BIO:

Brian Reisinger is an award-winning writer who grew up working with his dad on their family farm in Sauk County, Wisconsin. He lives to tell the hidden stories of rural America and has been published by USA Today, Newsweek, Yahoo News, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, PBS/Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Wisconsin Life,” The Daily Yonder, RealClearPolitics, The Hill, and elsewhere. Reisinger’s writing has won awards from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, first place in the Seven Hills Literary Contest, a Solas Award, and more.

SYNOPSIS:

Land Rich, Cash Poor weaves forgotten eras of American history with the four-generation fight for survival of the author’s family in Midwestern farm country. Readers learn the truth about America’s most detrimental and unexplained socioeconomic crisis: How the family farms that feed us went from cutting a middle-class path through the Great Depression to barely making ends meet in modern America. With new historical analysis, honest debate, and personal storytelling, Land Rich, Cash Poor reveals how the hollowing out of rural America is affecting every single American dinner table.

LINKS:

• www.brian-reisinger.com
• Pages and Parcels, Potosi, WI -- 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 101 North Main Street, Potosi, RSVP here.
• Ridges and Rivers Book Festival, Viroqua, WI -- 11 a.m. Saturday, April 26 at Western Wisconsin Technical College, 220 S. Main St., Viroqua, WI, more info here. 

BIO:

John Krause is the author of the Pudge Amazon series for middle-grade readers. A big fan of words, books, and libraries, John is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, a member of the Wisconsin Writers Association, and a Distinguished Toastmaster through Toastmasters International. When not writing or reading, he enjoys hiking, camping, and road trips. John lives in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin with his wife, April who is a ceramic artist, and their three teenagers

LINKS:

• Website:  johnkrausebooks.com
• BlueSky: @john-krause-author

BIO:
Today we are interviewing Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong. Cathie is a literary agent at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency with nearly nine years experience in the business. A life-long lover of books, Cathie has vivid memories of the exact day she unlocked the secret code behind letters that, when combined, form words. Since then, it’s the rare occasion when you’ll find her without a book in her hand, a Kindle in her purse, or a pair of AirPods in her ears while she devours the works of whatever author she’s selected as her new favorite of the month.

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Cathie is a 1992 graduate of the University of Oklahoma where she received a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in history. Not surprisingly, she’s a rabid OU Sooners football fan. In recent years, and thanks in no small part to Taylor Swift, Cathie has become a huge fan of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles—unless they’re playing each other, in which case FLY EAGLES!

Cathie currently resides in Minnesota where she and her husband of 32 years share two grown children and a son-in-law, and where she satisfies the state requirement of cheering for the Vikings when they face off against the Packers.

LINKS:

• Personal Website: www.charmstrongbooks.com
• Marsal Lyon Website: www.marsallyonliteraryagency.com
• My Wishlist: www.tinyurl.com/cathiesmswl
• Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/charmstrong.bsky.social
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c_h_armstrong
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@c_h_armstrong
• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@c_h_armstrong
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CathieHedrickArmstrongLitAgent/
• Queries: www.querymanager.com/querycathie

Bio:
This Chapter Break episode features Patrick O’Donnell and his latest publication
The Good Collar: A Michael Quinn Vigilante Justice Thriller
Patrick O’Donnell, a retired City of Milwaukee police sergeant with 25 years of street experience, where he supervised various special units and investigated major felonies. He’s the author of ten books, including his upcoming thriller, The Good Collar. He hosts the popular Cops and Writers Podcast and runs a 7,500-member Facebook group for crime writers. He has also hosted true crime television documentaries and has consulted with crime writers for their books and screenplays. O’Donnell lives in Wisconsin where he enjoys working out, riding his Harley, and spending time with family.

Synopsis:
What would you do if you lost the one you loved the most? How far would you go to quench your thirst for vengeance? Sergeant Michael Quinn's life is turned upside down when his pregnant wife, Maggie, is brutally murdered. Struggling with grief, alcohol abuse, and a thirst for vengeance, Quinn is on the brink of being fired when he's unexpectedly appointed as the police chaplain. Under the mentorship of the current revered Police Chaplain George Thomas, who harbors a dark secret as a serial killer, Quinn embarks on a journey of vigilantism, targeting criminals who escape justice. His ultimate goal is to hunt down the men responsible for Maggie's death. As Quinn delves deeper into this dual life, he must confront his own morality and the true cost of vengeance.

LINKS:
copsandwriters.com

Bio:

Nick Chiarkas  is a frequent writers’ conference presenter, a Wisconsin Writers Association Board Member, and the author of nine traditionally published books: two award-winning novels, Weepers and Nunzio's Way, and seven nonfiction books. He grew up in the Al Smith housing projects on Manhattan's Lower East Side. When he was in the fourth grade, his mother was told by the principal of PS-1 that "Nick was unlikely ever to complete high school, so you must steer him toward a simple and secure vocation."

Instead, Nick became a writer, with a few stops along the way: 

• a U.S. Army Paratrooper, 
• a New York City Police Officer, 
• Deputy Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 
• Deputy Chief Counsel for the President's Commission on Organized Crime; 
• Chief Counsel for the USATBCB; 
• and the Director of the Wisconsin State Public Defender Agency. 
• On the way, he picked up a Doctorate from Columbia University, a Law Degree from Temple University, and was a Pickett Fellow at Harvard. How many mothers are told that their children are hopeless? How many kids with potential surrender to despair? That's why Nick wrote Weepers and Nunzio's Way — for them.

Links:

• Email: [email protected]; 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NicholasChiarkasAuthor/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-chiarkas-9aa32344/
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14028125.Nick_Chiarkas
• BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nick-chiarkas
• Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Nick-Chiarkas/e/B00YMLCFGK/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/chiarkas
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nick.chiarkas/ 

BIO:
Tom lived the first five years of his life in Friendship, WI. He wrote his first story, A Dog Named Beer, in the second grade, to the amusement of his fellow students. Tom went on to earn a MBA and Masters in Creative Writing. He then spent forty years in academic medicine programs and physician practices. Throughout it all, he never lost his passion for writing.

After living in Los Angeles for a time, Tom returned home to Wisconsin and has received both Jade Ring and Door County Hal prizes for his short stories. Fire Conditions is his first novel

BIO:

Marcy McCreary is the author of three published novels. The Disappearance of Trudy Solomon was a finalist for the Silver Falchion award for best investigative mystery. The Murder of Madison Garcia won the prestigious Society of Voice Arts & Sciences (SOVAS) award for best audiobook in the mystery category. The third book in the Ford Family Mystery series, The Summer of Love and Death, was a Mysterious Bookshop Crime Club pick in August 2024 and a Strand magazine’s “Top Summer Reads.” Her essays about crime/mystery fiction have appeared in CrimeReads, Mystery Readers Journal, Mystery & Suspense, and Criminal Element. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters In Crime, and ITW. She lives in Hull, MA with her husband, Lew.

LINKS:

• Instagram/Threads: @marcymccrearyauthor
• Facebook: @marcymccrearywriter
• X (Twitter): @mcmarcy
• TikTok: @marcymccreary
• Website: https://www.marcymccreary.com/

Valerie Biel writes books for middle grade to adult audiences--stories inspired by her travels & insatiable curiosity. She's the author of the award-winning, Circle of Nine fantasy series--inspired by the mythology of Ireland, Beyond the Cemetery Gate—a YA mystery suspense novel, and the new book we'll talk about today. When Valerie's away from the computer, you might find her wrangling her overgrown garden, traveling the world, and reading everything she can get her hands on. She holds a degree in journalism and political science, and lives with her husband on a portion of her family's century-old farm, but regularly dreams of writing in a cozy cottage on the Irish coast.

LINKS:
valeriebiel.com

Today we are speaking with Tracey Phillips. Tracey considers herself a serial artist who is an avid gardener, musician, piano teacher, artist, and author. She writes psychological thrillers and romantic suspense. Her debut, BEST KEPT SECRETS (Crooked Lane Books, 2019) won a Hugh Holton Award in 2018. She is a two-time finalist for the Claymore Award for best unpublished novel in ‘22, and ‘23. She has published 3 short stories, and one was a finalist for Writers’ Digest Genre Fiction awards. In 2020 she created Blackbird Writers, a community of like-minded authors willing to help promote each other and share their love of stories with readers.  

LINKS:

• Website: www.blackbirdwriters.com
• Substack: https://blackbirdwriters.substack.com/
• Facebook- Blackbird Writers Discussion forum:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/266333987835433 
• Instagram Handle: @bbirdwriters
• YouTube: @blackbirdwriters996  OR- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC08_9xCA16BWy9JLIIbbmFw 

Valerie Biel writes books for middle grade to adult audiences--stories inspired by her travels & insatiable curiosity. She's the author of the award-winning, Circle of Nine fantasy series--inspired by the mythology of Ireland, Haven—a contemporary middle grade story and the new book we'll talk about today. When Valerie's away from the computer, you might find her wrangling her overgrown garden, traveling the world, and reading everything she can get her hands on. She holds a degree in journalism and political science, and lives with her husband on a portion of her family's century-old farm, but regularly dreams of writing in a cozy cottage on the Irish coast.

LINKS:

Website: valeriebiel.com
Official Launch Date & Party: October 31, 2024

• Cercis Brewing Columbus WI, 6 to 9 pm.
  • Event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/2784170261752265/

Other events:

• Saturday, November 2 - Literatus Bookstore, Watertown WI, 10 am to 1 pm
  • https://www.literatusbooks.com/events
• Friday, November 8 - Daydream Believers Books & Gifts, Lake Mills, WI, 6 to 8 pm. 
  • Learn more at: https://www.facebook.com/daydreambelieverbooksandgifts