Writers Drinking Whiskey

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We will be eschewing all safety standards and jumping directly into HARM’S WAY to celebrate the release of New York Times bestselling author John Gilstrap’s latest book entitled, you guessed it, HARM’S WAY. But in usual WRITERS DRINKING WHISKEY fashion, we meander our way there, discussing John’s time as a volunteer fireman, the first amendment issue that led him to quit the high school paper, and his various “Big Boy” day jobs. 

Today’s drinking game: drink whenever we do!

Links:
William R. Hincy’s books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ 
William R. Hincy’s website: https://williamrhincy.com/
Gilstrap’s website: https://www.johngilstrap.com/ 
Harm’s Way ordering link: https://bookshop.org/p/books/harm-s-way-john-gilstrap/19279470?ean=9780786050086 
Gilstrap’s YouTube page: @AuthorJohnGilstrap 

Bios: 
William R. Hincy: “Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to use literature to connect society on an emotional level through characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. Between rounds, Hincy has won 3 American Fiction Awards, an International Book Award, and his personal anthology of short fiction WITHOUT EXPIRATION was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews. He now lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.

John Gilstrap is the New York Times bestselling author of award-winning action novels including the Jonathan Grave Thrillers and the Victoria Emerson Thrillers. A master of action-driven suspense, he's touted as one of the most accomplished writers on the planet and his books have been translated into more than 20 languages. He is the recipient of an International Thriller Writers' Award for Against All Enemies and a two-time ITW Award finalist. He also won the ALA Alex Award for Nathan's Run, which was optioned for film by Warner Bros. A nationally recognized weaponry and explosives safety expert, John Gilstrap frequently speaks at conferences, events, clubs, youth programs, and military bases. He is a former firefighter and EMT with a master's degree in safety from the University of Southern California and a bachelor's degree in history from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. John lives in Fairfax, Virginia and can be found online at JohnGilstrap.com.

Chapters:
00:00:00 Start
00:00:32 Introducing John Gilstrap
00:02:57 Where on Earth is John Gilstrap
00:07:00 First Amendments Issues... in high school
00:08:45 Volunteer fire department
00:19:09 Nathan's Run - the novel that changed John Gilstrap's life
00:24:53 The pressure of following up a bestseller
00:26:21 Getting a "big boy" job after writing full time
00:31:15 The loss of the pack
00:35:07 Six Minutes to Freedom and the origins of the Jonathan Grave series
00:40:23 On the military community
00:45:20 Did John Gilstrap considering joining the military?
00:47:39 Writing Craft talk
00:47:56 How the Jonathan Graves series developed
00:51:45 Victoria Emerson trilogy
00:57:26 Writing tips - how to instill dread in a thriller
01:00:00 Common misconceptions about thrillers
01:03:45 Writers' Strikes
01:06:10 Shots - rapid fire questions
01:12:55 John Gilstrap reads from Harm's Way
01:26:42 Last Call life advice
01:27:27 Final Round - audience question

Here we go!

#booktube #books #author

Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the show, please consider joining us on Substack or picking up a book (or two). Links below!

For exclusive perks and free fiction, join the crew on Substack. All of these WDW episodes are there, as well as host William R. Hincy's bonkers, rock-n-roll satire, PIRATES OF APPALACHIA: https://wrhincy.substack.com/ 

Pick up a book here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Finally, shoot your feedback, suggestions, and guest requests to [email protected]

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Prolific author, poet, naturalist, "lister," and Hincy's former professor, Charles Hood stops by Writers Drinking Whiskey to discuss his latest book, A SALAD ONLY THE DEVIL WOULD EAT: THE JOYS OF UGLY NATURE. We discuss what he loves about mixed ecologies, why he describes the Antelope Valley as "the place old sofas crawl to the end of the road to die," and writing tips related to experimental fiction. 

Links: 
OTIUM (bar and restaurant): https://otiumla.com/
A Salad Only The Devil Would Eat: https://www.heydaybooks.com/catalog/a-salad-only-the-devil-would-eat/
Hincy's website: https://williamrhincy.com/
Hincy's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Bios:
Charles Hood: Charles Hood has studied birds and natural history from the Amazon to Tibet, and he has seen more than five thousand species of birds in the wild. A widely published poet, he has received numerous fellowships and writing awards and is the author of the Heyday collection A Salad Only the Devil Would Eat. His other Heyday titles include field guides to mammals and birds, and for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County he was the lead author and photographer for the book Wild LA.

