Rare Bird Radio

Karen Stefano is the author of the forthcoming memoir, What A Body Remembers: A Memoir of Sexual Assault And Its Aftermath (Rare Bird Books 2019). She is also the author of the short story collection The Secret Games of Words (1GlimpsePress 2015) and the how-to business writing guide, Before Hitting Send (Dearborn 2011). Her work has appeared in Ms. Magazine, The Rumpus, Psychology Today, California Lawyer, The South Carolina Review, Tampa Review, Epiphany, Volume 1 Brooklyn, and many other journals and magazines.

Devin Galaudet is the editor and publisher of the well-established In The Know Traveler series of web sites, which celebrated thirteen years in August. He also publishes several other travel-inspired web sites including In The Know Hotels and The Forever Bride, which chronicles he and his wife’s goal of getting married in 100 countries around the world. He has written for the Huffington Post, Technorati, The Citron Review, TravelAge West, and Turkish Airlines’ Sky Life Magazine. Devin holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Antioch University at Los Angeles where he was the commencement speaker representing his class. He has been interviewed at the California Writers Coalition, JohnnyJet.com, Thinking Aloud, the Jewish Journal, among others and performed at Antioch’s Literary Uprising. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Gary T. McDonald is a practicing Buddhist and an award-winning playwright and filmmaker with a life-long interest in the origins of Christianity. His latest film is The Fourth Noble Truth (winner of the Audience Award at the Sonoma International Film Festival). 'The Gospel of Thomas (the Younger)' is his first novel and is the basis for his forthcoming historical epic 'The Blood of Men and Angels..'

Lewis Shiner was born in 1950 and played in rock bands from high school on. Previous novels include Black & White, the award-winning Glimpses, and the cyberpunk classic Frontera. He's written about music for the Village Voice, Pulse, Crawdaddy, and others. His short fiction has been reprinted in a number of best-of-the-year anthologies, and his latest collection is 'Heroes and Villains: Three Short Novels and a Fable'. He lives in North Carolina.

Doug Cooper is the author of the award-winning novels 'Outside In' and 'The Investment Club'. Always searching, he has traveled to over twenty-five countries on five continents, exploring the contradictions between what we believe and how we act in the pursuit of truth, beauty, and love. Originally from Port Clinton, Ohio, he has also called Cleveland, St. Louis, Detroit, New York, Las Vegas, and Oslo, Norway home. 'Focus Lost' is his third novel.

David Rose spent his twenties armed in three different countries; thus bearing witness to every form of human depravity, draconian law, and unabated violence--now profitably converted into fiction. He holds a Master of Science in Philosophy of the Social Sciences from the London School of Economics and Political Science. 'Mulgara' is his latest novel will be released May 2019.

KAREN STEFANO is the author of the forthcoming memoir 'What A Body Remembers' (Rare Bird Books 2019) and the short story collection 'The Secret Games of Words' (1GlimpsePress 2015). Her work has appeared in The Rumpus, Ms. Magazine, California Lawyer, Psychology Today, The South Carolina Review, Tampa Review, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Epiphany, and elsewhere. She is also a JD/MBA with more than twenty years of complex litigation experience.

Michele Filgate is a contributing editor at Literary Hub and the editor of an anthology based on her Longreads essay, What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About, forthcoming from Simon & Schuster on April 30, 2019. Currently, she is an M.F.A. student at NYU, where she is the recipient of the Stein Fellowship.

Writer. Teacher. Mother. As a writer, Carla hopes to help readers feel less alone and more resilient. As a teacher, she strives to help others tell their stories and hone their craft while experimenting with new forms. The journey of motherhood informs much of her writing. Carla’s memoir, 'One Day on the Gold Line', is forthcoming, release date July 18, 2019, with publisher, Black Rose Writing.

Janet O'Shea is Professor of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at UCLA. Author of 'RISK, FAILURE, PLAY', 'At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the Global Stage' and the co-editor of the 'Routledge Dance Studies Reader', 2nd edition, her research focuses on corporeality, interdisciplinary exchange, and the politics of everyday life. She is a practitioner of Filipino martial arts, jeet kune do, Brazilian jiu jitsu, kickboxing, and empowerment self-defense.

David Rose spent his twenties armed in three different countries; thus bearing witness to every form of human depravity, draconian law, and unabated violence--now profitably converted into fiction. He holds a Master of Science in Philosophy of the Social Sciences from the London School of Economics and Political Science. 'Mulgara' is his latest novel will be released May 2019.

John F.D. Taff is the author of more than 100 published short stories and six novels. His short story collection 'Little Deaths' was named the best horror fiction collection of 2012 by HorrorTalk. His collection of novellas, 'The End in All Beginnings', was published in 2014. Jack Ketchum called it “the best novella collection I’ve read in years,” and it was a finalist for a Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. His short story "A Winter's Tale" was a finalist for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction in this year's Stoker Awards. His fiction has appeared most recently in 'Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories', 'Behold: Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders, Shadows Over Main Street 2', and his latest short story collection 'Little Black Spots'. His epic novel 'The Fearing' will be released in 2019 by Grey Matter Press. Josh Malerman said “The Fearing isn’t only John Taff ’s best work to date, it’s the kind you put on the shelf reserved for the ones that really did something to you, emotionally, intellectually, physically.” He lives in the wilds of Illinois with one wife, two cats and three pugs. Follow him on Twitter @johnfdtaff or learn more at his blog johnfdtaff.com

Doug Cooper is the author of the award-winning novels 'Outside In' and 'The Investment Club'. Always searching, he has traveled to over twenty-five countries on five continents, exploring the contradictions between what we believe and how we act in the pursuit of truth, beauty, and love. Originally from Port Clinton, Ohio, he has also called Cleveland, St. Louis, Detroit, New York, Las Vegas, and Oslo, Norway home. 'Focus Lost' is his third novel.

Los Angeles Times Bestselling Author Stephen Jay Schwartz spent a number of years as the Director of Development for Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, In the Line of Fire, Air Force One, Troy, The Perfect Storm) where he worked to develop screenplays for production. He also worked as a freelance screenwriter before writing his two novels, Boulevard and Beat, which follow the journey of sex-addicted LAPD detective Hayden Glass. The Hayden Glass series was optioned by producer Ben Silverman (Ugly Betty, The Office, The Tudors) for development as a TV series. Stephen’s short fiction was most recently included in the collection The Los Angeles Fiction Anthology alongside T.C. Boyle, published by Red Hen Press, as well as the short story collection Jewish Noir, published by PM Press. He recently edited a collection called “Hollywood Versus the Author,” published by Rare Bird Books in 2018, featuring essays from Michael Connelly, Jonathan Kellerman, Lawrence Block, T. Jefferson Parker, Tess Gerritsen, Lee Goldberg and more. He is a regular moderator at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and has judged and been the panel chair for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in the mystery/thriller category since 2015. His film work has been exhibited in the A.F.I. Los Angeles International Film Festival and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC. Stephen received his MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside and is currently on faculty at Emerson College Los Angeles. You can learn more about him at his website, www.stephenjayschwartz.com.

Janet O'Shea is Professor of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at UCLA. Author of 'RISK, FAILURE, PLAY', 'At Home in the World: Bharata Natyam on the Global Stage' and the co-editor of the 'Routledge Dance Studies Reader', 2nd edition, her research focuses on corporeality, interdisciplinary exchange, and the politics of everyday life. She is a practitioner of Filipino martial arts, jeet kune do, Brazilian jiu jitsu, kickboxing, and empowerment self-defense.

Alex Channon is a senior lecturer in physical education and sport studies at the University of Brighton, United Kingdom. His doctoral research explored sex integration in martial arts and combat sports, and he has published several academic papers on issues pertaining to gender, sexuality and sport. Alex is an active member of the Martial Arts Studies Research Network and is the editor of Global Perspectives on Women in Combat Sports: Women Warriors around the World (Palgrave Macmillan 2015), Sex Integration in Sport and Physical Culture (Taylor & Francis 2017) and Teaching with Sociological Imagination in Higher and Further Education (Springer 2018). He is the co-founder of the anti-violence project, Love Fighting Hate Violence (www.lfhv.org).

Acclaimed author Max Mobley writes from his home in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He is a former columnist for the pioneering music magazine Crawdaddy! The Magazine of Rock." He has written extensively for the music industry, including magazine features, reviews, interviews, and books on music technology. Max also penned the popular Rush biography, Rush FAQ―All That's Left To Know About The World's Greatest Canadian Prog Rock Power Trio. Max contributed to the Santa Cruz Sentinel series Rock Of Ages, honoring the 50th anniversary of the birth of rock and roll. He also wrote the limited series "The Cheif and I" for the Tracy Press. Max’s highly anticipated debut novel, Howard & Debbie, published by Rare Bird Books, will be available now. More at maxmobley.com.

Peter Leonard, the son of legendary crime novelist, Elmore Leonard, continues the life of his fathers character Raylan Givens in 'Raylan Goes to Detroit'. Peter is also a national bestselling author of seven thrillers, including 'Quiver', 'Trust Me', 'All He Saw was the Girl', 'Voices of the Dead', 'Back from the Dead', 'Eyes Closed Tight', and 'Unknown Remains'.

Doug Cooper is the author of the award-winning novels 'Outside In' and 'The Investment Club'. Always searching, he has traveled to over twenty-five countries on five continents, exploring the contradictions between what we believe and how we act in the pursuit of truth, beauty, and love. Originally from Port Clinton, Ohio, he has also called Cleveland, St. Louis, Detroit, New York, Las Vegas, and Oslo, Norway home. 'Focus Lost' is his third novel.

Heidi Barnes ran her family’s inn on the coast of Maine for years, which inspired The Bellman Series―"The Bellman" and "The Bellman’s Secret". She is a Realtor and property manager based in Los Angeles, California. Heidi has lived around the world―including Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Dubai, and Canada. She enjoys outdoor activities, loves animals, and is a devoted mother of three. "The Bellman’s Secret" is her second novel.