klinger …	Max Klinger	Geneaology
33	NEW	Dead of Spring	Sherry Knowlton	Thriller Fiction
34	13	Mary Sachs	Barbara Trainin-Blank	Biography
35	—	Messages from Beyond	Michele Livingston	Spirituality
36	—	OneWay	Robin McClellan	Supernatural Fiction
37	49	The Devil Tree	Keith Rommel	Thriller Fiction
38	17	Keystone Corruption Continues	Brad Bumsted	History
39	34	Hour 30	Brandon Musgrave	Memoir
40	—	The Relations of Milton Snavely Hershey	Lawrence Knorr	Geneaology
41	—	The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping	William Cook	True Crime
42	—	Where Elephants Fought	Bridget Smith	Historical Fiction
43	—	Well I’ll be Hanged	Tim Dempsey	History
44	37	Indian Villages and Place Names in PA	George Donehoo	History
45	50	Digging Dusky Diamonds	John Lindermuth	History
46	—	Der Lange Verborgene Freund	John George Hohman	Spirituality
47	—	Keystone Tombstones Volume 3	Joe Farrell and Joe Farley	History
48	—	Keystone Tombstones Volume 1	Joe Farrell and Joe Farley	History
49	—	The Sea is a Thief	David Parmalee	Historical Fiction
50	21	That Night at Surigao	Ernie Marshall	History

The Gratz Historical Society’s local history “The History of Lykens Township Volume 2,” was #1 due to advance sales leading up to its release in April. Bob Ford’s humorous “Beagle Tales VI” continues a successful string of releases by the writer, took #2 thanks to sales in the beagling community. Mike & Ethan Sgrignoli’s “Dinorific Poetry Volume 1” bounced back to #3 due to author events. Steven K Wagner’s biography “Seinsoth” about the Dodger who almost was took #4 due to bookstore sales. Joe Fair’s Vietnam history, “Call Sign Dracula” was strong at #5 thanks to author activities.

The company released three new titles in February:

SUNBURY PRESS – New Releases for February, 2016
Embattled Freedom	Jim Remsen	History
Tories, Terror, and Tea	John L Moore	History
Planet Jesus #1: Flesh & Blood	Doug & Shaun Brode	Supernatural Fiction
Beagle Tales VI	Bob Ford	Humor

For more info: http://www.sunburypressstore.com/BESTSELLERS_c3.htm

Read Full Post »

Bob Ford’s “Beagle Tales 6” continues the humorous series

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released Beagle Tales 6, Bob Ford’s sixth installment of his humorous home-spun series.

About the Book:
In Ford’s sixth collection of outdoor humor he continues to strike a chord with hunters and dog lovers as he makes observations about contemporary life, often through nostalgic narratives of the simpler days of his youth (way back in the 1900’s).  Ford is an award winning freelance writer, and his work has appeared in The American Beagler, Better Beagling, Hounds & Hunting, Sporting Classics Daily, and Fur-Fish-Game.  He lives in the hills of Pennsylvania with his wife, Renee, and a pack of hunting house beagles.

Excerpt:
When I was a kid, there were a few January rituals that characterized most of my time. One of them was Christmas trees. Our beagle club had a running pen, and the road into the enclosure’s parking lot was plowed. People would dump Christmas trees there. I now hear all sorts of debate about the value of used Christmas trees in an overall effort to maintain a quality running grounds, as the trees are dead and will shed their needles in time, yielding Christmas tree skeletons, which are not ideal cover. Our club liked them in the winter, and the task at hand became distributing the trees over the running grounds into clumps of decent cover capable of allowing a bunny to hide from air predators.

“How old are you?” the club president asked me.

“I will be 14 soon,” I answered.

“How would you like to disperse Christmas trees around the club?” He scratched his chin.

“Where are they?” I asked.

Bob Ford

“In the parking lot,” he scratched his head. “Space them out. Make piles that are as big as a picnic table. Don’t put them on the paths, but put them in places off the feed strips that will grow again in the spring. I don’t want to be mowing Christmas trees. Stack them where the cover looks sparse. I will make sure you get a little money for your efforts.”

Now early January was still hunting season, so Saturdays were out. That left Sundays to work on this project, as Pennsylvania has never permitted Sunday hunting. I had a paper route that I had to do on Sunday mornings, but I could do this tree job in the afternoon.

“Dad, what are you doing this Sunday?” I asked.

