Living The Next Chapter: Candid Conversations with Authors and Writers for Readers Searching for a New Read

Episode 516 - Matt Drago - Actor Staring in SOMEWHERE IN MONTANA - Bringing A Script to the Screen

Matt Drago is an actor living in Los Angeles. Best known for his role as Fabian in SOMEWHERE IN MONTANA, he has appeared in a variety of other projects including Disney’s Counting Scars viral video, What Would Jesus Do: The Journey Continues, Ridley Scott’s Prophets of Science Fiction, and the popular audio drama podcast No Other Way. 

He also has his own production company, which is currently in development on its first feature film. Outside of performing, Matt enjoys karate (he is a 4th degree black belt) and is an avid sports fan. Matt is represented by HRI Talent, Ignite Talent Management, and is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity.

Written and directed by Brandon Smith, “Somewhere in Montana” opens in movie theaters on Jan. 10.

Shot near Glacier National Park, the film captures the natural splendor of Montana and an authenticity that amplifies its storytelling.

“Somewhere in Montana” is a poignant journey that invites audiences to experience resilience, connection and self-discovery, all set against the stunning backdrop of Montana’s landscapes, reads the release.

“Montana isn’t just the backdrop; it’s a vital character in the film, embodying the raw beauty and quiet strength of the principled people within the story,” said director Smith. “It’s a journey that I hope resonates deeply with viewers.”

The film stars Graham McTavish (Outlander, The Hobbit, Aquaman), Michelle Hurd (Star Trek: Picard, Blindspot), and Matt Drago (Just Go With It, The Fix) in a story of two vastly different men who must learn to accept each other’s differences and ways of life. 

Produced and distributed by Nova Vento Entertainment, the big sky country drama will be in select theaters Jan. 10, 2025 and expand to 500 theaters by the end of January.

Montana cattle rancher John Alexander (McTavish), at risk of losing his land, agrees to let a film production use his property for a location shoot. He doesn’t exactly see eye-to-eye with the urban cast and crew, from the risqué storyline to how they handle their props.

The film’s obsessive director, Fabian (Drago), is intent on calling the shots and getting his film made whatever it takes. The two clash but ultimately come to terms with their respective points of view. Alexander decides to trust Fabian, and Fabian now knows he’ll be able to finish his film—until a shocking incident brings production to a complete halt. A devastated Fabian tries to revive the project, but because of the incident no one will touch it.

https://mattdrago.com/

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Episode 515 - Andrew Sillen - Kidnapped at Sea - The Civil War Voyage of David Henry White

About the author

Andrew Sillen (B.A. Brooklyn College '74; Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania '81) is a visiting research scholar in the department of anthropology at Rutgers University. He has authored or co-authored over 50 academic and popular articles on archaeology and human evolution. Sillen was formerly Professor of Paleoanthropology and the founding Director of Development at the University of Cape Town; and subsequently Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Brooklyn College. He lives in, and writes from his hometown of Brooklyn, New York.

Book: Kidnapped at Sea: The Civil War Voyage of David Henry White 

The true story of David Henry White, a free Black teenage sailor enslaved on the high seas during the Civil War, whose life story was falsely and intentionally appropriated to advance the Lost Cause trope of a contented slave, happy and safe in servility.

David Henry White, a free Black teenage sailor from Lewes, Delaware, was kidnapped by Captain Raphael Semmes of the Confederate raider Alabama on October 9, 1862, from the Philadelphia-based packet ship Tonawanda. White remained captive on the Alabama for over 600 days, until he drowned during the Battle of Cherbourg on June 19, 1864.

In a best-selling postwar memoir, Semmes falsely described White as a contented slave who remained loyal to the Confederacy. In Kidnapped at Sea, archaeologist Andrew Sillen uses a forensic approach to describe White's enslavement and demise and illustrates how White's actual life belies the Lost Cause narrative his captors sought to construct.

Kidnapped at Sea is the first book to focus on White's actual life, rather than relying on Semmes and other secondary sources. Until now, Semmes's appropriation of White's life has escaped scrutiny, thereby demonstrating the challenges faced by disempowered, illiterate people—and how well-crafted, racist fabrications have become part of Civil War memory.

https://a.co/d/e2UKuCv

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Episode 514 - Dana S Diaz - How Narcissistic Abuse Creates Confusion and Conflict Within Victims

Dana S. Diaz studied journalism and psychology at DePaul University. While there’s no better teacher than life experience and Dana has had life-long experiences with narcissistic abuse, her education did give her the ability to accurately verbalize and express how narcissistic abuse creates confusion and conflict within victims.

Today, Dana is a proud voice for fellow victims who are unable, afraid, or ashamed to share their experiences. She strives to create awareness and understanding to ensure victims are given the support they need to first understand their situation and then begin the healing process. Her first book, chronicling her own abusive marriage that lasted nearly three decades, started as a journal that she hid under the couch cushion in the basement.

When she isn’t speaking out on narcissistic abuse, Dana can be found listening to music by Eric Hutchinson, Elle King, Green Day, Amy Winehouse, Julia Michaels and Taylor Swift. She equally loves her gray Converse shoes (she wears them every day!) and her Toyota FJ Cruiser.

Dana watches the sun rise and set every single day, and enjoys hikes in the woods. She absolutely loves animals for their sensitivity and loving hearts, and has two cats, Kitty Kitty and Tigger. Dana makes her home in Illinois with her husband Doug.

https://danasdiaz.com/

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EPISODE 513 - M.T. Solomon - Women's SciFi Fantasy, Liar Queen, Setting Down Past Trauma

About

Born in the American South and raised in the remote wilderness of Alaska, M.T. Solomon has been writing books since she was six years old. At the age of eleven she wrote and hand-stitched the binding to her own story: a riff of Calvin and Hobbes with a female protagonist. She graduated from Portland State University in 2012 with a B.S. in Liberal Studies and a Minor in Writing.

Her work has appeared on the cover of Gotham Writers Class Schedule and has been featured on The Spinning Pen, and Wow! Women on Writing. Solomon’s writing takes cues from her childhood, where the vast setting of Alaska seemed just as much a character in her life story as she did. She favors broken or imperfect characters and utilizes a lyrical, repetitive style within her prose. Her work is heavily influenced by the female authors she grew up loving: Margaret Atwood, Lois Lowry, and Alice Hoffman.

Winner of Gotham Writers #storieseverywhere for July 2016.
Story as Cover Art for Gotham Writers Winter Class Schedule 2016-2017
Contributor on Ad Hoc Fiction.
Short Story Winner on The Spinning Pen (December 2016).
Dual POV Prompt Flash Fiction Contributor on The Spinning Pen (March 2017).
Guest Writer on The Spinning Pen (February 2017 & March 2017).
Runner Up for Wow! Women on Writing Winter 2023 Flash Fiction contest. Interview Here.
Semi-Finalist in Tulip Tree Publishing’s Stories That Need to be Told 2023 Contest.
Long Listed for the Realm Awards 2024 in Fantasy and Debut Novel categories.

https://themtsolomon.com/

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Episode 512 - Sara Winokur - Iceland, Chess, DNA, Science and Historical Mystery Fiction

Sara Winokur is a geneticist, researcher, and author. Her historical fiction and cultural thrillers embody elements of DNA and forensic science, as she has a Ph.D. in molecular genetics. Her research helped identify mutations underlying muscular dystrophy, and Huntington’s disease.

In her Nordic noir novel “Double Blind: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders,” a young boy disappears from a fjord in Iceland. Years later, his twin sister Brynja, a DNA scientist, searches for him but lands in a world of trouble. Her second novel, the historical thriller “Ivory Bones: The Lewis Chessmen Murders,” finds Brynja racing against time to find the valuable medieval chess pieces before she herself becomes the target. Sara is a direct descendent of two of the main historical characters: the ruthless Barbary pirate Jans Janszoon and his son Anthony, the largest landowner in 1600s Brooklyn and Coney Island.

As an ovarian cancer thriver, Sara has a sense of gratitude, strength, and perspective that she extends to family, friends, work, and her writing. On her journey from science to writing, she says “Let go of who you are and become what you might be. Do what scares you.” 

A mother of three, Sara Winokur resides with her husband and writes in Southern California. That is, when she is not traveling the world in search of unique stories.

https://www.sarawinokur.com/

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EPISODE 511 - Margie Zable Fisher - The Cabernet Club, A Novel, Two Authors and A Mother Daughter Project

After I turned 50, I decided to live my best life.

I began running and competing in triathlons and shifted from running my P.R. business to becoming a full-time writer and author.

I love helping other people (especially women) over 50 make their second act their best act.

