A Book and a Chat with Julie Anne Peters

My guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat” is YA and Children’s author Julie Anne Peters. In her YA she has tackled issues such as how to deal with your first same sex crush, growing up transgender, and what it's like when your two moms' relationship falls apart.

She originally aimed her career to be a teacher however one year of teaching fifth grade showed to both herself and the school (yes she got fired) that perhaps teaching was not quite the career for her. Several more exams and careers later, as she shared with us during the program, she was working on counting the number of parts in a car… the dreaded widgets… we she realized that there must be more to life than geeking out about 4GL and the number of widgets on a car. So there and then she decided to become a writer.

So started the long and bumpy road to being a published author.
Back in the 1990’s the YA literary explosion was still to happen, so she wrote books for younger readers from “The Stinky Sneakers Contest” to the wonderfully named “Love Me, Love My Broccoli” and including the "Snob Squad" series of books.

In 2000 she wrote a book which though aimed for the younger market, there not being a recognized one for the YA readers called “Devine Normal” which through word of mouth found its way to the cusp of the YA literary explosion. That was the start of Julie’s march through the ranks YA authors.

Along the way her editor asked her to write about a lesbian relationship, and though reluctant at the time, afraid to lose her existing readership, Julie’s book “Keeping You a Secret” broke new ground. Since then she has written books that cover many varied and sometimes “controversial” issues faced by children and teens regarding sexual identity, abuse, destructive relationships and problematic family dynamics.

Her book “By the time you read this I will be dead” for instance covered follows a suicidal high school student who has been the victim of peer bullying for years.

Her latest book is “She Loves You, She Loves You Not”

Dumped by her girlfriend and rejected by her family, Alyssa is sent across the country to live with the mother who abandoned her at birth. A mother who still doesn’t seem to have room in her heart for Alyssa. Hurt and alone, Alyssa is left to create a new life for herself. Can she ever get over her abandonment issues to trust again? Can she redefine “family?” And will she open herself to the possibility of new love?

Her books are always fresh, always looking at new subjects in a format enjoyed by all sexes, ages and human situations, and I’m sure that the number of he readers will just continue to grow.

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with Julie Anne Peters"

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Julie Anne Peters".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Julie Anne Peters"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Julie Anne Peters - She loves you, she loves you not"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

A Book and a Chat with Jane Rowan

The old story is that when asked why people climb mountains the answer is “because they are there”. When Jane Rowan, my guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat” was asked why she wrote her book, her answer was…

What is writing for? Is it about your ambition to sell a million books for money or fame? Is it about reaching certain readers and changing something in their hearts and lives? Is it to express something inside you that is important but unformed, demanding work and attention to bring it to the surface? Is it an expression of spontaneous need like the impulse to splash red paint across a wall when you’re angry?

I came face-to-face with these questions when I started to write The River of Forgetting: A Memoir of Healing from Sexual Abuse. Did I want to write a bestseller, sensationalizing the details to lure publishers and readers? Was I writing for revenge or to display how victimized I was?

Strangely enough, I began writing from sheer gratitude for the healing that therapy had brought me, for my therapist’s skill and care, and for the new sense of life and creativity that I had discovered. That was the bright impulse and the continuing thread, but the work of writing was something else.

Strangely perhaps to some her book is actually a celebration, a celebration of the many people who carry out heroic work every week in therapists’ offices all over the globe - uncovering painful pasts and integrating and learning to open their hearts and move on.

Jane’s story is one of many showing the paths of the process that lead you through despair to that of hope and joy, how difficult it is to really trust a therapist and allow them to literally walk through your soul.

About “The River of Forgetting”

The River of Forgetting covers a particular five-year period in Jane’s life, from the first creepy memory that surfaced and hinted at childhood abuse to the moment when she decided to write the book. It was a very turbulent time as she tried to understand whether her loving, eccentric family was also an abusive family.

While she encountered each new wave of doubt, mistrust, grief, and revulsion, Jane also had to live her regular life, teach, and care for her elderly mother.
Creative writing and artwork came to be essential outlets – the expressions just poured out of her, including the self-help booklet Caring for the Child Within—A Manual for Grownups.

Later, she went back to craft a story about this passage and create The River of Forgetting.

