http://www.melanieholmesauthor.com/blog daily 0.75 2025-10-06 http://www.melanieholmesauthor.com/blog/2025/10/6/the-business-of-books-amp-public-talks monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 http://www.melanieholmesauthor.com/blog/2025/6/24/braille-copy-of-mount-st-helensjohnston-book-being-made monthly 0.5 2025-06-24 http://www.melanieholmesauthor.com/blog/2024/11/12/exciting-announcement-audiobook-of-a-hero-on-mount-st-helens monthly 0.5 2024-11-12 http://www.melanieholmesauthor.com/blog/2024/2/27/where-we-roam-and-with-whom-reflects-values monthly 0.5 2025-06-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/c839da7d-e52c-4f99-9880-e3cbaaee4773/1000015353.jpg Blog - Where We Roam Reflects Our Values - Garden of the Gods In southern Illinois, this is part of the Shawnee National Forest, and a stone’s throw from a treehouse resort! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/1a534343-3af0-4f3c-8694-62078b5f26e8/56663.jpeg Blog - Where We Roam Reflects Our Values - Jim & Diane Bolin with author Casey, IL. Mr. Bolin started it all with his ginormous wind chime (pssst: the chime sits next to the Bolin’s lovely cafe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/7f70b05e-a0f5-4f93-a64d-5a7f4696e1f0/54406.jpeg Blog - Where We Roam Reflects Our Values - RT 66 SKYVIEW DRIVE-IN Located in Litchfield, along, you guessed it, Route 66. The book includes a LIST of drive-ins for your area/region! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/98f9e807-a90d-4714-8a71-ebf1f3e3195b/1000015331.jpg Blog - Where We Roam Reflects Our Values - Metropolis, IL Home of the Super Museum, with the largest collection of Superman memorabilia in the world! (pssst: check out the annual Superman Festival!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/67c94a0f-9151-4717-a988-e42d684ffb73/51570.jpeg Blog - Where We Roam Reflects Our Values - Harreld Webster Jr with author Calling cheesecake lovers! In Chillicothe, a small town just north of Peoria, is Triple Dipple’s, with sweets galore. Most summer Saturdays, you’ll find the owner, Harreld, at Peoria’s riverfront farmers market, selling personal-size cheesecakes (frozen, which makes them totable). http://www.melanieholmesauthor.com/blog/2023/7/12/what-i-learned-doing-ten-statewide-book-launch-events monthly 0.5 2023-07-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/d7ec9ef8-bc08-46d4-9d8f-6d626f0e9723/50789.jpeg Blog - WHAT I LEARNED DOING TEN STATEWIDE BOOK LAUNCH EVENTS - Make it stand out Launch event in Alton. Left to right: Tour operator Caleb Lewis, (me), Hayner Library exec. Lacy McDonald, Alton Mayor David Goins. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/4f56c21b-1329-40e6-8ba6-12d6cf5be952/50299%7E2.jpeg Blog - WHAT I LEARNED DOING TEN STATEWIDE BOOK LAUNCH EVENTS - Make it stand out Left to Right: S.M. 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https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/1536445122120-X61MK3TVFOMRDH2EVNS8/do+you+see+obstacles+or+mtns+to+be+climbed Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/1536428293720-0IMUUPPASTNWE4RRG5A4/Ralph+Waldo+Emerson+Quote+re+Dreams+9.8.18.jpg Home http://www.melanieholmesauthor.com/test-page daily 0.75 2014-03-24 http://www.melanieholmesauthor.com/the-book daily 1.0 2025-06-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/1609276138257-C3SURBBVN4DNWBYDT4UX/book+cover.jpg Books In the words of Professor Emeritus of Sociology & Community Studies (Governors State University) Larry McClellan, this book is “uniquely Manteno’s story, but also representative of the broad sweep of similar communities.” Some of Manteno’s stories have never been told; others forgotten. A woman who campaigned for married women’s rights began her fight here. In 1930, the first patients arrived at the newly built state hospital on the town’s eastern fringe. A parochial boarding school brought French nuns to the town, as well as boarders from Chicago and elsewhere — boarders who were of a broad array of ethnicities. A community hospital was built by Korean immigrants, named for a woman whose missionary work in Korea was nothing short of heroic. Arcadia Publishing offers 2 lengths for their books: 128-pages and 160-pages. Holmes needed 160 pages to do this town justice. To purchase, you can click the image of the book above and you’ll be brought to Arcadia’s catalog. It is also available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/1536425808650-NGIP0KQGCL6HDSF2056A/Pop+Inst+book+and+award+in+window+Hotel.jpg Books Photo taken at the Award Ceremony of the Population Institute, Washington DC, Jan. 2015. The Institute’s president at that time was Bob Walker (RIP 2024). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/45f39418-fedc-4986-882c-3c0c86a27a13/Screenshot_20221215-124044_3.png Books - The Ultimate Illinois bucket list book It’s my pleasure to announce my fifth book; part of Reedy Press’ nationwide line of bucket list books. Why a bucket list? It’s about setting priorities. What to do with a free day, weekend, or even a week? This book sparks ideas for places to…eat, float, ride, play, wander, and stay in places you may never have thought existed. Note that many of the items included are FREE or minimal cost. TO PURCHASE, CLICK HERE If you are a vendor interested in selling this book, please contact Reedy at books@reedypress.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/1627936354167-4GROVB4ANXHQ2S4KZ6A1/IMG_20210527_110828479_3.jpg Books Limited release in Feb. 2022. This book is available only from the Kankakee County Museum gift shop (call 815-932-5279), or from the author (send an email request). Postcards were once a popular and important form of communication, much like the cell phone text of the 21st century, but with beauty, art, and symbolism. Upon researching her maternal grandmother’s large vintage postcard collection (1906 - 1930s), Holmes connected the dots on the history of not just a family but of a generation/culture. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52801dbee4b0bffa49aaadfa/1545334663383-YPPI242FFIVU21VNLVU2/BOOK+COVER%2C+UIP-DUSTIN.jpg Books http://www.melanieholmesauthor.com/the-blog daily 0.75 2014-11-11 http://www.melanieholmesauthor.com/media daily 0.75 2023-07-13 http://www.melanieholmesauthor.com/new-products daily 0.75 2014-10-13