William R. Hincy: “Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to use literature to connect society on an emotional level through characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. Between rounds, Hincy has won 3 American Fiction Awards, an International Book Award, and his personal anthology of short fiction WITHOUT EXPIRATION was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews. He now lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.

Chapters:
00:00:00 Start
00:00:17 Introducing Charles Hood
00:02:52 Where to get a drink in LA (and Reno)
00:10:59 The joys of "ugly" nature
00:17:35 Old Sofas
00:24:57 Lake Una
00:27:31 In-between areas
00:32:27 Man vs Nature?
00:38:01 I heart Nature
00:39:16 Zone-Tailed Hawk
00:51:15 Listing obsession
01:01:37 Diorama-bama
01:06:26 Ancient Wounds
01:08:25 Rapid fire questions
01:20:28 Writing tips on experimental fiction
01:24:31 Divorce Insurance

#booktube #books #podcast

Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the show, please consider joining us on Substack or picking up a book (or two). Links below!

For exclusive perks and free fiction, join the crew on Substack. All of these WDW episodes are there, as well as host William R. Hincy's bonkers, rock-n-roll satire, PIRATES OF APPALACHIA: https://wrhincy.substack.com/ 

Pick up a book here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Finally, shoot your feedback, suggestions, and guest requests to [email protected]

Show less

Send us Fan Mail

While vacationing in Fort Bragg, California, I stumbled into a local indie bookstore and bought a book from their "local author spotlight" section. After the owner mentioned what a great reader its author was, a Mr. Joe Smith, I left my information in the off chance Joe would ever like to come on the show. Well, I got two poets for one! Join me in welcoming Larry Felson and Joe Smith to the whiskey bar. We discuss revolution, the proper way to brew coffee at home, and they read their poetry throughout. 

Today’s drinking game: drink whenever we do!

Links:
For more from host William R. Hincy: https://williamrhincy.com/ 
William R. Hincy's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ
Patterson’s Irish Pub: https://www.pattersonspub.com/ 
North Coast Brewing: https://northcoastbrewing.com/ 
Gallery Bookshop: https://www.gallerybookshop.com/
Belinda Point Press: belindapointpress.com/ 
Revolution Books: RevolutionBooks.org  

Bios: 
William R. Hincy: “Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to use literature to connect society on an emotional level through characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. Between rounds, Hincy has won 3 American Fiction Awards, an International Book Award, and his personal anthology of short fiction WITHOUT EXPIRATION was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews. He now lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.

About WDW:
And for our algo-overlords (please introduce us to your friends!)… Welcome to your literary happy hour, Writers Drinking Whiskey, the show where you share a drink with writers from around the globe and you find more than your next read: you find the next AUTHOR you're going to love. Hosted by award-winning author William R. Hincy, the show takes booktube, authortube and booktok to another level with engaging, in-depth, and merrily irreverent conversations with today’s most interesting writers. And for our writers joining us, there's plenty of creative writing tips, fiction writing tricks, and poetry read by the poets.

Interested in being a guest? Have a great cocktail recipe and story to share? Fantastic! Contact WRH at [email protected]. We’re currently booking for special episodes and season 2. 

Chapters:
0:00:00 Start
0:02:09 Introducing Larry Felson and Joe Smith
0:05:03 What are we drinking?
0:14:26 Where to get a drink in Mendocino County
0:24:09 Pet peeves
0:31:26 Pull-Down Poems (Poetry reading)
0:45:20 If Darkness Sings (Poetry reading)
0:50:59 The Birds Falling from the Sky (Poetry reading)
0:52:55 Poetry craft talk
1:02:46 Last Call Life Advice
1:05:15 Learn more about Larry Felson and Joe Smith

Brought to you by Whiskey-Winged Lit
Fiction for the modern reader. Life is the accumulation of scars—tell the stories! 

Here we go!

#podcast #books #author

Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the show, please consider joining us on Substack or picking up a book (or two). Links below!

For exclusive perks and free fiction, join the crew on Substack. All of these WDW episodes are there, as well as host William R. Hincy's bonkers, rock-n-roll satire, PIRATES OF APPALACHIA: https://wrhincy.substack.com/ 

Pick up a book here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Finally, shoot your feedback, suggestions, and guest requests to [email protected]

Show less

Send us Fan Mail

What do pot lucks, swinging, and writing collaboration have in common? The answer: WRITERS DRINKING WHISKEY. Join author, editor and hilarious gentleman Keir Graff and I as we discuss failure, the power of persistence, how swingers can bring (writers) together, and the new book THE ROYAL GAME, written under the Linda Keir pen name. Keir also provides a delicious whiskey cocktail, REMEMBER THE MAINE, and provides some writing tips on mysteries and thrillers.  

Today’s drinking game: drink whenever we do!

Links:
William R. Hincy’s books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ 
William R. Hincy’s website: https://williamrhincy.com/
Keir Graff’s website: https://keirgraff.com/ 
The Royal Game ordering link: https://exileinbookville.com/item/oyU2qBKYKzYFtFD_uXSUMA 
Podcast: xxxx

Bios: 
William R. Hincy: “Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to use literature to connect society on an emotional level through characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. Between rounds, Hincy has won 3 American Fiction Awards, an International Book Award, and his personal anthology of short fiction WITHOUT EXPIRATION was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews. He now lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.

Keir Graff writes thrillers, mysteries, and contemporary fiction for adults, and adventure novels for younger readers. Recent works include The Three Mrs. Wrights and Drowning with Others, both of which were coauthored with Linda Joffe Hull under the name Linda Keir. With James Patterson, he is the coauthor of the middle-grade mystery Minerva Keen’s Detective Club, and working solo has published four middle-grade novels, including The Tiny Mansion, The Phantom Tower (a Chicago Tribune Best Children’s Book) and The Matchstick Castle (an Illinois Reads official selection). He is the editor of the anthology A Million Acres: Montana Writers Reflect on Land and Open Space and coeditor (with James Grady) of the crime-fiction anthology Montana Noir (one of Parade‘s “Books We Love”). The former executive editor of Booklist, he lives in Chicago, where he is the cofounder and cohost of the much-loved literary gathering Publishing Cocktails. He provides writing advice and book recommendations in his free monthly newsletter, Graff Paper.

About WDW:
And for our algo-overlords (please introduce us to your friends!)… Welcome to your literary happy hour, Writers Drinking Whiskey, the show where you share a drink with writers from around the globe and you find more than your next read: you find the next AUTHOR you're going to love. Hosted by award-winning author William R. Hincy, the show takes booktube, authortube and booktok to another level with engaging, in-depth, and irreverent conversations with today’s most interesting writers. And for our writers joining us, there's plenty of creative writing tips, fiction writing tricks, and poetry read by the poets.


Interested in being a guest? Have a great cocktail recipe and story to share? Fantastic! Contact WRH at [email protected]. We’re currently booking for special episodes and season 2. 

Brought to you by Whiskey-Winged Lit
Fiction for the modern reader. Life is the accumulation of scars—tell the stories! 

Here we go!

Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the show, please consider joining us on Substack or picking up a book (or two). Links below!

For exclusive perks and free fiction, join the crew on Substack. All of these WDW episodes are there, as well as host William R. Hincy's bonkers, rock-n-roll satire, PIRATES OF APPALACHIA: https://wrhincy.substack.com/ 

Pick up a book here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Finally, shoot your feedback, suggestions, and guest requests to [email protected]

Show less

Send us Fan Mail

"If Thoreau drank more whiskey and lived in the desert, he'd write like this."

And thus, Writers Drinking Whiskey presents author, humorist, father, desert rat, and blues harmonicaist Michael Branch. On tap, we've got a Nevada Manhattan recipe, tale of a drunk Mary Kay lady, an important public safety announcement on what to do if approached by the vicious but adorable jackalope, and the best doggone writing tips you're ever going to hear (along with a healthy dose on the power of humility). 

Slouched along the bar this episode:
Mike Branch is a writer, humorist, environmentalist, father, and desert rat who lives with his wife and two young daughters in the western Great Basin Desert. His work includes ten published books, one of which is the Pulitzer Prize-nominated John Muir’s Last Journey: South to the Amazon and East to Africa (Island Press). His recent books include: Raising Wild: Dispatches from a Home in the Wilderness (Shambhala  / Roost Books, 2016), Rants from the Hill: On Packrats, Bobcats, Wildfires, Curmudgeons, a Drunken Mary Kay Lady, and Other Encounters with the Wild in the High Desert (Shambhala / Roost Books, 2017),  ‘The Best Read Naturalist’: Nature Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (co-edited with Clinton Mohs, University of Virginia Press, 2017), How to Cuss in Western (Shambhala  / Roost Books, 2018), and On the Trail of the Jackalope (Pegasus Books, 2022).
...
Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.”

