A Book and a Chat with Debbie T Kilday

My guest today is fellow Connecticut and CAPA author and I’m please to say, friend Debbie T Kilday. The name might ring a bell to a few people as her husband Mike has also been on the show a couple of times.

A photographer for many years Debbie has previously published a couple of books on the subject, “Wooden Branches” and “Farmington River Reflections” which also includes some of Debbie’s poetry.

Her debut book “No Limits: How I beat the Slots” tells her own story of a life playing the slots machines where she won millions of dollars over a period of about five years and the many people she met along the way.

During the show Debbie shared with us how at the age of 50, her girl friend who had cancer asked her to come to the casino with her, because of the illness Debbie ended up going to the concert on her own. Not knowing anything about gambling or the slot machines, Debbie explained how she was accepted into a group of “Casino Friends”. The last thing she expected was to win a jackpot; this launched her role as a high roller instant celebrity of sorts.

The good side was that it was fun, she made new casino friends, danced with the stars like Barry Manilow and Paul Anka, how enjoyed casino perks like hotels, VIP restaurants, and her own private help at the Casino’s, and she was able to share her money. She even helped people in need like her friend who had high medical expenses even though she knew she was going to die soon of cancer.

Her success at the local Connecticut Casino’s was replicated in Los Vegas, Debbie seemed to know how to read the slot machines> the book also tells of the down side, the pressure, both on herself and the family. People took advantage, there was unexpected trouble at airports when transporting the cash winnings home, it tested her married life, and there were even attempts at extortion and yes, in the end, having to declare bankruptcy.


“No Limits: How I beat the Slots” tells how Debbie won 1.8 million dollars in the last five years playing slots--legitimately, and she is probably the only person in the world that has done that. So, she is real and her book is the real thing, and it should be scrutinized and applied by every serious slot player--before the casinos get wind of it.

A great read and would be a equally great film.

So listen now and share an interesting,and entertaining thirty minutes with my guest Debbie T Kilday

If you have enjoyed the blog or the radio show, why not become a follower of the show?

Barry

Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with Debbie T Kilday

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Debbie T Kilday"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:"Debbie T Kilday- No Limits: How I Beat The Slots "

My new E-Book is available to download, for all of 99 cents at
"The Bathroom Book of Romance - Book 1"

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 Kathi Macias

Kathi “easy writer” Macias is one of the shows most frequent and most popular guests with over 40 books so far produced as well as numerous articles and reports. Her success has just gone from strength to strength with last year alone her book “Red Ink” winning the AWSA Golden Scrolls Novel of the Year Award as well as finaled in the Carol Awards through ACFW. She was also 2011 Author of the Year from BooksandAuthors.net.

Each time Kathi comes on the show we learn so much more not just about her and her writing but also about items that she brings forth from all the corners of the world in a format that has readers always asking for more from this prolific writer.

When she was last on the show we learned about her Extreme Devotion series which consisted of four standalone books “No greater Love”, “More Than Conquers”, “Red Ink” and “Children of the Book”. During the show we learned how with “Red Ink” winning the golden scroll award, news of the success even reached China, and eventually the lady who the book was loosely based on, who has now been released from prison, and you never know, Kathi’s book might have aided her release.

During the previous show we also learned of Kathi’s plans for her first Christmas book, this has proved such a success that the publisher wants it to be an annual event, and this year’s book is already written.

Kathi’s latest set of books is the “Freedom Series” what can be called a “fiction with a mission” offering a trilogy based on the topic of human trafficking.

The first book, “Deliver Me From Evil”, was released in September 2011, with book two, “Special Delivery”, released last month and the final book, “The Deliverer”, set to release in Fall 2012. Though much of this series takes place right here in the States, as Kathi wanted readers to understand that human trafficking doesn’t just happen in faraway lands, the books will also contain a strong sub-plot set in the Golden Triangle area of Thailand as well as several scenes in Mexico.

About “Special Delivery”: (taken from Amazon)

In book two of the “Freedom” series, readers find Mara fighting against her attraction to Bible college student Jonathan Flannery even while wrestling with risking her own precarious safety to become involved in the rescue of another girl who is pregnant and desperately wants to escape her captors and save her own life, as well as her child’s.

Halfway around the world in a brothel in Thailand, a young girl is rescued with the promise of being reunited with her younger sister who was adopted by an interracial couple in the States, friends of Jonathan’s family. Meanwhile, Jefe—Mara’s uncle, who held her as a sex slave in his brothel in San Diego for years—seeks revenge for Mara’s testimony that put him behind bars for life.

Will his underworld connections be successful in kidnapping and killing the girl who believes she has finally won her freedom?

As one reviewer put it…

I am thankful that the beginning of Special Delivery was a refresher of sorts because it had been awhile since I read Deliver Me from Evil. Within minutes of picking it up, I was completely engrossed. So much so, that I read it from cover to cover. I found it impossible to put down with the character's lives hanging in the balance. For me the book was riveting. Just as it is with a really good movie, by the time I'd finished the book, I was emotionally spent. This is something that I've rarely experienced from a fictional work.

It was all-too-real.

And that is what makes Kathi Macias' work so outstanding. Not only does she tackle dark issues which society and the church seem to overlook but she also does it in a very compelling way. You can't help but invest yourself emotionally while reading her books. They will turn you inside out and upside down providing haunting reminders, even after

As always Kathi left us with a snippet of things to come telling the us about a new trilogy of books she is working on called “Patches of Courage”, as with her success in 2011, I know she will once again be reaping in awards with not only the Freedom series, but also I’m sure her new “Patches of Courage” books when they hit the book shelves.

So listen now and share an interesting,and entertaining sixty minutes with my guest Kathi Macias

If you have enjoyed the blog or the radio show, why not become a follower of the show?

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 books at:"Kathi Macias - Special Delivery"

My new E-Book is available to download, for all of 99 cents at
"The Bathroom Book of Romance - Book 1"

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 Magdalena Ball

My guest today has produced successful creations no matter what style of writing she has produced from poetry to non-fiction to novels and editorials. She has learned her craft in the US, England and now Australia. She is also runs one of the most well respected review sites “The Compulsive Reader” as well as being host of her own radio show “The Compulsive Reader Talks”. She is my special guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat” Magdalena Ball.

Growing up in New York she get an honors degree in English Literature before moving to Oxford, England to continue her study of English Literature at a postgraduate level. After a brief return to the US, she then migrated to NSW Australia, where she now resides on a rural property with her husband and three children. However her education has not stopped there as she has a Masters degree in Business from Charles Sturt University and a Marketing degree from the University of Newcastle (that’s the Australian Newcastle).

Her work has gone from a non-fiction book about reviewing books called “The Art of Assessment” which is a complete guide to the review process, from how to write good reviews, how to use interviews to add depth to your reviews, obtaining review copies, marketing your reviews, and plenty of examples and references to help you become a working reviewer. She has written and co-written several books of poetry including “Repulsion Thrust” which tackles big subjects not often the fodder of poetry: quantum physics, astronomy, time travel, ecological destruction, and technological singularity, all viewed through the lens of the human condition.

Her debut novel “Sleep Before Evening”, is a novel set in NYC that follows the adventures of 17 year old, Marianne as she discovers the healing power of music through an almost deadly journey into the deepest recesses of her own mind. Was a 2008 Indie Book Awards Regional Fiction Finalist.
Now she has produced another book well worth the read in her new novel “Black Cow”.

About “Black Cow”:

Black Cow explores the lives of James and Freya Archer, a couple at the ‘top of their game’, earning massive salaries and enjoying exclusive lifestyles with their two beautiful teenage children, but something is rotten under the shining façade of their lives. A recent survey estimated that close to one quarter of adults worldwide have made a voluntary decision to change their lives in ways that reduce their incomes and spending.

Demographers are predicting up to one million people will downshift during the next three years. Coupled with the worldwide economic downturn, there is clearly an interest in living life in a way that doesn’t involve continually trying to earn, and spend more in an effort to “keep up with the Joneses.”

Black Cow is a ‘tree-change’ novel that explores these notions in the context of a single ailing Australian family. Set between New South Wales’ ritzy Double Bay, and a small village outside of Hobart, Tasmania, where the couple decide to radically change their lives and become self-sufficient, the novel follows one family on the brink of collapse, struggling to regain balance and creativity in their lives. Black Cow explores serious and topical issues, such as the modern dilemma of ever increasing workloads, ‘the rat race’, and the impact of stress on families, and overconsumption on the environment, but it also touches on the psychological development, as the family has to dig deep into both the earth and their selves in order to find out what is ailing them.

I will leave the final words to Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a multi award-winning novelist and poet and was named Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment by members of the California Legislature…

Magdalena Ball has set a new standard, maybe initiated a new genre. Her Black Cow isn't for the Beat Generation; it's for this millennium's fast-track generation. This is Magdalena Ball's second effort after her mesmerizing first novel Sleep Before Evening and it does not disappoint. Black Cow captures the mind-freezing pace of this digital age before coming up with the most hopeful ending possible. Ball is a new voice and the literary world needs a new one in these days when so called mid-list authors are nearly a thing of the past.

So listen now and share an interesting,and entertaining thirty minutes with my guest Magdalena Ball

If you have enjoyed the blog or the radio show, why not become a follower of the show?

Barry

Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with Magdalena Ball

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Magdalena Ball "

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:"Magdalena Ball - Black Cow"

My new E-Book is available to download, for all of 99 cents at
"The Bathroom Book of Romance - Book 1"

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 Eugene C Myers

Eugene Myers is the author of the young adult science fiction novel “Fair Coin”, in fact it’s Eugene’s debut novel though he published numerous fiction and fantasy short stories in a number of magazines and anthologies such as Sybil’s Garage, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic, and Touched by Wonder: A Symphony of Fantastic Tales. His romantic short story featuring horny zombies, “In the Closet”, received an Honorable Mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 2008; his nostalgic short story about horny cavemen, “My Father’s Eyes”, also got an Honorable Mention in The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 3; and he was a finalist in L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest.

“Fair Coin” as previously stated, is Eugene's first novel, the story went through four revisions before he thought it was up to querying agents, this was followed by months before and further edit before going into submission. Two years, several near misses and a lot of rejection letters later and the book was sold to Pyr.

It then took another fifteen months before the book was finally published, though during that time Eugene wrote three other novels, including the planned sequel “Quantum Coin".

About “Fair Coin”:

Sixteen-year-old Ephraim Scott is horrified when he comes home from school and finds his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. The reason for her suicide attempt is even more disturbing: she thought she’d identified Ephraim’s body at the hospital that day.

Among his dead double’s belongings, Ephraim finds a strange coin—a coin that grants wishes when he flips it. With a flick of his thumb, he can turn his alcoholic mother into a model parent and catch the eye of the girl he’s liked since second grade. But the coin doesn’t always change things for the better. And a bad flip can destroy other people’s lives as easily as it rebuilds his own.

The coin could give Ephraim everything he’s ever wanted—if he learns to control its power before his luck runs out.

The book has received some fantastic reviews including this from one of the top Sic-Fi web sites “io9.com”…

Tired of cookie-cutter young-adult novels? The cure awaits, in the shape of E.C. Myers' astounding Fair Coin—a book which, among other things, achieves the feat of seeming like a dark fairy tale and a clever science fiction epic, rolled into one. It's a fast-moving book full of twists and cool character moments and definitely ideal for adults who miss the days of engaging, idea-driven science fiction. ..." --io9

So listen now and share an interesting,and entertaining thirty minutes with my guest Eugene Myers

If you have enjoyed the blog or the radio show, why not become a follower of the show?

Barry

Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with Eugene Myers

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Eugene Myers"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:"Eugene Myers - Fair Coin"

My new E-Book is available to download, for all of 99 cents at
"The Bathroom Book of Romance - Book 1"

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 David S Grant

David S Grant is the author of ten books and many articles and columns, covering many subjects from music to sport. He stopped by today to chat about his latest novel “Blood: The New Red”.

David's first book “Corporate Porn” was published in 2005, and has been followed by such novels as “Hollywood Endings”, “Rock Star” and the double book “Bleach/Blackout”.

Interesting enough one of the lesser characters in his first book ”Corporate Porn” makes a retirn in his new book “Blood: The New Red” which is set in New York in the world of fashion.

About “Blood: The New Red”:

Blood: The New Red begins at an after party where Mickey, an ex-adult movie star turned supermodel, is aligning himself with one of top Designers of Seventh Avenue. While trying to land a job on the runway Mickey is thrown into the center of a scene where sex is often the motivation, the wine is served by year, and cocaine is back in full force. Juanita, Mickey's girlfriend, is having difficulties staying sober, fully clothed, and off of her famous boyfriend.
Mickey goes to work for Fashion icon Paul Johnson, one of the two top designers in NYC. The other is Sandy Johnson, another designer who will stop at nothing including murder to guarantee victory. A runway exhibition has been scheduled for the two to compete in and find out who truly is the best Johnson. Mickey will be Paul's top model, and Sandy has found a homeless person nicknamed Kung Fu Master to show his line.

In addition to getting his new line in place, Paul Johnson is also buying chain saws, the louder the better, to put the special in this special event.

Did you know that you can't be sentenced to prison if actively seeking help at a mental facility? Paul Johnson knows this.

Somewhere between the girls, counting Vicodin pills, and show preparation Mickey has grown a conscience and no longer likes what he sees. He believes (and his psychiatrist agrees) that he has the power to change what's happening around him.

Days before the show Kung Fu Master turns up dead and there is an attempt on Mickey's life. After a brief period of unconsciousness Mickey is back, is told that Juanita and brother Cheeks are now also dead and that he must continue with the show. After all, what would Steven Tyler do?

David continues to share his literary skill not only through his novels but also through his weekly rock, travel, and NBA columns. So keep a look out for the name David S Grant.

So listen now and share an interesting,and entertaining thirty minutes with my guest David S Grant

If you have enjoyed the blog or the radio show, why not become a follower of the show?

Barry

Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with David S Grant

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"David S Grant"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:"David S Grant - Blood: The New Red"

My new E-Book is available to download, for all of 99 cents at
"The Bathroom Book of Romance - Book 1"

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 Ashley Mackler-Paternostro

Hairstylist get told a lot of secrets, know a lot on stories and could write many a great book, Ashley Mackler-Paternostro my guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat” was a hairstylist by trade, Ashley will often say that some of the best stories she has ever heard were told to her while working behind the chair.

Her love of reading, a thought that came to her re her mother illness, and four months hard work, she has produced in “The Milestone Tapes”. This is a novel far more moving and heart touching than any story she might have heard during her days as a “behind the chair”.

Writing was always in her blood from the time she was a little girl always eager to say something, but until a trip to the Olympic Peninsula in the spring of 2011 she never had seen herself as an author.

As she says in her won words…

“You know, it’s sort of cliche how this all started. I just turned 28 and my husband took me on vacation. I wasn’t at a crossroads in my life — at least, not that I was aware of, but I came home from Washington and was inspired, that place changed me. I had this story inside me and it was so loud … I couldn’t quiet it down, I simply had to tell it.

So, I sat down and just started writing. I didn’t even think about it. Once I hit 30,000 words I was like … oh … this is pretty serious. It felt really natural, as though this was just how it was supposed to be for me … so I let go and let the story unfold. I didn’t really worry about outlining, or plotting … now I know better. I ended up with this book about life and death and love and even I couldn’t believe it.”

About ”The Milestone Tapes”:

Jenna Chamberland never wanted anything more than to be a wife and mother. That is, until she realized that her life was ending after a three-year battle against breast cancer. Now, all she really wants is more time.

With 4,320 hours left to live, Jenna worries for her loved ones and what she knows awaits them on the other side: Gabe will have to make the slip from husband to widower, left alone to raise their seven-year-old daughter; Mia will be forced to cope with life without her mother by her side. In a moment of reflection, Jenna decides to record a set of audiocassettes — The Milestone Tapes – leaving her voice behind as a legacy for her daughter.

Nine years later, Mia is a precocious sixteen-year-old and her life is changing all around, all she wants is her mother. Through the tapes, Jenna’s voice returns to teach Mia the magic of life, her words showing her daughter how to spread her wings and embrace the coming challenges with humor, grace and hope.

As one hardened book reviewer put it..

"Ashley pulls no punches emotionally and The Milestone Tapes details clinically, precisely and elegantly the subject matter, and does so with a quiet grace that echoes the events it is portraying... made all the more tragic by the fact you *know* what's coming. I'm a bitter and jaded cynic hardened by years on the Internet, twisted and emotionless to my blackened and empty core, and yet... I found the quiet grace of Jenna's extremely well researched, tragically believable journey towards the untimely end of her life haunting and intensely emotional, especially the end of book."

THE MILESTONE TAPES is the journey of love between a parent and child, and of the bonds that holds them when life no longer can.

So listen now and share an interesting,and entertaining thirty minutes with my guest Ashley Mackler-Paternostro

If you have enjoyed the blog or the radio show, why not become a follower of the show?

Barry

Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with Ashley Mackler-Paternostro

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Ashley Mackler-Paternostro"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:"Ashley Mackler-Paternostro - The Milestone Tapes"

My new E-Book is available to download, for all of 99 cents at
"The Bathroom Book of Romance - Book 1"

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 Kenny Scudero

My guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat” is debut author Kenny Scudero chatting about his debut book “Comfortably Awkward”

Kenny is a twenty-two-years-old who graduated from St. John’s University in May of last year. He’s been writing short-stories and anything that comes to my mind since I was about six-years-old. He’s always loved to write while sitting in school because he’d be bored and imagine being somewhere else. Then, write about the places he’d rather be.

His love of writing as well his love of sports carried on through University where he majored in Sport Management, also though at St. John’s, Kenny was Sports Editor for the University newspaper.

After graduating from St. John’s, Kenny had trouble finding a job and wrote “Comfortably Awkward” based off that frustration.

About “Comfortably Awkward”

Comfortably Awkward centers around Albert Ferenzo whose life is a series of ironic events that may or may not have a reason behind them. While struggling to find a niche for himself, Albert blames the corporate world for hindering his dream of making money and living a prosperous life. After playing the good guy his entire life, Albert decides that the only way to get ahead in the world is to be the bad guy. Albert questions his own fate as he drives himself to insanity in an effort to find happiness. The destinies of Albert and everyone around him intertwine as he finally realizes what life is all about or at least, he thinks he does in this revolt against normality.

As on reviewer out it…

I was searching for something different to read and a friend suggested Comfortably Awkward by the young author, Kenny Scudero. To my surprise I found myself amused by his funny stories and could identify with feeling uncomfortable in the corporate environment during my early employment years. It was amazing to learn about his love interest's parents and their views on the relationship. I thought mine were the only ones who thought that way. I mostly read this book during my commute to and from work and actually did not want my stop to come because I wanted to continue reading on. Overall I would recommend this book. Mr. Scudero is funny, witty and genuine. Am really looking forward to reading the next project from this author.

So listen now and share an interesting,and entertaining thirty minutes with my guest Kenny Scudero

If you have enjoyed the blog or the radio show, why not become a follower of the show?

Barry

Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with Kenny Scudero

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Kenny Scudero"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:"Kenny Scudero - Comfortably Awkward"

My new E-Book is available to download, for all of 99 cents at
"The Bathroom Book of Romance - Book 1"

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 Jill Muehrcke

We have had a quite a few guest on the show over the past few weeks, who have written books and novel about various aspects of self help and life improvement, however Jill Meuhrcke has with her book “Waking Up Happy” managed to cover so many aspect of people’s lives within its pages.

Juliana (Jill) Muehrcke is the award-winning author of many books and articles, as well as the founder and editor of the international magazine Nonprofit World.

Her book whose fill title is “WAKING UP HAPPY: A HANDBOOK OF CHANGE WITH MEMOIRS OF RECOVERY AND HOPE” is a powerful, absorbing, and beautifully written, this first-of-its-kind book . The pages are full of memoirs of people, who have recovered from addictions, harmful habits, and intolerable situations, including her issues as well as several of her family.

The title WAKING UP HAPPY came from Skye, who is one of the 30 plus memoirists who tell their stories in the book. Skye describes the journey of changing her life after she quit using heroin and other harmful substances in her late twenties. At first, it seemed unbelievably hard to make the changes she needed to build a new life. But one day, she suddenly realized that she was waking up happy! All the memoirists in the book – including me – had that same epiphany. It’s the best moment imaginable, because you discover that by doing just one small thing differently every day, you’ve turned the pain of your life into joy.

Jill chose the book’s subtitle A HANDBOOK OF CHANGE WITH MEMOIRS OF RECOVERY AND HOPE as she wanted to emphasize that it’s a handbook – a book full of exercises people can do and can keep close at hand as a kind of companion to creating a happy life.
Although WAKING UP HAPPY is especially beneficial for people recovering from addictions, harmful habits, or intolerable situations, it’s actually helpful for anyone who wants to live a more fulfilling live. In other words, it’s for everyone.

As one reviewer put it…

This book is refreshing and valuable for its emphasis on the joy of recovery. The author's story and the stories of her daughter, granddaughter and other contributors are honest, tender, and filled with hope. The snippets of wisdom and questions offered for reflection are insightful and urge the reader to exercise a compassionate awareness about her own journey. The memoirs are accessible to readers who might be struggling with a variety of challenges. At the heart of it, this book is a resource for anyone who wants to lead a more wholesome and authentic life.


So listen now and share an interesting,and entertaining thirty minutes with my guest Jill Muehrcke.

If you have enjoyed the blog or the radio show, why not become a follower of the show?

Barry

Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with Jill Muehrcke

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Jill Muehrcke"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:"Jill Muehrcke - Waking Up Happy"

My new E-Book is available to download, for all of 99 cents at
"The Bathroom Book of Romance - Book 1"

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 James Bottino

James Bottino, my guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat” has followed several paths during his life and faced some real challenges, the latest of which was to publish his debut novel “The Canker Death”

James is basically an English teacher and computer geek rolled into one. His early years of teaching high school English in a suburb of Chicago being supplemented by a double life in the deep corners of the night hacking and building computers and networks.

Word of this second pastime, unbeknownst to James, leaked out, and he started receiving employment offers. Son what was a hobby became a profession and he became a senior computer / networking administrator for a scientific research laboratory.

Far from living his dream, just six months into this position, however, tragedy struck when, at the age of 31, James was diagnosed with cancer. Given limited odds to survive James set about facing the challenge of the thought of is infant daughter not remembering him if he died, James set about the fight of his life, enduring massive doses of chemotherapy that killed the cancer but nearly killed him as well.

After years of struggle, he survived, but only after enduring systemic nerve damage from the treatments that left him permanently photophobic, phonophobic and with frequent difficulty in using his hands. These events focused his efforts and helped him to prevail in his dual goals: being a father to his daughter and completing his first novel, THE CANKER DEATH. Even the style that James decide to write in was a challenge, let’s face it if you can beat cancer, what sort of challenge is to write in first person?

About The Canker Death:

When the reclusive, cynical systems administrator, Petor Fidelistro, discovers that one of his own servers has been cracked late one night, he makes it his personal business to track down the perpetrator. What his search uncovers thrusts him, unaware, into a mad shifting between worlds, time and alien minds.

Fighting to keep his grip on reality, and forcing him to cope with his past, Petor finds himself uncontrollably transitioning between sentient minds that range from semi-conscious to dominant, from beings whose bodies and identities he can control, to those who control him so fully as to be unaware of his presence.

As the story unfolds, Petor gathers clues in a twisting mystery that sends him shifting between the mourning child Nanzicwital; the golem giant Faskin; the lascivious, female ambassador Desidia; and Nokinis, an insane prisoner with whom Petor battles for mastery of his own memories. As he struggles to make sense of what is happening to him, Petor finds himself embroiled in the tumultuous upheaval of a ubiquitous society that transcends life, itself.
Having beaten yet another challenge, James is now embarking on a further novel, this time aimed more the at the young teen market.

So listen now and share an interesting,and entertaining thirty minutes with my guest James Bottino.

If you have enjoyed the blog or the radio show, why not become a follower of the show?

Barry

Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with James Bottino

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"James Bottino"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:"James Bottino - The Canker Death"

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 Traci L Slatton

• A month or two ago I had the pleasure to interview the great artist and sculptor Sabin Howard on “A Book and a Chat” re his wonderful book “The Art of Life”. One of the things I learned during that show was not only how much his wife had helped with the writing of the book, but that she was also a prize winning author in her own right. So of course I had to have her on show and today was that time when I presented “A Book and a Chat with Traci L Slatton".

Traci has written poetry from an early age, studying English and creative writing at Yale before fallowing a the path of a hands-on healer, Traci considered that her role as a healer was not to fix her clients, but to go with them on a journey of questioning old patterns, discovering blocks in the body's natural flow, and re-educating the consciousness in a more whole way of being.

Her love for English was never far away and she continued to write poems, short stories, and articles in magazines and literary journals. Her debut novel linked her love of the Italian Renaissance within in an historical novel a period when thinkers like Pico della Mirandola, Leonardo da Vinci, and Marsilio Ficino were engaged in questioning the nature and relationship of science, art, and the soul. This novel “Immortal” has since become a hit throughout the world and as we heard could soon become a film

This early success was followed by The Botticelli Affair is a romp through the art history byways of vampire lore. Where Laila Cambridge, in the world of art forgery was Queen. Her artwork seemed to come from the original artist (and, actually did, kind of) and NO ONE who didn’t know could tell hers from the original one. They sold for millions...

Her latest book "Fallen” has already won several awards being the first of a trilogy, it already has readers and reviewer’s clamoring for book two, wanting to know what happens next.

While it has been said that could be classed as a paranormal novel there is so much more about “Fallen”. It is also a love story set in a post-apocalyptic world, where people have been stripped of everything. They have to rely on each other for survival. New alliances and intimate relationships are formed.. A love story that might not have happened if the entire world hadn't changed.

As one reviewer put it…

Enter a post-apocalyptic world, similar to The Road. Traci Slatton approaches this hot topic in a thoughtful way, really delving into what is left of the human consciousness once stripped of society. Unlike the Road, Fallen paints a far less depressing picture of the human soul. Somehow love remains in a world pillaged by death, disease, and disarray. Emma's journey with her "family" is hopeful and inspiring. She is a woman who will do anything for the people she loves and more than anything I want her and Arthur to be together in the end. I can't wait for the sequel!

Well as we learned during the show, you will not have long to wait as the second book will be out very soon.

So listen now and share an interesting,and entertaining thirty minutes with my guest Traci L Slatton.

If you have enjoyed the blog or the radio show, why not become a follower of the show?

Barry

Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with Traci L Slatton

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Traci L Slatton"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:"Traci L Slatton - Fallen"

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 Dr. Laura Maciuika

Dr. Laura Maciuika is a first generation Lithuanian-American who spoke Lithuanian at home and English outside; she is a clinical psychologist by training, and an integrative healer by vocation. She found herself bridging realities during her psychology training, as she also trained in energy psychology techniques and healing modalities from different parts of the world at the same time. This led her to end up with a integrative approach to emotional healing, using the best of what works from many traditions and approaches.

She was often told she should “write a book” about her work and techniques, however with so many other “self help” style books would could she add to the book pile? However as she read and learned she realize that most of these books were about stress from the outside, how to make you day better planned etc, not many of them looked at stress from the inside and how you could avoid the traps that lead to a stressful life.

Dr Laura took on more of a musical metaphor: “while there are only so many notes in any musical scale, composers are still able to create new songs that touch and move some people”.

Dr Laura knew she could write a book that she believed was valuable, and some people would connect with her message, just like some people will connect more with one song than another. That made a book project both doable and inspiring. The result of which is her book “Conscious Calm: Keys to Freedom from Stress and Worry”


Conscious Calm: Keys to Freedom from Stress and Worry is a practical guide to help people get free from hidden inner stress traps. The book combines psychology, neuroscience and information from both East and West. It describes 9 Stress Secrets that people need to know to stop falling into internal stress traps, and 9 Keys to Conscious Calm for lasting stress relief. The book shows people step by step how avoid stress traps and experience more inner peace and greater happiness in their lives.

Simply substituting positive thinking for negative thinking usually won’t work without some attention paid to the emotions underneath. With attention on the feelings that are present about the situation or challenge, there is a greater chance for actual stress relief, and for feeling better overall. Emotions can signal what we need or want in the moment. When we turn our attention toward emotions instead of pushing them away or distracting from them, we can connect better with what we want or need. When combined with a more positive approach to thinking and to our internal self talk, then stress relief and other positive shifts are much more possible, and actually easier. It’s just that positive thinking alone isn’t enough.

It is am sure a book that many will find helpful in these modern stressful times.

So listen now and share an interesting,and entertaining thirty minutes with my guest Dr. Laura Maciuika.

If you have enjoyed the blog or the radio show, why not become a follower of the show?

Barry

Direct link to the show
A Book and a Chat with Dr. Laura Maciuika

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
"Dr. Laura Maciuika"

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:"Dr. Laura Maciuika - Conscious Calm"

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