“Working,” he said.

“How about the following Sunday?”

“Working.” Dad was serious about work, and his job did not give him many Sundays off. Once in a while the work rotation aligned with a calendar that matched up with family events. The factory where he worked did not have a work schedule that was concerned with family events. They had developed a complicated scheme that involved workers changing shifts every week while also varying the days of the week wherein an employee was scheduled to be off. This then was modified by offerings of overtime and a desire to maximize productivity.

“Your mom can drop you off,” Dad said.

Beagle Tales is a trademark of Sunbury Press, Inc.

Find more at www.beaglebard.com.

Beagle Tales 6
Authored by Bob Ford
List Price: $14.95
5.5″ x 8.5″ (13.97 x 21.59 cm)
Black & White on Cream paper
156 pages
Sunbury Press, Inc.
ISBN-13: 978-1620067925
ISBN-10: 1620067927
BISAC: Pets / Dogs / Breeds

For more information, please see:
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/Beagle-Tales-6-978162006…

Read Full Post »

Children’s Trifecta — Solomon Screech Owl and Flying Pants take off — Sunbury Press bestsellers

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released the bestsellers list for January, 2015. The late Beth Lancione’s Solomon Screen Owl Goes to the Galapagos was #1, followed by  Solomon Screech Owl’s First Flight. Lola James claimed the third spot with Flying Pants. All were childrens books benefitting from Children’s Day at the Sunbury Press Store.

About Solomon Screech Owl Goes to the Galapagos:
In the second of Solomon Screech Owl’s stories, Sollie travels, with help from some whales, to the Galapagos Islands, where he meets birds that seem very different from himself. As he gets to know them better, he comes to understand that they all have more in common than he first thought.

About the author & illustrator:
Beth and Kathy, with their husbands Mel Lancione and Gary Haney, visited the Galapagos Islands in 2005 and saw, at very close range, all of the fascinating creatures that Sollie encounters in this book.

Beth said, “A fellow traveler once told me, ‘If you go only one place in your life, go to Galapagos.’ I agree. I’ve been to many other places, but Galapagos is my favorite. I definitely wanted to show Sollie, and all of our readers, the wonders of these special, unique islands.”

Kathy said, “The Galapagos Islands are home to some of the earth’s unique birds and animals. There are few places in the world where you can have an upclose and personal interaction with wild creatures.

The Blue-Footed Boobies captured our imaginations, along with the iguanas, tortoises, and many other birds. We want to share our love of Galapagos with you.”

SUNBURY PRESS – Bestsellers for January, 2015 (by Revenue)
Rank	Last Month	Title	Author	Category
1	—	Solomon Screech Owl Goes to the Galapagos	Beth Lancione	Childrens
2	—	Solomon Screech Owl’s First Flight	Beth Lancione	Childrens
3	—	Flying Pants	Lola James	Childrens
4	4	As the Paint Dries	Carrie Wissler-Thomas	Art History
5	—	Jesus the Phoenician	Karim El Koussa	Relgious History
6	—	Shadows in the Shining City	John Cressler	Historical Fiction
7	2	Geology of the Mahanoy, Mahantongo and Lykens Valleys	Steve Troutman	Earth History
8	9	Call Sign Dracula	Joe Fair	War Memoir
9	11	Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last	Mike Campbell	History
10	NEW	Beagle Tales 5	Bob Ford	Pet Humor
11	—	Petrified	Tanya Reimer	YA Fiction
12	1	Pit Bulls	Anthony Julian	History
13	—	Going Home	Sharon Marchisello	Thriller Fiction
14	18	Winter of the Metal People	Dennis Herrick	Historical Fiction
15	—	Emeralds of the Alhambra	John Cressler	HIstorical Fiction
16	3	Visions of Teaoga	Jim Remsen	YA Fiction
17	—	The Trevorton, Mahanoy and Susquehanna Railroad	Steve Troutman	History
18	—	Tulpehocken Trail Traces	Steve Troutman	History
19	—	The Phoenician Code	Karim El Koussa	Action Adventure
20	—	Whimsy and Wry	Guy Graybill	Literary Fiction

Sunbury Press had its best January ever, up nearly 3x from last January, and 4.5% from December. It was the first time in 5 years that January sales topped December. Hardcover books grabbed the top 4 spots in the bestseller rankings, dominated by the Children’s category. Trade paperback sales were double hardcover sales, and remain the most popular format. EBooks have slipped to third, amounting to only 5% of all sales. Hardcover sales were over 6x the eBook sales. EBook sales were up over last month, however, by nearly 20% thanks to price increases implemented after Christmas.

The three children’s books were helped by the standing-room only Children’s Day event at the Sunbury Press Store — more successful than the 10th Anniversary Party with Keith Rommel, Brahm Gallagher, and Bang. Ten Percent of all sales from that day were donated to help the Lanciones following the death of Beth, the author of the Solomon Screech Owl series, and her husband Mel. As the Paint Dries, Carrie Wissler-Thomas’s history of the Art Association of Harrisburg, co-authored by Michael Barton, held at #4 due to demand at the Art Association. Karim El Koussa’s Jesus the Phoenician(#5) and The Phoenician Code (#19) took two spots on the list due to export orders to Lebanon. John Cressler’s due, Shadows in the Shining City and Emeralds of the Alhambra grabbed #6 and #15 due to author events. Steve Troutman’s Geology of the Mahanoy, Mahantongo and Lykens Valleysheld at #7 thanks to author activities. Troutman also charted at #17 with The Trevorton, Mahanoy, and Mahantongo Railroad and #18 with Tulpehocken Trail Traces. Joe Fair’s Vietnam memoir Call Sign Dracula climbed the rankings to #8 thanks to author appearances. Mike Campbell’s Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last inched up to #9 due to continued national media attention for the search for the aviatrix’s plane. Beagle Tales 5 debuted at #10 thanks to Bob Ford’s following. Petrified, the YA novel by Canadian Tanya Reimer, returned to the chart at #11 thanks to sales north of the border. Tony Julian’s Pit Bulls, available in both trade paperback and hardcover, slipped to #12 following a strong Christmas showing. Sharon Marchisello’s Going Home grabbed lucky #13 thanks to sales in the Southland in advance of her events. Winter of the Metal People, by Dennis Herrick, moved up to #14 thanks to author activities. Jim Remsen’s Visions of Teaga slipped to #16. Guy Graybill’s Whimsy and Wry rounded out the list, thanks to author activities.

The company released five new titles during the month of January

SUNBURY PRESS – New Releases for January, 2015
Malaformed Realities Volume 1	Thomas Malafarina	Thriller Fiction
Beagle Tales 5	Bob Ford	Pet Humor
Courting Doubt and Darkness	J. M. West	Thriller Fiction
The Bookseller’s Secret	Catherine Jordan	Thriller Fiction
How to Achieve Peace of Mind	Dorsman & Davis	Mindfulness

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

Read Full Post »

What’s life like in a house full of beloved beagles? The “Beagle Bard” tells all!

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released Bob Ford’s fifth volume in the Beagle Tales series, Beagle Tales 5.

About the Book:
This fifth installment of Ford’s short stories mixes a love for the hunt and a thorough appreciation of the beagle as a cherished pet. Whether he is navigating the wild lands looking for rabbits or the wilder terrain of human relationships, the author is always looking for the important things in life, and casting them in a humorous light. Beagles and rabbit hunting are featured prominently in these collected assays, although the tales of the hunt are often a medium to tell a more profound story.  Laugh along with his nostalgic remembrances of childhood, unique perspectives on life today, and the joys of living with hunting house beagles.

“Beagle Tales” is a registered trademark of Sunbury Press, Inc.

Excerpt:
Behold, the Rabbit
Well, small game hunting is still in season, and we can get out there and bust some bunnies. To be honest, I’m glad that the fevered rush of deer season is over. Many of the “hunters” that I know actually just go out to chase deer for the two weeks that we are allowed to hunt them with a rifle. Don’t get me wrong, I feel affinity with all hunters, but the crazed dash for antlers sometimes just makes me feel like not hunting. I try to get my deer meat in archery season, before rabbit season opens, in order to avoid the entire two weeks of rifled mayhem altogether. There is something about the sound of a half-dozen high-powered rifles rapid firing on a running deer a few hundred yards away that just makes me cringe.

Actually, I spend much of deer season walking around looking for rabbit tracks in the snow. I came home one day this year in cold weather just grinning. “Did you get a deer?” my wife asked.

“Nope,” I said, giving her a hug.

“Why are you so happy then?” She pushed her palms against my chest, ending the hug.

“I found a ton of rabbit tracks!” I said.

“Any deer?”

“Sure, there are always some deer tracks, but there were lots of bunny tracks in there.”

“Did you see any deer?” she yelled. “It isn’t rabbit season.”

“Sure. I saw deer. But man did I see rabbits. I can’t wait for bunny season to come back in!”

Ah, but rabbit season is now in full swing again, and I am enjoying the fields and woods. I prefer running in the open and the wild areas. I haven’t been to a beagle club to run dogs since the end of October, and I belong to two of them! There is something about the abandoned strip mines and the farmer’s hedgerows and the national forest that make my hounds look better than they are. The rabbits do not double back on their own trail so much, and there are no mowed feed strips for the rabbits to run. In Pennsylvania many of the clubs were formerly operated by traditional brace enthusiasts. The result is that there can be parts of the club that have more mowed paths than brush. I understand that, too, as a couple rabbits running down a mowed feed strip may be enough to run first series for the brace guys. Repeat the same path runners after lunch, and the winner can be declared. There are no mowed feed strips in hunting season.

I also like hunting season for the fact that there is no fence. Don’t get me wrong, I like having a fence at the beagle club when I am conditioning dogs, but it is sometimes a false sense of security. Fences get holes, and sometimes they get knocked down. It is roads, not fences, which I worry about in gunning season. The one thing I do miss about the club running grounds as the season rolls on to the end is the abundance of rabbits. In fact, it is for this reason that I simply do not shoot near as many rabbits as I once did. I still get over fifty in any given year, but I no longer feel a need to try and eat every rabbit the dogs chase. In fact, I have gotten to the point where I am not shooting rabbits. The old timers warned me about this. They said killing critters would get problematic for anyone that loved the hunt (continued)

About the Author:
Bob Ford has lived all but three years of his life in the hills of Pennsylvania. The three exilic years were spent attending seminary at The Methodist Theological School in Ohio where he lamented the lack of topography that characterizes the central portion of the Buckeye state.  He purchased his first beagle for $75 in 1985 with money earned delivering the Erie Sunday Times. This first beagle committed Ford to the company of hounds, and has resulted in a life that has gone to the dogs.  Ford has served United Methodist Churches in Warrensburg, OH; Elkland, PA and Houtzdale PA.  He is a PhD candidate in systematic theology at Duquesne University, and teaches philosophy and religious studies part-time at Penn State Altoona.

Bob has hunted rabbits and hare throughout the country, ranging from Northern Alabama to the Quebec border, and he is always looking for new places to hunt and new species of rabbits and hare for his hounds to pursue. He is an ordained pastor in the Susquehanna Conference of The United Methodist Church and currently resides in State College, PA.  Ford believes that American-made, double barrel,16 gauge shotguns from the previous century are the best firearms available to the small game hunter, and that few things compare to the sound of a pack of beagles chasing rabbits on morning dew in a foggy valley. He writes a monthly column for the American Beagler magazine and Hounds and Hunting magazine.  He has had more than 100 articles in Better Beagling, and currently writes an article each month for The American Beagler and Hounds & Hunting.

Bob Ford is an Excellence in Craft winner in humor for the Outdoor Writers Association of America (2012).

Beagle Tales 5
Authored by Bob Ford
List Price: $14.95
5.5″ x 8.5″ (13.97 x 21.59 cm)
Black & White on Cream paper
180 pages
Sunbury Press, Inc.
ISBN-13: 978-1620065419
ISBN-10: 162006541X
BISAC: Pets / Dogs / Breeds

For more information, please see:
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/Beagle-Tales-5-978162006…

Read Full Post »

New book on the origin of Jesus debuts on top of the Sunbury Press bestseller list for October

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Jesus the Phoenician, Karim El Koussa’s well-researched alternative Christian history, was #1, upon its debut, thanks to author events related to his US book release tour.  Susan Dahlgren Daigneault’s In the Shadow of a Mountain, a memoir about her war hero father, Ed Dahlgren, and his PTSD, ranked #2 due to events and promotions in her home state of Maine.

Sunbury Press’s year-to-date sales for 2013 are up 25% over 2012. EBook sales are up only 9% over the year-to-date prior, significantly lagging the growth in print sales. Sales for the month of October were up 54% compared to October 2012. Regarding the monthly performance, it was the 2nd best month of the year and 2nd best October ever.