William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to connect with readers by eschewing stock plots and generic formulas in favor of exploring characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. This unflinching but empathetic eye and devil-may-care attitude helped him earn an American Fiction Award and be named a finalist for multiple International Book Awards for his anthology of short fiction, Without Expiration. His other full-length works include But the Ripping Apart, a novel about hoarding from whence the opening quote of this bio originates, and A Fire for Christmas, a satirical collection of stories set during the coronavirus pandemic (winner of the International Book Award and two American Fiction Awards). 

William R. Hincy now hosts the popular podcast Writers Drinking Whiskey and lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.

Links:
Mike website: https://michaelbranchwriter.com/ 
Raising Wild Cocktail recipe: https://www.forewordreviews.com/articles/article/michael-branchs-raising-wild-cocktail/
High West Bourye: https://highwest.com/collections/all-products/products/high-west-bourye 
Two Bitch whiskey: https://www.twobitchspirits.com/
Chapel tavern: https://www.chapeltavern.com/ 
Death and taxes bar: https://www.deathandtaxesreno.com/  
Jackalope trailer video: https://vimeo.com/679257267 
Hair donation for kids: https://childrenhairlossneeds.org/ 

Chapters:
00:00:00 Start
00:00:37 Introducing author Michael Branch
00:02:13 Michael Branch's author journey
00:03:32 Rye Manhattan cocktail recipe
00:11:06 Best place for cocktails in Reno NV (travel advice)
00:12:26 Rants from the Hill
00:37:25 Jackalope jackalope I saw a jackalope!
00:41:07 Did Jackalopes cause cancer?
00:45:17 Jackalope hunts
00:53:02 The moment the liquor kicked in
00:59:04 THE jackalope question
01:06:25 Writing process
01:20:20 Core of Mike's writing
01:34:33 Writing advice you wished you'd learned earlier
01:36:23 Dealing with failure
01:49:55 Shots rapid fire fun
02:00:54 Author Reading
02:14:26 Last Call life hack

#podcast #author #booktube

Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the show, please consider joining us on Substack or picking up a book (or two). Links below!

For exclusive perks and free fiction, join the crew on Substack. All of these WDW episodes are there, as well as host William R. Hincy's bonkers, rock-n-roll satire, PIRATES OF APPALACHIA: https://wrhincy.substack.com/ 

Pick up a book here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Finally, shoot your feedback, suggestions, and guest requests to [email protected]

Show less

Send us Fan Mail

What do police stations, firehouses, and zoo have in common? Join bestselling author and Edgar Allen Poe Award-Winner SJ Rozan for a glass of vodka and a wide-ranging chat on your work, her travels, her time as an architect, and her books, The Murder of Mr. Ma and Mayors of New York. Oh, and she reads one of the most fantastic fight scenes you'll ever hear!

Today’s drinking game: drink whenever we do!

Links:
William R. Hincy’s books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ 
William R. Hincy’s website: https://williamrhincy.com/
SJ Rozan's website: http://sjrozan.net/
Mayors of New York: https://www.amazon.com/Mayors-New-York-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0BV1CYL47/
The Murder of Mr. Ma: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mr-Ma-SJ-Rozan/dp/164129549X/

Bios: 
William R. Hincy: “Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to use literature to connect society on an emotional level through characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. Between rounds, Hincy has won 3 American Fiction Awards, an International Book Award, and his personal anthology of short fiction WITHOUT EXPIRATION was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews. He now lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.

SJ Rozan, a native New Yorker, is the author of eighteen novels and six dozen short stories.  Her work has won the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, and Macavity awards for Best Novel and the Edgar for Best Short Story. She’s also the recipient of the Japanese Maltese Falcon Award and recently received the Life Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America. BRONX NOIR, a short story anthology SJ edited, was chosen NAIBA “Notable Book of the Year.” She also co-edited, with Jonathan Santlofer, the anthology DARK END OF THE STREET. Spring 2022 will see CRIME HITS HOME, the Mystery Writers of America anthology, edited by SJ,

SJ has served on the National Boards of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and is ex-President of the Private Eye Writers of America. She speaks, lectures and teaches, and she runs a summer writing workshop at the Art Workshop International in Assisi, Italy.

About WDW:
And for our algo-overlords (please introduce us to your friends!)… Welcome to your literary happy hour, Writers Drinking Whiskey, the show where you share a drink with writers from around the globe and you find more than your next read: you find the next AUTHOR you're going to love. Hosted by award-winning author William R. Hincy, the show takes booktube, authortube and booktok to another level with engaging, in-depth, and merrily irreverent conversations with today’s most interesting writers. And for our writers joining us, there's plenty of creative writing tips, fiction writing tricks, and poetry read by the poets.

Chapters:
00:00:00 Start
00:00:30 Introducing SJ Rozan
00:02:17 Where to get a drink in lower Manhattan
00:03:57 Vodka talk
00:05:49 Writing as architecture
00:19:08 Travel advice
00:24:40 Writing Talk: writing like an architect
00:33:06 Collaborative writing
00:48:29 Biggest risk SJ Rozan has ever taken
00:50:10 Worst advice SJ Rozan ever received
00:53:49 What drew SJ Rozan to mystery and crime fiction
00:56:05 Writing tips_how to wrap up a mystery
00:59:03 Rapid fire questions
01:07:46 Author reading MAYORS OF NEW YORK
01:18:12 Last Call

Brought to you by Whiskey-Winged Lit
Fiction for the modern reader. Life is the accumulation of scars—tell the stories! 

Here we go!

#booktube #books #author

Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the show, please consider joining us on Substack or picking up a book (or two). Links below!

For exclusive perks and free fiction, join the crew on Substack. All of these WDW episodes are there, as well as host William R. Hincy's bonkers, rock-n-roll satire, PIRATES OF APPALACHIA: https://wrhincy.substack.com/ 

Pick up a book here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Finally, shoot your feedback, suggestions, and guest requests to [email protected]

Show less

Send us Fan Mail

Boyhood, stalled males, and the wonder and beauty of late life. Join award-winning author and whiskey-drinking host William R. Hincy in his poignant, life-affirming chat with Richard Hawley, writer of the ON MY WAY OUT series.

Chapters:
00:00:00 Start
00:00:20 Introducing author Richard Hawley
00:02:26 Whiskey Time!
00:05:55 Hawley's author journey
00:11:21 Boyhood
00:14:32 The Three Lives of Jonathan Force
00:20:17 How to NOT lose your sense of wonder
00:22:32 The Headmaster's Papers
00:28:46 How to foster WONDER in our children
00:36:23 Stalled Males
00:50:43 Mid-life as headmaster of boy's school
01:00:12 Fiction Craft: form or story first
01:03:53 The Dead Language of Letter Writing
01:12:12 Book Three: late Life
01:20:41 Shots Rapid-Fire Questions
01:22:51 What is a shiv and how do I bate one into a cake?
01:26:12 Author Reading ON MY WAY OUT and poetry
01:27:16 Overcome with Prayer at Childbirth
01:28:41 ON MY WAY OUT Vol 4
01:33:20 Last Call Life Hack
01:34:06 Learn more about author Richard Hawley

Bios:
“Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” 

William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to use literature to connect society on an emotional level through characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. Between rounds, Hincy has won 3 American Fiction Awards, an International Book Award, and his personal anthology of short fiction WITHOUT EXPIRATION was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews. He now hosts the popular podcast Writers Drinking Whiskey and lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.

Richard Hawley was born in 1945 in Chicago. He attended suburban public schools in Arlington Heights, Illinois, before attending Middlebury College, where he completed his B.A. in political science. He went on to graduate studies at Case Western Reserve University, where he earned an M.S. in Management Science and a Ph.D. in political philosophy. He also studied theology for a year at St. John’s College, Cambridge University, as an M.A. research student under the tutelage of the theologian W. Norman Pittenger.

In the fall of 1968 he began teaching at Cleveland’s University School, an independent college preparatory school for boys. He would go on to teach history, economics, philosophy and English literature, while also serving the school as history department chairman, dean of students, director of the Upper School, and, from 1988 until his retirement in 2005, Headmaster. In 1995 he was named the founding president of the International Boys Schools Coalition.

A writer of fiction, poetry, and literary non-fiction, he has published more than twenty books and several monographs. His essays, articles and poems have appeared in dozens of literary, scholarly, and commercial journals, including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, American Film, Commonweal, America, Orion, and The Christian Science Monitor and is represented in many literary anthologies For ten years he taught fiction and non-fiction writing at The Breadloaf Writers Conference in Vermont, and he continues to teach developing writers in a variety of settings. Recent work, including work in progress, draws increasingly from depth psychology and classical philosophy to illuminate contemporary problems.

Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the show, please consider joining us on Substack or picking up a book (or two). Links below!

For exclusive perks and free fiction, join the crew on Substack. All of these WDW episodes are there, as well as host William R. Hincy's bonkers, rock-n-roll satire, PIRATES OF APPALACHIA: https://wrhincy.substack.com/ 

Pick up a book here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Finally, shoot your feedback, suggestions, and guest requests to [email protected]

Show less

Send us Fan Mail

Talking poetry, life, and "doin' stupid stuff" with award-winning poet Ray McManus. 

For video, check us out on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3AUnnPyBhSg

Links:
William R. Hincy’s books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ 
William R. Hincy’s website: https://williamrhincy.com/
Ray's website: https://www.raymcmanuspoetry.com/

Bios:
“Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to use literature to connect society on an emotional level through characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. Between rounds, Hincy has won 3 American Fiction Awards, an International Book Award, and his personal anthology of short fiction WITHOUT EXPIRATION was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews. He now lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.

Ray McManus’s poems and prose have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. His poems can be quirky, sometimes funny, sometimes quite dark, often both at the same time.  His first book, ­­Driving Through the Country Before You Are Born, was selected by Southern poet Kate Daniels and published by USC Press in 2007. Since then he has gone on to publish three more books: Left Behind (published by Stepping Stones Press in 2008), Red Dirt Jesus (selected by Alicia Ostriker for the Marick Press Poetry Prize and published by Marick Press in 2011), and Punch. (published by Hub City Press in 2014, and winner of the 2015 Independent Publishers Book Award). McManus has recently co-edited an anthology with USC Press called Found Anew.

Although McManus’s books seem placed in the semi-rural and sometimes repressive Southern culture of the Carolinas, where the laughter or worse silence of others “is the threat that keeps us moving forward,” there are also repeated themes about the haunting presence of Ireland -- or more precisely, that unreal Ireland of the imagination that exists in family story and immigrant memory. McManus’s work explores themes that wrestle with loss, faith, denial, and rebellion, the narrative of hope and the heroics of failure. His latest book, Punch., is very much a book about the working class, the grit and grime that hammers at the once romantic ideal of America, and perhaps out of all of McManus’s work, it is the most autobiographical.

Ray McManus earned his MFA in poetry and his Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of South Carolina. An Associate Professor of English at the University of South Carolina in Sumter, McManus teaches creative writing, Irish literature, and Southern Literature, and has won many awards for teaching and scholarship on southern and Irish culture.  He is the director of the Center for Oral Narrative housed in the Division of Arts and Letters, Writer in Residence at the Columbia Museum of Art, and the Chair for the South Carolina Academy of Authors.  McManus is the founder of Split P Soup, a creative writing outreach program that places writers in schools and communities in South Carolina, and former director of the creative writing program at the Tri-District Arts Consortium. His current outreach project is Re:Verse, a teaching initiative that works with teachers and administrators on developing effective strategies for bringing creative writing back to standard education. 

Interested in being a guest? Have a great cocktail recipe and story to share? Fantastic! Contact WRH at [email protected]. We’re currently booking for special episodes and season 2. 

Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the show, please consider joining us on Substack or picking up a book (or two). Links below!

For exclusive perks and free fiction, join the crew on Substack. All of these WDW episodes are there, as well as host William R. Hincy's bonkers, rock-n-roll satire, PIRATES OF APPALACHIA: https://wrhincy.substack.com/ 

Pick up a book here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Finally, shoot your feedback, suggestions, and guest requests to [email protected]

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Bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Stephen Hunter discusses his latest book, FRONT SIGHT: THREE SWAGGER NOVELAS. We also discuss how film has changed through the years, what it was like to have on of his books adapted into the movie SHOOTER with Mark Wahlberg (as well as a TV series), and his time in the military. And we're calling this special episode: Writers on Zoom Drinking Coffee. 

For the video version, head over to YouTube: https://youtu.be/_Q3gz1BE4yc

Links: 
Front Sight ordering link: https://bookshop.org/p/books/front-sight-three-swagger-novels-stephen-hunter/20165460?ean=9781668030363
WRH's website: https://williamrhincy.com/
WRH's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Bios:
Stephen Hunter: Stephen Hunter has written over twenty novels. The retired chief film critic for The Washington Post, where he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism, he has also published two collections of film criticism and a nonfiction work, American Gunfight. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

William R. Hincy: “Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to use literature to connect society on an emotional level through characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. Between rounds, Hincy has won 3 American Fiction Awards, an International Book Award, and his personal anthology of short fiction WITHOUT EXPIRATION was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews. He now lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.

Chapters:
00:00:00 Start
00:00:31 Introductions
00:02:48 Baltimore thrilling
00:07:14 Film criticism with Pulitzer Prize winner
00:09:11 How has cinema changed over the years
00:16:35 Film criticism changes over the years
00:24:20 Changed-mind reviews
00:28:53 Differences between film and literature
00:37:19 What is it like to have your novel adapted to film
00:42:03 Differences between the movie Shooter and the book
00:48:08 JFK Inspiration 
00:54:49 How Hunt's time in the military informed his writing
01:01:02 On guns
01:06:36 Shots - rapid fire questions
01:15:59 FRONT SIGHT discussion
01:34:37 Last Call - avoid the bitter

Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the show, please consider joining us on Substack or picking up a book (or two). Links below!

For exclusive perks and free fiction, join the crew on Substack. All of these WDW episodes are there, as well as host William R. Hincy's bonkers, rock-n-roll satire, PIRATES OF APPALACHIA: https://wrhincy.substack.com/ 

Pick up a book here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Finally, shoot your feedback, suggestions, and guest requests to [email protected]

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Send us Fan Mail

Stopping by the whiskey bar is the only author with the distinction of being compared to Bob Dylan and George Orwell, with his latest book being likened to To Kill a Mockingbird, award-winner James Grady. Best known for his novel SIX DAYS OF THE CONDOR, which was famously adapted to film as THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR starring Robert Redford and directed by Sydney Pollack, James shares stories of his time helping to craft the Montana State Constitution, muckraking with investigative journalist Jack Anderson, and reads from his poignant new novel, THE SMOKE IN OUR EYES. For video, join us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4CaSuUwnlrs

Today’s drinking game: drink whenever we do!

Links:
For an ads-free version and loads of other free content, check out my website: https://williamrhincy.com/ 
For more about James Grady: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Grady_(author)

Unfamiliar with the show? Welcome to your literary happy hour! Writers Drinking Whiskey is the show where we share a drink with writers from around the globe and you find more than your next read: you find the next AUTHOR you're going to love! Hosted by award-winning author William R. Hincy, the show takes booktube, authortube and booktok to another level with engaging, in-depth, and merrily irreverent conversations with today’s most interesting writers. And for our writers joining us, there's plenty of creative writing tips, fiction writing tricks, and poetry read by the poets. 

Bios:
James Grady: James Grady is a longtime author of thrillers, police procedural and espionage novels. He graduated from the University of Montana School of Journalism in 1974. During college, he worked for United States Senator Lee Metcalf of Montana as a staff member.

From 1974 - 1978 he was an investigative journalist for the famous muckraker Jack Anderson. Best known as the author of Six Days of the Condor , which was adapted to film as Three Days of the Condor starring Robert Redford in 1975.

James Grady has gone on to write almost a dozen more novels in the thirty-eight years since Six Days of the Condor was published.

In the past James Grady has written under the pseudonyms of James Dalton and Brit Shelby.

William R. Hincy: “Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to use literature to connect society on an emotional level through characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. Between rounds, Hincy has won 3 American Fiction Awards, an International Book Award, and his personal anthology of short fiction WITHOUT EXPIRATION was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews. He now lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.

Interested in being a guest? Have a great cocktail recipe and story to share? Fantastic! Contact WRH at [email protected]. We’re currently booking for special episodes and season 2. 

Brought to you by Whiskey-Winged Lit
Fiction for the modern reader. Life is the accumulation of scars—tell the stories! 

Here we go!

Thanks for tuning in! If you’d like to support the show, please consider joining us on Substack or picking up a book (or two). Links below!

For exclusive perks and free fiction, join the crew on Substack. All of these WDW episodes are there, as well as host William R. Hincy's bonkers, rock-n-roll satire, PIRATES OF APPALACHIA: https://wrhincy.substack.com/ 

Pick up a book here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-R.-Hincy/author/B07ZYB5FHZ

Finally, shoot your feedback, suggestions, and guest requests to [email protected]

Show less