In the spotlight is Melanie Benjamin, author of New York Times and USA Today bestselling historical novels such as “The Aviator’s Wife,” “Mistress of the Ritz” and “The Swans of Fifth Avenue.” 

We discuss: 

>> Biographical historical fiction 

>> Her favorite era 

>> Dalliances with Hollywood 

>> Never writing the same book twice 

>> Her pursuit of theater 

>> Literary ADHD 

>> The upcoming novel 

>> Etc. 

Learn more about Melanie Benjamin here: https://melaniebenjamin.com/ 

Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at [email protected]. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program. 

Sue William Silverman is the author of four memoirs and winner of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award Series in Creative Nonfiction. Her memoir “Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction” was made into a Lifetime TV movie. She teaches in the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

We discuss:

>> The distinction between memoirs and autobiographies

>> Reading with intent
>> The value of independent publishing houses

>> Auto-fiction

>> Sensory writing

>> Russell Baker and Patti Smith

>> Incest and sex addition

>> Etc.

Learn more about Sue William Silverman here: https://www.suewilliamsilverman.com/index.htm

Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him 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 Russell James, who was raised on Long Island, N.Y., and spent his evenings watching“Chiller,” “The Night Stalker”and“Dark Shadows,” among other horror shows, while also reading the likes of Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe. Today, James’ byline appears on more than 20 horror novels of his own.

We discuss:

>> His beginnings 

>> Piloting U.S. Army helicopters 

>> Horror conventions 

>> Rod Serling 

>> How geography and climate influence story 

>> Greatest horror movies 

>> His novel in the works 

>> Etc. 

Learn more about Russell James and his work here:
https://www.russellrjames.com/ 

Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him 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 Jennifer Estep, a fantasy author who prowls the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea. She has written more than 40 novels, along with numerous novellas and stories. 

We discuss: 

>> Being a “slush pile baby” 
>> Worldbuilding 
>> The “vomit draft” 
>> The perfect writing day 
>> Newspaper days 
>> Ian Fleming and James Bond 
>> Using social media 
>> Etc. 

Learn more about Jennifer Estep on her website: https://www.jenniferestep.com/ 

Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at [email protected]. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.

With almost 60 novels and more than 1 million in unit sales to her credit, Amish and Christian author Amy Clipston would no doubt call herself “blessed.” During a nearly hour-long conversation, we discussed: 

>> The Amish sub-genre

>> What it means to be a Christian fiction writer

>> Writing as ministry

>> Her bestselling novel  

>> Declining church participation  

>> NASCAR 

>> Favorite Bible quote  

>> Biggest challenge as a writer  

>> Etc. 

Learn more about Amy Clipston here: https://amyclipston.com/ 

Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him 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, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner Cormac McCarthy, who is releasing two new novels, his first since “The Road” 16 years ago. The new novels, which will be released one month apart, are titled “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris” and tell the story of siblings Bobby and Alicia Western, who are tormented by the legacy of their father, a physicist who helped develop the atom bomb, and by their love for and obsession with one another.

More to the point, this episode speaks to McCarthy longtime aversion to being interviewed, though several old newspaper articles from his early career have been unearthed and offer some insights into his writing process.

Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him 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 Regency romance novelist Anne Gracie. Regency romances are a sub-genre of romance novels set during the period of the British Regency or early 19th century. Rather than versions of contemporary romance stories transported to a historical setting, Regency romances are a distinct genre with their own plot and stylistic conventions, according to an account from Wikipedia. Ms. Gracie’s work in the sub-genre has been translated into more than 20 languages. 

We discuss:

>> Myths about romance novels
>> Formula and nonformula plots
>> The power of handwriting
>> Sex scenes
>> Micro-tension
>> Donald Maass
>> Using a pseudonym
>> Etc.
 
Learn more about Anne Gracie here: https://www.annegracie.com/
 
Read Anne Gracie’s blog post about the 10 myths about romance writing here: https://www.annegracie.com/writer-resources/myths-of-romance/
 
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him 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 William Kenower, author of “Fearless Writing,” “Write Within Yourself” and “Everyone Has What It Takes,” in addition to being the editor-in-chief of Author magazine.

We discuss:

>> Writing as a spiritual practice

>> Ending self-doubt

>> Writing within yourself

>> Finding your writing channel

>> The flow state

>> Dealing with emotions

>> Etc.

Learn more about Bill Kenower here: https://www.williamkenower.com/

Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him 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 Lorraine Duffy Merkl, author of the novels “The Last Single Woman in New York City,” “Back to Work She Goes” and “Fat Chick.”

We discuss:

>> Autobiographical novels
>> Using pop culture as a jumping off point
>> Weight issues and dieting
>> How to pull off a 40-plus-year marriage
>> Advertising copywriting
>> Writing for immediate gratification
>> The rewards of fiction writing
>> Etc.

Learn more about Lorraine Duffy Merkl here: http://www.lorraineduffymerkl.com/

Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him 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 Rosalind Helfand, co-founder of the West Hollywood Book Fair, which she co-directed for 10 years. During that time she championed programming for science fiction, fantasy and graphic novels, and went on to co-found Lit Crawl L.A. and directed Pasadena's literary festival, LitFest Pasadena.

We discuss:

>> Essential elements for a successful book festival
>> The keys to drawing an audience
>> The constituencies represented
>> The underwriters
>> Festival success stories
>> Independent publishing houses
>> Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury and Pamela Anderson
>> How book festivals have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic
>> Etc.

Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at [email protected]. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.