WYPL Book Talk

Roy Orbison was a singular talent with one of the most haunting voices in popular music history. Growing up in Depression-era Texas, along with a series of tragedies that struck him and his family along the way, informed his often heartbreaking songs. Two of his surviving sons, Alex and Wesley, stopped by the WYPL TV studios to talk about The Authorized Roy Orbison, which they wrote with their brother Roy Orbison, Jr. It's a beautiful book with equal parts text and photos commemorating the life of their father and one of America's finest singers.

Susanna Lancaster is the author of The Growing Rock published by Harvard Square Editions. It's a coming of age story for 14-year-old Caroline Neal, The Growing Rock is set in Depression-era west Tennessee. Caroline, an author of fairy tales, uses all her imagination to stay positive after her brother, then her father leave the family to seek work in Memphis. With both men gone, Caroline fights to keep the rest of the family from falling apart.

Barry Wolverton is an author of middle grade novels. His first was Neversink, then he followed it up with The Chronicles of the Black Tulip series. The first installment of the trilogy was The Vanishing Island, followed by The Dragon's Gate, and today we'll talk about the final entry, The Sea of the Dead, which is published by Walden Pod Press.

Yvette Manessis Corporon is an Emmy-Award-winning writer, producer and author. She is currently a Senior Producer with the syndicated entertainment news show, EXTRA. She is the author of the international, best-selling novel When the Cypress Whispers, and today we'll be talking about her recent non-fiction book, Something Beautiful Happened: A Story of Survival and Courage in the Face of Evil, which is published by Howard Books.

Journalist Joe Hagan is the author of the biography, Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine, which is published by Knopf. We talk about Wenner's childhood with his parents, the early days of Rolling Stone, his marriage to his wife Jane, as well as the star creatives that Jann Wenner edited at Rolling Stone, and ultimately, about his decision to leave his wife and the closet, in order to live openly as a gay man.

Blake McVey talks to Philip Jett about his true crime book, The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder That Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty which is published by St. Martin's Press. In February 1960, Adolph Coors III, known as Ad, was kidnapped on his way to the Coors Brewery in Golden Colorado, and the subsequent manhunt riveted the Mountain West region of America.

Radney Foster in a popular and critically-acclaimed country music singer and songwriter. He was a member of the duo Foster and Lloyd, and has released many well-received solo albums like Del Rio Texas 1959 and The World We Live In. He has also joined the ranks of American fiction writers with his first collection of short stories, For You to See the Stars which is published by Working Title Farm, which is the new publishing imprint from author Shari Smith, and there is a companion album with a song for each of the stories, also called For You to See the Stars, and it is available from Devil's River Records.

Judy Schachner is a best-selling artist and author of children's books. She is best known for her popular Skippy Jon Jones series starring a Siamese kitten who thinks he is a Chihuahua. She's also written many stand- alone books like: Yo, Vikings!, Dewey Bob, and Grannyman. Today we'll be talking about her latest stand-alone book, Sarabella's Thinking Cap which is published by Dial Books.

 

Judy shares her character bible for Sarabella's Thinking Cap.

Denise Kiernan is an author, journalist and producer. She has worked in television, serving as head writer for ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". Her writing has appeared in publications like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. She's written several non-fiction works,  Her previous title, The Girls of Atomic City, was a New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and NPR Bestseller and has been published in seven languages. Today we'll be talking about her newest book, The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home.