In the spotlight is Amy Young who, after spending a decade in Los Angeles working in the entertainment industry, returned to her native Cleveland and embarked on a career as a novelist. Her debut effort, “The Water Tower,” was released in June 2023, and she is currently at work on her second novel, another thriller.

We discuss:

>> Writing first drafts dominated by dialog

>> The 5,000 word target

>> The website Story Grid

>> Acting and cinematic writing

>> Doing standup comedy

>> Etc.

Learn more about Amy Young here: https://authoramyyoung.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 Meg Mitchell Moore, a summer reads novelist who worked for years as a journalist before turning to fiction. Moore — who lives in the coastal town of Newburyport, Mass., with her husband and their three daughters — has released her latest novel, “Summer Stage,” described as a spirited summer page turner that follows a family of actors grappling with fame, scandal and ambition. It is Moore’s eighth novel.

We discuss:

>> Rotating points of view

>> The definition of “summer reads”

>> The first big break

>> Making the transition from journalism to novel writing

>> Growing up a Navy brat

>> The “mom squad”

>> Ellen Hildebrand

>> The White Lotus

>> Walking the line between darkness and light

>> Etc.

Learn more about Meg Mitchell Moore here: http://www.megmitchellmoore.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.

Taylor Adams graduated from Eastern Washington University with the Excellence in Screenwriting Award and the Edmund G. Yarwood Award. He is the author of several acclaimed thrillers including HAIRPIN BRIDGE and NO EXIT, the latter of which has been published in 32 languages and was recently adapted by 20th Century Studios as a Hulu original film. His latest novel is titled THE LAST WORD.

We discuss:

>> 40,000-word outlines

>> The 2,000 word per day habit

>> Writing female characters

>> Finding a British publishing house

>> Dean Koontz and Stephen King

>> Becoming a full-time writer

>> Advice to aspiring authors

>> Etc.

Learn more about Taylor Adams here: https://tayloradamsauthor.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 Graham Greene, one of the most influential and celebrated British writers of his generation. Greene's career spanned 67 years, during which he authored more than 25 novels that explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. He was awarded the Shakespeare Prize in 1968, the Jerusalem Prize in 1981, and was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize several times.

Some of his big titles included:
>> Brighton Rock
>> The End of the Affair
>> The Power and the Glory
>> The Comedians
>> Our Man in Havana
>> The Heart of the Matter
>> Etc.

Learn more about Graham Greene here: https://grahamgreenebt.org/ and here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Greene

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.

Think about the great sea-based novels throughout history: “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville comes to mind, as does “The Old Man and the Sea,” by Ernest Hemingway, “The Boat” by Lothar-Günther Buchheim, or even “The Hunt for Red October” by Tom Clancy. In that same tradition comes seafaring novelist Robin Lloyd, author of “Rough Passage to London,” “Harbor of Spies” and, his latest tale, “Hidden Cargo.”

We discuss:

>> Growing up in St. Croix, Virgin Islands

>> Sailing the Caribbean

>> The ocean’s hypnotic effect

>> His years as a TV journalist

>> Working the dairy farm and milk plant

>> Cuban history and the Cuban people

>> Near-death experiences

>> The key link between journalism and fiction writing

>> Etc.

Learn more about Robin Lloyd here: https://www.robinlloyd.org/

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 David Rosenfelt, author of dozens of canine-influenced Andy Carpenter novels with titles including “Bark of Night,” “Citizen K-9,” “Dog Tags” and “Dog Eat Dog.” Rosenfelt spent years in the movie business and then wrote TV movie scripts before trying his hand at authoring legal and investigative novels with a comedic flair. 

We discuss: 

>> The movie and TV business 

>> Comedic writing 

>> Doubling sales with canine covers 

>> Rescuing dogs by the dozens 

>> Arnold Schwarzenegger 

>> Grover Gardener 

>> Etc. 

Learn more about David Rosenfelt here: https://davidrosenfelt.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. 

Andre Dubus III — bestselling author of nine books including “House of Sand and Fog,” “The Garden of Last Days,” “Bluesman” and the memoir “Townie” — is out with his latest novel, “Such Kindness.” Dubus was a finalist for the National Book Award (for “House of Sand and Fog”), has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, The National Magazine Award for Fiction, Two Pushcart Prizes, and an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature. His books are published in more than 25 languages, and he teaches full-time at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Fontaine, a modern dancer, and their three children.

We discuss:

>> His hardscrabble upbringing

>> Boxing, bullying and aversion to violence

>> Andre Dubus II

>> The mystical writing experience

>> Affinity for Persian culture

>> Getting discovered by Oprah Winfrey

>> Forthcoming work

>> Teaching writing

>> Etc.

Learn more about Andre Dubus III here: https://www.andredubus.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 Norman Mailer. The famed author wrote more than 30 books, won two Pulitzer Prizes, directed four movies, wrote 10 screenplays and married six women, all of whom he cheated on profusely.

I want to credit biographer Richard Bradford, author of “Tough Guy: The Life of Norman Mailer,” whose bio about the author I generously borrowed from during the recording of this episode.

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 Vibhuti Jain, who goes by Vib for short, the author of “Our Best Intentions,” her first novel. By way of background, Vib Jain lives with her husband and daughter in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she works in international development. She began her career as a corporate lawyer in New York. She holds degrees from Yale University and Harvard Law School. She grew up in Guilford, Connecticut. 

We discuss: 

>> Her 2019 resolution 

>> The sweet spot between literary and commercial fiction 

>> Receiving multiple offers of representation 

>> Literary agent Alexa Stark at Writers House 

>> Her interactions with William Morrow editor Liz Stein 

>> Online writing courses 

>> The Jain religion 

>> Mental illness 

>> Etc. 

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.

Novelist and journalist Ray Ring — author of “Telluride Smile,” “Peregrine Dream” and “Arizona Kiss — has published his first novel in more than 20 years, in the form of “Montana Blues.” 

We discuss: 

>> His long absence from the scene 

>> The various voices of Ray Ring 

>> His time as an undercover prison inmate 

>> A brother’s suicide 

>> Moving from Arizona to Montana and back 

>> Organic versus outlined writing  

>> Creating a sense of place 

>> Dialog versus expository writing 

>> Etc. 

Learn more about Ray Ring here: http://rayring.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.