Online For Authors Podcast

Carole O’Neill’s (Guest Host) guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Tina Hogan Grant, author of the book Secrets Told. A native of England, she feels very lucky to have spent her childhood and adolescent years in a small quaint Yorkshire town called Ilkley, where many days were spent roaming the Yorkshire moors, climbing the Cow & Calf Rocks, swimming in the River Wharfe and playing “Conkers” and “Jacks” with schoolmates.

She is the youngest daughter of famed science-fiction author James P. Hogan who sadly passed away before her first book was published. She thanks her dad for sharing his passion for books and writing with her. Today she is living that passion with hopes of passing it on to her children and grandkids.

In Carol’s book review, I stated As I read the beginning chapters of Secrets Told by Tina Hogan Grant, I was certain her main character was a carbon copy of Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada. Patricia Levenick’s complete focus on her job (this one as the head of her own law firm in Manhattan) reminded me of how everyone at the workplace feared upsetting their workaholic boss. Patricia even had two daughters, like Miranda. Ones she kept busy with ballet lessons, horseback riding lessons and any other activity that would not interfere with the needs of her law firm. I knew where this story was going.

Then suddenly, the twist. Patricia’s reaction to the letter she receives from a lawyer back in her hometown, changes everything. Initially, she was not going to let confronting her past change her lifestyle, or even slow it down long enough to admit she left a very different existence far from the hustle and bustle of New York City.

With the insistence of her ex-husband, Bryce, that their daughters have a right to know who she really is, she agrees to take the family back long enough to satisfy his curiosity about what her childhood was really like. Their surprising knowledge of her life on the water and the discovery of a grandfather they never knew they had, brings the entire family to a new high.

Alaska becomes its own character as they explore the amazing countryside and uncover the real Pattie. Grant reveals a memorable picture of the love of fishing in a nearly perfect world.

You should spend the time to open these pages and enjoy this story.

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My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is D Werkmeister, author of the book Volk. Born and raised in Nebraska, Darin Werkmeister now lives outside of Philadelphia PA, where he was an FBI street agent for 21 years. During that time, he investigated White Collar Crime, Organized Crime, Money Laundering, and Domestic Terrorism. While in Philadelphia, he was an eight-year member of the FBI SWAT team. Prior to the FBI he was a Marine Corps officer. VOLK is his first novel.

In my book review, I stated Volk is an FBI thriller with a shapeshifter. I can honestly say that I wasn't sure what I would think about this novel and told Darin that I might not be his audience - werewolves are just not my thing. However, his characters are so strong and engaging, and the storyline so realistic (despite the werewolves), that I couldn't put it down.

Terri Watson is the main FBI agent. She is working the case of her career when she sees the beast. But who can she tell? Imagine seeing a werewolf and trying to explain that to your boss. Instead, Terri takes matters into her own hands, and the result is ... let's just say a great twist to the normal FBI thriller story!

I enjoyed that we see things from Terri's point of view as well as the wolf's. And Darin made it easy by making all of the wolf's thoughts in first person, present tense. It was rather spooky to be in the head of a werewolf, but this change in POV and tense really added to the story.

If you love a good thriller/suspense, even if you don't normally go for shapeshifters, I think you'll love this book. I know I did!

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Website: www.thestorywerks.com

FB: @D. Werkmeister - Author

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X: @terimbrown1

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My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Francine Pozner-Ehrenberg, author of the book America's Candidate. Francine is an attorney and the owner of Ehrenberg & Associates Consulting Group. She is the author of the suspense novel, “America’s Candidate,” which is available on Amazon.

Francine was a Major in the United States Army, Judge Advocate General's Corp. serving for over 12 years. During a deployment to Albania in the war-stricken Balkans, as part of Operation Cornerstone, she served as the advisory liaison between civilian officials and multinational military forces involved with the operation.

Ehrenberg graduated from Rutgers Law School and is also a graduate of the Civil Affairs Advanced Course at the JFK Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg. She has experience in Civil-Military Operations (CMO) and extensive work as a liaison between civil and military authorities in foreign international affairs.

Additionally, she was an Assistant Prosecutor in Bergen County, NJ. She has handled numerous high-level, complicated Major Financial Crimes, Securities Fraud, Money Laundering, Medicaid Fraud, Health Care Fraud and Mortgage Fraud cases.

In her book review, Tina Hogan Grant, guest-host for Online for Authors stated:

America’s Candidate was an enjoyable read written from multiple points of view which I liked. Each character was well defined and had their own unique voice.

I found the synopsis for this book intriguing and wanted to know if Annie and Amir's idea would be successful. What I didn't expect, were the many twists and surprises along the way which added to the story.

This was the author's debut novel and I think she did extremely well. I'm looking forward to her next one. 

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IG: @enrenberg_author

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Purchase America's Candidate on Amazon:

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Ebook: https://amzn.to/3ArCwiq

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FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

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Willie Handler, author of the book Out from the Shadows. Willie was a satirist well before he became a novelist. Hailing from Canada, where self-deprecating humor is part of the national character, he finds targets for his humor everywhere. His targets include friends, family, co-workers, politicians, farmers, subway passengers, bureaucrats, telemarketers, Martians and his barber, Vince. His first book, The Road Ahead, is a biting political satire. Book two, Loved Mars Hated The Food, is a hilarious space adventure populated with aliens and bots. With his most recent novel, he has crossed over to the world of black comedy.

Both of his parents are Holocaust survivors. In 2020, while struggling with the effects of the pandemic lockdown, he decided he needed to know what happened to them during WWII. Thus began a journey into his family’s past, eventually revealing their extraordinary survival and painful losses. Their story and his memoir published late in 2024.

In my book review, I stated Out from the Shadows: Growing up with Holocaust Survivor Parents is a Holocaust memoir that will leave you looking at events in our world today differently than when you began. Both of Willie's parents were Holocaust survivors who made it through the war, then on to Israel, before finally settling in Canada. However, the years of deprivation scarred his parents, who in turn left scars on their three children.

This memoir looks deeply at his parents, Shifra and Elija. What was life like before the Holocaust in Poland and Romania? Once the pogroms began? Once extermination was the goal? Once the war was over? What was it like to start over again - and then again? Most importantly, how does what happened to you in the past shape your future - and the futures of those who follow behind.

Additionally, Willie takes an intense look at his own life as a child and now. His research helped him to understand his parents, and the things they said and did. It also helped him understand his own personality and issues.

Finally, Willie asks readers to look at the world today and realize that another holocaust could happen. In fact, a quick look at what is happening in Israel makes one wonder if it hasn't already started.

Very intense memoir/biography that will force you to look deeply. This is a must-read and should be on everyone's list.

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Website: www.williehandler.com

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X: @terimbrown1

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My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Robert J Wolf, author of the book Not a Real Enemy. Robert is a neuroradiologist who attended the University of Michigan Medical School and completed his training at Brown and Yale Universities. He grew up in a suburb of Detroit as the only child of Ervin and Judit Wolf. Their stories of their escape from communist Hungary, and his father’s tragic history of escaping the Nazis twice but losing his own parents, inspired Robert to document his parents’ tales and share those stories with Jewish groups, history aficionados, and biography lovers throughout the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. In Not a Real Enemy Robert shares his family saga—and the forgotten history of the nearly half million Hungarian Jews who were deported and killed during the Holocaust—through an epic and inspiring tale of daring escapes, terrifying oppression, tragedy, and triumph.

In my book review, I stated 'Not A Real Enemy: The True Story of a Hungarian Jewish Man’s Fight for Freedom is an amazing family Holocaust memoir that reads more like a novel. I was brought into the story through the main character, Ervin Wolf, the father of the author - and I turned the pages as quickly as I could until I reached the end.

Ervin begins life as a doctor's son and ends life as a doctor in the United States. Everything in between shows the reader the brutalities of the Nazi regime and then the Soviet communists who came after. The story left me wondering if I would have survived? If I would have had the gumption to escape not once, not twice, but three times? It showed me that freedom is something we should value beyond almost everything else.

History wants to bury the ugliness that was the Holocaust. Thankfully, memoirs like this and the bravery of authors like Robert make that impossible. Well done.

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You can follow Author Robert J Wolf

Website: https://robertjwolfmd.com/

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: @RobertJWolfMD

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IG: @robertjwolfmd

Purchase Not a Real Enemy on Amazon:

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*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Karina Kantas, author of the book Illusional Reality (Duology). Karina is the bestselling author of 14 titles covering most fiction genres, including thriller novels and young adult fiction, many of which have won awards. She’s also an award-winning filmmaker and has won numerous awards for her documentary and short films at International Film Festivals. (You can find them in the Trophy Room.) She’s also a BookTuber, podcaster and radio host and runs Author Assist to help independent authors with promoting and marketing their books.

In my book review, I stated Illusional Reality (Duology) is the two-book fantasy romance series. Both books start on earth but quickly take us to an enchanted realm in which Becky is known as Thya and happens to be a princess. Her parents, the rulers at her birth, whisked her away to earth to keep her safe. But now it is time for her to return and save Tsinia from the evil prince bent on domination.

Becky turned Thya has to figure out a new world, the laws that govern the land, an unusual way of speaking, and her own magical abilities - plus her attraction to someone she is forbidden to love. The book moves quickly and kept me guessing at what would happen next. And although the ending of book two (The Quest) wrapped up nicely, Karina left room for more. Who knows! There could be a book three in the future!

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Website: https://explosivewriter.com/

FB: @KKantasAuthorAssist

FB: @ExplosiveWriter

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Ebook: https://amzn.to/3ZNHUXN

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My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is John McCaffrey, editor of 50 Give or Take, is here to chat with us about flash fiction and why authors might want to consider this form of storytelling. Originally from Rochester, New York, John McCaffrey attended Villanova University and received his M.A. in Creative Writing from the City College of New York. He is the author of four published books: The Book of Ash (2013), a science fiction novel, and the short story collections Two Syllable Men (2016), What's Wrong With This Picture? (2019) and Automatically Hip (2022). He is an award-winning playwright, a writing professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and a columnist for The Good Men Project.

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Website: linktr.ee/johnmccaffreyhttps://linktr.ee/johnmccaffrey

FB: @john.mccaffrey.984

IG: @jmccaffrey0

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Purchase The 50-Word Stories of 2023: Microfiction for Lovers of Quick Reads (50 Give or Take) on Amazon:

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*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My guests today on the Online for Authors podcast are RC and JP Carter, author of the book A Chance of a Ghost. RC and JP aka Rob and Joan, are hosts of Meet the Author Podcast on WLFE-db Radio and WDJY FM Radio (Atlanta). They are cohosts of Haunted Campfire Tales Podcast WLFE-db Radio. Both podcasts stream LIVE on Youtube, Facebook and LinkedIn. Rob and Joan publicize other indie authors on their website. Rob and Joan are members of the Underground Authors writing group and the authors of Book 23 in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles - A Chance of a Ghost.

On a personal note, they are the proud parents of six children, grandparents of fourteen grandchildren and great grandparents of one great granddaughter. Their household is run by a nine and a half pound Papillon/Shih Tzu rescue dog. They travel the country with their dog Missy in their travel trailer. Missy is a Certified B.A.R.K. Ranger, having completed a hiking trail at Mt Rushmore.

In my book review, I stated A Chance of a Ghost is a paranormal mystery and is part of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles. Although I'm not usually a ghost-story reader, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned quite a lot in the process.

You see, RC and JP are not just authors and podcast hosts, they are also paranormal investigators. This story shows what paranormal investigators do, the type of equipment they use, and the types of situations they run into. It also shows skepticism from those who realize what they are up to, which I found refreshing since I, too, am a skeptic when it comes to haunted houses. Yet, despite my skepticism, I have seen and felt things I cannot explain.

