A BOOK AND A CHAT RADIO SHOW: September 2010

Thursday, September 23, 2010

A Book and a Chat with Christopher Stookey

Doctors and lawyers seem to be the guests on many shows over the last few months, I’m wondering if it’s that with the use of the computer would be readers/publishers do not have to try and translate doctors writing?

Anyway, my guest on today’s A Book and a Chat” is another doctor who has now gone into print. That is Christopher Stookey, whose debut medical/mystery/thriller is called “Terminal Care”.

Medical malpractice is something we all have to pay for, normally with the increase in medical insurance bills. Just imagine if you were a doctor and saw something going on that you did not think was right how you would feel.

During the show Chris shared with us his how his own introduction to the medical profession was being part of a lawsuit, as well as perhaps some of the items that he has seen fist hand in his day to day work as an emergency physician have influenced his debut novel. After all they say “write about what you know.”

About Terminal Care:

“Terminal Care” is set in San Francisco, and explores the unsavory world of big-business pharmaceuticals as well as the sad and tragic world of the Alzheimer’s ward at a medical research hospital. It is part medical procedural, part thriller, and part mystery and all three are expertly woven together to create a fast paced medical thriller.

The show included many side of this new author as well and an insight into his next novel.

So sit back and enjoy today’s “A Book and a Chat with Christopher Stookey”

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Christopher Stookey"

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Christopher Stookey"

You can find out more about my guest and their book at:
"Christopher Stookey - Terminal Care"

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

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Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

A Book and a Chat with Tom Weston

Today saw a welcome return to "A Book and a Chat" for Tom Weston.

First though I had to have my say about recent book banning and censorship that has gone on within the YA arena. To this end I am having a special program on Sunday October 24th at 6pm EST to discuss the whole subject of "Book Banning and Censorship".

That out of the way it was good to chat again with Tom. Previously he'd been on the program to discuss his transission from IT nonfiction writer to YA mystery writer, with his debut YA novel "The First Night" and his follow up book "The Elf of Luxembourg".

These two novels are the first, and as Tom shared during the program not the last in the “Jackie and Sarah” series of books.

“The First Night” being set in Boston, and of course the second book being set in Luxembourg, with a book set in Ireland and another in Prague in the pipe line I can see these... “Mystery while sharing the beauty of the country” style books becoming more and more popular.

During the show, Tom also shared with us the fact that he is currently transferring his screenplay “Fission: the Lise Meitner Story” into a novel, which to allow readers tidbits he’s serializing on Face Book, something that goes back to the days of the early Sherlock Holmes novels in the Victorian “Penny Dreadful’s”.

Tom once again was an interesting and entertaining guest.

So sit back and enjoy today’s “A Book and a Chat with Tom Weston”

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Tom Weston"

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Tom Weston"

You can find out more about my guest and their book at:
"Tom Weston - The Elf of Luxembourg"

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH

Saturday, September 18, 2010

A Book and a Chat with Jame Richards

I was due to have today’s guest on my show previously but it had to be cancelled at the last moment, so I was very pleased to be able to have Jame Richards back as a guest on my show today. We were not let down, and learned much about my guest and her debut book “Three Rivers Rising”.

Jame was the winner of the PEN New England Children's Book Caucus 2008 Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award and nominated for the ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2011 list.

It seems others knew Jame was destined to be a writer before she herself did, as growing up she was the one always chosen to do the narration. Her early artistic endeavors were aimed more towards visual arts, until adults told her there was no market for pencil-on-paper drawings, and even less for crayon-on-coloring-book pages, though she would have been a dab hand at designing pajamas. If not that in another little tidbit that Jame shared with us, naming nail varnish or lipstick colors.

Her book “Three Rivers Rising” she has described in these ten words…

“Cross-class romance, disowning, power, accountability, action, disaster, change, rebuilding”

But it is a whole lot more.

The book written in a lyrical sometimes poetic format that floats the reader along through a story you never stop wanting to read.

So what about “Three Rivers Rising” ?

It is set in the late 1800s when railroads were connecting disparate regions of the U.S. and demand for steel was high.

Sixteen-year-old Celestia spends every summer with her family at the elite resort at Lake Conemaugh, a shimmering Allegheny Mountain reservoir held in place by an earthen dam. Tired of the society crowd, Celestia prefers to swim and fish with Peter, the hotel’s hired boy. It’s a friendship she must keep secret, and when companionship turns to romance, it’s a love that could get Celestia disowned. These affairs of the heart become all the more wrenching on a single, tragic day in May, 1889.

After days of heavy rain, the dam fails, unleashing 20 million tons of water onto Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in the valley below. The town where Peter lives with his father. The town where Celestia has just arrived to join him.

