In 2011, I wrote a story about the talking dolls that Thomas Edison produced and sold briefly in the late 1800s. The dolls had tiny record players in them, and they played wax discs onto which nursery rhymes had been recorded. The discs were very fragile and broke easily, which was one reason why the … Continue reading More of Edison’s talking doll recordings restored
Weird NJ
The Mother of Action Park Stories
In 2014 my local newspaper reported on two different television production companies approaching Action Park about doing a reality TV show. (Chances are this link will be dead or under a subscription wall.) Action Park, if you don't know, is a notorious water park located in the Northwestern NJ town in which I live. The … Continue reading The Mother of Action Park Stories
Whimsical failure part 2
So this happened today. The interview I wrote about in my last blog post was published online. I don't know how well, if at all, the interview will be received by Lord Whimsy. And though I wish it had gone differently six (!!!) years ago, I do feel good that a long unpublished interview that … Continue reading Whimsical failure part 2
In which I am a whimsical failure, of sorts
In July 2008, I had just finished assembling my second anthology of ghost stories, Weird Encounters. And despite my efforts to complete the book in time for the publisher to get it on shelves in time for Halloween that year, they were all for naught. Thanks to the financial crisis, the publisher said it might … Continue reading In which I am a whimsical failure, of sorts
Contact List
It was a while ago, maybe two years back, when I had to stop by the Weird NJ office for some reason that has long been lost to me. But I didn’t have a key and I needed to make sure that somebody would be at the office so I could do the thing I … Continue reading Contact List
joanne m. austin 
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