The Premise

Today’s episode goes into detail about how and why Ackerman wrote his latest novel, Red Dress in Black and White. You’ll hear how his work is informed by his experience living overseas and how his themes are born out of real world events. This episode is a detailed exploration of his creative process. Oh, and it turns out, Eliot was also in the CIA, and Jeniffer tries to get him to reveal what he may know about a certain agency plot involving a 1980’s Hair Metal band and the Cold War.

In today’s episode Jeniffer and Chad talk with Carlos De Los Rios about Hollywood insider stuff, how he came into screenwriting, and some of the work he’s done. They get into some details of his first producer credit, the documentary, The Curse of the Man Who Sees UFOs. They talk Hollywood film history, tropes, and speculate as to the future of filmmaking in a post-COVID world. Carlos also has some suggestions for good stuff to stream right now, since production is currently halted. And you’ll be reminded that all good stories have a very simple structure that’s been around almost since story telling began.

Carlos can be found at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209856/

Today’s episode is a conversation in partnership with Warwick’s Books. Jeniffer talks with Jason Stanley about his latest book, How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. Stanley is a Professor of Philosophy at Yale University and contributor to publications such as NYT and Boston Review. He also serves on the board of the Prison Policy Initiative. He explains how Fascism is insidious in that it’s not just a regime. It’s many things. It’s policy. It’s language and rhetoric. And it’s dangerous to not know it when we see it. Jason breaks down a myriad of examples, that you’ll probably recognize, to support his points.

Mark Coker, founder of the ebook publishing and distribution platform, Smashwords talks with Jeniffer and Chad about the world of Indie publishing. He tells them about why and how he started Smashwords, the inner workings of the machine that is Amazon, how Smashwords is different, and they discuss what it really means to be an Indie author. And of course, there are some fun, off topic musings about talking Japanese toilets.   

In this episode Author and Artist, Keith Rosson chats with Jeniffer and Chad about his latest novel, Road Seven; a genre-bending mix of character driven literary fiction and Sci-Fi/fantasy.  There's talk of everything from exploding whales, to unicorns, to how important consuming art is in relation to creating it. And of course, some excellent, practical advice on the writing process, query letters, the benefit of writing groups, and what inspires Keith to write what he does.

Marni Freedman, writing coach and co-founder of the San Diego Writer's Festival joins Jeniffer and Chad to discuss how physical distancing and Covid-19 challenges us and how we can respond. Marni discusses her new book, Writing to Heal, why she wrote it, and her process. She also explains how writing brings about mindfulness and ways we can use writing to cope and heal, now and always. There's also some talk of personal journeys,preppers, old cars, cheese puffs, and overcoming those little disasters life throws at us. 

 Today on The Premise Chad and Jeniffer talk to Jerry Yudelson about his role in the first Earth Day, his newest book, "The Godfather of Green", and how we can look to other cultures and even the past to create solutions for now and the future. Jerry is a Harvard and Cal Tech educated civil and environmental engineer and the author of 14 books on global green building and sustainable design. He reminds us that small things we do can make a difference, and also of the progress we've made, despite what we're seeing that seems to be to the contrary. This episode has some amusing anecdotes about the 1970's, and early environmentalism, and reminds us that there is hope and not all is lost.

Find Jerry Here:
https://jerryyudelson.net/
https://twitter.com/jerryyudelson

Jeniffer and Chad talk with Jeff Ourvan in this episode. Jeff is currently a literary agent, writer and writing coach. They talk about his past as a corporate attorney, the wonder of rocks and fishing, and how Jeff ended up where is today after a past full of varied careers. You'll learn about the value of workshops and a fancy educations, or lack thereof, the state of Indie publishing, and many more valuable tidbits. There also happens to be a brief discussion of a UFO sighting. But Jeff says he can't discuss it fully. Intriguing, right?
Find him here:
https://thewriteworkshops.com/
https://twitter.com/WriteWorkshopNY

Eilene Zimmerman, long-time journalist and contributor to The New York Times talks with Jeniffer and Chad about her new memoir, Smacked:A Story of White Collar Ambition, Addiction and Tragedy. Eilene shares how she was oblivious to her successful ex-husband's addiction until tragedy struck. She also explains her process in deciding how and why to tell her story. This is an eye-opening episode on hidden realities, but as usual, there's some fun book talk and interesting musings from the hosts and their guest. 

Find her online here: 

• Website
• Facebook 
• Instagram
• Twitter

While Warwick's may have canceled their in-house author events, they're still shipping books. Help independent bookstores and keep yourself safe and entertained in these unsure times.

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