In this episode, we meet author Gilda Morina Syverson, a poet, memorist, and as she says, a member of a large Italian-American family from upstate New York that grows exponentially each year.

This Italian-American family has its roots in Sicily, which led to Gilda’s quest to learn more about her past and to her award-winning memoir: My Father’s Daughter: From Rome to Sicily.

Gilda reads from the memoir and discusses the culture and norms of the old country. It’s a trip well worth taking.

She also reads two poems and in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, she reads a piece called “Racing & Wives & Valentines,” which is sure to generate a laugh or two.

We start first with her poem, A Sicilian Dream, published in Main Street Rag.

You can connect with the podcast at: www.charlottereaderspodcast.com

In this episode, we run head-long into a family’s story of cocaine, race, and ambition in the New South. They say truth is often stranger than fiction and this true story of a drug dealer’s life in Charlotte is no exception.

The book is called Money Rock and in it, author Pam Kelley pulls back the curtain to reveal a Charlotte history that is little known and not discussed enough.

Pam’s career as an award-winning journalist allowed her to cover the gun fight that led to Money Rock’s decline and then years later, his rebirth as a born-again preacher. You may be surprised at what you learn in this historical account that reads like a novel.

We start first with a 1985 shootout in a Charlotte public housing project called Piedmont Courts.

Connect with the show at: www.charlottereaderspodcast.com

In this episode, author JD DuPuy reads from Poetic Justice: Legal Humor in Verse. You guessed it. We poke a bit of fun at the legal profession, which is perfectly acceptable for J.D. and me to do since we are both lawyers.

With a sly grin and a few belly laughs, J.D. waxes poetic about the stages of lawyer life, starting with law school and continuing through what he jokingly calls the final stage, disillusionment. Along the way, he rhymes about the brand-new attorney, the courtroom, the deposition table, ethics, and law firm life.

From Haiku bursts of snark to rhymes that make nods to the famous poets, J.D. and his co-author, ML Philpott, find the funny in the law.

As a bonus, J.D. and I role play some actual “you won’t believe they asked these questions” in a real legal proceeding. And really, you won’t believe the stupid questions these lawyers asked and the surprising answers given by the witnesses. J.D. starts by reading “Time Warp,” about some of the nonsense that permeates law school.

Connect with and learn more about the podcast at: www.charlottereaderspodcast.com

In today’s episode, we meet Linda Phillips, an author who writes poetry and novels in verse.

Linda is the author of Crazy, an award-winning Young Adult novel in verse about a young girl who truly believes that her mother belongs in a nut house. The story is inspired by Linda’s own life, when she struggled to come to terms with her own mother’s bipolar disorder.

Linda also reads from and discusses her recent book, Behind These Hands, about how the life of a teenage piano prodigy is upended when her two younger brothers are diagnosed with a rare disease. She finishes the show on a lighter note with an award-winning poem for cat lovers called Two-Legged and Four.

Linda shares how she tackles tough issues in young adult literature and how she advocates for better mental health through the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Linda starts today with the poem Oceanography, which was published in The Texas Review and highlights her experiences with her mother’s struggle with mental illness.

Find out more at: www.charlottereaderspodcast.com

In this episode, author Tommy Tomlinson, finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer prize in commentary and longtime local columnist with the Charlotte Observer, reads from The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man’s Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America.

Tommy reads and talks about his lifetime struggle with his weight.

It’s at times humorous and full of wit and at times its full of depth and tugs at your heart but always, always filled with that human touch that makes Tommy a writer worth reading.

In addition to reading from and talking about many sections of his new book, Tommy adds a bonus. He reads a story he wrote about a Charlotte boy named Sammy Johns who wrote the 1970s hit “Chevy Van” and he even sings a verse or two.

We start this episode with Tommy reading “Here Comes the Bride and One Lucky Guy.” It’s a column he wrote on his wedding day that some people still carry around with them, and it appears in the book, The Elephant in the Room, published by Simon & Schuster.

In this episode, we hear stories about the life of Ham Wade, to whom Season 2 is dedicated, and we get a preview of the 12 authors who will give voice to their written words this season.

The first author episode of Season 2 will feature author Tommy Tomlinson, finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer prize in commentary, reading from and discussing his new book: The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man’s Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America.

Season 2 will also feature authors Linda Phillips, JD DuPuy, Pam Kelley, Gilda Syverson, Randell Jones, Rosie Molinary, Bud Schill, Nora Gaskin, Bryn Chancellor, Cathy Pickens and Ann Campanella. Learn more about them and what they will be reading in this preview episode and at: www.charlottereaderspodcast.com

This episode is a full audio version of The Christmas Heist, A Courtroom Adventure, with an author interview at the end. The story is read by author Landis Wade and his wife, Janet.

It’s a Christmas courtroom drama with a modern twist, sort of a cross between My Cousin Vinny and Miracle on 34th Street. Originally meant as a family Christmas gift, the story became the first book in a trilogy about lawyers who save Christmas.

Defendant Henry Edmonds, a homeless man who believes he works for Santa Claus, is on trial two days before Christmas for stealing a flash drive that holds the key to Christmas. Several people want Edmonds in jail, including a man who says he works for an international toy company. Witness by witness the facts come out but who is to be believed and are there any True Believers? As the courtroom clock ticks down on Christmas Eve, it becomes clear that the fates of the defendant and Christmas are inextricably intertwined. A local newspaper reporter stirs things up by blogging about what he calls the “Trial of the Century” and tweets that the “Court’s Ruling Could Halt Christmas for Thousands.” Can an irascible judge looking toward retirement find it within himself to save Christmas?

Find out more about the author at: www.charlottereaderspodcast.com

In this episode, we sit down with the staff at Park Road Books to hear their book picks for the 2018 holiday season. We start with Sally Brewster, owner of the store, and then chat with James Brewster, Megan Minard, Shauna Sinyard and Sherri Smith. The store dog, Yola, also has a book pick for the pet friendly reader.

It’s often said that variety is the spice in life. It’s true in books, too. And we get a variety of tastes and the suggestions that go with them with the book-minded folks at Park Road Books.

You can listen without taking notes because the full list of suggestions is in the show notes at: www.charlottereaderspodcast.com

You can learn more about Park Road Books at: www.parkroadbooks.com

In this episode, author Tracy Curtis reads humor essays from Trophy Mom and Beach Bummed and in the spirit of the Christmas season, she also reads stories from Holidazed, which won a national 2016 Independent Publisher Book Award. Tracy teaches creative writing and humor workshops and says: “There is humor in everything. Sometimes you just have to look for it.

Tracy is a former syndicated humor columnist for The McClatchy Company, nationwide. She wrote over 500 columns for the Charlotte Observer, and then published her Humor Me trilogy, collections of her columns from the last decade about the imperfection of motherhood. In 2017, Tracy was announced as a top ten finalist in the Anna Lefler/Erma Bombeck Humorist-in-Residence writing competition that drew over 400 applicants from six countries. A former CNN producer, Tracy enjoyed a fifteen-year career in radio, television and film. She currently is working on her first novel entitled “Wit Happens.” And when she’s not writing? She says she’s unloading the dishwasher!

Listeners can connect with the author at: www.tracyleecurtis.com

Listeners can connect with the show at: www.charlottereaderspodcast.com

In this episode, author Judy Goldman reads one of her published poems entitled: Sunday Night, Driving Home, where the reader can feel themselves as children settling into the backseat as the hum of the highway in the dark of night puts them at ease. She also reads from her new book, Together: A Memoir of a Marriage and a Medical Mishap, due for publication by Doubleday in February 2019. New York Times best-selling authors Ron Rash and Wiley Cash speak glowingly of the new book. And finally, she reads from her book, Losing My Sister, a finalist for both Southeast Booksellers Alliance’s Memoir of the Year and ForeWord Review’s Memoir of the Year.

Judy is the author of six books: two memoirs, two novels, and two books of poetry. Judy has won many prizes and awards for her work which has appeared in The Southern Review, Kenyon Review, Gettysburg Review, Ohio Review, Prairie Schooner, Shenandoah, Crazyhorse, and Real Simple magazine. She received the Hobson Award for Distinguished Achievement in Arts and Letters, the Fortner Writer and Community Award for “outstanding generosity to other writers and the larger community,” and the Beverly D. Clark Author Award from Queens University. Judy is an accomplished author and advocate for the writing community.

Listeners can connect with the author at: www.judygoldman.com

Listeners can connect with the show at: www.charlottereaderspodcast.com