Novelist Spotlight: Recent Episodes
Mike Consol
Novelist Spotlight is a gathering place for people interested in reading and writing great fiction and literature. This is where you will hear from the authors who write the novels and learn of their motivations, writing process, characters, struggles and successes. Novelist Spotlight is hosted by Mike Consol, a lifelong journalist and author of four novels.
In the spotlight is Cormac McCarthy, the famed novelist who died June 13 of this year at age 89. He is remembered during this episode by Steven Frye, an author, professor of American literature, and chairman of the English department at California State University, Bakersfield. His books include the titles “Understanding Cormac McCarthy,” “The Cambridge Companion to Cormac McCarthy” and “Cormac McCarthy in Context.” He is also the author of the novel "Dogwood Crossing."
We discuss Cormac McCarthy’s:
Background
Career trajectory
Seminal novels
Significance
Writing style and regimen
Aversion to publicity
Etc.
Learn more about Cormac McCarthy here: https://www.cormacmccarthy.com
Learn more about Steven Frye here: https://www.stevenfrye.org
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight are Kurt Vonnegut and American literature professor and researcher Susan Farrell, who is also founding member of the International Kurt Vonnegut Society. Her research in the past few years has focused largely on American war literature, and her most recent book is titled “Imagining Home: American War Fiction from Hemingway to 9/11.”
We discuss:
Vonnegut’s body of work
The apex of his literary career
His place in literary history
His time in Dresden
Mark Twain and Tim O’Brien
The International Kurt Vonnegut Society
Home and family life
Etc.
Learn more about Kurt Vonnegut here: http://blogs.cofc.edu/vonnegut/
Learn more about Susan Farrell here: https://english.cofc.edu/faculty-staff-listing/farrell-susan.php
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Josh Rutherford, whose experience growing up in a multigenerational, multiracial environment inspired him to create characters that are diverse and complex, while addressing sensitive issues of race, ethnicity, and class. His latest fantasy series is titled The Fourpointe Chronicles.
We discuss:
Screenwriting versus novel writing
The power of authenticity in dialogue
The Christian Authors Network
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Game of Thrones
The Fourpointe Chronicles fantasy series
Personal development
Etc.
Learn more about Josh Rutherford here: https://tinyurl.com/5n76n24j
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is the author of “My Magnolia Summer,” Victoria Benton Frank, who has followed in the footsteps of her mother (Dorothea Benton Frank) by becoming a novelist. Victoria was born in New York City, raised in Montclair, N.J., but considers herself to have dual residency in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. She is a graduate of the College of Charleston and the French Culinary Institute. She worked in restaurants in New York City before moving to Charleston, S.C., where she lives with her husband and two kids. When she isn’t writing, you can find Victoria reading, cooking, or attending to her children.
We discuss:
Mother’s influence
Nightly dreams
StorytellingHer favored social media platform
Acting and ballet
French and Italian cooking and eating
Life as a New York chef
Southern sensibilities
Etc.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Mike Consol, producer and host of Novelist Spotlight started this project with an objective in mind. In one sense the objective was achieved; in another sense there was a surprising failure. Then came the “one paragraph” concept, and things were set back on course.
Mike Consol is the author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Amy Young who, after spending a decade in Los Angeles working in the entertainment industry, returned to her native Cleveland and embarked on a career as a novelist. Her debut effort, “The Water Tower,” was released in June 2023, and she is currently at work on her second novel, another thriller.
We discuss:
Writing first drafts dominated by dialog
The 5,000 word target
The website Story Grid
Acting and cinematic writing
Doing standup comedy
Etc.
Learn more about Amy Young here: https://authoramyyoung.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Meg Mitchell Moore, a summer reads novelist who worked for years as a journalist before turning to fiction. Moore — who lives in the coastal town of Newburyport, Mass., with her husband and their three daughters — has released her latest novel, “Summer Stage,” described as a spirited summer page turner that follows a family of actors grappling with fame, scandal and ambition. It is Moore’s eighth novel.
We discuss:
Rotating points of view
The definition of “summer reads”
The first big break
Making the transition from journalism to novel writing
Growing up a Navy brat
The “mom squad”
Ellen Hildebrand
The White Lotus
Walking the line between darkness and light
Etc.
Learn more about Meg Mitchell Moore here: http://www.megmitchellmoore.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Taylor Adams graduated from Eastern Washington University with the Excellence in Screenwriting Award and the Edmund G. Yarwood Award. He is the author of several acclaimed thrillers including HAIRPIN BRIDGE and NO EXIT, the latter of which has been published in 32 languages and was recently adapted by 20th Century Studios as a Hulu original film. His latest novel is titled THE LAST WORD.
We discuss:
40,000-word outlines
The 2,000 word per day habit
Writing female characters
Finding a British publishing house
Dean Koontz and Stephen King
Becoming a full-time writer
Advice to aspiring authors
Etc.
