I wrote The Black Squirrel Ball because I thought I had a story in me to share - a mystery flashback to the late 1960s woven with some fun family tales and tall embellishments.
The Black Squirrel Ball is based in Westfield, MA with the backdrop of Peaceland Park (actually known as Stanley Park).
With the encouragement and help of my husband and family, I wrote the book and self-published it in a little over a year, and the marketing efforts have been a family affair, too. I still have much more work on selling books, but the first two months have proven to be successful locally - now I need to reach out further.
Here is a little more about the book: Samantha Jane Cummings is organized, creative, and resourceful but terribly frustrated in her corporate job. With some prodding from her Aunt Reggie, she quits her job to take on a short-term assignment as the Fortieth Black Squirrel Ball coordinator at Peaceland Park.
Sam wanted to make this Ball the best ever – to raise the most money, regain her professional confidence, and make her family proud. After all, she was in charge of the event that her grandfather, the former superintendent of Peaceland Park, founded forty years ago.
However, while working with volunteers with strong personalities, recruiting new corporate sponsors, and ensuring every last detail of the event is perfect, Sam learns that the inaugural co-chairperson, Pauli Suarez, mysteriously died in the park the evening of the first ball.
Was it an accident? If it was, how could a park that Sam’s grandfather ensured was safe and secure be the location of a tragic accident? Or was it murder? And if it was, why was this much-loved successful woman killed? And more importantly, why hasn’t the mystery been solved in forty years?
You can check out my blog at www.theblacksquirrelball.wordpress.com. I hope you enjoy the blog and I hope you buy the book or ask for it in your local library.
The Black Squirrel Ball is based in Westfield, MA with the backdrop of Peaceland Park (actually known as Stanley Park).
With the encouragement and help of my husband and family, I wrote the book and self-published it in a little over a year, and the marketing efforts have been a family affair, too. I still have much more work on selling books, but the first two months have proven to be successful locally - now I need to reach out further.
Here is a little more about the book:
Samantha Jane Cummings is organized, creative, and resourceful but terribly frustrated in her corporate job. With some prodding from her Aunt Reggie, she quits her job to take on a short-term assignment as the Fortieth Black Squirrel Ball coordinator at Peaceland Park.
Sam wanted to make this Ball the best ever – to raise the most money, regain her professional confidence, and make her family proud. After all, she was in charge of the event that her grandfather, the former superintendent of Peaceland Park, founded forty years ago.
However, while working with volunteers with strong personalities, recruiting new corporate sponsors, and ensuring every last detail of the event is perfect, Sam learns that the inaugural co-chairperson, Pauli Suarez, mysteriously died in the park the evening of the first ball.
Was it an accident? If it was, how could a park that Sam’s grandfather ensured was safe and secure be the location of a tragic accident? Or was it murder? And if it was, why was this much-loved successful woman killed? And more importantly, why hasn’t the mystery been solved in forty years?
You can check out my blog at www.theblacksquirrelball.wordpress.com. I hope you enjoy the blog and I hope you buy the book or ask for it in your local library.
Amy Liptak Caruso