Desideratum is a Latin word meaning 'things that are desired as essential'. The Desideratum Podcast celebrates storytelling as an essential thing - the art of telling and the journey of listening. I am Theresa Bakken - an audiobook narrator. Join me and my wordsmith friends for new episodes every Friday showcasing the talents of authors and narrators. Listen to conversations with writers and scenes from their audiobooks. I hope you’ll tune in to hear an artist you love or to find your new favorite storyteller. Thanks for listening.

The real story of The Second Mrs. Astor is told with rich detail and a romantic's touch.  When Madeleine Force fell in love she was a teenager. Who she fell in love with fascinated the press and the public. How the love ended is revealed on the very first page. But, then there is so much more to her story.  New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Shana Abé shares how she envisioned this true story of opulence, scandal, a young woman's strength, and a love drenched in both devotion and loss.  

We talk about the Titanic, the language of flowers, a beloved dog captured in historic photographs, the real Margaret Brown (yes the unsinkable one),  and the strength of kindness (as an essential thing).  Find out more about Shana and her novels on her website, and hear the rest of The Second Mrs. Astor's story in the audiobook narrated by the talented Lauren Ezzo.  Thanks for listening. #kensingtonpress, #tantoraudio, #titanicstory, #audiobook, #authorinterview, #historicalfiction, #narrator

https://www.shanaabe.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Second-Mrs-Astor-Novel-Titanic/dp/1496732049

Our featured story comes from freelance photographer and writer Jeannee Sacken.  In her debut novel, Behind the Lens, Sacken honors strong women. She champions their education and freedom to follow their hearts and passions.  Her characters are courageous and complicated.  She takes us to a war zone with a photographer who focuses on truth and witnesses cruelty, love, cultural beauty and betrayal. It's a riveting, multifaceted story set in Afghanistan. You will hear a scene from the novel and find out why Sacken's own life trajectory changed - why she followed her heart and started sharing women's stories.  You can find out more about Jeannee Sacken, connect with her on social media and buy her book in the links below.  She has also shared the names of charities helping refugees from Afghanistan right now. Thanks for listening. 

Links to Jeannee Sacken's work: 

https://www.jeanneesacken.com

https://www.facebook.com/jeanneesacken

https://instagram/authorjeanneesacken

Link to Amazon to purchase Behind the Lens:  https://amzn.to/3gNzfOo

Organizations accepting donations of new clothing, shoes, supplies, and money: Islamic Society of Milwaukee, Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition, Lutheran Social Services, International Institute of Wisconsin, Jewish Social Services (based in Madison)

Volunteering assistance: [email protected] (Catholic Charities of the Diocese of La Crosse), teamrubiconusa.org/resettlement, cclse.org/afghanistan-refugee-assistance

Our featured story is a harrowing tale, a heart wrenching story about a journey through compassion and cruelty.  Author Debra Thomas spent years writing the novel Luz and more years finding just the right publisher for the story - She Writes Press.  In our conversation, she shares personal insight into the life lessons about perseverance and living with regrets that she wove into the characters. She talks about real life experiences that gave the story its authenticity and explains why she thinks fiction is the best vehicle to move us towards empathy and truth.  You can find a great book club study guide for the novel put together by author and Bookish Road Trip founder Mary Sheriff on Debra's website. https://debrathomasauthor.com/planning-the-perfect-book-club-with-luz/ 

Thank you to the International Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Club and Reading Nation Magazine for shining a light on Luz and leading me to it.  And, thank you for listening. 

Our featured story comes from Marjorie Herrera Lewis. Marjorie is a career sports writer covering football at all levels in Texas. In fact, she was the first female sports writer to cover the Dallas Cowboys. So when, through a happy set of coincidences, she found out about another female sports enthusiast who stepped up during WWII and coached high school football in Texas,  she knew it was a story she had to tell. Tylene Wilson's story was lost to the dust bins of history before Marjorie wrote her novel When the Men Were Gone.  Now, the book has made the Best Books lists in Sports Illustrated and Newsweek, is a Book Club selection of Readers Digest and the International Pulpwood Queens, and is now under a film contract. Listen to how Marjorie found Tylene's voice in late night writing sessions,  and what Marjorie's big picture themes of the book are (hint: it's bigger than Texas football). Her audiobook narrator, Eva Kaminsky, is an accomplished television, film and broadway actor who has won multiple Earphones Awards for her narration work.  

Find the rest of the story and more about Marjorie Herrera Lewis on her website https://marjorieherreralewis.com/ and see a picture of the real life Tylene Wilson posing with her football team on the Desideratum Podcast website. https://desideratumpodcast.com/ Thanks for listening.

Our featured story is from Claire Fullerton, a storyteller who visits the past and studies how it shapes us over and over again in her writing.  We talk about how being an outsider and an observer sparked her study and love for the south. She shares her unplanned writing style - you won't find it in any writing class. And, she describes her first trip to Como, Mississippi, where she set part of the novel Little Tea. You will hear a reading from Little Tea - a section from the beginning of the novel where you discover the title's significance.  

You can find fantastic pictures of the ocean in her backyard and the shepherds in her life on her instagram feed @cffullerton And, you can find her novels and her engaging reviews of other author's novels on her website. https://www.clairefullerton.com/

I will put a little more of the Little Tea conversation on the Desideratum Podcast website - a lucky listener bonus about Claire's ancestral connection to and understanding of Ireland where her novel Dancing to an Irish Reel is set. https://desideratumpodcast.com/

Thanks for listening.

Our featured story is from Frank Oliva's debut novel Walking Among the Trees.  The Psychological Thriller is a journey through secrets and past sins.  You will hear the beginning of the book as the two priests venture into the trees. And then, you will walk a little farther into the trees with the author to hear about: what he researched to get just right in the story; how the seed of the story was planted when he was a teenager working at a Catholic church; and how he found the time to create the novel's slow burn - with a couple jump scares along the way. Here's Frank's website to find out more about him and to order the book to find out the secrets it reveals for yourself. Thanks for listening.  

Frank Oliva's Website 

Our featured story comes from author Brian Malloy's new novel After Francesco.  You will hear his talented and award winning narrator Michael Crouch read an excerpt from the audiobook - a scene where the main character Kevin measures his grief not by remembering what was, but by thinking about what will never be.  You will also hear Brian explain - in his even and calming voice - how this emotional ride of a story is anchored in his personal experiences in many different ways.  I love what his character Aunt Nora says about family. And, Brian's answer to the 'essential things' question caught me by surprise with its altruism.  We begin by talking about when he was writing the 'author's note' during lock down - during the pandemic - a very different pandemic than the one he chronicles in the book - which honors those who fought a life and death battle against disease, hatred, indifference, and ignorance during the 1980's.  You can find After Francesco and all of Brian's work through his website https://www.malloywriter.com/after_francesco_.htm.  And, I'll put a picture of Brian with his Minnesota AIDS Project buds at the March on Washington in 1987 on the Desideratum Podcast website. https://desideratumpodcast.com/ When you want to hear more from narrator Michael Crouch, here is his website: http://www.michaellockwoodcrouch.com/  

Thanks for listening.

Our featured story comes from author Pamela Skjolsvik.  She always considered herself a non-fiction writer, trained to tell the truth, but then one day she discovered she likes to make things up and she's good at it.  She's written a vampire novel called Forever 51 that she says is not your daughter's vampire story. She's funnier than her last name and she's open and direct in surprising ways.  I've been asking authors and everyone else about their COVID pandemic experiences - the silver linings and the losses.  Her experience took my breath away. I'll put more about her and her picture on the Desideratum Podcast website.  Below are links to her website, an article CNN published by her in 2020, and her social media pages.  Thanks for listening. 

https://www.pamelaskjolsvik.com/

https://desideratumpodcast.com/

Here is the link to her CNN article about her mother's last days: