Category Archives: Military

Books & Brews Light 1: The Exciting Life of a Spy Hunter!

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FIND ALANI’S INTERVIEW AT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

We are branching out with shorter and more frequent videos in addition to our full hour monthly podcast. Alani Bankhead is our first guest on our new format.

As a special agent, Alani hunted terrorists, traffickers and spies. She has arrested pedophiles, run human intelligence operations against Al Qaeda in Iraq, commanded a unit in Kuwait, and was the senior bodyguard responsible for all bodyguard ops to one of the most senior Pentagon officials.

After leaving active duty, Alani worked for the world’s largest anti-slavery organization overseeing their Latin American investigations, operations, and law enforcement training focused on child sexual abuse and the child sex trafficking.

Despite these accomplishments, as a petite, 5’3” female who looked much younger than she was, she also struggled with Imposter Syndrome. Overcoming that, she has gone on to counsel others to overcome the same feelings. Her book The Least of Us: How Your Imposter Syndrome Points to Your Greatest Power came out a year ago and became a best seller.

Join in to see what drink is perfect for talking about Imposter Syndrome and hear Alani’s story.

IF YOU ENJOYED ALANI’S INTERVIEW YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

The Forty Thieves of Saipan

Sandy Hanna: First Row Seats to Vietnam’s Coup

How Bob Met Chiang Kai-Shek

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

Laura will be at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, TN on October 26 and 27

See Laura’s recent interviews at Central Valley Talk and Rob andJoan Carter at INDIE NOVEL SOURCE

Find more about Alani at: https://www.mightysparrowcoaching.com/ 

Coming soon: Alani’s Humble Warrior podcast.

If you’d like to be a guest, contact us at our facebook page or instagram:   / bksandbrews    / booknbrews  

If you enjoy meeting our guests, please like and share our videos and subscribe to help us grow. A $5 tip helps us pay 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/BooksandBrewswithLauraVosikaandMichaelAgnew

* 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

Our bumper music is from bensound.com

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