This deeply personal memoir invites the reader behind the closed doors of the therapist’s office and into the author’s journal and her very body. Jane’s tender story shows how we can use the challenges of painful childhood traumas to transform our lives.

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with Jane Rowan"

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Jane Rowan".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Jane Rowan"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Jane Rowan - The River of Forgetting"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

A Book and a Chat with Gae Polisner

Judging by the photos I have seen of today’s guest on “A Book and a Chat", Gae Polisner must be part mermaid, and the fact that she states she actually writes (not types) in the water only adds to this view.

Gae writes women’s and young adult fiction, though as yet neither of her women’s fiction novels “The Jetty” and “Swim Back to Me” have made it onto the book shelves, though “The Jetty” was a Top Semifinalist in the 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

Instead her debut publication is the wonderful YA novel “The Pull of Gravity”.

She wrote “The Pull of Gravity” as homage to the books she loved as a teenager by the likes of Zindel, Konigsburg, Blume, and L’Engle, with a secret nod to one of her favorite books “Don't Take Teddy, by Babbis Friis-Baastad”, which as we learned during the show has nothing to do with small stuffed bears.

A practicing family law attorney/mediator and a very keen swimmer, Gae waited until her sons had grown up before rushing down the first draft of “The Pull of Gravity“ in one month’s concentrated brain dumping.

The novel is about friendship, first love, and the true nature of family, and for a change written from the view of the boy, which with two sons is something Gae aimed for. The characters you’ll want to become friends with and a narrative voice that sparkles with wit make this a truly original coming-of-age story.

About “The Pull of Gravity”

While Nick Gardner’s family is falling apart, his best friend, Scooter, is dying from a freak disease. The Scoot’s final wish is that Nick and their quirky classmate, Jaycee Amato, deliver a prized first-edition copy of “Of Mice and Men” to the Scoot’s father. There’s just one problem: the Scoot’s father walked out years ago and hasn’t been heard from since. So, guided by Steinbeck’s life lessons, and with only the vaguest of plans, Nick and Jaycee set off to find him.

You’ll learn to love the characters including the quirky female character Jaycee Amato, whose wardrobe includes the liking of warring Troll dolls on a string around her neck.

As one reviewer put it…

Gae Polisner's first novel is a big hit. She has a beautiful way with words and is a master storyteller. I was quickly draw in to the story and became very attached to all the characters. It will touch your heart in a very unique way. I always look for stories like this mostly in inspirational novels. While I usually don't read young adult novels, it was recommended by an author friend (Michael J Sullivan). I'm glad he recommended it to me because now I can share it with my daughter and friends. I hope Ms. Polisner continues to write more stories because she is so talented...

With other books already on the road to publishing including her favorite one about “Frankie Sky” I’m sure the reviewers wish will soo be granted.

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with Gae Polisner"

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Gae Polisner".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Gae Polisner"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Gae Polisner - The Pull of Gravity"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

A Book and a Chat with Bryan Hidalgo & Gail O’Donnell

“All the stars that ever were, are parking cars and pumping gas” or is it “If I can make it there I’ll make it anywhere”. Getting on the Hollywood path be it from the acting, directing screen writing or whatever creative path that is taken can be very much a hit or miss event. Now my two guests on today’s “A Book and a Chat” Bryan Hidalgo & Gail O’Donnell, share the secrets of over 100 of today’s top actors, screenwriters, directors, and producers—including Oscar and Emmy winners in their great book.. “Making It In Hollywood: What To Do & How To Do It From More Than 100 of Today's Top Actors, Screenwriters, Directors, and Producers” Though we’ll just call it “Making it in Hollywood”.

Contacting these various people was just the start, as we heard actually getting to the person through the maze of agents and publicists can take the time, very much like trying to contact an author. Though the response especially when the artist learned that portion of the profits for each sale goes directly to a great cause; Save the Children was tremendous.

The result is over 600 pages of information and anecdotes in the artists own words, how they started, how they work, how they got where they are today, and how you can get there too.

The result is a truly inspirational compilation of interviews, with answers, encouragement and guidance straight from the horse’s mouth.

Discover where to start, what training to pursue, when to get an agent, how to be your best at auditions, and much more, from interviews with stars, creators, writers, directors, or producers.

