In this age of digital press, I’m absolutely delighted to share this week’s “above-the-fold” newspaper feature in the Susquehanna County Independent about my new book The Jacklighter and the Halloween signing in Vestal, NY. (My paper copies of the article are on order 🎉)
The Independent’s editor, Lauren Royce, stopped by Vestal’s Barnes & Noble last weekend to hang out at my signing table and talk to folks standing in line for autographed copies of The Jacklighter: Murder, Betrayal, and Justice in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains. She captured the heart of the event so well, noting how many locals turned out, many with deep personal connections to the story. Lauren mentioned my “wing-girl” and sister-in-law Linda, who grew up in Montrose, PA, where the story takes place, and who knew many of the people standing in line. Linda was my ambassador 🥹
The article noted that The Jacklighter delivers “…murder, mystery, betrayal—all leading to readers not being able to put this hyper-local true story down.” The book’s reception among locals in particular has been heartwarming for me 🧡
Subscribers to The Susquehanna County Independent can read the article here.
I actually wrote quite a bit about the magic of this particular B&N event in my Launch Week Recap. I signed over 50 copies of The Jacklighter after quickly selling out the store’s inventory and digging into the backup copies I kept in my car. It was a day filled with hugs, tears, and amazing conversations with folks who lived through this history.
Some of the readers who came to the B&N had read about the signing the day before in The Independent, which ran a short piece on the bookstore event. Earlier this year, the newspaper gave me permission to print one of its archival photos in the book of the prosecutor who tried Dr. Stephen Scher in the 1997 trial. I am grateful for The Independent’s cooperation, because otherwise there would have been no photo of Special Prosecutor Robert Campolongo. That historical photograph now appears in Chapter 28, “One Conclusion.”
To everyone who came out in Vestal, to those who shared their stories, and to Lauren and the Independent team for this feature story and photo-reprint permission—thank you. We are keeping this history alive, together.
Grab a copy of The Jacklighter, read the recap, and let’s keep this journey going!
