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Episode #59: Hauntings, Portals & a Wicked Queen with Theresa Halvorsen

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Theresa Halvorsen, author and publisher of speculative fiction.

Theresa Halvorsen has a “don’t tell me I can’t do that,” attitude about life and is an author, publisher, editor, and YouTuber. She’s ‌overly-caffeinated and at times, wine-soaked. The author of multiple cross-genre works, including Warehouse Dreams, Lost Aboard and River City Widows, Theresa wonders what sleep is. She’s the owner of No Bad Books Press and one of the hosts of the popular YouTube channel, the Semi-Sages of the Pages.

In whatever free time is left, (ha!) Theresa enjoys board games, concerts, geeky conventions, and reading. Her life goal is to give “Oh-My-Gosh-This-Book-Is-So-Good!” happiness to her readers.

She lives in Temecula with her husband, her adult children, their partners (she has no idea who actually lives in her house and who’s just visiting) and many pets. Find her at  www.theresaHauthor.com and on Tiktok and Facebook. 

Theresa’s Readings:

·       Wonderland’s Mad Queen – 8:57

·       River City Widows, Chapter 1 – 23:52

·       Riding the El – 42:55

Chris’s Cocktail Pairings: 

·       Queen of Hearts (paired to Wonderlands’ Mad Queen) – 7:20

·       River City (paired to River City Widows, Chapter 1) – 21:41

·       The El (paired to Riding the El) – 40:21


Interview Highlights: 

·       Building a career as an indie author – 15:08

·       The Dad’s Playbook to Labor and Delivery – 16:09

·       The ghost at Lochranza Castle – 31:36

·       PTSD: victimization, responsibility, blame and trauma – 36:07

·       Stories of portals: are we seeking escape? – 48:40

·       Houses as inspiration – 52:00

COMING NEXT MONTH: 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. 

He currently has two more projects underway.

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

·       See Laura’s interview at Central Valley Talk

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

·       Theresa will be at Wondercon in Anaheim: March 29-31

·       LA Festival of Books: April 20-21

·       Comic-Con Revolution in Ontario: May 18-19

·       Comic-Con San Diego: July 25-28

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

If you liked this interview, you might also like:

Episode #57: Alien Abduction and Family Secrets with Stephanie Sanders-Jacob

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Stephanie Sanders-Jacob is an author and artist from Sandusky, Ohio. Her alien abduction novel, Singing All the Way Up, debuted with No Bad Books Press in July 2023. Her short fiction has been featured by Books of Horror, Hearth & Coffin, Mixer, Mosaic, and Ether Arts.

You can find her online at www.sandersjacob.com

You can find her artwork at www.rabbitandrain.com


Stephanie’s Readings:

  • Things were better before I killed my dad – 8:28
  • Airship, 1897 – 28:51
  • Running from the fighting – 44:50  

Chris’s Cocktail Pairings:

  • Freak Show (paired to Things were better before I killed my dad)– 6:18
  • Aviation (paired to Airship, 1897) – 25:35
  • International Incident (paired to Running from the fighting) – 42:32

Interview Highlights:

  • Was Laura really abducted? Seeking truth in our own lives – 14:19
  • A story about UFOs — with universal themes – 15:36
  • Watershed years: coincidence…or more? – 31:26
  • Scientific theories on UFOs: Jung vs Vallee – 33:36
  • Stephanie’s alien/UFO inspired jewelry – 39:25
  • Family, relationships, kindness, truth – 49:31

COMING NEXT MONTH: Peter Sacco, award-winning film producer, director, writer on 7 continents!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 
Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEME: MUSIC. See www.gabrielshornpress.com/poetry-anthology 

Laura — 

Stephanie — 

  • Punk Rock Flea Market Lorain: 4/28 at the soccer sportsplex in North Olmsted
  • Punk Rock Flea Market Akron: 5/4 at the summit county fairgrounds
  • Norwalk Public Library: date to be announced

Find us at —

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

photos of author Stephanie Sanders-Jacob and Books and Brews

Check out some of our other interviews with authors of the strange and paranormal:

Jeff LaFerney

Bob Miller

Elizabeth Tucker

Margaret Anderson

Christina Courtenay

Episode #56: The Real John Quincy with M.B. Zucker

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Books and Brews talks with M.B. Zucker.

M. B. Zucker has been interested in storytelling for as long as he can remember. He devoted himself to historical fiction at fifteen and earned his B.A. at Occidental College and his J.D. at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He lives in Virginia with his family. He is the author of four novels: The Eisenhower Chronicles, A Great Soldier in the Last Great War, Theodore Roosevelt and the Hunt for the Liopleurodon, and The Middle Generation: A Novel of John Quincy Adams and the Monroe Doctrine. Among his honors is the Best Fictional Biography Award at the 2023 BookFest.

M. B. (Michael) Zucker has been interested in storytelling for as long as he can remember. He devoted himself to historical fiction at fifteen and earned his B.A. at Occidental College and his J.D. at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He lives in Virginia with his family. He is the author of four novels: The Eisenhower Chronicles, A Great Soldier in the Last Great War, Theodore Roosevelt and the Hunt for the Liopleurodon, and The Middle Generation: A Novel of John Quincy Adams and the Monroe Doctrine. Among his honors is the Best Fictional Biography Award at the 2023 BookFest.

www.mbzucker.com

Michael’s Readings:

  • Meeting the Elder Adams – 8:53
  • The Holy Alliance – 27:53
  • JQA Helps an Enslaved Woman – 42:46

Chris’s Cocktail Pairings:

  • Old Gimlet Eye (paired to Meeting the Elder Adams)– 6:03
  • Hot Ale Flip (paired to The Holy Alliance) – 23:56
  • Mint Julep – 38:29

Interview Highlights:

  • Parents and pressure to be president – 17:17
  • Can our country unite? – 21:50
  • Writing and publishing from age 14 – 20:05
  • Summing up the Monroe Doctrine – 33:03
  • Founding Fathers’ intentions regarding slavery – 47:21
  • How JQA spent a night in the snow to find his brilliant idea – 52:06

COMING NEXT MONTH: Theresa Halvorsen, paranormal and pregnancy!

UPCOMING EVENTS: Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEME: MUSIC

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

If you liked this interview, you might also like:

Episode #55: MJ Williams Murder on the Road

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Books and Brews meets the writing duo, MJ Williams. They are Peggy Joque Williams and Mary Joy Johnson. Peggy is a freelance writer and book editor. 
 
A retired elementary school teacher, Peggy has taught creative writing classes and workshops for Madison College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Continuing Studies. She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Sisters in Crime, and the Wisconsin Writers Association.

She will be debuting her first solo historical novel, Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles, next May (2024), to be published by Black Rose Writing.

Mary Joy is a retired professor of writing. 

Together they co-wrote and independently published two mystery novels centering on Emily and Stan Remington who travel the country in their RV — On the Road to Death’s Door, a Wisconsin Library Association award winner, and On the Road to Where the Bells Toll.

MJ’s Readings:

  • Surprise in the Rug – 11:29
  • An Explosive Fourth of July – 27:26
  • Calamity at Storrow Bridge – 43:10

Chris’s Cocktail Pairings:

  • When the Kids are Away (paired to Surprise in the Rug) – 8:39
  • Blue Independence (paired to An Explosive Fourth of July) – 24:10
  • The Boston (paired to Calamity at Storrow Bridge) – 39:43

Interview Highlights:

  • How Non-RVers came to write about RVing – 16:45
  • Writing as a team – 19:50
  • Is Pelltier based on…? – 23:10
  • Using a historic event in fiction – 34:02
  • RV horror stories – 50:30
  • Daughters of the King – 53:10

COMING NEXT MONTH: MB Zucker, author of political and historical fiction

UPCOMING EVENTS: Gabriel’s Horn is accepting submissions for its anthology NEW THEME: MUSIC

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

If you liked this interview, you might also like:

Episode #54: Ancient times and cursed coins to pirates with Ralph E. Jarrells

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Books and Brews checks in with author Ralph Jarrells. RALPH JARRELLS became an author after retirement from more than four decades in marketing, advertising, and publishing, much of it in senior executive positions. He writes mostly historical fiction with religious themes. His first book was published August 4, 2017 when he was 75—a great example that you’re never too old to start a new chapter in your life. 

His firth book, The Essential Last Supper debuted this month.

Ralph’s Readings:

  ·       Three Kings – 11:55

  ·      A Lady and a Pirate – 41:05

  ·       Fighting Like a Little Girl – 46:55

Chris’s Pairings: 

  ·      Goliath (paired to Three Kings) – 9:06

  ·      Sweet Tea and Vodka (paired to A Lady and a Pirate) – 31:35

  ·       Rum and Grog (paired to Fighting Like a Little Girl) – 46:55

   Interview Highlights: 

  ·       Did Jesus & Judas know each other in Egypt? – 18:10

  ·       Did he really do it for the money? – 21:48

  ·       Lady vs Pirate – 41:05

  ·       From the Bible to piracy – 42:31

COMING NEXT MONTH: MJ Williams, the sister-in-law mystery-writing team

UPCOMING EVENTS:

  ·        Gabriel’s Horn is  accepting submissions for its anthology. This year’s theme is: MUSIC

 Our theme music is from www.bensound.com 

If you liked this episode you might also like:

Episode #53: Dan Coonan

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DAN COONAN has worn many hats through the years – Conference Commissioner, Athletic Director, CEO, Attorney, Novelist, Senior Congressional Campaign Advisor, Fundraiser, Nonprofit Chairman of the Board, College Adjunct Professor, Political Essayist, Youth Sports Coach, Bartender, Batting Practice Pitcher, Wedding Officiant, Dock Talk Facilitator, devoted husband and father.  

His books are Presidential Spirits: Part history lesson, part magical realism these well-researched books imagine conversations of all 45 presidents in a saloon stocked with any drink you want, located above the private quarters of the White House and accessible only to presidents – and a few colorful wait staff- through a secret portal.

Dan’s Readings:

  ·       First Night in the Secret Saloon – 9:58

  ·      Teddy Roosevelt: a soft easy life is not worth living – 28:20

  ·       FDR on Churchill – 48:13

Chris’s Pairings: 

  ·      Manhattan (paired to First Night in the Secret Saloon) – 6:40

  ·      Old Fashioned (paired to Teddy Roosevelt) – 25:29

  ·       Bohemian (paired to FDR on Churchill) – 43:25

   Interview Highlights: 

  ·       Beyond the basic plots – 14:50

  ·       Author as main character – 21:49

  ·       What would you ask presidents? – 23:58

  ·       Carrie Nation axing the bars – 32:03

  ·       CAN we come together? – 34:35

  ·       Finding the positive in others – 53:07

COMING NEXT MONTH: Ralph Jarrels, religious-based fiction, Jesus and Judas, Best Friends Forever

 UPCOMING EVENTS:

  ·        Gabriel’s Horn is  accepting submissions for its anthology. This year’s theme is: MUSIC

 Our theme music is from www.bensound.com 

Episode #52: Karen Essex

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KAREN ESSEX is an award winning, bestselling author of six books including Leonardo’s Swans & Stealing Athena. She has recently co-written a pilot based on her two-volume novel, Kleopatra, for Netflix, which Lauren Hissrich, creator of The Witcher franchise, will executive produce. She adapted Anne Rice’s The Mummy for James Cameron and Fox Studios and collaborated on adapting her novel Dracula in Love as a series for A&E Studios & Lifetime.

She just completed a historical novel about the fabulous Gabor sisters, the first global fashion and glamour influencers, and she’s determined to enjoy her summer.

Karen’s Readings:

  ·       The Great Egyptian Parade –

  ·       Seeking the Cat Killer –

  ·       The Gabors in Desperate Times –

Chris’s Pairings: 

  ·      Winter Wine (paired to The Great Egyptian Parade) –

  ·       Honey Mint Whiskey Smash (paired to Seeking the Cat Killer) –

  ·       Forget Me Not (paired to The Gabors in Desperate Times) –

   Interview Highlights: 

  ·       The importance of research –

  ·       Cleopatra (Kleopatra) vs Liz Taylor –

  ·       From costume design to VP of production! –

  ·       Evil in the world–or evil in us? –

  ·       The many marriages of the Gabor sisters –

  ·       Alexandria in the Bay –

COMING NEXT MONTH: Dan Coonan, Presidential Spirits in which our 45th president

 UPCOMING EVENTS:

  ·        Gabriel’s Horn is  accepting submissions for its anthology. This year’s theme is: MUSIC

  ·       Check out Karen’s upcoming trip with readers to the Italian sites in Leonardo’s Swans

 Our theme music is from www.bensound.com 

Episode #51: PTL Perrin

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Military brat, voracious reader, and now writing books in her favorite genre, Patty Perrin who writes as PTL Perrin grew up in Europe and speaks several languages. A misfit by any account, Patty shares her love for people, Native cultures, our amazing world, alien encounters, astounding mysteries, and the Creator of it all in her writing.

Author of Reflections of a Misfit, an inspirational collection of faith journey snippets, and the four-book TetraPhere series, Patty is working on another YA Scifi/Fantasy series. She enjoys living in Florida and loves her husband and her large and diverse family.

www.ptlperrin.org

Patty’s Readings:

  ·       The Warning – 9:30

  ·       Terra’s Call: Jewel – 25:10

  ·       Reflections of a Misfit – 39:56

Chris’s Pairings: 

  ·      Mind Eraser (paired to The Warning) – 6:49

  ·       Chocolate Raspberry Martini (paired to Terra’s Call: Jewel) – 22:20

  ·       Summer on Corfu (paired to Reflections of a Misfit) – 38:18

   Interview Highlights: 

  ·       Tetrachromats – 12:00

  ·       Dragons and Atlantis – 15:13

  ·       A Night at Frankenstein’s Castle – 31:46

  ·       Best Marketing Practices – 34:35

  ·       Mutli-lingual and…a new island? – 44:45

  ·       Advice to Misfits – 48:19

COMING NEXT MONTH: Karen Essex, international best-selling author of historical fiction and more

 UPCOMING EVENTS:

  ·        Gabriel’s Horn is  accepting submissions for its anthology. This year’s theme is: MUSIC

  ·       Laura will be giving a Pub Talk at the Kitchi-Gammi Club in Duluth

 Our theme music is from www.bensound.com 

Episode #50: Bjorn Erickson, Brewer

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This month at Books & Brews, with Michael on sabbatical, Laura and Dr. Chris Powell visit Hoops Brewery in Duluth, MN. We talked with Bjorn Erickson, one of the brewers about brewing…and books. Bjorn had a great story about how he got from earning a degree in German to brewing beer. We talked about the blending of science and artistry, the hard parts of being a brewer, and the reasons Bjorn loves his job, and the numerous books and genres Bjorn reads.

If you’re in Duluth, we highly recommend stopping at Hoops Brewery, a family friendly place with lots of games for families and kids. You can bring your own food or get pretzels from Hoops with lots of great sauces.
Hoops Brewery

The Beer We Drank: 

  • Laura — 88 Stout
  • Chris — 5050 Hefeweizen
  • Bjorn — 889 Cream Ale

Interview Highlights:

  • Lake Superior, granite, and brewing — 4:07
  • The road from a degree in German to brewing — 8:45
  • On becoming a brewer — 10:00
  • Telling a story with beer — 14:08
  • Reading in High Middle German — 27:34
  • The tour begins — 41:42

COMING NEXT MONTH: 

PTL Perrin is a military brat, voracious reader, and now writes books under the name PTL Perrin in her favorite genre, YA sci-fi/ fantasy. P.T.L. Perrin, grew up in Europe and speaks several languages.

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Episode #49: Margaret Anderson

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I grew up in Scotland, graduating from Edinburgh University with a degree in genetics. Back then, genetics was all about statistics and probability. So, I became a statistician until I took up the more chancy career of writing children’s books. Exploring the Insect World was published nearly 50 years ago. I then switched to time-slip fantasies and historical fiction. I’ve written nature-activity books, biographies, and more books about insects, which I now look on as my true calling. I married an entomologist. When you share your home, and sometimes your refrigerator, with insects you realize they need an advocate in our world! 
Margaret J. Anderson – Homepage (peak.org) 

Margaret’s Readings:

  • Dung Beetle/Scarab Beetle – 12:16
  • Ollie Falls into Another Time – 26:52
  • Saving the Duck or Destroying Books? – 42:12

Michael’s Beer Pairings: 

Interview Highlights: 

  • Making the study of dung beetles INTERESTING! – 15:48
  • Where did those character’s names come from!? – 20:20
  • Thoughts on Smailholm being restored since In the Keep of Time was written. – 31:07
  • Why are we drawn to switching identities? – 35:21
  • What really happened to Danny Duck? – 45:35
  • Taking things in stride as an adult…good or bad? – 47:17

COMING NEXT MONTH: While Michael takes a hiatus, Laura and Chris will visit a local brewery

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.