This searing novel in poems explores a cross-class romance—and a tragic event in U.S. history where over 2000 people lost their lives.

The show was full of interest and advice, as well as a brief insite into what Jame is currently writing.

So sit back and enjoy today’s “A Book and a Chat with Jame Richards”

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Jame Richards"

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Jame Richards"

You can find out more about my guest and their book at:
"Jame Richards - Three Rivers Rising"

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH

Thursday, September 16, 2010

A Book and a Chat with Laura Vosika

Think Highlander, Trading Places and a dozen other great movies and books thrown together with a gentle touch of music and a story that makes you want to keep turning the pages and you’ll get the first book in my today’s guest Laura Vosika, and her first book in the fiction trilogy "Blue Bells of Scotland".

Laura and her love for music in a way lead to this book as “Blue Bells of Scotland” is a much loved piece of music for trombone, the instrument Laura started with, which by the way has now spread across woodwind, strings and percussion.

Mother of nine children who by the way is also writing a non-fiction book about bringing up a large family, shared with us how she’d started of writing a single novel. However this when early readers questioned the ending and came up with so many other options, that she went back to the drawing board, or is it in Laura’s case the “rough score” and it spread into a trilogy.

As one of the many 5 star reviews on Amazon states…

A man, a trombone and his claymore

From modern day Inverness to medieval Scotland this book takes you on an adventure across the mountains and valleys of the Highlands. The two main characters are polar opposites in everything but looks. The plot twists and turns pulling you towards its climax at Bannockburn. Well written and entertaining this book has something for the musician and highland warrior in you.

And this is only Book One!!!

I myself found the whole idea of the story and the flow of the characters something that has me longing to read the second book, even more so with the snippet Laura shared about a character turning up at the battle of Bannockburn offering coffee (think when coffee was discovered)

About Blue Bells of Scotland:

“Shawn Kleiner has it all: money, fame, a skyrocketing career as an international musical phenomenon, his beautiful girlfriend Amy, and all the women he wants-- until the night Amy has enough and leaves him stranded in a Scottish castle tower.
He wakes up to find himself mistaken for Niall Campbell, medieval Highland warrior. Soon after, he is sent shimmying down a wind-torn castle wall into a dangerous cross country trek with Niall's tempting, but knife-wielding fiancee. They are pursued by English soldiers and a Scottish traitor who want Niall dead.

Thrown forward in time, Niall learns history’s horrifying account of his own death, and of the Scots’ slaughter at Bannockburn. Undaunted, he navigates the roiled waters of Shawn’s life-- pregnant girlfriend, amorous fans, enemies, and gambling debts--- seeking a way to leap back across time to save his people, especially his beloved Allene. His growing fondness for Shawn’s life brings him face to face with his own weakness and teaches him the true meaning of faith.

Blue Bells of Scotland is both a historical adventure and a tale of redemption that will be remembered long after the last page has been turned.”

I Totally Agree!

So sit back and enjoy today’s “A Book and a Chat with Laura Vosika”

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Laura Vosika"

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Laura Vosika"

You can find out more about my guest and their book at:
"Laura Vosika - Blue Bells of Scotland"

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

A Book and a Chat with Shobhan Bantwal

“Bollywood in a Book” is a term used to describe my guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat”, though Shobhan Banwal creates a lot more within the pages of her books than any Bollywood film set.

Previously Shobhan was a guest on the show telling us about her book “The Sari Shop Widow” today she joined us to share about her latest novel “The Unexpected Son”.

Shobhan writes Women's Fiction with a touch of romance and sometimes a little her novels incorporate the rich elements of her Indian culture: beliefs, myths, legends, superstitions, foods, scents, recipes, clothing, accessories, language including slang, history, geography, and most anything that can add to your entertainment and knowledge.

THE UNEXPECTED SON:

What happens when a woman who's realized her dreams wakes up to a shocking truth? A captivating tale of one woman's return to India: the place where she lost everything--and now has everything to gain...

As “Romance Reviews Today” put it…

This enchanting, heartbreaking, but uplifting tale was impossible to put down ... extremely well-written book that will grab you at page one."

This is her fourth book and as she shared there is already another book waiting to be brought out in 2011.

So sit back and enjoy today’s “A Book and a Chat with Shobhan Bantwal”

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Shobhan Bantwal"

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Shobhan Bantwal"

You can find out more about my guest and their book at:
"Shobhan Bantwal - The Unexpected Son"

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH

Saturday, September 11, 2010

A Book and a Chat with Dean M. DeLuke

My guest on today’s”A Book and a Chat” is Dr Dean M DeLuke. I guess now that people can type up their novels on a computer, it does not matter that people always had trouble reading doctors writing, and perhaps that’s why there seem to be more and more doctors, turning their hands to writing.

