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.

Episode #48: Sharlene MacLaren

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Born and raised in west Michigan, Sharlene MacLaren attended Spring Arbor University. Upon graduating with an education degree, she taught second grade for two years then accepted an invitation to travel internationally for a year with a singing ensemble. In1975, she returned to teaching and married her childhood sweetheart. They’ve raised two lovely daughters, both of whom are now happily married and enjoying their own families. Retired since 2003 after 31 years of teaching, “Shar” loves to read, sing, travel, and spend time with her family, in particular her wonderful, adorable grandchildren.
sharlenecaclaren.com

Sharlene’s Readings:

  • Dear Mr. Griffin – 9:30
  • Calm Down! – 25:10
  • Vandalism at the Church – 39:56

Michael’s Beer Pairings: 

Interview Highlights: 

  • Can secrets ever really be kept? – 15:46
  • The decision never to write historical fiction–how did it go! – 17:40
  • From passing stories in high school to writing professionally. – 19:27
  • Differing experiences with anti-Japanese prejudice after WWII – 30:39
  • International singing tour! – 36:22
  • Do we step down for all our mistakes? – 44:30

COMING NEXT MONTH: Margaret J. Anderson author of children’s novels, the time travel that inspired Laura’s own books, and non-fiction about bugs 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

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Episode #47: Elizabeth Tucker

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Elizabeth Tucker is a Distinguished Service Professor of English at Binghamton University who specializes in children’s and adolescents’ folklore, folklore of the supernatural, and legends. Her books include Campus Legends: A Handbook, Haunted Halls: Ghostlore of American College Campuses, Children’s Folklore: A Handbook; Haunted Southern Tier; and New York State Folklife Reader: Diverse Voices, co-edited with Ellen McHale (2013). She is co-author of Legend Trips: A Contemporary Legend Handbook (2018). She has edited Children’s Folklore Review and served as president of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research and the Children’s Folklore Section of the American Folklore Society; she is also a Fellow of the American Folklore Society. For several years she has written a column on play for the International Journal of Play. She loves to travel and go on legend trips.
https://tinyurl.com/LibbyTucker  

Elizabeth’s Readings:

  • The Wedding Cake House – 11:14
  • Minnehaha’s Ghost – 25:49
  • The Ghost in the Machine – 42:13

Michael’s Beer Pairings:

Interview Highlights:

  • Suzie the ghostly bride—benevolent or malicious? – 14:00
  • Why are stories of shadow creatures increasing? – 16:45
  • Do campus ghost stories serve a function?
  • College increases belief in ghosts?! – 38:00
  • Why call for the ghost of an angry woman? – 30:11
  • Tina…the mischievous doll joins the program! – 49:03

COMING NEXT MONTH: Sharlene MacLaren

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

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Episode #46: Jane Cable

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Eva Glyn writes emotional women’s fiction inspired by beautiful places and the stories they hide. She loves to travel and her last trip before the covid lockdowns was to Croatia, where she met a man with an incredible story of growing up during the country’s Homeland War in in 1990s. It inspired The Olive Grove, set on the island of Korcula. Two more Croatian novels have followed, both taking their inspiration from the Second World War. An Island of Secrets was published in 2022 and The Collaborator’s Daughter will follow in 2023. Her books are published by Harper Collins imprint One More Chapter. Eva lives in Cornwall, although she considers herself Welsh, and has been lucky enough to have been married to the love of her life for more than twenty-five years. She also writes as Jane Cable
www.janecable.com

Jane’s Readings:

  • The Olive Grove – 14:24
  • An Island of Secrets – 27:51
  • The Collaborator’s Daughter – 42:10

Michael’s Beer Pairings:

Interview Highlights:

  • How a tour guide led to a book – 21:32
  • Why use two author names? – 24:53
  • Tito and alliances in WWII – 33:37
  • Why some eras draw us more than others – 37:08
  • “The past isn’t always what it seems.” – 50:05
  • “Men are not one thing; they are many things.” – 52:43

COMING NEXT MONTH: Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Tucker, folklore

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

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Episode #45: Jen Gilroy

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Jen Gilroy writes women’s fiction for Orion Dash and sweet western romance for Harlequin Heartwarming—uplifting stories about women finding home, family and new beginnings–and finding themselves too. She’s a Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist and was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon award. A dual British-Canadian citizen, Jen lived in England for many years and earned a doctorate in geography, focusing on British cultural studies and social history, from University College London. She worked in higher education and marketing before becoming a full-time writer. She now lives in small-town Ontario, Canada with her husband, teenage daughter and floppy-eared rescue hound. When not writing, she enjoys reading, ballet and paddling her purple kayak.
www.jengilroy.com

Jen’s Readings:

  • Tearing up the Ticket – 12:53
  • DNA…Surprise! – 27:11
  • From Canadian Schoolgirl to French spy – 42:07

Michael’s Beer Pairings:

Interview Highlights:

  • How an elderly aunt’s “What if?” led to a book – 19:03
  • RAF ‘Sweetheart Jewelry’ – 22:56
  • How often do DNA tests shock people? – 31:18
  • Ballet! — Does Jen dance or watch? – 37:23
  • Researching the French Resistance – 47:01
  • Coming back to writing – 51:15

COMING NEXT MONTH: Eva Glyn, romance and relationships

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

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Episode #44: Christina Courtenay

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Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes.  Hidden in the Mists (timeslip/dual time romance published by Headline Review 18th August 2022) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).
Christina Courtenay

Christina’s Readings:

  • Battle at Orkneyjar, 883 AD – 15:04
  • Skye Sees a Ghost, present day – 28:40
  • Ottarr Catches Asta Burying Treasures, 880 AD – 45:10

Michael’s Beer Pairings: 

Interview Highlights: 

  • Genealogy and wonky family lines! – 9:55
  • The appeal of time travel and dual time stories – 21:17
  • Vikings and Old Norse – 24:30
  • Life on a farm – 32:32
  • Sheep and trombones?! – 33:47
  • Our judgments on others – 49:17

COMING NEXT MONTH: Jen Gilroy, author of romance and women’s fiction

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

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Episode #43: Connie Kinsey

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Connie Kinsey is a former military brat who has put down deep roots in a converted barn on a dirt road at the top of a hill in West Virginia. She lives with two dogs and a cat, and is pursuing happiness, one cup of coffee at a time. Primarily a memoirist, the events of her life permeate her work. Her fiction is sometimes described as autofiction because it incorporates autobiography in a fictionalized form with endings far from the truth of what really happened. In January of 2021, Connie was thrilled to be selected as one of two Writers-in-Residence for the Museum of the American Military Family & Learning Center. She works full-time with a children’s nonprofit. 
wvfurandroot.com
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Connie’s Readings:

  • Redemption – 13:05
  • Being a Brat – 28:30
  • Chapter 5 from Black Fishnets and Combat Boots – 43:36

Michael’s Beer Pairings:

  • Grapefruit Supreme, Surly Brewing Company (paired to Redemption) – 10:38
  • Crunkle Sam Barleywine, Clown Shoes (paired to Being a Brat) – 25:32
  • Budweiser, ABInBev (paired to Chapter 5 from Black Fishnets and Combat Boots) – 40:55

Interview Highlights:

  • Faulkner chicks and Tennessee Williams chicks! – 16:52
  • And what about Appalachian chicks? – 19:11
  • Why West Virginia? – 23:17
  • The effects of growing up military – 36:08
  • The Museum of the American Military Family – 36:48
  • The story behind Black Fishnets – 48:24
  • Writing dark comedy—humor with a serious message – 53:55

COMING NEXT MONTH:  Christina Courtenay, author of historical fiction, time slip, and time travel

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

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Episode #42: Robert Bidinotto

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Robert Bidinotto is author of the bestselling Dylan Hunter vigilante thriller series. Robert’s debut novel, HUNTER, soared to the top of the Kindle bestseller list and was a Wall Street Journal “Top 10 Fiction Ebook.” Its sequel, BAD DEEDS, became a #1 Audible thriller. The third installment in the series is the gripping political suspense novel WINNER TAKES ALL. Before turning to fiction, Robert produced decades of award-winning nonfiction journalism. He earned a national reputation as an authority on crime while writing investigative articles for Reader’s Digest. One of those was named a finalist for a National Magazine Award, by the American Society of Magazine Editors. Robert also wrote two acclaimed nonfiction books about criminal justice. As editor of The New Individualist magazine, he won the prestigious Folio gold “Eddie” Award, for editorial excellence. Robert lives on the Chesapeake Bay, where he is writing the further adventures of Dylan Hunter.
www.bidinotto.com

Robert’s Readings:

  • The Funeral – 12:02
  • from Bad Deeds – 29:05
  • from Winner Takes All – 46:08

Michael’s Beer Pairings:

Interview Highlights:

  • Why Robert didn’t narrate! – 16:33
  • Good people, bad deeds, and enablers – 18:48
  • The vigilante character in history – 35:02
  • Dylan Hunter–a different sort of vigilante – 37:30
  • The genesis of Dylan Hunter – 50:09
  • On justice – 54:13

COMING NEXT MONTH:  Connie Kinsey, memoirist and Writers-in-Residence for the Museum of the American Military Family & Learning Center.

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

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.

Episode #41: Nancie Laird Young

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Nancie Laird Young grew up as an Army BRAT and traveled with her family across the United States, Europe and the Far East. Eventually she grew up, married (twice), had three great daughters, and various careers in human services, academic administration, advocacy for people with disabilities. These led to contributions to books and magazine articles about the Internet, which eventually led to positions in Community/Social Media Management, Content Development, and Strategy at WashingtonPost.com, Edmunds.com, LifetimeTV.com, and AOL/Time Warner among others. After leaving the corporate world she moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, presumably to care for her aging father. The story of how she reconnected with her father and rediscovered herself is the topic of her memoir Tea with Dad, Finding Myself in My Father’s Life (Green Writers Press/Green Place Books, June 2021). Young is principle among others in the formation of a new small, independent press expected to open for submissions in late 2023.
www.nancielairdyoung.com

Nancie’s Readings:

  • Moving Home from the Prologue – 11:54
  • No More Baseball – 27:37
  • About the Heart – 42:01

Michael’s Beer Pairings:

Interview Highlights:

  • Compromising—again – 18:35
  • Thinking about death – 33:05
  • A good life–being satisfied – 47:05
  • Getting to know our parents – 51:08

COMING NEXT MONTH: Robert Bidinotto, Vigilante Author

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.