Category Archives: Family Stories

Episode # 63: Hidden Treasure & Atomic Dollars with Frank Warner

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Like any good soldier’s son, Frank Warner moved with his family from fort to fort, accepted each change, and was ready to move again. Then, in 1960, Frank’s father was ordered to Fort Huachuca (WahCHOOka), Arizona. This was the fifth Army post of Frank’s childhood, the first place he never wanted to leave. So when his father was ordered to Vietnam in 1963, sending Frank and the rest of the family to Pennsylvania, the uprooting wasn’t easy. Frank’s book, “Tumbleeweed Forts: Adventures of an Army Brat,” describes the joys of living in Fort Huachuca, and the heartache of leaving it behind. 

Tune in for a fun conversation and great cocktails, including in red, white, and blue for July!

Frank’s Readings:

00:00 Start

10:02 A Bike Race on Base!

30:57 Atomic Dollars

47:01 Leaving Huachuca

Chris’s Cocktail Pairings: 

06:11 Red, White, and Blue

25:40 The Atomic Cocktail

44:09 Goodbye Sunshine

Interview Highlights: 

19:10 This plane is on fii–ire!

23:29 Why Huachuaca? Why it was magical

35:02 Silver Dollars and Stories on Atomic Testing

38:34 Private Jones’ Buried Treasure & the Scientist with Alien Technology

43:31 How Tombstone got its Name

50:15 Finding Old Friends

52:12 Dad going to Vietnam, Saving the Ashes

SEE OUR PATREON FOR OUR AFTER HOURS WITH FRANK WARNER VIDEO.

COMING NEXT MONTH: 

  • Devrie Donalson, comedian and author

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

If you liked our interview with Frank, you might also like:

Episode #60: Poetry, politics, life and aging with JS Absher

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Poet JS Absher poems on life, time, faith and discussion of politics

Books and Brews meets JS Absher: J.S. Absher is a poet, memoirist, and independent scholar. As a teetotaler—he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—he can’t add much insight into brews, but he can hold his own when it comes to books.

Stan’s first full-length book of poetry, Mouth Work (St. Andrews University Press) won the 2015 Lena Shull Award from the North Carolina Poetry Society. Stan’s second full-length book of poetry, Skating Rough Ground, was published in 2022 by Kelsay Press.

Poems have recently been published or accepted by The McNeese Review, Mormon Lit Blitz, Triggerfish Critical Review, Irreantum, and Tar River Review and have won awards from BYU Studies Quarterly and the journal Dialogue. His poems have been nominated four times for the Pushcart Prize and twice for Best of the Net. He has also published an annotated editions of two memoirs written in the late 19th century by Ida Crumpler Beard.

Stan has two prose projects under way.

His father killed himself in December 1977. Earlier that year he was a whistleblower in a government investigation of the bank where he worked. The confidential information he handed on widened the scope of the investigation and led to the arrest and conviction of the bank’s CEO and two other executives and the firing of several other employees. This turmoil, on top of his already unstable mental state, contributed to his death. Stan’s account of these events is based on his father’s memoirs and letters, more than a hundred newspaper articles, his own journal, and the memoirs of another participant. Outside those directly concerned, it is now a minor story, but it connects in interesting ways with the Watergate scandal and other major events. Stan’s memoir of these events will include poems he’s written and published over many years.

Stan is also currently researching and writing about the history of North Carolina immediately before the imposition of Jim Crow, focusing on fifty African American men who were arrested in 1895 for their efforts to stop a lynching in Winston-Salem, a lynching that thankfully did not occur. Stan is trying to understand who they were—their jobs and professions, their backgrounds, their kinship and social networks (to the extent they can be determined), and what happened to them afterwards. Stan’s interest in this event was sparked by the one-sided account in Ida Beard’s memoir mentioned above.  

Absher lives in Raleigh, NC, with his wife Patti. His work in poetry and prose can be followed on www.jsabsherpoetry.com.

Stan’s Readings:

00:00 Start

08:12 The Pear Tree and Remembering Clara

23:06 What I Knew and When

43:09 Building a Wall

Chris’s Cocktail Pairings: 

04:21 Brazilian Lime Aid

20:53 The Marigold

40:40 White Peach


Interview Highlights: 

16:35 The business of being a poet

19:07 Travels to France, Belize, and Taiwan

30:36 Blowing the Whistle: family issues and corporate greed

35:11 Links to the Nixon scandal

40:46 How ancient Rome influenced a poem

50:01 From The Deserted Wife to a thwarted lynching and Jim Crow

COMING NEXT MONTH: Manswell T. Peterson has endured many challenges in his life. He decided to put those experiences to good use by writing novels as an adult. He is founder of OmegaMan Publishing & Manswell Peterson Studios. He has written at least fourteen books since 2012. Escape to the Locrottum Universe – a modern fantasy world where royal drama, tyranny, and misunderstandings run rampant! www.locrottumuniverse.com 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

·        Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEMES: MUSIC; FAITH

·       Laura will be selling her books, premium rabbit fertilizer & more at the Morristown Farmer’s Market, 130 W Morris Boulevar, Morristown, TN on April 13, June 7, and July 5, noon to 5 pm

·       See Laura’s interview at Central Valley Talk

·       See Laura’s interview with Rob & Joan Carter at INDIE NOVEL SOURCE

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

If you liked this interview, you might also like:

author poet JS Absher cocktails books
poet stan absher reads his poetry
Poet JS Absher cocktails zinnias Laura Vosika Chris with cocktails, book covers, Skating Rough Ground, Mouth Work, Night Weather

An American Kid in Saigon with Sandy Hanna, Episode #31

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Sandy Hanna talks about her memoir, The Ignorance of Bliss: An American Kid in Saigon

Sandy Hanna is an award-winning author for her memoir “The Ignorance of Bliss: An American Kid in Saigon,” a true coming-of-age story about growing up in Vietnam in the early 60s. She current resides in Lambertville, New Jersey.

As a military BRAT (British Regiment Attached Transfer) her story reveals a turbulent time where politics and intrigue resided between plot and counterplot and where, as children, she and her siblings lived in the continuous present – perhaps the only way children can live.

Ms. Hanna graduated from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois with a BA in Interdisciplinary Programs in Science and Literature and University of Massachusetts with a MED in the Biology of Cognition. Her background is one of working with children and designing learning environment for museums, theme parks, and communities. However, she sees herself as a life-time storyteller and artist.
Sandyhanna.net

Sandy’s Readings:

  • Witnessing the Coup – 9:35
  • Baby Powder & Hershey Bars – 28:27
  • Brink’s Bomb – 43:44

Michael’s Beer Pairings:

Harvey Weissbanger Recipe

  • 1 oz. Galliano
  • 2 oz. Orange Juice
  • 6 oz. Weissbier

Fill a collins glass with ice. Add the Galliano and orange juice. Top with Weissbier. Garnish with orange peel.

Interview Highlights:

  • Did you take it for granted you survived a shooting spree? – 15:34
  • The Dragon Lady and Colonel Sam’s Expose – 19:12
  • Did your brother’s basketball start the Vietnam War? – 23:26
  • Everything in life lies in acceptance – 35:26
  • Military kids taking control in an out-of-control world – 36:58
  • Military transport to Saigon – 51:05

COMING NEXT MONTH:

Christine Madline Ellsworth, poet and 1st time novelist

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

  • Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology
  • Laura will be signing books Sunday, November 7, 2 to 5 pm at Maple Grove Lutheran Church, 9251 Elm Creek Blvd N, Maple Grove, MN. Several other authors from Night Writers will also be signing books.

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

If you liked this episode, you might also like these Books and Brews episodes:

HELP US GROW

If you enjoy our interviews or have benefited from them, we invite you to help us continue our work. It takes a great deal of time and money to produce Books and Brews. We’ve been doing interviews since January 2017 as a free service to authors. We continue to promote those authors on our social media for years after their interviews.

  • Subscribing, following, liking, commenting and sharing all help us to keep doing what we do.
  • A $5 tip helps us pay for our many expenses: Libsyn hosting, web hosting, Google meets, providing the drinks for the interview and the many hours of preparation and editing that go into each episode.
  • Patreon: patreon.com/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosika
  • Tip Jar: paypal.me/booksandbrewsMN
  • Books and Brews products:
    https://www.zazzle.com/store/books_an… (more to come)
  • Sponsor an episode to promote your product or service: contact us booksandbrewslive@gmail.com

Forty Thieves with Cynthia Kraack and Joseph Tachovsky, Episode #23

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Books and Brews: the place where beer and literature meet

The Forty Thieves of Saipan is the true story of an elite team of very young men, barely out of their teens in many cases, who went behind enemy lines in World War II, led by Frank Tachovsky. It is told by Frank’s son Joseph Tachovsky and Cynthia Kraack.

Cynthia Kraack, co-author of Forty Thieves of Saipan

Cynthia Kraack is an author of fiction, short stories and nonfiction. 40 Thieves on Saipan was released by Regnery History in 2020 and received Best Book in Military History from the American Book Festival. The High Cost of Flowers won two 2014 Midwest Book Awards taking first in Literary Fiction and Contemporary Fiction. Her debut work, Minnesota Cold, won the 2009 Northeastern Minnesota Book Award for Fiction. She also wrote the Ashwood trilogy, a speculative fiction family saga. The Saturday Evening Post, Glimmer Train, Big Muddy Literary Journal and the Hal Prize competition have published or recognized her short stories. She has an MFA from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast Program in Creative Writing. She is a founding board member of Write On, Door County.
Cynthiakraack.com
Facebook

Joseph Tachovsky, co-author of Forty Thieves of Saipan

Joseph Tachovsky is the son of Lieutenant Frank Tachovsky, commanding officer of the 40 Thieves. Tachovsky knew nothing of his father’s heroic past beyond that he was a Marine in the Pacific until his father’s funeral in 2011. A eulogy was given in which a man recounted a story a wherein Lieutenant Tachovsky “saved every man in our unit” from a Japanese tank. This set him on a journey to discover everything he could about his father and the 40 Thieves. Tachovsky is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and currently resides in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
40thievessaipan.com
Facebook

Cynthia and Joseph’s Readings:

  • Four Woodpeckers – 13:48
  • Arello and Duley – 29:48
  • Pacts & Premonitions – 41:59

Michael’s Beer Pairings: 

Interview Highlights: 

  • The hardest part of writing such a book – 23:09
  • Why does it matter to tell the story of the 40 Thieves? – 24:52
  • Origins of the name “40 Thieves” – 35:18
  • Rivalry and stereotypes among the branches – 36:30
  • The Thieves as old men – 38:00
  • Do you believe in premonitions? – 47:42
  • What gives a 21-year-old the courage to face death? – 50:27
  • Lingering impacts of war – 52:58

COMING NEXT MONTH:

Philip Watling: The car hit me….I died….

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

If you liked this episode, you might also like these Books and Brews episodes:

HELP US GROW

If you enjoy our interviews or have benefited from them, we invite you to help us continue our work. It takes a great deal of time and money to produce Books and Brews. We’ve been doing interviews since January 2017 as a free service to authors. We continue to promote those authors on our social media for years after their interviews.

  • Subscribing, following, liking, commenting and sharing all help us to keep doing what we do.
  • A $5 tip helps us pay for our many expenses: Libsyn hosting, web hosting, Google meets, providing the drinks for the interview and the many hours of preparation and editing that go into each episode.
  • Patreon: patreon.com/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosika
  • Tip Jar: paypal.me/booksandbrewsMN
  • Books and Brews products:
    https://www.zazzle.com/store/books_an… (more to come)
  • Sponsor an episode to promote your product or service: contact us booksandbrewslive@gmail.com

Family Stories as Fiction with Lisa Gurine, Episode #18

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Books and Brews: the place where beer and literature meet

Lisa Gurine talks about her debut novel Without Words, in which she weaves her family stories into one fictionalized novel.

Lisa has written newsletters and business communications professionally for more than twenty years. She comes from a long line of storytellers and for most of her life has channeled her creative energy into re-telling and embellishing her family’s history. Without Words grew from the seeds of her own ancestors’ lives as South Dakota immigrants.

Lisa Gurine resides in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, with her husband of more than thirty years. Her passion for cross-cultural understanding led her to volunteer with an international high school exchange program. She and her husband have hosted six foreign exchange students at their home and have engaged with many more. Her other favorite pastimes include international travel, volunteering with her church and honing her writing skills with her Night Writers critique partners.
Lisagurinebooks.com
Facebook

Lisa’s Readings:

  • Letter to Emma – 8:56
  • The Boy from the In Between – 27:11
  • Hulda and the White Cake – 44:43

Michael’s Beer Pairings:

  • Guinness Draught, Guinness Ltd. (paired to Letter to Emma) – 5:22
  • Mango Mango Mango, Dugges Bryggeri & Stillwater Artisanal Ales (Paired to The Boy from the In Between) – 23:32
  • Cake’d Up Celebration Cake, Mankato Brewery (Paired to Hulda and the White Cake) – 41:08

Interview Highlights:

  • The story behind Letter to Emma – 13:35
  • Turning fact into fiction – 15:42
  • Developing as a writer; exercises and writers groups – 21:40
  • Hosting exchange students – 34:20
  • Perceptions of the Land of Snow – 35:35
  • What’s the deal with cake! – 50:01
  • The importance of telling our family stories – 52:26

COMING NEXT MONTH: 

Sandra Lynn Reed, author of The Drive in ’65

UPCOMING EVENTS:

  • Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology
  • Lisa Gurine will be one of three authors at a book signing, Maple Grove Lutheran Church, 9251 Elm Creek Blvd N, Maple Grove, MN, Sunday, November 8, 2020, 1 – 5 pm

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

If you liked this episode, you might also like these Books and Brews episodes:

HELP US GROW

If you enjoy our interviews or have benefited from them, we invite you to help us continue our work. It takes a great deal of time and money to produce Books and Brews. We’ve been doing interviews since January 2017 as a free service to authors. We continue to promote those authors on our social media for years after their interviews.

  • Subscribing, following, liking, commenting and sharing all help us to keep doing what we do.
  • A $5 tip helps us pay for our many expenses: Libsyn hosting, web hosting, Google meets, providing the drinks for the interview and the many hours of preparation and editing that go into each episode.
  • Patreon: patreon.com/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosika
  • Tip Jar: paypal.me/booksandbrewsMN
  • Books and Brews products:
    https://www.zazzle.com/store/books_an… (more to come)
  • Sponsor an episode to promote your product or service: contact us booksandbrewslive@gmail.com