One thing that stands out in the book is that all the really successful people had one thing in common. Yes, they were hard working, intelligent, talented, and persistent – but those are just the prerequisites. Beyond all those admirable qualities, these are people who actively refuse to isolate themselves and instead, teamed up with like-minded people, forged powerful relationships, and helped carry each other through the rough times to get their material and themselves out there. They became part of the Hollywood community through their hard work and skill, but they helped others to succeed along the way. In return, they themselves were helped.

While a must for those aspiring artists, and those who love reading articles about the stars in publications like “People Magazine” it is some that many will I’m sure enjoy for the hints and tips they can find that will help in their own chosen profession and indeed life’s.

Going back to my opening comments and reading this book, one would definitely relate more to song lyrics from New York, New York, "If you can make it there, you can make it... anywhere."

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with Bryan Hidalgo & Gail O’Donnell"

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Bryan Hidalgo & Gail O’Donnell".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Bryan Hidalgo & Gail O’Donnell"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Bryan Hidalgo & Gail O’Donnell - Making It in Hollywood"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

A Book and a Chat with Frank Zaccari

On “A Book and a Chat” today I have author Frank Zaccari.

Frank had what he thought was an extremely rewarding life–until his wife of 25 years had an affair and left both the marriage and their two teen daughters. While stats show that around 22% of married men have strayed at least once during their married lives, however an astonishing to find out that 14 % of married women have done the same. A figure that is not equally portrayed in the numerous TV shows, films and books about “infidelity”.

When Frank found out what had been going on behind his back for three years, though his children knew they were obviously torn between loyalties, and broken promises of the affair having ended.

Counselors, social workers and sociology professors shared with Frank that a woman walking away from her family is a relatively new development, that this is the first generation in the U.S. where the wife/mother abandons the family, and that there is little to no research on the impact this behavior will have on children, particularly daughters.

When male friends and acquaintances spoke to Frank, he was amazed just how many wanted to share their own similar experiences with him. I was very surprised–I had no idea so many men had been victimized by infidelity.

During counseling it was suggested to Frank that he write a book about what had gone on, something added to by several other who contacted Frank to share their own situations. The result is the wonderful fictional story "When The Wife Cheats."

About “When The Wife Cheats”:

In our society the act of infidelity is usually associated with the husband. But what happens when the wife cheats? Very little is written about how the husband and children deal with the lies, deceit, betrayal and abandonment when the wife violates the marital vows. Follow one man’s journey as he and his two young daughters cope with the devastation that occurs “When The Wife Cheats.”

As one reviewer put it…

“I was so moved by the raw openness of this book. Men never talk about how this affects them or how they deal with the hurt and pain their children go through”.

Frank has though not forgotten his business roots and has now brought out a second book

"From the Ashes" The Rise of the University of Washington Volleyball Program”

The rise of the University of Washington volleyball program is an amazing turn-around management success story. Read the inside story on how ten turn-around management principles were applied to build an elite collegiate athletic program. With an enlightened leader who has the commitment and courage to do the right things, these principles can be used for any type of organization.

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with Frank Zaccari"

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Frank Zaccari".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Frank Zaccari"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Frank Zaccari - When The Wife Cheats"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

A Book and a Chat with Lynda Simmons

Today’s guest Lynda Simmons was due to be on the show on Thursday, however Toronto traffic meant she missed the show. So when my guest for today’s "A Book and a Chat" had to pull out, she was an obvious replacement and proved to be well worth waiting for.

Lynda is a writer by day, college instructor by night and a late sleeper on weekends. She grew up in Toronto reading Greek mythology, bringing home stray cats and making up stories about bodies in the basement. From an early age, her family knew she would either end up as a writer or the old lady with a hundred cats. As luck would have it, she married a man with allergies so writing it was.

She shared with us during the show about some of her early life including her experience with “paranormal” after the death of her Dad.

Her writers experience started with romantic comedy for Harlequin and Kensington, before she made the leap into mainstream fiction in 2009 with her debut novel Getting Rid of Rosie (Berkley Books). This book was also a comedy but this time the focus was on the female relationships -- mothers and daughters, sisters and friends -- the relationships that shape who we are as women, and have always fascinated her.

Her latest release is a fascinating novel “Island Girl”. It is a novel that will gather you into its pages and not let go. It is a story of family, friendship, forgiveness, and love that delves into the effects of alcoholism and Alzheimer's on a family and in the person's life in a very realistic and upfront manner. Island Girl will grab you emotionally and before you are even a few chapters in to the novel, you will find yourself caring deeply about what will happen to all of these people and you won't be able to put it down until you reach the end.

About “Island Girl”:

Set on an island off the city of Toronto, the novel is about hair stylist Ruby Donaldson, who at age 55 discovers she has Alzheimer's and makes plans for herself and her two daughters, Liz and Grace, for after she is unable to function normally. She is surrounded by friends on the island and an ex-lover who are willing to help her, though at first she refuses their advice and offers of help.

Ruby's plans are a surprise and her own plans for herself are somewhat unorthodox. She maneuvers to have her estranged daughter Liz return from Toronto to Ward Island to take care of Grace. The girls have different plans or hopes for their future.

With another new “black comedy” novel already on the way, I’m sure the name Lynda Simmons will be on many people’s book shelves.

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with Lynda Simmons"

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Lynda Simmons".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Lynda Simmons"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Lynda Simmons - Island Girl"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

A Book and a Chat with Aaron Patterson

Today’s show guest is Aaron Patterson author of the best-selling “WJA” series, as well as two Digital Shorts: 19 and The Craigslist Killer, who has now launched a new YA novel called “Airel”.

Aaron was always one for reading but never thought his literary skills would enable him to write, now he has become a bestselling author who enjoys writing even more than reading.

His first nove in the “WJA” series "SWEET DREAMS" was published in 2008 receiving some mixed reviews as it was one of those “love or hate” novel, though as it went on sales increased and more and more were on the “love” side. With the launch of the second book in the series “DREAM ON" sales increased enough so that Aaron could follow his dream and become a full time writer. A third book in the series “IN YOUR DREAMS” will be out soon.

Along with the “WJA” set of books, Aaron has also produced two short stories which are also selling well on Kindle, “The Craiglist Killer” and “19”. During the show Aaron discussed how the sales of his novels and short stories even just for 99 cents on kindle all add up. Now having his own publishing company he is not only able to produce his own books, but help other authors as well.

Aaron’s new book “Airel” looks like being another smash hit with great reviews and a second story already completed and ready to be released perhaps at the end of this year.

For a start the cover is fantastic, one that will catch any book shop browsers eye. Within Airel there are two different stories, that merge into the one story in such a way that the reader will never feel lost, nor ever want to put the book down. Written in short chapters with the knack for leaving the reader hanging, dying to know what is going to happen next.

About Airel: (review from Café of Dreams)

The main story focuses on Airel, a young teenage girl, who has lead quite a normal life until one day she meets a gorgeous stranger and new guy at school, Michael. He is everything she had ever dreamed of and most incredibly, he is into her in a big way. However, that isn't the strange thing. The crazy thing is that all of a sudden Airel becomes more and more beautiful - not a flaw in sight, upon her skin or hair, wounds suddenly heal within seconds and worst of all - a killer is on the loose, claiming to know "what" Airel is.

The second story, which takes place throughout Airel, is about Kreios and an ancient family of fallen angels, during the time period of 1250 BC. Kreios has lost his beloved wife and will do anything to protect his young infant daughter from the Seer and their enemies. But will he be able to keep her safe forever and before it is too late?

The book is a story of imagination and fiction, with lifelike characters and some moral thoughts. Airel is a great story that will have the reader wanting more (you’ll have to wait until the end of the year for that) it is highly recommended to everyone - male, female, young and the young at heart.

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with Aaron Patterson"

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Aaron Patterson".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Aaron Patterson"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Aaron Patterson - Airel"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

A Book and a Chat with Heywood Gould

Like a who’s who of thrilling films and books, the list of those created by Heywood Gould my guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat” include many whose names are known by all. “Boys from Brazil”, “Fort Apache, The Bronx", "Cocktail", “Double Bang” and "Rolling Thunder”. His last thriller last novel, "Leading Lady," was a finalist for the 2008 Dashiell Hammett and Foreword Magazine awards for literary excellence in crime writing and a bronze medal winner for the Independent Book Publisher's Award.

So it was with great pleasure that I was able to chat with such a great writer on today’s show.

He still relates some of his anger that helps fire his writing to something that happened when he was fourteen… as he out it…

When I was fourteen I was fired for stealing money from a legal service where I worked as a messenger. I knew the culprit was the dispatcher, an eighteen year old zit picking degenerate horse player. He looked me right in the eye in front of the bosses and lied. I went home in tears. Everything I had been told by my mother and my teachers was wrong: the world was unfair and unjust. People could not be trusted. You could never know what someone was really thinking. The helpless indignation of outraged innocence has haunted me ever since.

Then there is his latest novel “The Serial Killer’s Daughter” which has perhaps taken him down a darker road than in many of his other writings, only to produce what surely is another smah hit.

About The Serial Killer’s Daughter

The master of the pulse-pounding literary thriller is back. Heywood Gould, award-winning screenwriter and novelist, author of bestselling novels/screenplays COCKTAIL and FORT APACHE, THE BRONX, returns with his biggest tour-de-force yet-THE SERIAL KILLER'S DAUGHTER. This one is a supercharged road trip that takes our two protagonists on a dark thrill ride to some very dangerous places. Someone is stalking college student, Hannah Seeley. Somebody would very much like to see her dead. Why? No good reason other than Hannah is the daughter of Arnold Seeley, a.k.a., the Robbinsgate Killer, convicted for 11 murders and now sitting on California's Death Row. The list of suspects who might want to kill Hannah is long.

The motive is less clear. Panicked, she uses her seductive charms to enlist the help of her classmate, Peter Vogel. Soon, Peter finds himself neck-deep in trouble. He's in lust with Hannah, which can only be problematic. By getting involved with Hannah, he has set himself up as a target of her pursuers. After a close encounter, they have no choice but to hit the road in Hannah's little VW Bug. The chase is on. Hannah and Peter find themselves on the run from their pursuers while trying to discover the identities of those who want to kill them.

It's a cross-country thrill ride, a cat-and-mouse chase involving murder, deception, and sheer survival. You won't want to miss it.

Chatting about his previous work it was interesting to hear from Heywood that “Fort Apache, The Bronx” was actually a film first and a book later as he wanted to develop the plot used in the film. We also learned that amongst several other projects underway there is a novel about thriller about a poetry-writing, pot-smoking detective in Santa Monica and a musical version of “Cocktail”…

One thing is for sure, Heywood Gould has certainly come a long way since his first book about Sir Christopher Wren.

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with Heywood Gould "

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Heywood Gould ".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Heywood Gould "

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Heywood Gould - The Serial Killer’s Daughter"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

A Book and a Chat with Carla Malden

My guest today Carla Malden grow up in a life somewhat surrounded by TV and films, with her Dad being Karl Malden famous character actor and of course Streets of San Francisco. Yet for Carla as she shared with us, he was just anormal Dad who happened to go away every now and then to work.

With a background like that it was obvious that English in the form of a Bachelor of Arts at U.C.L.A then working in the film business would be a path she would tread.

This led to her meeting, working with and then marrying filmmaker Laurence Starkman. They worked together on twelve feature screenplays; also serving as rewrite guns-for-hire. The team of Malden & Starkman wrote and produced the short romantic comedy Whit & Charm, which screened at eight major film festivals, including The Hamptons, and won several awards. They also wrote and created a series of Cine Golden Eagle Award-winning Art History films produced in association with The Detroit Institute of Art and The National Gallery.

Carla's wonderful book "AfterImage: A Brokenhearted Memoir of a Charmed Life" delivers a fiercely personal account of her battling the before and surviving the after of losing her husband to cancer.

As Carla shared, it’s not a case of getting over what happened more about being able to live with it… “You don’t know what you’ve got tell it’s gone…”

The book in Carla words ….

Is a book is about my transition to widowhood. It is about a last year and a first year: the last year of my husband's life and my entire life up to that point and the first year after he died and the rest of my life. I have found that different moments and themes resonate with different readers according to their personal experiences with relationships, marriage, and loss. I hope that everyone will think about valuing their loved ones in the moment - which is all we really ever have. Put simply, the take-away is "carpe diem."

The book is not only a shared love letter, but intermixed with snapshots of their lives together can actually bring a smile to ones face while knowing that there are tears behind some of the words.

AfterImage: A Brokenhearted Memoir of a Charmed Life delivers a fiercely personal account of her battling the before and surviving the after of losing her husband to cancer. It offers an alert for an entire generation: this is not your mother’s widowhood.

With a novel just finished and a possible children book next, Carla I’m sure will continue to share her talent as with “After Image” she has shared her life and her love.

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with Carla Malden"

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Carla Malden".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Carla Malden"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Carla Malden - AfterImage: A Brokenhearted Memoir of a Charmed Life"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

A Book and a Chat with Wayne Zurl

My guest today Wayne Zurl was born in New York and grew up on Long Island. During the Vietnam War he served on active duty with the Army and later in the reserves, after which he worked for twenty years for the Suffolk County, New York Police Department. While writing his debut novel “A New Prospect” his hero Sam Jenkins has been appearing in several short “travel time” audio books, in some ways creating a following before the book or is it the book adding to the audio following? Whichever it was a great pleasure to have Wayne on the show today.

Sam Jenkins the hero of Wayne’s writings has much perhaps to do with Wayne himself as much as some of the characters he’s met through is many years in the police force, though is not all Wayne has been involved with on the creative side. Indeed as he shared with us during the show he was asked to help out with the TV show TOUR OF DUTY in the 1980s, though he did not make it to the filming which was being done in Hawaii.

About “A New Prospect”

Sam Jenkins never thought about being a fish out of water during the twenty years he spent solving crimes in New York. But things change, and after retiring to Tennessee, he gets that feeling. Jenkins becomes a cop again and is thrown headlong into a murder investigation and a steaming kettle of fish, down-home style.

The victim, Cecil Lovejoy, couldn’t have deserved it more. His death was the inexorable result of years misspent and appears to be no great loss, except the prime suspect is Sam’s personal friend.

Jenkins’ abilities are attacked when Lovejoy’s influential widow urges politicians to reassign the case to state investigators.

Feeling like “a pork chop at a bar mitzvah” in his new workplace, Sam suspects something isn’t kosher when the family tries to force him out of the picture.

In true Jenkins style, Sam turns common police practice on its ear to insure an innocent man doesn’t falls prey to an imperfect system and the guilty party receives appropriate justice.

It is a book that will take the reader through all the twists and turns of a great murder mystery, with some laugh out loud moments at times. With the second novel already completed plus the several short stories already there with a growing following I’m sure the names of Sam Jenkins and Wayne Zurl will be around for some time.

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with Wayne Zurl"

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Wayne Zurl".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Wayne Zurl"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Wayne Zurl - A New Prospect"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

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A Book and a Chat with Geoff Herbach

Back in November it was great fun hosting my male YA Author month listening to the sometime forgotten male authors who write for the YA genre, sometimes it’s forgotten that boys read as well a girl and not just fantasy books. That is why it was a great pleasure to have on the show one of the class of 2K11 debut YA authors Geoff Herbach.

While a debut in the YA area his creative juices have seen the light of day in other written and presented areas.

From days spend pounding numbers into computers under artificial light at a bank, Geoff saw the light in more than one way taking and now teaching creative writing courses and producing his first novel “The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg”.

Written in the Bob Newhart one sided style of conversation, in the form of transcripts between a priest and the suicidal T. Rimberg. Who spends the course of the novel recounting his descent into self-destruction through letters and diary entries.

These take him into a year-long journey from the Midwest to Europe to Green Bay Wisconsin, a trek replete with quixotic adventures in places like a Polish prison, Amsterdam's Red Light District, and the Green Bay Packers football stadium.

It is bluntly lyrical, whiny and philosophical, geekily hip, and sometimes wise even in its histrionic self-absorption. It is Theodore Rimberg's voice that makes this novel sing.

By the end of The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg, it becomes all but impossible not to love T.'s all-too human frailties, his larger than life passion for small things like White Castle hamburgers and fake maple syrup, his need for love and connection. The story of his life is satisfying too, a surprising tale full of twists and turns and, without giving away the entire plot, hope. The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg, suicidal anti-hero, is a story about hope, told in a voice that is full of the funny, sad, often rude music of life.

From this start Geoff has spread his creative wings through a musical called “Don’t Crush Our Heart” as well as several radio shows including "The Electric Arc Radio Show", a literary tragi-comedy done in the radio style, which aired on Minnesota Public Radio, and his new radio venture “Tales from the Poor House" that will be broadcast on KMSU out of Minnesota State, Mankato (where he teaches in the English Department).

Several people who read The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg, loved the style and wanted Goeff to write a YA novel in the same voice, this developed almost overnight into his debut YA novel “Stupid Fast”

About Stupid Fast:

Stupid Fast is the story of Felton Reinstein, a fifteen-turning-sixteen-year-old in a rural Wisconsin town whose sudden growth spurt turns him from a small, sad, jumpy, picked-on kid to a powerful athlete.

In Felton’s voice, speaking from his bedroom in the middle of the night, we learn of his broken home, his mother’s intensifying depression, his little brother’s struggles, and the seeming root of all trouble – his father’s suicide ten years earlier, against the back-drop of his growing athletic success, his first love – a young African-American pianist named Aleah, and growing relationships with the same kids who tortured him through-out his childhood.

As his home crumbles, literally and figuratively, Felton finds triumph on the field born of real kindness from new friends, from the support he’s given by Aleah and her father, from his once estranged grandmother’s rescue mission, and, most importantly, from his new understanding of his father, his self, and his potential for both destruction and magnificence. Stupid Fast asks us to know ourselves, to be compassionate, and to be unremittingly passionate about what we love

As one author/reviewer put it… “Stupid Fast captures the rollicking ride of growing up in a broken home with a rare mix of raw honesty and hilarity. The pages race past, powered by a memorable voice, pulling you into the strange and thrilling journey of this Dork turned Jock. In other words: Stupid Fast is Stupid Good!”

And so it is…stupid good… before it is even officially released the word as spread through the blogosphere that at last there is a book that both male and female will love within the YA realm. With his follow up under way (if he does lose anymore due to computer issues) the name of Geoff Herbach is one that will be on many peoples, schools and library book shelves.

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend sixty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with today Geoff Herbach"

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Geoff Herbach".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Geoff Herbach"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Geoff Herbach - Stupid Fast"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

A Book and a Chat with Meg Moseley

It's my pleasure to have as a guest on today’s show Meg Moseley and her debut novel "When Sparrows Fall".

As a girl she wanted to be a writer, in fact as she shared with us on the show it was in her blood, her grandmother is said to have helped the family through the depression with her writings.

However it was not until she had nearly finished her career as a home school mom that she could devote much time to writing fiction. She says it took the scenic route to publication, with many slowdowns and detours along the way, but it was worth the wait.

Yes it was worth the wait and the debut book she has produced “When Sparrows Fall” is a novel that has been worth waiting for.

About “When Sparrows Fall”

Miranda Hanford, an isolated homeschooling widow, needs to break her ties to a cultic group. Jack Hanford, her estranged brother-in-law, is an outspoken professor who helps in her hour of need but challenges her choices at every turn. Miranda wants safety and security for her children; Jack values freedom above security but doesn't understand that breaking free may cost Miranda everything, including her children.
(Thanks to Linda Clare's Writing Tips for the review)

While you might expect the book perhaps to be preachy, or sugar coated robots terrorized by a spiritual leader and that is more than just a book that would only appeal to Christians. In fact it’s a lot more than that showing the importance of perceived safety and freedom, love and forgiveness, and the ever-strengthening ties of a family.

It is a book that would be great for discussion groups for instance, with humor intermixed with romance and religion, and don’t forget the sometimes sticky subject of home schooling.

With a second book already in the editing stage...

(Sneak review… teenager lost her father to a deep mountain lake. His body was never recovered. Now, nine years later, it seems he might have faked his drowning and fled to the wilderness. As she and her closest friends search for answers, they uncover memories of a mysterious event in their childhood that might explain everything but might also break their hearts.)

I’m sure we will hear a lot more of Meg Moseley

So listen to an interesting and hugely entertaining show as I spend thirty minutes sharing "A Book and a Chat with today Meg Moseley"

Barry

Direct link to the show
"A Book and a Chat with Meg Moseley".

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Meg Moseley"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
"Meg Moseley - When Sparrows Fall"

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK - Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests - A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World - Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry