A Visit to Vortex Books and Comics in Columbia, PA

Posted on January 11, 2025 by Mike Glyer

Teresa is standing at the front door of Vortex Books and Comics. Like the Tardis, the shop is much bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.

By Teresa Peschel: Vortex Books and Comics is a new horror, sci-fi, fantasy, comics, manga, anime, and gaming bookshop in Columbia, PA. It was opened about a year ago by Brian Keene and Mary SanGiovanni. Recently, Bill and I finally made it out to Columbia to visit the bookshop.

If you’re a fan of any of the above genres, this is a destination shop. It’s much larger on the inside than the outside, and packed with goodies, oddities, and a comprehensive selection of books you won’t generally find outside of huge online superstores. In addition, Brian Keene and Mary SanGiovanni regularly host gaming events and author signings. They’ve got a busy schedule. Subscribe to their newsletter to keep abreast of who’s dropping by for a few hours. They also post events on Facebook and Instagram so be sure to follow them to keep up.

Here is a selection of pix to show you the store. Brian graciously posed with me, as did Hylinus. Mary was out of town when Bill and I dropped in so I did not have the chance to meet her.

Teresa with the owner of Vortex Books, Brian Keene

The shop is located at 477 Locust St in Columbia, PA. For you authors and gamers out there, they say on their website!!!!:

“We are happy to host your book signing, reading, workshop, or other events! Contact us at VortexBNC@outlook.com and let’s make it happen!”

Yep, they want to do author signings. They do plenty, too.

They say in writing:

SIGNINGS & READINGS: In addition to purchasing items at the store, customers are welcome to bring items from home to be signed. Customers are asked to remain respectful of others during readings (movie theater rules apply).

OPEN MIC NIGHTS: Anyone can participate, regardless of publication status. All forms of spoken word are welcome — short stories, poetry, nonfiction, etc. Each person has a maximum time of ten minutes. To participate, simply show up the night of the event.

Not many bookshops give this blanket invitation. There’s also no mention of having to pay to play! I’ll have to take advantage of their remarkable generosity myself when I finally press [PUBLISH] on The Bitch Queen of Atto even though I’m on their periphery with science-fiction romance.

If you’re in Central PA, stop in and be amazed. They are worth the trip.

Unusual books abound in Vortex! This is How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety: and Abstinence, Drugs, Satanism, and Other Dangers That Threaten Their Nine Lives by Zachery Auburn. This oddity made me laugh.

Cats Sleep on SFF: Odessa Moon

Posted on August 27, 2024 by Mike Glyer

Teresa Peschel introduces us to Odin, the bookstore cat at Cupboard Maker Books in Enola, PA:

Odin was kind enough to sit next to my book The Vanished Pearls of Orlov by my alter-ego, Odessa Moon during my Bookstore Romance signing.

Odin is a rescued Turkish Angora cat and has become quite the star at Cupboard Maker Books. He regularly inspects every author who comes to sign. For Bookstore Romance Weekend, he visited all 40 authors over the three days.

If you’d like more information about Odin, visit “Bookstore Cats” at Cupboard Maker Books. Teresa adds, “In addition to their three bookstore cats, Cupboard Maker is a foster home for Castaway Critters. They’ve found furever homes for hundreds of cats over the years.”

Photos of your felines (or whatever you’ve got!) resting on genre works are welcome. Send to mikeglyer (at) cs (dot) com

Visit to a Replica of Sherlock Holmes’ Sitting Room at 221B Baker Street

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Mike Glyer

By Bill and Teresa Peschel: Inside an unassuming house in Reading, PA is a treasure. It’s a complete down-to-the-last-detail, life-size recreation of Sherlock Holmes’ sitting room at 221B Baker Street.

And, if you’re a member of a Sherlock Holmes fan group (there are many across the world including the U.S. and we welcome new members) you can visit it on open house days.

Teresa Peschel — and Bill. if you know where to look for him.

Bill and I are members of the White Rose Irregulars, a group based in central PA. Thus, when word comes from on high that the sitting room is open for visitors, we make the trek to Reading. The owner, a member of the Baker Street Irregulars, opens up once or twice a year. He gets visitors from across the United States who come to revel in sitting in Sherlock’s own easy chair, gawk at Sebastion Moran’s air rifle, study the chemistry lab, listen to the sound of horses clip-clopping outside on the street, try to identify the hundreds of items on display and connect them to the canon, and buy loads of Sherlock merchandise to supplement their own hoards.

In addition, the owner sells memorabilia to benefit the Baker Street Irregulars Trust. It uses the money raised to raise Sherlock’s profile in the public school system. He acquires it from everywhere: donations, people downsizing their collections, others who have gotten duplicates, or the heirs who don’t know what to do with any of that stuff.

The current plan for the sitting room is it will eventually go, down to the last cocaine syringe and spent bullet casing, to the University of Minnesota’s Sherlock Holmes collection. It will join some 60,000 other items including the Peschel Press contribution to Sherlock studies: The 223B Casebooks. These comprise nine volumes of vintage Sherlock Holmes parodies covering 1888 – 1930. And yes, the owner of Sherlock’s sitting room has a set of our books. We’re very proud.

This is an amazing place to visit. You enter the house, descend the staircase lined with Sherlock movie memorabilia, and enter the sitting room. Once inside, you can walk around and marvel, even touch things. Two passageways lined with more posters and such lead to the memorabilia room. It’s crammed with wonderful treasures you can buy with a clear conscience because you’re supporting the BSI Trust. While you’re there, you can meet and chat with Sherlock fans from across the country, some of them very big names indeed.

But until Sherlock’s sitting room reopens and you can go to Reading, enjoy the pictures.

Bill and Teresa Peschel are indie writers and publishers from Hershey, PA. They publish a wide variety of books, including the 223B Baker Street series which collects vintage Sherlock Holmes fanfiction and annotations of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers golden age mysteries. Visit them at Peschel Press to learn more or follow them on Instagram for daily quotes and posts.

Teresa shows the side of the stairwell covered by framed movie posters.

Harrisburg Comic Con 2023 Report

Posted on September 1, 2023 by Mike Glyer

By Teresa Peschel: The Harrisburg Comic Con on August 26-27, 2023 was our second comics convention and it was overwhelming. Our first was purely by happenstance. We were visiting my mother and that weekend, the Dover DE comic con took place. I’d enjoyed what I’d seen there and so here we are.

Harrisburg Comic Con takes place in part of the immense Farm Show complex in north Harrisburg. Despite its size, it was still dwarfed by the building we were in.

We arrived soon after they opened at 11:00 a.m. We’d tried to buy tickets online — before the Thursday 9:00 p.m. deadline — but were unable to. So we stood in line with everyone else.

Inside, we were greeted by row upon row of booths. It was crowded with regular people and an amazing array of cosplayers. Despite this being a comics convention, I recognized very few of the cosplayers as being Marvel or DC characters. Dear Daughter, a dedicated gamer and manga and anime fan, identified about one third of the cosplayers. Maybe. I recognized maybe five percent. Ghostbusters, Stormtroopers, Princess Peach, and The Penguin and so forth. You know. Characters everyone can recognize.

Not being up on popular culture, I didn’t recognize any of the headliners either. But other people did!

As you’d expect there were multiple booths dedicated to comic books. There was also every possible ancillary product, including marshmallows, a chance to get filmed in three dimensions, dragon statuary, get service with a smile, and a chance to upgrade your game room. At one booth, you didn’t have to talk to the author if you felt shy.

We spoke with Jarred and Matt of “You Have to Watch This” podcast about a possible interview about Agatha Christie films. Maybe they’ll email me. It could happen.

I also got to cross light sabers with Sarah B. of Life of Cosplay.