In the case Dean, it is not just his medical background that he’s been able to use in the production of his mystery/thriller novel “SHEDROW” but also his love for thoroughbred racing, that goes back to his youth.

Think “Dick Francis meets Robin Cook” and you’ll have a rough idea of this splendid debut novel. It is a story and adventure that straight from the off, gallops along taking the reader through many twists and turns on a page turning adventure. “Shedrow” is not just for horse lovers and thoroughbred race enthusiasts, to whom the word “Shedrow” is instantly recognized as a row of barns at a race track. It is a book for all ages and sexes, the book is a terrific whodunit, with characters that lead you from one chapter to another making you want to know more about them.

As Dean shared with us during the show, the book and the publication has been helped by other medical authors, and I’m sure the name Dean M DeLuke will soon be spoken about with other famous doctor authors.

So sit back and enjoy today’s “A Book and a Chat with Dean M. DeLuke”

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Dean M. DeLuke"

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Dean M. DeLuke"

You can find out more about my guest and their book at:
"Dean M. DeLuke - Shedrow"

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH

Thursday, September 9, 2010

A Book and a Chat with Patrick Brown

Born in born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and winner of the Morris Medal for best senior history honors thesis Patrick Brown is my guest on today's "A Book and a Chat".

Unfortunately Patrick got held up and did not make it to the show until about halfway through, still it was worth waiting for to hear about his latest book "Industrail Pioneers".

"Industrial Pioneers: Scranton, Pennsylvania and the Transformation of America, 1840-1902" tells of the industrial transformation of the city of Scranton – once a small, backwoods community, Scranton grew in size to a modern-day city with 100,000 residents. Chapters reveal the phases of Scranton’s transformation in chronological order, with close heed paid to how individual residents had to learn how to adapt to the forces of technology and globalization. A timeline, bibliography, and index round out this absorbing true history of a bustling city’s resilient and adaptable residents, and the lessons that can be learned from their lives.

American history has an eerie way of repeating itself.

In 1800's, America needed coal to fuel its economy. Investors from throughout the country began offering farmers in Northeast Pennsylvania huge amounts of money for their land to gain access to coal hundreds of feet below ground.

These days, America needs clean energy to fuel its economy. Investors from around the world have begun offering landowners in Northeast Pennsylvania huge amounts of money for the right to recover the natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation, almost a mile below ground.

So sit back and enjoy today’s “A Book and a Chat with Patrick Brown”

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Patrick Brown"

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Patrick Brown"

You can find out more about my guest and their book at:
"Patrick Brown"

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

A Book and a Chat with Steve Ostrow

What have a lawyer, telemarketers, Kramer and my guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat” got in common?

They are all linked to my special guest, Steve Ostrow.

For the past 30 years, Steve has worked as a business and real estate attorney, combining his comic wit with a non-traditional law practice to become a much sort after legal representative. Mix with that his work as a celebrity impersonator based on the television character Kramer, played by actor Michael Richards on the famed Seinfeld television show. In this guise he has appeared Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel and The Ellen DeGeneres Show to name but a few.

So when Steve stood back and took a rest from being Kramer, he noticed his days and nights were being interrupted by the dreaded “Telemarketer.”

As Steve shared during a fun thirty minute show, he started off, having fun with these callers, before realizing he should test the water using his legal knowledge before writing about it… The result is his book “How To Sue A Telemarketer: A Manual For Restoring Peace On Earth One Phone Call At A Time.”

How To Sue A Telemarketer: A Manual For Restoring Peace On Earth One Phone Call At A Time is a tongue-in-cheek manual that shows the average citizen how they can fight back against a telemarketer by taking them to small-claims court. Half humorous and half "How to", How to Sue a Telemarketer combines comedy with savvy information about the legal system and step-by-step instructions on how consumers can sue telemarketers.

A Steve describes states…

“I wrote ‘How To Sue A Telemarketer’ for all the good, kind and ordinary people of the world who simply want to have a quiet dinner, or a beer and watch a basketball game, without getting interrupted by someone who doesn’t give a damn about them.”

A Steve shared with us, there are many simple steps you can follow, and if it’s telemarketing faxes it’s even easier. And it is not just writing from fiction; he has successfully sued, or settled won and collected over 10 judgments against telemarketers.

As he stated during the program, “Those judgments have made enough to cover the cost of publishing the book.”

So sit back and enjoy today’s “A Book and a Chat with Steve Ostrow”

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Steve Ostrow"

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Steve Ostrow"

You can find out more about my guest and their book at:
"Steve Ostrow - How to Sue a Telemarketer"

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH

Saturday, September 4, 2010

A Book and a Chat with Kathi (Easy Writer) Macias

Half way through today’s show I checked my emails and there were already two messages from listeners saying how much they were enjoying the broadcast. This it what makes it all worthwhile, knowing that others are enjoying the show. Mind you, whenever today’s guest appears on the show it is always a fun and entraining event, “A Book and a Chat with Kathi (Easy Writer) Macias” was no exception.

With over thirty books already under her belt Kathi seems to be able to produce three to four books a year, be fiction or nonfiction.

Today the main topic of conversation was her recent novel “Valeria’s Cross” which was co-written with “Susan Wales”

The name Susan Wales is a writer well known amongst the book world, wife of film producer Ken Wales (Amazing Grace), she co-wrote the popular political thriller series The Chase, The Replacement, and The Candidate, but is perhaps best known for her Match Made in Heaven series of compiled true stories. With two etiquette books, Social Graces and Social Graces for Your Wedding, plus the entertaining The Pleasure of Your Company to name but a few.

When you add this level of writing to Kathi’s thirty plus books you know that the outcome will be a book well worth reading.

Valeria's Cross:

In the 3rd century, pampered Roman princess Valeria falls in love with Mauritius, captain of the Theban Legion. She sends him off to battle, where he suffers under the schemes of a notorious pagan general with an ambition for power and a lust for Valeria. In a scene based on true events, the evil Galerius kills Mauritius and his entire legion for their Christian faith. And in a shocking turn of events, the grieving Valeria is forced to become Galerius' wife against her will. Never has a marriage been set up for such failure. Valeria loathes her new husband, but he seems to undergo a change of heart, adopting a child for her and giving her power and authority, and even love. She struggles with the commitment she knows she must keep, and the love she knows she will never find again.

Kathi also shared with us her latest release in the "Extreme Devotion Fiction Series",
“No Greater Love” set in South Africa, was followed by “More Than Conquers” set in Mexico, next month the third book in the series “Red Ink” set in China, will be followed by “People of the Book” set in Saudi Arabia, which will come out April next year.

A lady who never seems to rest for a moment, Kathi shared with us much about not only her writing, but also how she developed into the wonderful speaker an writer she is today.

So sit back and enjoy today’s “A Book and a Chat with Kathi Macias”

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Kathi Macias"

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Kathi Macias"

You can find out more about my guest and their book at:
"Kathi Macias - Valeria's Cross"

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH

Thursday, September 2, 2010

A Book and a Chat with Kay Strom

When you have done over 200 radio shows there are two flows that can make the shows so much more entertaining, firstly meeting new people, secondly the return of old friends from previous visits. Today’s "A Book and a Chat" was one of the latter when multi talented writer, speaker and 21st century abolitionist Kay Strom made a welcome return to the show.

With 36 published books, five have been book club selections, eleven have been translated into foreign languages, and one was optioned for a movie covering everything from children’s stories to booklets for writers, Kay has covered most of writings bases, including, as we love to talk about lecturing on cruise ships.

During Kay’s last visit we touched on a trilogy she was writing set in West Africa in the 1700’s. The first book “The Call of Zulina” in what is now the “Grace in Africa trilogy” had just come out and we chatted a lot about the various aspects that the book covered.

During today’s show we talked about the second book in the trilogy “The Voyage of Promise” comes out next month and the third and final book will be available next February, this is called “The Triumph of Grace”.

About "Voyage of Promise"

She is safe, and she is free . . . but she is still alone.

Slavers burst into Grace Winslow’s life with guns blazing and tear her family apart forever. She watches in anguish as her husband is led in chains aboard a tightly packed slave ship bound for America. An old enemy has a more sinister plan for Grace and prepares her for a different kind of servitude in London. But Grace will not be enslaved. And she will not give up on the man she loves. In her determination to be reunited with her husband, she finds God reaching out to her

As well as chatting about the Grace in Africa books, Kay also shared with us her next set of books, this time set in India, again a trilogy. We discussed other possibilities all of course making sure there was some investigative traveling required.

As normal Kay was a wonderful guest sharing with us many incites not only into her writing but also into many of the everyday items that mean so much to this 21st century abolitionist.

So sit back and enjoy today’s “A Book and a Chat with Kay Strom”

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Kay Strom"

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Kay Strom"

You can find out more about my guest and their book at:
"Kay Strom - The Voyage of Promise"

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH