Authors on the Air

Authors on the Air host Pam Stack welcomes author Ashley E Sweeney to the studio.  Ashley has this to say about herself and her writing:

"I’ve been long enamored with underserved women’s voices. My technique to hitch a heroine to history dovetails with a fact that (unfortunately) didn’t surprise me: women’s stories make up only a fraction of narratives set in the American West. There are as many tales waiting to be told as the day is long on a warm July day in New Mexico or Wyoming or Montana or anywhere under the wide western skies.

My newest novel, Answer Creek, introduces a stoic and hardy protagonist who braves the rigors of the Oregon-California Trail as a member of the ill-fated Donner Party. In Answer Creek, I tackle deep—and even taboo—topics: starvation, madness, murder, and yes, cannibalism. Although Ada Weeks is a fictional character, she, and many other young women like her, traveled the Oregon-California Trail in the 1840s and 1850s. Their struggles were more similar than different, including that most of them were bound largely by the decisions of others (namely men—husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles), rather than their own.

As a product of the 20th century, I find our foremothers’ challenges daunting and constraining.  I wouldn’t have made an ideal pioneer woman (I’m too opinionated and outspoken, and, frankly, not that tough). So I infuse Ada Weeks with qualities I admire and urge her to speak up against injustice and misogyny and foolhardiness. Does it change the outcome? Perhaps not. But it changes her."

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Authors on the Air host Pam Stack welcomes the distinguished Professor & international best-selling author DAVID MORRELL  (father of Rambo) as guest host for an IN CONVERSATION discussion with author JACK CARR.

About David:    Davi  attended Penn State and received his M.A. and Ph. D. in American literature. There, he also met William Tenn (real name Philip Klass), who taught Morrell the basics of fiction writing. The result was First Blood, a ground-breaking novel about a returned Vietnam veteran. He taught American literature there from 1970 to 1986, simultaneously writing other novels, many of them international bestsellers, including the classic spy trilogy, The Brotherhood of the Rose (the basis for the only television mini-series to premier after a Super Bowl), The Fraternity of the Stone, and The League of Night and Fog. David has 18 million books in print translated into 30 languages.  He is the co-founder of ITW.

About Jack:  Jack Carr is a former Navy SEAL who led special operations teams as a Team Leader, Platoon Commander, Troop Commander and Task Unit Commander. Over his 20 years in Naval Special Warfare he transitioned from an enlisted SEAL sniper to a junior officer leading assault and sniper teams in Iraq and Afghanistan, to a platoon commander practicing counterinsurgency in the southern Philippines, to commanding a Special Operations Task Unit in the most Iranian influenced section of southern Iraq throughout the tumultuous drawdown of U.S. Forces. He is the author of The Terminal List, True Believer, and Savage Son. Visit him at officialjackcarr.com

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Authors on the Air host Pam Stack is honored to welcome Irene O'Garden and John Pielmeier to the studio.  John and Irene are one of the arts super couples, with their work encompassing stage and screen (Agnes of God, Voices in the Dark, Choices of the Heart, Sins of the Father, The Memorykeeper's Daughter ) to books including Hook's Tale, Riding the Rapids, Glad to be Human to poetry from both John and Irene,

For her work in children’s literature, Irene O'Garden received the Alice Curtis Desmond Award. She also won the Gold Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award for The Scrubbly Bubbly Car Wash (Harper). Her first children’s book, Maybe My Baby, (Harper) has sold over 90,000 copies. Her latest children’s book, Forest, What Would You Like?  was published by Holiday House.  Irene is a guest host for National Poetry Month on Authors on the Air.  See full bio at https://ireneogarden.com/about-the-artist

John Pielmeier's latest play, a stage-adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, was produced in London’s West End in the autumn of 2017 to wonderful reviews, and will be a followed by a Broadway production in 2018. In addition, Agnes of God will enjoy a Broadway revival in the near future. His first novel, Hook’s Tale, was published to great acclaim by Scribner in 2017.  Full  bio here https://johnpielmeier.com/bio/

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Authors on the Air host Pam Stack welcomes book reviewer, author, editor and journalist Gabino Iglesias to the studio. Gabino is the author of COYOTE SONGS, ZERO SAINTS (both from Broken River Books), and GUTMOUTH (Eraserhead Press). He is the book reviews editor at PANK Magazine, the TV/film editor at Entropy Magazine, and a columnist for LitReactor and CLASH Media. His nonfiction has appeared in places like The New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the LA Times, El Nuevo Día, and other venues. The stuff that's made up has been published in places like Red Fez, Flash Fiction Offensive, Drunk Monkeys, Bizarro Central, Paragraph Line, Divergent Magazine, Cease, Cows, and many horror, crime, surrealist, and bizarro anthologies. When not writing or reading, he has worked as a dog whisperer, witty communications professor, and ballerina assassin. His reviews are published in places like NPR, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Criminal Element, The Rumpus, Heavy Feather Review, Atticus Review, Entropy, HorrorTalk, Necessary Fiction, Crimespree, and other print and online venues. He teaches at SNHU's MFA program.

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Authors on the Air and the Pat Conroy Literary Center present Jonathan Haupt and poet Tim Conroy IN CONVERSATION.

Tim Conroy is a poet and former educator. His work has been published in journals, magazines, and compilations, including Fall Lines, Auntie Bellum, Blue Mountain Review, Jasper, Marked by the Water, and Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy. In 2017, Muddy Ford Press published his first book of poetry, Theologies of Terrain, edited by Columbia, South Carolina, poet laureate Ed Madden. A founding board member of the Pat Conroy Literary Center established in his brother’s honor, Tim Conroy lives in Columbia.

Host Jonathan Haupt Kentucky-born Jonathan Haupt  has served as Director of the University of South Carolina Press and, prior to that, as USC Press’s Assistant Director for sales and marketing. Under Haupt’s leadership, USC Press was honored with a South Carolina Governors Award in the Humanities, given in recognition of the Press’s commitment to education through humanities publishing. In 2013, he established the Press’s acclaimed Story River Books fiction imprint, edited by Pat Conroy and named by Garden & Gun magazine as one of the top ten things to love about the South. His directorship at USC Press has been defined by a consistent commitment to serving the interests of writers and readers in and beyond South Carolina. Haupt created the Pat Conroy at 70 Festival in October 2015, an immersive literary event that was equal parts birthday celebration, book festival, writers conference, film festival, civic pride ceremony, community outreach program, and family reunion. Following Conroy’s death, Haupt remade the festival as the Pat Conroy Literary Festival.

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David Misch has wanted to be a comedian his whole life. And here he discusses his life long passion, why laughter and humor are important and the book he wrote dissecting what is funny.  Authors on the Air host Pam Stack welcomes legendary comedian and comic writer David Misch.  After graduating from Pomona College, David moved to Boston, where he wrote political satire, hosted a live music radio show and performed as a comic folksinger and stand-up comedian at colleges, coffeehouses and nightclubs in New England and the Midwest. His song “Somerville” was released nationally by Fretless Records and he was named “Best Comedian In Boston” by Boston Magazine. He moved to California to write for “Mork & Mindy,” which was nominated for two Emmy awards. He also co-wrote “Leave It To Dave,” the pilot for David Letterman’s first talk-show. He’s since written, created and/or produced programs for all the major networks and many of the major (and minor) cable outlets. Among his credits: he co-wrote and directed an episode of the syndicated series “Monsters” which was chosen for competition at the Banff International Television Festival, Executive Story Editor on the legendary Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker series “Police Squad!,” co-writer and producer of “Callahan,” a pilot later screened at the Los Angeles Museum of Art Television Festival, guest writer on “Saturday Night Live.” David was Executive Consultant on “She Spies” (chosen as one of “5 TV Spies To Love” by Time Magazine) and wrote the TV-movie “Behind The Camera: The Unauthorized Story of ‘Mork & Mindy’” (NBC). David’s books include A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO CORRUPTION which Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller said “David Misch is one funny mother …”

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Tim Maleeny is the author of the award-winning Cape Weathers Mystery series and and the bestselling comedic thriller JUMP, which The Boston Globe called “hilarious” and Publishers Weekly described as “a perfectly blended cocktail of escapism.”  This new books BOXING THE OCTOPUS relased this year to wide acclaim.  His short fiction appears in several major anthologies and has won the prestigious Macavity Award for best story of the year. Booklist says, “The Cape Weathers mysteries are smart, snappily written, energetic mysteries starring an engaging hero.”   Tim started writing crime fiction when he moved to San Francisco near Chinatown.  Tim currently lives in New York City with his remarkable wife, Kathryn, and their two kickass daughters, Clare and Helen. Tim is working on his next novel, a screenplay, and a book for young readers. More at www.timmaleeny.com.

J.T. Ellison began her career as a presidential appointee in the White House. Jaded by the political climate in D.C., she made her way back to her first love, creative writing. More than 20 novels later, she is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She is also the EMMY-award winning cohost of  A WAR ON WORD a literary interview television show, and co-wrote the “A Brit in the FBI” series with Catherine Coulter. She lives in Nashville with her husband and two small gray minions, known as cats in some cultures. www.jtellison.com

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Authors on the Air presents Allison Brennan and Catherine Coulter IN CONVERSATION for Women's Herstory Month.

Allison Brennan believes life is too short to be bored, so she had five children and writes three books a year. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, Allison is now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than three dozen thrillers and numerous short stories. Reviewers have called her “a master of suspense” and RT Book Reviews said her books are “mesmerizing” and “complex.” She’s been nominated for multiple awards, including the Thriller, RWA’s Best Romantic Suspense (five times), and twice won the Daphne du Maurier award. She currently writes two series—the Lucy Kincaid/Sean Rogan thrillers and the Maxine Revere cold case mysteries.

Catherine Coulter is the author of over 84 novels, including 79 New York Times bestsellers, occasionally, after exhaustive prayers, hitting #1. The Cove, the first book spent nine weeks on the New York Times list and has to date sold well over 3 million copies. Since then she’s written 23  thrillers in the FBI series, including The Maze, The Target, The Edge, Riptide, Hemlock Bay, Eleventh Hour, Blindside, Blowout, Point Blank, Double Take, Tailspin, Knockout, Whiplash, Split Second, Backfire, Bombshell, Power Play, Nemesis, Insidious, Enigma, and Paradox. Her 23rd FBI thriller LABYRINTH  released July 30th, 2019. Coulter also  co-written with bestselling author JT Ellison.   @copyrighted

Marietta Miles asked Authors on the Air host Pam Stack to contribute something to a piece she was writing in DO SOME DAMAGE about the women who influenced me in my life. This article was for Women's HerStory Month.

I've had a lot of brilliant women in my life who have left behind little amazing pieces of themselves that I hope I carry with me today in their honor.

Back to Marietta. Instead of writing something, I asked her to get some of her friends together and guest host Authors on the Air to showcase who inspired them. It is with great pleasure that this bodacious line-up of brave women: Marietta will introduce you to these beautiful, brilliant and bodacious women:

Ann Abel aka Allison Davis

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We could not celebrate Women's History Month without award-winning New York Times and Publisher's Weekly best-selling author LORI WILDE stopping by the studio at Authors on the Air.

Lori Wilde is the bestselling author of 87 works of romantic fiction and now women's fiction.  Her books have been translated into 26 languages, with more than four million copies of her books sold worldwide. Her breakout novel, The First Love Cookie Club, has been optioned for a TV movie.

Lori is a registered nurse with a BSN from Texas Christian University. She holds a certificate in forensics and is also a certified yoga instructor.

A fifth-generation Texan, Lori lives with her husband, Bill, in the Cutting Horse Capital of the World; where they run Epiphany Orchards, a writing/creativity retreat for the care and enrichment of the artistic soul.

Read more about Lori and her books at www.loriwilde.com

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