Much of my writing, and my novel, focus on making the rest of your life the best of your life.

Book
My novel, The Cabernet Club, co-authored with my mom, Rona S. Zable, is available from Amazon. The book launched on January 31, 2025.

When Mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in early 2023, I made her a promise: that I would get this novel published, with a traditional publisher.

Sibylline Press, which publishes books by women authors over 50, has helped me fulfill that promise, two years after Mom passed away.

I am eager to share the novel’s message of hope, as well as other topics, with in-person and online audiences, locally, nationally, and internationally.
https://margiezfisher.com/
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Episode 510 - Janet Wiszowaty - Former RCMP dispatcher heals her PTSD through writing

Author, International Speaker, First Responder Advocate. Certified Success Principes Trainer, Mentor & Now What Coach supporting you moving forward.

About the author

Janet's adventurous spirit is seen in everything she does, from a 30-year career with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as an emergency dispatcher to creating programs to help First Responders and those who have suffered a trauma to move forward. She created Worldly Connektions to bring people and resources together and is the creator and former host of an internet radio show Worldly Connektions to share knowledge to those who are unable to travel to learn from her guests. Janet's motto is "Life is a team sport and when we all work together miracles happen."

https://janetwiszowaty.com/

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Episode 509 - Stacey Sanderson - Heart Wide Open, A Holistic Guide to Self Recovery from Narcissistic Wounding - No Not Enought Button, No Wake Sign

Stacey Sanderson and I'm a Registered Psychotherapist and Holistic Life Coach.

It's my mission to help people heal and release relationship patterns and step into their power. As part of my own healing and recovery process I dove into understanding personality pathology and focused on this and the biopsychosocial roots of this issue.

For the last twenty years I have sought to better understand narcissism from the point of view of trauma, attachment and energy. With many years experience as a therapist, I wanted to create a more heart-centered and holistic approach in my work with clients, integrating trauma and somatic modalities with meditation, mindfulness, expressive arts.

My work is collaborative and intuitively guided. A lot of the time, this work is about empowering empaths! I believe that there is healing in connection and community. My own personal healing from narcissistic family and work systems came full circle when I stepped into my power and full potential - and I know you can do the same!

I live in rural Ontario, Canada where I enjoy being in nature either running, skiing, kayaking or gardening! I have been married for 27 years and have two adult children, our beautiful rescue dog Zoe and two cats. I have a small private psychotherapy practice, and my passion is in leading the Inquire Within relationship recovery community.

Book: Heart Wide Open
A Holistic Guide to Self Recovery from Narcissistic Wounding
by Stacey Sanderson

As a practising psychotherapist, Stacey Sanderson takes a holistic and trauma-based approach to healing in her work with clients who are—or have been—involved in narcissistic relationships. In Heart Wide Open: A Holistic Guide to Narcissistic Recovery, she delves into the roots and consequences of such relationships through a comprehensive examination of a number of factors, including attachment theory, family dynamics, and early childhood trauma.

At times, Stacey draws upon her own personal experience of recovery to bring her point poignantly home. The book includes a series of self-directed exercises, or “Journal Prompts,” to help readers develop a deeper understanding of the dynamics of toxic relationships in their own lives. With Stacey’s guidance, this self-delving leads readers toward self-compassion and healing through what she refers to as “Compassionate Detachment.”

Heart Wide Open: A Holistic Guide to Narcissistic Recovery, written in down-to-earth accessible language, is a must-read for those who want to learn more about narcissism and narcissists, their own personal relationship patterns, and how they can create powerful interpersonal boundaries to facilitate healing. The emphasis is on recovering the vital aspects of the self that had to be hidden in order to survive the relationship. Now, it’s time to break free of unhealthy cycles to make room for the love you deserve.

https://www.staceysanderson.ca/

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Episode 508 - A X Foster - GAVEL TO GAVEL and DOUBLE BLIND - THE SENECA COUNTY COURTHOUSE SERIES

A. X. Foster was a prosecutor in Maryland for 20 years and then opened up his own law firm where he represented criminal defendants for an additional 15 years.

As a prosecutor, he tried approximately 100 jury trials, including homicides, sexual assaults, domestic violence and animal cruelty cases. His work promoting increased protection for animals led to the legislature enacting the first felony animal abuse law in Maryland history.  He also won the first conviction under the new law in 2000.

Foster graduated from Bennington College in Vermont with a double major in Literature and Theatre Arts.  He then spent two years as a copywriter at the Madison Avenue advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather.

Foster then traveled in Europe while based in Amsterdam, where he performed for two years at the English Speaking Theatre of Amsterdam.

After returning to New York, he became a member of the acting unions Actors’ Equity, the Screen Actors’ Guild, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.  In the 1980s, Foster performed in various TV soap operas, including “Ryan’s Hope,” “Search For Tomorrow,” “The Guiding Light,” “Another World,” and “As The World Turns.”

Disenchanted with the world of professional acting, Foster entered law school to become an entertainment lawyer, but took a different path once he studied criminal law.

At Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Foster won the school-wide Moot Court tournament and also received the prize for best legal writing, the Best Brief Award, and the prize for best speaker, the Best Oralist Award.  He was then named to represent Emory in the National Moot Court tournament where he competed against other law schools from across the country.

Upon graduation from law school, Foster first worked for the Department of Justice in Wilmington, Delaware and then took a position as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Maryland.

GAVEL TO GAVEL, Foster’s first legal thriller, is based on Foster’s experiences as a prosecutor.  A life-long fan of murder mysteries and legal thrillers, with Agatha Christie, John Grisham and James Patterson as influences, Foster began writing the novel in 2020, when COVID greatly curtailed activity in the local courthouse.

In GAVEL TO GAVEL, a wealthy businessman is murdered by his wife. The only eyewitness is their nine-year-old disabled daughter. Her testimony is the key to the case. Top prosecutor Mac MacIntyre is calm, confident and relies on his courtroom cunning to maneuver through a maze of office politics, the bright glare of the media spotlight and his own thorny ethical dilemmas. The story follows Mac as he navigates from the crime scene investigation to the selection of the jury, to fierce cross-examination, to a surprising jury verdict.

GAVEL TO GAVEL was published by Paper Raven Books in 2023 and has garnered many positive reviews.  His next book in THE SENECA COUNTY COURTHOUSE SERIES is titled DOUBLE BLIND, and features another murder trial with elements of police and judicial corruption.   

https://www.axfoster.com/

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Episode 507 - Richard Sparks - Richard Returns to Share His Next Project, to celebrate news about The Schoolmaster skit and Rowan Atkinson's creative license

Richard Sparks
One morning in 1979 I got a call from an understandably excited Rowan Atkinson.

“John Cleese just called. He’s asked me to be in his new charity show – and can I do The Schoolmaster?”

Er, yes.

I’d written The Schoolmaster for Rowan the previous year, for a revue at the Hampstead Theatre (Rowan with Elspeth Walker and Peter Wilson). John and his co-producer, Martin Lewis, had seen it; and a year later, Rowan and I were backstage at Her Majesty’s Theatre, meeting John and other members of the cast of The Secret Policeman’s Ball.

Rowan went on stage an unknown, with his gown and clipboard and pen, and came off a star. The Schoolmaster became his signature piece, the encore of his live shows. Eventually, he got tired of doing the same old routine and wrote another (ruder) version, generously giving me half the royalties.

By that time, I’d cut my teeth on various TV shows, from HTV (Wales) to ITV (Southern and Central) to the BBC. I’d also written some stage shows (reviews, original plays, and adaptations of Goldoni comedies), and done a lot of freelance script editing. In 1992, I was hired by Columbia Picture Television to work with Blake Hunter and Marty Cohan, the creators of Who’s the Boss?. My wife and I moved with our young daughter to her parents (converted) garage and we’ve lived in Los Angeles since.

I’ve written a number of libretti for operas, almost all for the LA Opera – some original pieces, some translations from German or Italian. My writing partner, the composer, Lee Holdridge, was – in a way – once G.R.R. Martin’s ‘writing partner’ in that he composed the scores for the TV series Beauty and the Beast, for which Martin was a script writer.

I’d been a hard-core RPG gamer for years when the idea for these books just fell out of the sky one morning, and I started writing. I have hardly had a moment to log on to any game — I’m too busy exploring the New Rock stories as they unfold.

My publisher, Caezik SF & Fantasy, is a company of enthusiasts who love these genres. I am delighted to join their family of authors, and to be working with their executive editor, Lezli, Robyn.

Three sequels – New Rock New Realm, New Rock New Rules, and New Rock New Roads, have been completed and will be published in due course. I’m currently working on the fifth book

https://richardsparks.com/

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