None of this sounds like it has anything to do with science fiction, fantasy, or genre-adjacent horror, but it was there. We always attend an event like this looking for indie authors and we found plenty. They’re all genre or genre-adjacent and willing to stand on their feet all day Saturday and Sunday. For you indie authors looking to build your fanbase, shows like this can give you a feel for whether or not the buying public will take a chance on your writing.

Let’s meet the authors and one artist. [Photo gallery and conclusion of report follow the jump.]

Continue reading →

Murder As You Like It Conreport

Posted on August 13, 2023 by Mike Glyer

By Teresa Peschel: This year Murder As You Like It returned after a three-year hiatus. It’s a small, one-day mystery convention sponsored by the Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop, one of the few mystery-focused bookshops in the country. This convention was the ninth one.

Deb Beamer, the owner, is a long-time mystery fan. She hosts numerous authors along with a wide variety of programs. I’ve spoken there on 13 Poirots and 7 Miss Marples.

Fifteen authors participated: Nicole Asselin, R.G. Belsky, Matty Dalrymple, Annette Dashofy, John DeDakis, Peter W.J. Hayes, Sarah Ickes, Con Lehane, Liz Milliron, Sandy Nork, Tj O’Connor, Lissa Marie Redmond, Dennis Royer, Karen Shugart, and Greg Stone. Bill Peschel emceed the event.

The authors are a varied bunch with some very diverse backgrounds. R.G. Belsky in particular is someone you already know in a roundabout way: he worked for the New York Post and helped develop the most famous headline in the world: Headless Body Found in Topless Bar. The authors’ books range from cozies to police procedurals, historicals to thrillers, suspense to insurance fraud, soft-boiled and hardboiled.

There were three panels: “Why research is important”; “Cops, crimes, and the blurred lines”; and “Country vs. city crimes”.

The panels were interspersed with author roundabouts, where each author moved from table to table, giving about five minutes to chat with the mystery fans.

There was time to buy books and get them signed.

It’s a friendly group. It’s small enough you can talk to the authors and other fans but just large enough that you’ll run out of time before you talk to everyone, whetting your appetite for next year.

Malice Domestic #35 Report

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Mike Glyer

Guest of Honor Hank Phillipi Ryan (right) being interviewed

By Teresa Peschel: Bill and I are Peschel Press. This was our third Malice Domestic. If you’re a fan of cozy mysteries and looking for your tribe, Malice is the place to be.

Officially, it runs Friday morning through Sunday afternoon at the end of April. This year’s dates were April 28-30. Unofficially, Malice gets started on Thursday evening when Maureen Jennings hosts a showing of a current Murdoch Mysteries episode. In this case, she wrote the episode we saw but I don’t know if that’s always true. Afterwards, Maureen Jennings answers questions from the audience about the episode, how TV adapts her books, and similar topics.

Maureen Jennings (right) at one of the many, many panels

Malice runs about 600 people attending, roughly divided between true-blue fans and authors. The authors range wildly from debut authors (including indies) to longtime stalwarts in the mystery world. There’s always a guest of honor, lifetime achievement guest, international guest of honor, fan guest of honor, toastmaster, Poirot award (sometimes), Amelia award, toastmaster, and of course, the Agatha awards in five categories.

Events start promptly Friday at 9 a.m. with the first round of panels on dozens of subjects. At the same time, the Dealer Room, Hospitality Suite, and Silent Auction Room open for the day.

Other programs include introducing Malice to first-time attendees, volunteer information, speed-dating with authors, and Kensington handing out armloads of free books. During the day, a rotating cast of authors show up in the Dealers’ Room to sign books.

Having the authors sign in the Dealers’ Room means more traffic and a better chance of sales.

Saturday and Sunday have a similar, fully-packed schedule with panels, interviews, signings, speed-dating, and swag galore.

Friday’s evening events include Opening Ceremonies, Dinner on your own, a memorial program for Elizabeth Peters, and the live charity auction with an exquisite array of fancy pastries on each table. Many people attend for the auction. Others of us attend to scarf up the pastries.