Bob Ford’s Beagle Tales 4, the latest edition of his folksy humorous series about rural living, debuted at #3, thanks to author events in the State College area.

Jess Steven Hughes’ The Sign of the Eagle, historical fiction set in Roman times, ranked #4 due to the author’s aggressive appearance schedule at bookstores in the Pacific Northwest.

Dennis Herrick’s Winter of the Metal People, a novel about the Tiguex War between the Spanish and the Pueblo Indians in New Mexico, ranked #5 due to regional sales in New Mexico.

That Night at Surigao, Ernie Marshall’s well-researched history of the last clash between battleships in World War 2, nabbed the 6th position thanks to recent author events.

The Joe’s — Farrell and Farley — reclaimed the 7th spot withKeystone Tombstones Volume 1 thanks to continued interest in the series and their media appearances.

Robert Miller’s The Cogan Legend, a novel about a murder mystery in pre-Civil War upstate Pennsylvania, slotted at #8 thanks to author activities.

Alan Mindell’s The Closer, a baseball love story, joined the list at #9 thanks to seasonal interest in the sport.

Guy Graybill’s Prohibition’s Prince returned to the rankings, taking #10 on the list, due to sales at Williamsport area bookstores and author activities.

Following are the top overall print sellers by category:

History / Memoir – Jesus the Phoenician by Karim El Koussa
Fiction  – The Sign of the Eagle by Jess Steven Hughes
Horror/Mystery – Undead Living edited by Thomas Malafarina
Children/YA – Colors in the Garden by Wendy Latty
The Arts – Contemporary Photo Impressionists by T K McCoy
Self-Help – Raising Monarchs by Sue Fox McGovern
Metaphysical/Spiritual – Messages from Beyond by Michele Livingston
Reference – Linnea’s Kitchen: Yummy Ayurvedic Recipes and Life Lessons by Linnea Jepson

The company released eleven new titles during the month of October:
Beagle Tales 4 by Bob Ford
Jesus the Phoenician by Karim El Koussa
Dinorific Poetry Volume 3 by Mike & Ethan Sgrignoli
Colors in the Garden by Wendy Latty
Colors in the Garden the Creator Made by Wendy Latty
Undead Living edited by Thomas Malafarina
Normal Comix Volume 1 by Sean Madden
The Crossers #1: The Man in the Mountain by Terry Ray
The Crossers #2: The Circle by Terry Ray
The Crossers #3: Crossing the Valley by Terry Ray
The Crossers #4: Path to Armageddon by Terry Ray

For a list of Sunbury’s all-time 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

Read Full Post »

Bob Ford continues his humorous “Beagle Tales” series with volume 4

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released author Bob Ford’s fourth humorous short story collection in the “Beagle Tales” series about beagles, hunting, family and the changing times.

About the book:
This fourth installment of Ford’s short stories mixes a love for the hunt and a thorough appreciation of the beagle as a cherished pet. Whether he is navigating the wild lands looking for rabbits or the wilder terrain of human relationships, the author is always looking for the important things in life, and casting them in a humorous light. Beagles and rabbit hunting are featured prominently in these collected assays, although the tales of the hunt are often a medium to tell a more profound story.  Laugh along with his nostalgic remembrances of childhood, unique perspectives on life today, and the joys of living with hunting house beagles.

Bob Ford is an Excellence in Craft winner in humor for the Outdoor Writers Association of America (2012).

Excerpt:
… As many of you may have discovered, wives are not fond of live bait in the refrigerator door, especially if the bait comes in small, round, plastic containers that resemble the ones restaurants utilize for salad dressing and other condiments.  Can your marriage survive a culinary accident wherein your wife pours the leftover dressing onto her salad only to realize that her food is now covered in wax worms?  This very thing happened in our house.  We were able to get along just fine after all the shrieking ended.  There is nothing non-masculine about shrieking after your wife throws wax worms down your shirt, by the way …

Beagle Tales 4
Authored by Bob Ford
List Price: $14.95
5.5″ x 8.5″ (13.97 x 21.59 cm)
Black & White on Cream paper
190 pages
Sunbury Press, Inc.
ISBN-13: 978-1620063118
ISBN-10: 1620063115
BISAC: Pets / Dogs / Breeds

Also available on Nook and Kindle

For more information, please see:
http://www.sunburypressstore.com/Beagle-Tales-4-978162006…

Read Full Post »