The characters, Mike and Maureen, are a lovable couple trying to help their cousins uncover the secrets of the old mansion they purchased. Plus, Mike also receives a premonition about a local man's murder. Will they discover a ghost? Can they help the ghost move on without marring their cousins' reputations? Will they be able to stop a murder before it happens?

This is a fun, quick read and is a great ghost story, especially for those who may not be believers!

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You can follow Author RC and JP Carter

Website: https://indiebooksource.com/books-by-rc-jp-carter/

Social media: IG: @carternovels

LinkedIn: @RC and JP Carter

FB: @IndieBookSource

X: @INDIEBOOKSOURCE

Purchase A Chance of a Ghost on Amazon:

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Ebook: https://amzn.to/4dnG5DO

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FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

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#rcjpcarter #achanceofaghost #mystery #thriller #ghoststory #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Today, the Online for Authors podcast Guest Host Tina Hogan Grant chats Donna Levin, author of the book The Talking Stick. Donna’s work is included in Boston University’s Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center and in the California State Library’s collection of California novels. She is the author of Extraordinary Means, California Street, There’s More Than One Way Home, and He Could Be Another Bill Gates, as well as her latest novel, The Talking Stick, a dramedy about four women who discover that some of their most-cherished memories are romanticized versions of the truth. In addition to novels, Donna has published two books about writing:  Get that Novel Started and Get that Novel Written, both with Writer’s Digest Books.

Donna has taught fiction writing for three decades, most notably at the University of California Extension at Berkeley, where she led the novel writing workshop. She has also been a frequent guest at writers’ conferences, including the San Francisco Writers’ Conference and the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. She lives in San Francisco.

In her book review, Tina  stated that this is a Joyful and at times humorous read that had me laughing out loud.

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You can follow Author

Website: https://www.donnalevin.com/

FB: @authordonnalevin

IG: @donnalevinauthor

LinkedIn: @donna-levin-50b5047

X: @DonnaLevinWrite

Purchase on Amazon:

Hardback: https://amzn.to/4eBSBkb

Ebook: https://amzn.to/3zDy53Q

Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com

FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

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#donnalevin #thetalkingstick #womensfiction #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Carla Damron , author of the book Justice Be Done. Carla holds an MSW and an MFA. Her careers of social worker and writer are intricately intertwined; all of her novels explore social issues like addiction, homelessness, and mental illness. She works part-time with Communities in Schools and volunteers with the League of Women Voters, Sisters in Crime- Palmetto Chapter (President), and Mutual Aid Midlands.

Carla is a social worker, advocate and author whose last novel, The Stone Necklace (about grief and addiction) won the 2017 Women’s Fiction Writers Association Star Award for Best Novel and was selected the One Community Read for Columbia SC. In her new novel, The Orchid Tattoo, Carla uses crime fiction to delve into the complex topic of human trafficking, a horrific crime affecting thousands of victims around the world—and in her native South Carolina. She hopes the novel will both entertain and educate her readers. She is also the author of the Caleb Knowles mystery novels and has published numerous short stories, essays, and op-eds.

Carla is a South Carolina native. Born in Sumter, she currently lives outside of Columbia with her husband, Jim Hussey, and their blended family of assorted animals.

In my book review, I stated Justice Be Done is a contemporary suspense novel set in Columbia, South Carolina. The main character, Caleb Knowles, is a social worker who often consults with criminals and suspects for the police department. This time, the criminal is a teenager, and the crime stems from racial mistreatment.

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You can follow Author Carla Damron:

Website: https://carladamron.com/

FB: @carladamron

IG:@carladamron

X: @carlawritesfic

Purchase  on Amazon:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/46OPVwM

Ebook: https://amzn.to/3X6DYzw

Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com

FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

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X: @terimbrown1

#carladamron #justicebedone #mystery #suspense #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.