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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

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 #61: Adventure, Antics and Chiang Kai-Shek with Bob Heath

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Robert Heath grew up in different places around the world, beginning in Japan in the late ‘40s. Robert and his eight siblings followed the assignments of their father, a sergeant in the U.S. Army.  He ultimately became an educator for 37 years, serving all grade levels from Pre-K through doctoral programs in South and North Carolina.  He now lives in the mountains of NC, where he loves writing and hiking. You can find him at face book at BratBob3of9

We talk about Bob’s adventures growing up in Taiwan, Japan, Germany and the United States, with one sister and seven brothers, life as a military brat, the fun of large families and lots of boys and the antics kids get up to behind mom’s back, U.S. history, bullying…and the day Bob was captured by Chiang Kai-Shek’s soldiers and brought face with the military leader himself!

Tune in for a fun conversation and great beer!

Bob’s Readings:

00:00 Start

08:56 How About a Date?

25:54 Swinging

43:03 Captured by Enemy Soldiers!

Chris’s Beer Pairings: 

07:52 Bell’s Smitten

23:29 Masthead’s Tire Swing

39:54 Great Leap’s The Hidden General

Interview Highlights: 

12:36 How Bob’s mother asked out his future mother-in-law

14:47 The stories mom never knew about–and how they led to a book

18:49 US history through personal experience

33:27 Americans in Japan two years after Hiroshima

36:26 Culture shock on returning to your own country

48:40 Do military parents make a point of not talking politics with brats?

51:16 Wild and free: military life or the times?

COMING NEXT MONTH: 

  • Sharon Bennett Connolly has been fascinated by history for over 40 years and was recently elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, ‘in recognition of your contribution to historical scholarship.’ She’s studied history academically and just for fun and even worked as a tour guide at historical sites. One Christmas her husband gave her…a blog – and she hasn’t looked back. The blog has given her the chance to share the history she loves – the stories themselves, and the places they happened.
    And in 2017 she completed her first non-fiction book, Heroines of the Medieval World.

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 May 10, 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

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

If you liked this interview, you might also like:

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:

Books and Brews Episode #53: A Magical White House Pub with Dan Coonan

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Books and Brews meets with Dan Coonan author of Presidential Spirits

Books and Brews: the place where beer and literature meet!

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.

We talked about presidential history, presidential dogs and instruments and the pressing question of whether any president can unite this country. What do you think?

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

OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

The Real John Quincy with MB Zucker

Adventures, Antics, and Chiang-Kai Sheck with Bob Heath

Time Travel, Sci-Fi and Woodstock with Beth Duke

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 

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

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