Learn more about Taylor Adams here: https://tayloradamsauthor.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Graham Greene, one of the most influential and celebrated British writers of his generation. Greene's career spanned 67 years, during which he authored more than 25 novels that explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. He was awarded the Shakespeare Prize in 1968, the Jerusalem Prize in 1981, and was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize several times.
Some of his big titles included:
Brighton Rock
The End of the Affair
The Power and the Glory
The Comedians
Our Man in Havana
The Heart of the Matter
Etc.
Learn more about Graham Greene here: https://grahamgreenebt.org/ and here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Greene
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Think about the great sea-based novels throughout history: “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville comes to mind, as does “The Old Man and the Sea,” by Ernest Hemingway, “The Boat” by Lothar-Günther Buchheim, or even “The Hunt for Red October” by Tom Clancy. In that same tradition comes seafaring novelist Robin Lloyd, author of “Rough Passage to London,” “Harbor of Spies” and, his latest tale, “Hidden Cargo.”
We discuss:
Growing up in St. Croix, Virgin Islands
Sailing the Caribbean
The ocean’s hypnotic effect
His years as a TV journalist
Working the dairy farm and milk plant
Cuban history and the Cuban people
Near-death experiences
The key link between journalism and fiction writing
Etc.
Learn more about Robin Lloyd here: https://www.robinlloyd.org/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is David Rosenfelt, author of dozens of canine-influenced Andy Carpenter novels with titles including “Bark of Night,” “Citizen K-9,” “Dog Tags” and “Dog Eat Dog.” Rosenfelt spent years in the movie business and then wrote TV movie scripts before trying his hand at authoring legal and investigative novels with a comedic flair.
We discuss:
The movie and TV business
Comedic writing
Doubling sales with canine covers
Rescuing dogs by the dozens
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Grover Gardener
Etc.
Learn more about David Rosenfelt here: https://davidrosenfelt.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Andre Dubus III — bestselling author of nine books including “House of Sand and Fog,” “The Garden of Last Days,” “Bluesman” and the memoir “Townie” — is out with his latest novel, “Such Kindness.” Dubus was a finalist for the National Book Award (for “House of Sand and Fog”), has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, The National Magazine Award for Fiction, Two Pushcart Prizes, and an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature. His books are published in more than 25 languages, and he teaches full-time at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Fontaine, a modern dancer, and their three children.
We discuss:
His hardscrabble upbringing
Boxing, bullying and aversion to violence
Andre Dubus II
The mystical writing experience
Affinity for Persian culture
Getting discovered by Oprah Winfrey
Forthcoming work
Teaching writing
Etc.
Learn more about Andre Dubus III here: https://www.andredubus.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Toronto-based novelist and cinephile Heather Babcock, whose debut novel “Filthy Sugar” features a libertine lesbian protagonist who models at Blondell’s department store by day and dances at the Apple Bottom burlesque theater by night — all the while obsessing over the mysterious Apple Bottom proprietor who trades under the name Mr. Manchester.
We discuss:
1930s street slang
Silent and classic films
Hollywood sirens
Literary influences and aspirations
Social media strategy
Etc.
Learn more about Heather Babcock at: https://heatherrosebabcock.tumblr.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight are the dozen novels every man should read. Why? Because each of these novels contain elements that particularly speak to men, novels from which men can derive some important messages from that maybe can help them fulfill their destiny. Maybe that’s an overstatement. Maybe not. You be the judges.
Those novels — in no special order, and each of which host Mike Consol will elaborate on — are:
“White Noise” by Don DeLillo
“American Tabloid” by James Ellroy
“Villages” by John Updike
“The Human Stain” by Philip Roth
“East of Eden” by John Steinbeck
“The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway
“The Bonfire of the Vanities” by Tom Wolfe
“The End of the Affair” by Graham Greene
“The Wife” by Meg Wolitzer
“Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” by Douglas Adams
“Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas” by Tom Robbins
“Bright Lights, Big City” by Jay McInerney
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Alena Dillon, author of “My Body Is a Big Fat Temple,” “The Happiest Girl in the World,” “Mercy House” and “Eyes Turned Skyward.” Her work has also appeared in publications including The Daily Beast, LitHub, River Teeth, Slice Magazine, The Rumpus, and Bustle.
We discuss:
Going from nonfiction to fiction
Writing fiction rooted in true events
Amy Schumer on “Mercy House”
Pregnancy
Motherhood
The rationale for writing
Etc.
Learn more about Alena Dillon at this site: https://www.alenadillon.com/home
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is the author of “Sugar Street,” “The Privileges,” “A Thousand Pardons” and five other novels. Jonathan Dee is also a former contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and a former senior editor of The Paris Review. He has also received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation.
We discuss:
First person vs. third person narration
Creative writing
Teaching the craft
Syracuse University colleagues
The gender ratio among fiction readers
Etc.
Learn more about Jonathan Dee at this site: https://thecollege.syr.edu/people/faculty/dee-jonathan/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Lisa Unger, who has sold millions of copies of her suspense novels, had several of her books optioned by Hollywood interests, and has a Jessica Alba project (“Confessions on the 7:45”) in the works for Netflix.
We discuss:
Her latest novel: “Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six”
Writing without an outline
Character-driven novels
The fine line between literary and commercial fiction
Edgar Award nominations
The short story form
The author’s promotional platform
Dinner with the Bronte sisters
Etc.
Learn more about Lisa Unger here: https://lisaunger.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Melanie Benjamin, author of New York Times and USA Today bestselling historical novels such as “The Aviator’s Wife,” “Mistress of the Ritz” and “The Swans of Fifth Avenue.”
We discuss:
Biographical historical fiction
Her favorite era
Dalliances with Hollywood
Never writing the same book twice
Her pursuit of theater
Literary ADHD
The upcoming novel
Etc.
Learn more about Melanie Benjamin here: https://melaniebenjamin.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Sue William Silverman is the author of four memoirs and winner of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award Series in Creative Nonfiction. Her memoir “Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction” was made into a Lifetime TV movie. She teaches in the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.
We discuss:
The distinction between memoirs and autobiographies
Reading with intent
The value of independent publishing housesAuto-fiction
Sensory writing
Russell Baker and Patti Smith
Incest and sex addition
Etc.
Learn more about Sue William Silverman here: https://www.suewilliamsilverman.com/index.htm
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Russell James, who was raised on Long Island, N.Y., and spent his evenings watching“Chiller,” “The Night Stalker”and“Dark Shadows,” among other horror shows, while also reading the likes of Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe. Today, James’ byline appears on more than 20 horror novels of his own.
We discuss:
His beginnings
Piloting U.S. Army helicopters
Horror conventions
Rod Serling
How geography and climate influence story
Greatest horror movies
His novel in the works
Etc.
Learn more about Russell James and his work here:
https://www.russellrjames.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Jennifer Estep, a fantasy author who prowls the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea. She has written more than 40 novels, along with numerous novellas and stories.
We discuss:
Being a “slush pile baby”
Worldbuilding
The “vomit draft”
The perfect writing day
Newspaper days
Ian Fleming and James Bond
Using social media
Etc.
Learn more about Jennifer Estep on her website: https://www.jenniferestep.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
With almost 60 novels and more than 1 million in unit sales to her credit, Amish and Christian author Amy Clipston would no doubt call herself “blessed.” During a nearly hour-long conversation, we discussed:
The Amish sub-genre
What it means to be a Christian fiction writer
Writing as ministry
Her bestselling novel
Declining church participation
NASCAR
Favorite Bible quote
Biggest challenge as a writer
Etc.
Learn more about Amy Clipston here: https://amyclipston.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner Cormac McCarthy, who is releasing two new novels, his first since “The Road” 16 years ago. The new novels, which will be released one month apart, are titled “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris” and tell the story of siblings Bobby and Alicia Western, who are tormented by the legacy of their father, a physicist who helped develop the atom bomb, and by their love for and obsession with one another.
More to the point, this episode speaks to McCarthy longtime aversion to being interviewed, though several old newspaper articles from his early career have been unearthed and offer some insights into his writing process.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Regency romance novelist Anne Gracie. Regency romances are a sub-genre of romance novels set during the period of the British Regency or early 19th century. Rather than versions of contemporary romance stories transported to a historical setting, Regency romances are a distinct genre with their own plot and stylistic conventions, according to an account from Wikipedia. Ms. Gracie’s work in the sub-genre has been translated into more than 20 languages.
We discuss:
Myths about romance novels
Formula and nonformula plots
The power of handwriting
Sex scenes
Micro-tension
Donald Maass
Using a pseudonym
Etc.
Learn more about Anne Gracie here: https://www.annegracie.com/
Read Anne Gracie’s blog post about the 10 myths about romance writing here: https://www.annegracie.com/writer-resources/myths-of-romance/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Regency romance novelist Anne Gracie. Regency romances are a sub-genre of romance novels set during the period of the British Regency or early 19th century. Rather than versions of contemporary romance stories transported to a historical setting, Regency romances are a distinct genre with their own plot and stylistic conventions, according to an account from Wikipedia. Ms. Gracie’s work in the sub-genre has been translated into more than 20 languages.
We discuss:
Myths about romance novels
Formula and nonformula plots
The power of handwriting
Sex scenes
Micro-tension
Donald Maass
Using a pseudonym
Etc.
Learn more about Anne Gracie here: https://www.annegracie.com/
Read Anne Gracie’s blog post about the 10 myths about romance writing here: https://www.annegracie.com/writer-resources/myths-of-romance/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is William Kenower, author of “Fearless Writing,” “Write Within Yourself” and “Everyone Has What It Takes,” in addition to being the editor-in-chief of Author magazine.
We discuss:
Writing as a spiritual practice
Ending self-doubt
Writing within yourself
Finding your writing channel
The flow state
Dealing with emotions
Etc.
Learn more about Bill Kenower here: https://www.williamkenower.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is William Kenower, author of “Fearless Writing,” “Write Within Yourself” and “Everyone Has What It Takes,” in addition to being the editor-in-chief of Author magazine.
We discuss:
Writing as a spiritual practice
Ending self-doubt
Writing within yourself
Finding your writing channel
The flow state
Dealing with emotions
Etc.
Learn more about Bill Kenower here: https://www.williamkenower.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Lorraine Duffy Merkl, author of the novels “The Last Single Woman in New York City,” “Back to Work She Goes” and “Fat Chick.”
We discuss:
Autobiographical novels
Using pop culture as a jumping off point
Weight issues and dieting
How to pull off a 40-plus-year marriage
Advertising copywriting
Writing for immediate gratification
The rewards of fiction writing
Etc.
Learn more about Lorraine Duffy Merkl here: http://www.lorraineduffymerkl.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Lorraine Duffy Merkl, author of the novels “The Last Single Woman in New York City,” “Back to Work She Goes” and “Fat Chick.”
We discuss:
Autobiographical novels
Using pop culture as a jumping off point
Weight issues and dieting
How to pull off a 40-plus-year marriage
Advertising copywriting
Writing for immediate gratification
The rewards of fiction writing
Etc.
Learn more about Lorraine Duffy Merkl here: http://www.lorraineduffymerkl.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Rosalind Helfand, co-founder of the West Hollywood Book Fair, which she co-directed for 10 years. During that time she championed programming for science fiction, fantasy and graphic novels, and went on to co-found Lit Crawl L.A. and directed Pasadena's literary festival, LitFest Pasadena.
We discuss:
Essential elements for a successful book festival
The keys to drawing an audience
The constituencies represented
The underwriters
Festival success stories
Independent publishing houses
Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury and Pamela Anderson
How book festivals have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic
Etc.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Rosalind Helfand, co-founder of the West Hollywood Book Fair, which she co-directed for 10 years. During that time she championed programming for science fiction, fantasy and graphic novels, and went on to co-found Lit Crawl L.A. and directed Pasadena's literary festival, LitFest Pasadena.
We discuss:
Essential elements for a successful book festival
The keys to drawing an audience
The constituencies represented
The underwriters
Festival success stories
Independent publishing houses
Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury and Pamela Anderson
How book festivals have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic
Etc.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Is there a novel that represented a turning point for your writing efforts? Maybe there were two or three. For me it was "The World According to Garp" by John Irving. Here is a brief explanation how that book and author changed my horizons.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Is there a novel that represented a turning point for your writing efforts? Maybe there were two or three. For me it was "The World According to Garp" by John Irving. Here is a brief explanation how that book and author changed my horizons.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Alexander Blevens, author of his debut novel “Bycatch,” a story soaked with greed and forgiveness while Southern and Vietnamese cultures tangle on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Blevens is currently working on his second novel, “Arkansas Black,” about two brothers who are losing their orchard to bankruptcy during the collapse of the apple industry in northwest Arkansas in 1927. (Think prequel to “Grapes of Wrath.”)
We discuss:
Starting a book with a “what if” idea
Being a seat-of-the-pants writer
Profanity in prose
Writing groups
Ocean Springs and Biloxi, Mississippi
Hiking in Spain and Patagonia
Traveling the U.S. in an Airstream trailer
Etc.
Lean more about Alexander Blevens here: https://alexanderblevens.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Alexander Blevens, author of his debut novel “Bycatch,” a story soaked with greed and forgiveness while Southern and Vietnamese cultures tangle on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Blevens is currently working on his second novel, “Arkansas Black,” about two brothers who are losing their orchard to bankruptcy during the collapse of the apple industry in northwest Arkansas in 1927. (Think prequel to “Grapes of Wrath.”)
We discuss:
Starting a book with a “what if” idea
Being a seat-of-the-pants writer
Profanity in prose
Writing groups
Ocean Springs and Biloxi, Mississippi
Hiking in Spain and Patagonia
Traveling the U.S. in an Airstream trailer
Etc.
Lean more about Alexander Blevens here: https://alexanderblevens.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Dallas Woodburn, award-winning writer of fiction, nonfiction and plays. She is also a writing coach and in-demand book coach.
We discuss:
Self-characterization
Writing for the YA audience
The story behind her book title “3 a.m.”
The 2022 Thriving Authors Summit
Coaching aspiring authors
The founding of Write On! Books
The biggest writing problem dogging students
Her authorial epitaph
Etc.
To learn more about Dallas Woodburn, go here: https://www.dallaswoodburn.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Francesca Lia Block, author of more than 25 books of fiction, nonfiction, short stories and poetry. Her award-winning work has been translated into Italian, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese and other languages.
We discuss:
Los Angeles sensibilities
Fiction versus nonfiction writing
Sylvia Path, Shirley Jackson and Patti Smith
Autofiction
The author as character
Obsession and anxiety
Her writing and teaching methods
Etc.
Our guest also reads an excerpt from one of her novels. To learn more about Francesca Lia Block, go here: https://www.francescaliablock.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
During this episode, Chip Jacobs turns the microphone on his longtime friend, Novelist Spotlight producer and host Mike Consol, seeking some deeper truths from Consol’s newly published book, “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century.” Along the way, culprits ranging from caricatured family members to Olive Garden restaurants are victimized.
Learn more about Chip Jacobs (bestselling author of “Arroyo,” “The Darkest Glare” and “Strange as It Seems,” among other titles) here: https://chipjacobs.com
Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Julia Crouch, author of crime novels such as “The Daughters,” “Every Vow You Break,” “Her Husband’s Lover” and “The New Mother.” She and her actor husband are residents of Brighton, England.
We discuss:
Her career around the stage
Cinematic writing
Novels under consideration for the Silver Screen and streaming channels
The adapt-and-survive approach to life
The morality of crime writing
Etc.
Learn more about Julia Crouch here: http://juliacrouch.co.uk
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is historical novelist Joy Callaway, author of the historical novels that include “The Fifth Avenue Artists Society,” “Secret Sisters,” and “The Grand Design.”
We discuss:
Raising the stakes with your characters
Limiting TV watching
Getting her first agent
Book tours
Writing routines with children
Family storytelling and ancestors’ lives
Etc.
To learn more about Joy Callaway, go to this link: https://www.joycallaway.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight are writing routines and Nancy Stohlman, a proponent of flash fiction and good writing practices. In a recent newsletter, Stohlman reasoned that writing routines eventually stop working and need to be refreshed. This episode gives voice to her perspectives on the subject.
Learn more about Nancy Stohlman at: www.nancystohlman.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Northwestern University literature professor Gary Morson, an expert in Russian novelists and their novels. His also the author of a forthcoming book titled “Wonder Confronts Certainty: Russian Writers on the Timeless Questions and Why Their Answers Matter” (Harvard Press).
We discuss:
Why Russia produced so many great novelists
The place the novel occupies in modern day Russia and America
Is “Anna Karenina” or “War and Peace” the greatest novel ever?
Is Leo Tolstoy the greatest of all novelists?
Why are names such as Chekhov, Dostoevsky and Pushkin still present?
What do their great novels say about Russian history and its people?
Etc.
To learn more about professor Gary Morson, go here: https://slavic.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/morson-gary-saul.html
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Mike Consol, your producer and host of Novelist Spotlight, has just published his second novel and wants to tell you all about it — and beseech you to buy a print or e-book copy of this restaurant-based family saga and whodunnit.
Think, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” but with Italians rather than Greeks.
Just go to Amazon and search “Mike Consol” to buy a print or e-book edition of “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century.”
Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com
In the spotlight is Susan Shapiro, author of “The Book Bible: Sell Your Manuscript — No Matter What Genre — Without Going Broke or Insane.” She is also an award-winning writer and professor, authoring 17 best-selling books such as “Five Men Who Broke My Heart,” and her recent memoir “The Forgiveness Tour.” She lives with her scriptwriter husband in Manhattan and uses her writing and publishing guides “The Book Bible” and “The Byline Bible” to teach her popular “instant gratification takes too long” courses at The New School at NYU and Columbia University.
We discuss:
Confessional writing
Why her family “hates” her writing
The five men who broke her heart
What authors do right and wrong in their query letters to agents
What Arthur Miller, Williams Faulker said about the subject matter worth writing about
What she tells her student about approaching writing
Why she sees a “shrink”
Etc.
Learn more about Susan Shapiro here: https://www.susanshapiro.net/index.html
You can follow her postings at Twitter at @susanshapironet, Instagram at @Profsue123, and write to her at: ProfSue123@gmail.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
What happens when an accomplished novelist, the author of more than a dozen books, suddenly finds her writing life bogged down in an unsustainable period of crisis? This is the story of one such episode, and the famous musician whose eight-year bout with writer's block could prove instructional.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Charles Demers, Juno-nominated comedian, playwright and acclaimed author of “Vancouver Special” and “The Horrors.” His latest novel, “Noonday Dark,” is the second installment in the Annick Boudreau mystery series. Demers writes from a place of intimate understanding of mental illness, having lived with chronic depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In “Noonday Dark” he unpacks the deeper philosophical questions around depression, such as what it means to be unsure if life is worth living, and how one carries on in spite of the answer.
We discuss:
Cognitive therapy
Antidepressants
Comedic writing
City-based novels
Writing middle-grade fiction
Etc.
Learn more about Charles Demers at www.charliedemers.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight are Prudence Emery and Ron Base, co-authors of “Death at the Savoy.” Prudence Emery is former press secretary at the Savoy Hotel and publicist extraordinaire for scores of movies. She is good friends with Ron Base, a prolific author who has been writing the Sanibel Sunset Detective series of novels for the past 12 years — and a host of other books. The two teamed up to write this hotel-based murder mystery during which an international arms dealer is found dead in his room, and Priscilla Tempest, herself the press secretary for the Savoy, becomes the tale’s protagonist.
We discuss:
The process of co-authoring a novel
Using real celebrities in your story
The glory days of hoteling
The role of hotel press secretary
Free drinks for members of the press
The “waiter button”
Hospitality innovations by The Savoy
Liza Minelli and Peter Sellers
Etc.
Prudence Emery is also author of “Nanaimo Girl: A Memoir,” available here.
Ron Base is author of numerous books, all of which are listed on his website, www.ronbase.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Authors have never had more competition for people’s time and attention than today, pitted against social media platforms, videogames, movies, streaming services, etc. Social media sites, in particular, offer mostly tenuous relationships, and that creates opportunities for writers. I muse about exactly that — and the utility of the flash fiction mindset — during this episode.
Mentioned during this podcast:
Nancy Stohlman
Andre Dubus IIIDonna Tartt
Anthony Doerr
Etc.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Speed reading isn’t a gimmick — at least not in this case. I learned the technique many years ago and have used it to great effect ever since. During this episode I share it with you, along with some thoughts on overwritten nonfiction (and fiction) books.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Marissa DeCuir,president and partner of Books Forward and Books Fluent. Books Fluent specializes in audiobook production, and Books Forward offers a program to help authors promote their audiobooks. DeCuir is also the author of a recent Writer’s Digest article titled “5 creative ways to turn your book into audible media,” which is the topic of our conversation during this episode.
We discuss:
Why audiobooks are so popular
Voice-to-text technology
Sound effects
Radio theater
The “Welcome to Night Vale” podcast
“World building” beyond the page
Interactive podcasting
Etc.
DeCuir’s article in Writer’s Digest read here: https://www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/5-creative-ways-to-turn-your-book-into-audible-media
Books Fluent: https://booksfluent.com/
Books Forward: https://booksforward.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Elizabeth Sims, author of the “Rita Farmer Mysteries” and the “Lillian Byrd Crime Series,” and she has written short stories, poems, and essays for numerous publications. Sims is a widely recognized authority on writing, frequently writing for Writer's Digest magazine, where she is a contributing editor. Through her articles, in-person workshops, and online teaching, she has helped thousands of fledgling authors find their wings. You might find inspiration in her book, “You’ve Got a Book in You: A Stress-Free Guide to Writing the Book of Your Dreams, published by Writer's Digest Books.”
We discuss:
Getting strategically “sloppy” with your writing
Common plot problems and how to solve them
Rescuing mundane characters
Membership in American Mensa
The overuse of dialogue
Trimming excessive copy
Etc.
Learn more about Elizabeth Sims at: https://www.elizabethsims.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Mike Consol, producer and host of Novelist Spotlight, has a question for you. It’s the same question he asks friends, family members, coworkers, acquaintances and strangers. And he wants you to do the same. During this episode he explains why.
Consol is author of “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and two yet-to-be-published manuscripts, “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Madeline Sonik, a multi-genre novelist and anthologist who experiments with techniques and styles in search of fresh forms and original ways to engage readers. Her titles include “Drying the Bones,” “Fresh Blood” and “Fontainebleau.” Sonik’s most recent book is a coming-of-age memoir titled “Queasy,” exploring her teenage move to England in the 1970s after losing her father and grieving the end of a significant romantic relationship.
We discuss:
Jungian analysis
The writing process from a Jungian standpoint
Tapping the collective unconscious
The power of symbols
Therapy versus psychoanalysis
Etc.
Learn more about Madeline Sonik at: https://www.madelinesonik.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
I first read Jack Kerouac’s landmark novel “On the Road” in my 20s. What a different experience it was to re-read the novel this past month, decades later. This time it was the audio version, read by the hip and energetic Will Patton. “On the Road” was written more than 60 years ago and feels a relevant today as then, with its youthful sense of alienation and adventure.
Take a ride with me and the Father of the Beat Generation across 1940s American. Who was Jack Kerouac? What contribution did his writing make? How did he leave this world? What were the sensibilities of the Beat Generation?
Learn more about the author at the Jack Kerouac Society website: https://jackkerouac.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Kathleen Stone, a lawyer, a writer and author of the recently published book “They Called Us Girls: Stories of Female Ambition from Suffrage to Mad Men,” a collective biography of women who defied expectations by entering male-dominated professions in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Her book reviews, art reviews and essays have appeared in Ploughshares, Arts Fuse, Los Angeles Review of Books, Timberline Review and The Writer's Chronicle. She lives in Boston and holds graduate degrees from the Bennington Writing Seminars.
