Tag Archives: Novelist

Episode #58: Vampires & Haunts with Filmmaker Peter Andrew Sacco

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Books & Brews meets Peter Andrew Sacco. Peter is the author of 30 books, fiction and non-fiction and published on 4 continents. He is a resident expert and regular of Top 50 USA radio and TV markets including Fox, CBS, ABC, ESPN, Coast to Coast, iHeart and over 100 major radio and TV networks.

Peter is a multi-award-winning, director, cinematographer, actor and producer on 7 continents.
In addition to filmmaking & production, Peter has written more than 800 articles (self-help and fiction) appearing in major news media world- wide.

He has also been a university professor for 28 years, as well as being a psychologist, specializing in criminal psychology, sports psychology and addiction studies.

www.peterandrewsacco.com

Peter’s Readings:

·       Gummer, the World’s Last Toothless Vampire – 8:20

·       Meeting a Vampire Actor – 27:43

·       A Haunted Air BnB – 42:33

Chris’s Cocktail Pairings: 

·       Bloody Maru (paired to Gummer) – 5:57

·       Love Bite (paired to Meeting a Vampire Actor) – 26:00

·       The Haunted Mansion (paired to A Haunted Air BnB) – 39:45


Interview Highlights: 

·       Jack the Ripper/criminal profiling – 15:40

·       Music or criminal psychology? – 22:09

·       Adventuring in Antarctica!? – 31:53

·       Why are we drawn to vampires & zombies? – 34:03

·       From author to TV show host – 47:17

·       Scariest things seen–and why Peter quit the TV show – 48:29

COMING NEXT MONTH:

Join Books & Brews next month when we talk to Theresa Halvorsen, author of The Dad’s Playbook to Labor and Delivery and Warehouse Dreams and countless articles on pregnancy, birth and parenting. But her true love is speculative fiction.


In addition to writing, Theresa enjoys interacting with other writers and helps to produce a writing Podcast called the Semi Sages of the Pages She co-runs a writer’s group in Temecula that meets once a month, and belongs to various critique groups. 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

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

·       Laura will be selling her books, premium rabbit fertilizer & knit goods at Overhome Trading Post in ThornHill Tennessee, February 10, 2024

·       See Laura’s interview at Central Valley Talk

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 #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 #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 #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 #33: Shannyn Schroeder

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Sloane Steele is the pen name for Shannyn Schroeder. As Sloane, her Counterfeit Capers series of heist romances are her love letter to the TV show Leverage. As Shannyn, she writes contemporary romances about big families, both those created by blood and by choice. Her books are set in the city of Chicago because having grown up there and lived near the city her whole life, she writes what she knows. Shannyn is a part-time English teacher, part-time curriculum editor, and full-time mom, even though her kids are pretty self-sufficient teens. In her down time, she bakes cookies, reads romance, and watches far too much TV.
shannynschroeder.com

Shannyn’s Readings:

  • It Takes a Thief – 13:53
  • Catch Your Breath, O’ Leary Family #4 – 25:37
  • My Forever Plus-One, Daring Divorcees – 42:08

Michael’s Beer Pairings:

Interview Highlights:

  • The good thieves – 18:44
  • The name behind the beer (or What goes on in breweries?) – 23:52
  • Finding time to write with kids – 38:00
  • What is the attraction of reading about big families? – 32:14
  • Conflict in romance–when you’re with your best friend? – 48:24
  • Using two author names – 51:37

COMING NEXT MONTH: Sadira Stone, Romance Author.

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

Our theme music is from www.bensound.com.