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 165 episodes available.
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]
In the spotlight is the late novelist Joseph Heller of Catch-22 fame, and one of his biographers, Tracy Daughtery, who is himself the author of six novels, a novella connection, six short story collections, a book of personal essays, and a collection of essays on literature and writing. In addition, he has published biographies of Donald Barthelme, Larry McMurtry, Joan Didion, Billy Lee Brammer, etc.
We discuss:
>> Catch-22’s original title
>> Heller’s celebrity lifestyle
>> His other novels
>> Book editor Robert Gottlieb
>> The Heller Cult
>> Wartime novels
>> Tracy Daugherty’s latest books
>> Etc.
Learn more about Tracy Daugherty and his books here: https://tracydaugherty.com
Learn more about Joseph Heller here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Heller
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 Tom Zoellner, the author of nine nonfiction books, including Island on Fire: The Revolt that Ended Slavery in the British Empire, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for the best nonfiction book of 2020 and a finalist for the Bancroft Prize and the California Book Award. He works as a professor at Chapman University and Dartmouth College, and as an editor-at-large for the Los Angeles Review of Books.
We discuss:
>> The three questions every author should ask while deciding on a subject
>> The mistakes aspiring writers tend to make
>> Teaching creative nonfiction
>> What AI does well
>> Arizona
>> Train travel
>> Etc.
Learn more about Tom Zoellner and his books here: https://tomzoellner.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 biographer and storyteller Laurence Leamer, whose most recent bio, “Capote’s Women,” has been turned into a Hulu series and has been nominated for five Emmy Awards. He is the author of more than 18 books, including five New York Times bestsellers and one off-Broadway play.
We discuss:
>> His choice of subjects
>> His work style
>> Being fired by Newsweek magazine
>> Johnny Carson and his ex-wives
>> Andy Warhol’s muses
>> Truman Capote’s demons
>> Etc.
Learn more about Laurence Leamer here: https://www.leamer.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 Amanda DuBois, author of the Camille Delaney mystery series. She is the founder and managing partner of the DuBois Levias Law Group, a woman-owned boutique family law practice in Seattle. She was also a former high-risk labor and delivery nurse at the University of Washington Medical Center, before beginning her legal career in medical malpractice. Today, she writes from her own experiences of confronting injustice.
We discuss:
>> Legal thrillers
>> Developmental editing
>> Meditation as a writing tool
>> The law profession
>> Medical practice
>> Social justice
>> Etc.
Learn more about Amanda DuBois here: https://amandadubois.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Paula Treick DeBoard, novelist and new bookstore owner. In April 2024, DeBoard opened Bookish in Modesto, Calif., and discusses her motivation and her strategy for succeeding. She is also the author of four family dramas, the novels “The Mourning Hours,” “The Fragile World,” “The Drowning Girls” and “Here We Lie.” She also teaches writing at the University of California, Merced.
Check out the Bookish website here: https://www.bookishmodesto.com/
Learn more about Paula Treick DeBoard here: http://www.paulatreickdeboard.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Ask literary critics to name the greatest American novelists of the past 50 years and Don DeLillo’s name is sure to be there. DeLillo, now 87, has written more than 18 novels and has won awards ranging from the National Book Award and PEN/Faulkner Award to the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.
Discussing his career during this episode are Jesse Kavadlo and Aaron DeRosa, both members of the Don DeLillo Society. Kavadlo is also a professor of English and humanities and the director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Maryville University of St. Louis, and DeRosa is also an assistant professor of 20th and 21st century American literature at California State Polytechnic University.
Learn more about Don DeLillo here: https://delillosociety.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Matt Coyle is the author of the best-selling Rick Cahill crime novels. Though he has wanted to be a crime writer since age 14, his actual foray into crime fiction was delayed for 30 years while he spent time managing a restaurant, selling golf clubs for various golf companies, and doing national sales for a sports licensing company. He wrote nights for more than a decade in producing his 2013 debut novel “Yesterday’s Echo.” He has since published a total of 10 Rick Cahill novels and he has won numerous awards.
We discuss:
>> Writers’ groups
>> Book conferences
>> Writing without outlines
>> First drafts
>> Moving from first-person to third-person storytelling
>> Advice for aspiring crime writers
>> Etc.
Learn more about Matt Coyle here: https://mattcoylebooks.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
The podcast currently has 165 episodes available.
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