By Mike Consol
Novelist Spotlight is a gathering place for people interested in reading and writing great fiction and literature. This is where you will hear from the authors who write the novels and learn of the
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The podcast currently has 172 episodes available.
In the spotlight, joining us from the City of Brotherly Love, is C.J. Spataro. C.J. (who also goes by the name Carla) is cofounder of the literary magazine Philadelphia Stories and director of the MFA writing program at Rosemont College, as well as director of the master’s in publishing program at the college.
Her short fiction has won numerous awards, including her short story “The Twi-Lite,” which won the Iron Horse Literary Review Fiction Trifecta. Though she made her name in short fiction, Spataro’s debut novel, More Strange Than True, hit the market this year.
We discuss:
>> The nexus between music and writing
>> The utility of short stories
>> The 3X writing process
>> The unpublished novels lying in wait
>> Her next novel
>> How “Philadelphia Stories” literary journal came into being
>> Etc.
Learn more about C.J. Spataro here: https://www.cjspataro.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
In the spotlight is the late, great novelist Paul Auster and one of his friends and biographers, I.B. Siegumfeldt, who spent three years logging conversations between herself and Paul Auster and compiling those conversations into a book titled A LIFE IN WORDS — a wide-ranging dialogue between Auster and the Danish professor, in what has been called a “remarkably candid and sharply focused investigation” into Auster’s art, craft and life. In total, Paul Auster wrote more than 30 books, some translated into more than forty languages, as well as writing the screenplays for a selection of films.
We discuss:
>> The first sentence of his novels
>> His imaginative characters and storytelling
>> Work style
>> Popularity in Europe
>> The Paul Auster Research Library and The Paul Auster Society
>> His passion for and involvement in cinema
>> Etc.
Learn more about Paul Auster here: https://www.faber.co.uk/author/paul-auster
Learn more about I.B. “Gita” Siegumfeldt here: https://researchprofiles.ku.dk/en/persons/inge-birgitte-siegumfeldt
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
In the spotlight is Chad Boudreaux, former deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where he advised department leader Michael Chertoff, and current chief legal officer at Huntington Ingalls Industries, the nation’s largest military shipbuilder. Along the way, Boudreaux became a novelist, writing the thrillers “Scavenger Hunt” and “Homecoming.” His forthcoming novel is titled “Mob Justice.”
We discuss:
>> Legal versus fiction writing
>> Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum
>> Submarines and shipbuilding
>> Hidden floors in buildings
>> Waco, Texas and the Branch Davidians
>> Etc.
Learn more about Chad Boudreaux and his books here: https://www.chadboudreaux.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
In the spotlight is Rosie Walker, author of psychological thrillers, her latest being “My Husband's Ex.” That novel was pre-dated by three other psych trillers: “The Baby Monitor,” “The House Fire” and “Secrets of a Serial Killer.”
We discuss:
>> The role of the unconscious mind
>> Plotting and analysis using an Excel spreadsheet
>> Hitting a daily word count
>> Pacing
>> Being open to agents and editors’ input
>> Keeping up the momentum
>> Book coaching
>> Etc.
Learn more about Rosie Walker, her books and editorial services here: https://www.rosiejanewalker.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
In the spotlight is best-selling author, Emmy-award-winning television producer and media strategist Paula Rizzo. She did the television production thing for nearly 20 years before going on her own to train experts, authors and entrepreneurs on how to be media-ready and build their reputations in the traditional and social media realms.
We discuss:
>> Her path to television production
>> The decision to move from TV to media strategist
>> How she works with authors
>> The online courses available
>> Her bestselling “lists” books
>> The tools of the marketing trade
>> The 10 questions every author needs to answer
>> Etc.
Learn more about Paula Rizzo here: https://paularizzo.com
Get Paula Rizzo’s free list of the 10 questions every author needs to answer here: https://paularizzo.com/10Q
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
She was born in Saudi Arabia, moved to India as an adolescent, and later to the United States and Canada in her twenties. Today, Deepa Rajagopalan has published a short story collection titled “Peacocks of Instagram,” whose title story won the 2021 PEN Canada New Voices Award, and is now working on her first novel, titled “We Have Come Empty Handed,” the story of a disparate group of Indian workers in Saudi Arabia, whose lives become entangled and caught in the exigencies of war, deception and intolerance.
We discuss:
>> Her path to publication
>> Life in Saudi Arabia
>> Mentorship
>> Her influences
>> Writers conferences and book expos
>> Etc.
Learn more about Deepa Rajagopalan here: https://www.deeparajagopalan.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
She began her career as an actor for stage and screen, then became a novelist around age 40, selling more than half-a-million books thus far. Today, Barbara Kyle is also a mentor, book coach and popular speaker at writers’ conferences. We discuss:
>> The move from acting to fiction writing
>> Three things agents and publishers must see and the first 30 pages of a would-be novel
>> The importance of writing a detailed
>> The problem with passive characters
>> The chief issue dogging aspiring novelists
>> Useful fiction-writing books
>> Etc.
Learn more about Barbara Kyle here: https://www.barbarakyle.com/
Sign up for Barbara Kyle’s free webinar — 3 Things Agents & Publishers Must See in Your First 30 Pages — here: https://www.barbarakyle.com/free-webinar
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
In the spotlight is John Darnton, novelist and author of six novels, including “Burning Sky,” his latest. Darnton worked 40 years at the New York Times cover city hall before becoming a foreign correspondent in Africa; Warsaw, Poland; Madrid; and London. Along the way he won a Pulitzer Prize and two George Polk Awards, while moonlighting as a novelist. In addition to his six novels, Darnton has also written a memoir (“Almost a Family”) about his father’s life and death as a foreign war correspondent.
We discuss:
>> The transition from reporter to novelist
>> His daily word count
>> His work style pre- and post-retirement
>> The inspiration of Charles Darwin
>> His father’s life and death
>> Reporting on Lech Walesa and Poland’s Solidarity movement
>> Etc.
Learn more about John Darnton here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/6414/john-darnton/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
In the spotlight is Rachel Turow, a San Francisco native who earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Oregon. She is the author of the book The Self-Talk Workout: Six Science-Backed Strategies to Dissolve Self-Criticism and Transform the Voice in Your Head.
We discuss:
>> The principles of self-talk
>> Feeling bad about feeling bad
>> Wordless self-criticism
>> Speaking about yourself in third person
>> Organizing a self-talk group
>> Meditation
>> The tug-of-war between writer and internal critic
>> Emotional vicissitudes
>> Crossing things off your list
Get a copy of The Self-Talk Workout here: https://snip.ly/p7fc97
Learn more about Rachel Turow here: https://www.rachelturow.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
In the spotlight is U.K.-based novelist Marek Handzel, the author of six titles, including the forthcoming book “The Anchorite.” His other titles include “The Dojang,” “I Must Stay Home,” “Redemptio,” “Through Open Doors” and “The Gaff.”
We discuss:
>> The Shroud of Turin
>> Isolation
>> Catholicism
>> Martial arts
>> Writing at night
>> Naming characters
>> Historical references
>> Novellas vs. novels
>> Etc.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
The podcast currently has 172 episodes available.
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