Saturday morning started with a fancy breakfast (The Last Croissant Disappears at Nine). The evening events started with cocktails in the grand foyer, followed by the Agatha Awards Banquet including awarding the prize teapots to the winners, followed by the Agatha Afterward party.

Saturday evening events had a musical background courtesy of Georgetown Prep’s prom going on in the ballroom next door. You could really tell the difference between the Malice crowd and Georgetown Prep. Our average age was 60. Theirs was 18.

Sunday began with a free breakfast sponsored by Kensington to promote all the debut authors. The day ended on Sunday afternoon with the Agatha tea and closing ceremonies.

There are Malice attendees who’ve been to all 35 conventions. It’s a fun crowd, full of old friends meeting each other again. Attendees come from across the U.S., along with Canada and a few from further away.

You never know who you will meet. I got a picture of myself with noted local author, Misty Simon (aka Gabby Allan). We took the picture with me holding The Sun, ensuring we’ll get our picture in The Sun (circulation is about 7,000+).

Misty Simon (aka Gabby Allan), left, The Sun, and Teresa Peschel, right.

Will we go next year? Yes, we will. It’s fun and we sell books. We debuted Agatha Christie, She Watched: One Woman’s Plot to Watch 201 Agatha Christie Movies Without Murdering the Director, Screenwriter, Cast, or Her Husband and it did well.

Should you go? If you like mysteries and you’re in the area, you can dip your toe in the water by buying a day pass on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday and getting a feel for the convention.

Visit Malice’s website for more details covering everything from registration to advertising.

The Peschel Press Cat Report on Sheba Salmon Sticks

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Mike Glyer

As dictated by Dimitri, speaking for himself, Sasha, Lulu, and Madeline.

By Dimitri: Mom called us to the kitchen using her voice that means “treats!” So we showed up, all except Madeline who refuses to admit she lives with the rest of us even after nearly two years. She has to get a special invitation. I guess she was downstairs on the couch, pretending she doesn’t know us.

Mom waved this stick at me and it smelled delicious! I love carbs. I’ll jump on the counter and rip open a bag of bread to eat it all up. Maybe it’s because I was found starving under a dumpster.

Anyway. The stick was delicious! Mom tore off bits for me and I gobbled them up. Wow. I’ll eat this again and after what my sisters did, I’ll get to eat that entire box!

Dimitri , the big tuxedo male, at left. Lulu in the middle. Teresa Peschel, at right.

Lulu showed up. She’s slim but you should see her eat. She sniffed the stick. She even got up on her hind legs like she does when mom gives us sliced roast beef. But she snubbed it. I know she’ll eat fish treats. Maybe this had too many carbs. Lulu doesn’t like carbs. That’s why she’s so scrawny. Even when mom broke off little bites and put them on the floor — pushing me away! — she wouldn’t eat the salmon stick bits. So I ate them.

Sasha usually hogs the treats. That’s why she’s so fat. She was feral once. That’s how she got the tipped ear, when someone rescued her and she ended up with us. She has no shame when it comes to begging for treats. She sniffed the stick and recoiled like it smelled like it had been sitting in a dumpster for weeks. Mom broke the stick into little bites and skittered them across the kitchen floor. Sasha played with the bites but she wouldn’t eat them, like she’ll wolf down our other treats. So I ate them.

Shasha, the tubby gray tabby with the tipped ear.

Then mom went downstairs to find Madeline. She’s super-fluffy and I guess that’s why she thinks she’s better than us shorthairs. She sniffed the treat stick. I know because I followed mom downstairs hoping for another bite. You never know with Madeline. Sometimes she’ll accept a treat, like she’s doing you a favor. When mom broke the treat stick into bites, she liked it enough to get up and eat them. But only three. So I ate the rest.

I loved the Sheba salmon sticks. I’ll eat them again. Lucky for me, I’ll get the entire box to myself because Madeline probably will have to be coaxed, and Lulu and Sasha both thought they were icky.

Lulu who eats freeze-dried minnows and Sasha who’ll beg for anything. Go figure.

But that means more for me!

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