Central Iowa author Tracey Garvis Graves joins the podcast for today's episode. Graves new book, The Girl He Used to Know, hits library shelves and bookstores everywhere on April 2. Graves is best well-known for her debut novel, On the Island. She initially self-published that book, and it eventually became a New York Times bestseller.

Graves talks about the amazing journey On the Island took, one that landed her a full-time book deal. "I couldn't really wrap my brain around it," Graves says of the fact that she shared a bestsellers list on Amazon with books in The Hunger Games and Fifty Shades of Grey series.

Her new book, The Girl He Used to Know, prominently features a character on the autism spectrum. Graves says she did a lot of work to make sure she was authentic in her dialogue and the actions of that character, Annika. "I read up to six nonfiction books about Asperger’s and being on the spectrum," she says. "Then I read a lot of blog posts and internet articles about what the spouses of people who are on the spectrum" love about their significant others and enjoy about their relationships. 

In lieu of Valentine's Day this week, we invited Iowa Romance Novelists President Jan Walters on the podcast. Jan shares with us a new book from an Iowa author and a romantic paranormal series she loves that was recently completed. She also talks about her own books and shares how working with Iowa Romance Novelists has made her a better writer. 

Related Links:

• Game of Scones, by Mary Lee Ashford
• The Charley Davidson series, by Darynda Jones (first book: First Grave on the Right)
• Jan Walters' website, with information on her books
• Iowa Romance Novelists Facebook page

Kevin Gannon, Ph.D., is a history professor at Grand View University. Kevin will be moderating the Becoming American series that begins next Monday at 6:00 PM at the Franklin Avenue Library. Becoming American is a documentary film and discussion series examining immigration. 

Gannon discusses his prolific web presence, including his twitter account - @thetattooedprof - and his website, thetattooedprof.com. He discusses the upcoming series, his thoughts on immigration and social justice, and his experience being part of the Ava DuVernay-directed and Oscar-nominated documentary, 13th.

Music credits: "Young, Tough and Terrible" by The Losers / CC BY-NC

Iowa native Paul Kix joins us on the DMPL Podcast today. Kix, who grew up in Hubbard, is the author of The Saboteur. The book details the life of Robert de La Rochefoucauld, a French aristocrat-turned-resistance fighter in WWII. During the podcast, Kix talks about:

• Finding out about La Rochefoucauld's life in an obituary and creating a book proposal.
• Why La Rochefoucauld's incredible story hadn't been told to English audiences yet.
• Working with French sources to follow-up and confirm extraordinary details while knowing a limited amount of French.
• How he wrote the book 500 words at a time while continuing his full-time job as deputy editor at ESPN: The Magazine.
• The most unbelievable parts of La Rochefoucauld's life - and there were several to choose from.

You can find more of Kix's work, including magazine stories and other long-form pieces, at his website, paulkix.com.

Music credits: "Young, Tough and Terrible" by The Losers / CC BY-NC

Iowa photographer and artist Barry Phipps joins us on the podcast today. Barry recently published a collection of photos called From Gravity to What Cheer: Iowa Photographs. The book has several striking photos of sites across Iowa, with a focus on color and architecture. Several of those photos are currently on display at the Central Library Art Gallery through January 23.

During the podcast, Barry talks about moving to Iowa City in 2012, how the photos developed from a personal project of curiosity to the published book, and his past life as a DJ and as a part of a 90s rock band that played at Lollapalooza and appeared on MTV.

Music credits: "Young, Tough and Terrible" by The Losers / CC BY-NC

It's time to talk about our favorite books of 2018. Steph, Gen, and Becky are all on the podcast today to talk about their favorite adult, young adult, and children's books of the year, respectively.

You can find a list of the books they discuss, as well as other books they enjoyed this year, at The DMPL Blog - dmpl.org/blog.

Music credits: "Young, Tough and Terrible" by The Losers / CC BY-NC

Pulitzer Prize winning writer Art Cullen joins us on the podcast. Cullen, editor of The Storm Lake Times, won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing. His work detailed the role deceptive agricultural corporations played in a lawsuit between three rural Iowa counties and Des Moines Water Works regarding water pollution.

In the wake of that award, Cullen was approached by a handful of publishers about writing a book. He wrote Storm Lake: A Chronicle of Change, Resilience, and Hope from a Heartland Newspaper, a book about both his life and the life of a community in northwest Iowa that has been challenged by changes in the meat-packing industry and shaped by diversity.

In the podcast, Cullen talks about practicing journalism in a small community, the positive impact The Storm Lake Times has had on the town's large immigrant population, and more.

Dani Lin joins us on the DMPL Podcast! She has two programs at the library this month:

1) Stress Free, Nourishing Meals: Tuesday, July 17, 6:00 PM, North Side Library

2) Superhero Foods!: Monday, July 30, 6:00 PM, East Side Library

Music credits: "Young, Tough and Terrible" by The Losers / CC BY-NC

AViD author Russell Shorto joins special guest host Laura Rowley on the newest episode of the DMPL Podcast! Shorto wrote Revolution Song, which is a narrative history of the American Revolution. Shorto shares with Rowley why he settled on the six real-life characters that he chose to tell the story of the Revolution. He also shares a little bit about his next project, which is the story of the mafia - and also a family story.

Shorto will be at the Central Library as part of the 2018 AViD series on Thursday, June 14, at 7:00 PM.

AViD author Lea Berman joins special guest host Laura Rowley on the newest episode of the DMPL Podcast! She co-wrote Treating People Well with Jeremy Bernard. Both served as White House Social Secretaries - Berman under President George W. Bush and Bernard under President Barack Obama. During the interview, she talks about why she sees civility and manners as something that needs to be discussed in the current day and age. She also shares a couple of stories from her time at the White House.

Berman and Jeremy Bernard will be at the Central Library as part of the 2018 AViD series on Tuesday, May 15, at 7:00 PM.

Music credits: "Young, Tough and Terrible" by The Losers / CC BY-NC