One of our discussion points is her Literary Hub article “Eleven Over Sixty: A Reading List of Later in Life Debuts,” which can be read at this link:
https://lithub.com/eleven-over-sixty-a-reading-list-of-later-in-life-debuts/
You can learn more about Kathleen Stone here: www.kathleencstone.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Filip Dousek, an artificial intelligence and data analytics expert who applies these disciplines to the novel. Dousek is interested in the illusions that underlie everything we do, from politics to economics to media. This summer he is publishing his first novel, “Flock Without Birds,” which was a bestseller in his native Czech Republic and will be available for the first time in the United States. The novel is a mind-altering original, including its experimental format — two books in one; the reader decides which one to read first.
We discuss:
Experimental fiction
Writing (and reading) books front to back and back to front
The past as present and present as past
Challenging human and cultural assumptions
Math, physics and the nature of reality
Why authors need to take fiction more seriously
The creation of a new genre
Etc.
Learn more about Filip Dousek and “Flock Without Birds” at: https://www.flockwithoutbirds.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Sandra Scofield, the author of seven novels, a memoir, a book of essays, a book of stories, and two books on the craft of writing. She is a faculty member of the Solstice MFA low residency program at Lasell University and has taught at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival since 1993. Scofield offers manuscript evaluation and line editing services, and also does developmental editing. For information, write her at writingmentor@yahoo.com.
We discuss:
Developing a one-sentence theme for your novel
The use of chapter summaries
Writing effective scenes
The importance of sentence-level writing
James Salter and Lauren Groff
Etc.
Learn more about Sandra Scofield here: https://www.sandrajscofield.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
During my most recent podcast (Novelist Spotlight #57) I hosted novelist and writing coach Beth Barany, and we had a great and lively time discussing timed writing, self-talk, neuro-linguistic programming, creativity, activating the body in addition to the mind, genre writing, and so on.
We had such a good conversation we ran out of time before Beth had a chance to read a bit of her writing and familiarize listeners with the style of her work, so I asked her to send an audio file reading an excerpt from one of her books. During this episode, Beth Barany introduces the book she’s reading from and gives us an eight-minute reading from the start of that book. Here is Beth Barany doing exactly that. Please enjoy.
Learn more about Beth Barany here: http://author.bethbarany.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Beth Barany is a novelist, neuro-linguistic programming practitioner, and certified creativity coach for writers. She specializes in helping writers experience clarity, so they can write, revise, and proudly publish their novels to the delight of their readers. Her book titles include “Into the Black,” and “Lured by the Light,” and “Henrietta the Dragon Slayer.”
We discuss:
Timed writing
Self-talk
Neuro-linguistic programming
Thrutopia.life
Writing as play
Activating the body in addition to the mind
Why genre writing
Etc.
Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:
Author site: http://author.bethbarany.com/
Coaching site: http://bethbarany.com/
School of Fiction: BaranySchoolofFiction.com
Writer's Fun Zone blog: http://www.writersfunzone.com/blog/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of
“Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,”
and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel
about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,”
“Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love
American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com.
We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or
colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Nancy Stohlman, author of several books, including “Going Short: An Invitation to Flash Fiction.”
We discuss:
How flash fiction is changing the way we tell stories
The challenge of writing short
Dehydrating your copy
How the story chooses the author
The importance of journaling
Writing sabbaticals and retreats
Writing as a spiritual practice
Etc.
Learn more about Nancy Stohlman at: www.nancystohlman.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is the story of a mother, a son, a newspaper clipping, and the celebrated novelist Larry Woiwode, who passed on April 28, but not before having left behind some important advice for the host of this podcast and fiction writers everywhere.
Learn more about Larry Woiwode from this New York Times review of his memoir titled “A Step From Death” https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/books/review/Skloot-t.html
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight, from the Low Country of South Carolina, is DM Brockington, a writer fascinated by witches and psychic abilities. When she’s not reading urban fantasy, paranormal or contemporary fiction novels, she’s writing them. Her body of work includes titles such as “Rise of the Millennial Witch,” “Uncloaked” and “Our Little Secrets.” The list goes on from there, and DM Brockington is currently working on a female vampire series for middle-aged women.
We discuss:
Looking for story in everything
Writing black characters
Novella-length books
Paranormal experience
The sex appeal of vampires
The Black Ink book festival
Amazon book algorithms
Etc.
Learn more about DM Brockington at www.southerngirlmedia.com
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Gay Talese, one of the pioneers of the New Journalism (along with Tom Wolfe, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion and Hunter S. Thompson, among others) joins the program to discuss his long and storied career. Now 90 years of age, he is hard at work on his latest book.
We discuss:
Writing about everyday people
Publishing industry titan Nan A. Talese
Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio
Kurt Vonnegut and Tom Wolfe
Restaurants as theater
New York City
Etc.
Learn more about Gay Talese here: https://www.randomhouse.com/kvpa/talese/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Anna Pitoniak is the author of “The Futures,” “Necessary People” and “Our American Friend.” She graduated from Yale, where she majored in English and was an editor at the Yale Daily News. She worked for years in book publishing, most recently as a senior editor at Random House, before launching her writing career.
We discuss:
Learning the novel by writing a novel
Writing rituals
Meditation
Removing unnecessary material
Influential authors
The source of her latest novel
Her upcoming book
Etc.
Learn more about Anna Pitoniak here: https://www.annapitoniak.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Eliot Parker is the author of five novels: “Breakdown at Clear River,” “Making Arrangements,” “Fragile Brilliance,” “Code for Murder,” and “A Knife’s Edge.”
We discuss:
Developing an author platform
What makes a novel Appalachian?
The storytelling ethos of the south
Hallmarks of creative writing
Pat Conroy, John Grisham and Ray Bradbury
What got Eliot Parker's career started
His favorite quote about writingHis teaching role at University of Mississippi
Etc.
Learn more about Eliot Parker here: http://www.eliotparker.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel
About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is historical novelist Diana Giovinazzo, author of the Italy-based titles “The Woman in Red” and “Antionette’s Sister.”
We discuss:
Why she quit writing
How she came back to it
Using a music soundtrack to facilitate your writing sessions
Why aspiring novelists should NOT start with short stories
The stress of full-time writing
Writing to make sense of the world
Why she cannot talk about her next book project
Etc.
Learn more about Diana Giovinazzo here: https://dianagiovinazzo.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Jay Newman, a former hedge fund portfolio manager who spent 40 years involved with international finance, has authored the new novel “Undermoney,” part of a three-book deal with Scribner. With cameo appearances by Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, the novel offers a fictionalized account of the very real instances of the moral turpitude and financial skullduggery swirling around the ultra-rich and politically powerful governments.
We discuss:
The initial impulse to write
Inking the book deal
The epigenetics of money and power
Fictionalizing true events
The final editing process
Doping-out a series of book titles
Tom Wolfe and “Bonfire of the Vanities”
Etc.
Learn more about Jay Newman here: https://jaynewman.com/author
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Andromeda Romano-Lax, who worked as a freelance journalist and travel writer before turning to fiction. Her first novel, “The Spanish Bow,” was translated into 11 languages, and her next three novels — “The Detour,” “Behave” (an Amazon Book of the Month), and “Plum Rains” (winner of the Sunburst Award) — reflect her diverse interest in the arts, history, science and technology, as well as her passion for travel and her time spent living abroad. Her latest is titled “Annie and the Wolves.” She also works with novelists and memoirists as a freelance book coach.
We discuss:
How we can most quickly learn fiction writing
Why you should read while writing
Her book-coaching experience
Writing a ‘cheat novel’
Traveling and living abroad for research
Pacing appropriate to subject topic
Writing retreats
Etc.
Learn more about Andromeda here: https://www.romanolax.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Ray Jay Perreault. After 10 years as a U.S. Air Force pilot, he spent almost 30 years in the aerospace industry with Northrup Grumman, the giant defense contractor. He began writing science fiction after realizing there was a niche for more sophisticated stories and more realistic sci-fi storytelling.
His titles include: “Virus: Earth’s Last Battle,” “Virus – 72 Hours to Live,” “Progeny,” “Progeny’s Children,” “Earth II” and “SIMPOC,” among others.
We discuss:
UFOs
The KGB
Binge writing
Writing for yourself rather than your readers
Female lead characters
Writing dialogue
The value of creating a “readers club”
Learn more about Mr. Perreault here: https://www.rayjayperreault.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
It’s surprising how many people love movies and spend zero time reading books. It’s especially surprising when you consider how many movies are based on books. One of the sharp distinctions between books and movies is that novels allow readers to participate in the co-creation of the story in ways that moviegoers cannot. Allow me to explain.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
James N. Frey is an award-winning playwright and the author of nine novels, including: “The Long Way to Die,” which was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America, and “Winter of the Wolves,” a Literary Guild Selection. But he is best known for his series of books about how to write novels, beginning with “How to Write a Damn Good Novel,” and followed by a series of sequels about how to write mysteries, thrillers and other types of fiction.
We discuss:
His writing workshops
The cardinal mistakes made by aspiring novelists
Conflict
Writing dialog
Why it’s all about the “who”
The use of “premise”
Considerations around point-of-view
His forthcoming book about romance writing
Learn more about James N. Frey here: http://www.jamesnfrey.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Montana-based Christine Carbo is the author of four novels: “A Sharp Solitude,” “The Wild Inside,” “The Weight of Night” and “Mortal Fall.”
We discuss:
The elements of suspense
Writers’ groups
Self-doubt
Her early unpublished novels
Career turning points
Her new project
Learn more about Christine Carbo here: http://www.christinecarbo.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Scotland-based author Carole Johnstone writes about “the wonderful and terrible things we do for love.” She is also convinced “the most dangerous stories are the ones we tell ourselves.” That kind of thinking is apparently an approach that works, considering that three publishing houses bid on her first novel, “Mirrorland.”
We discuss:
The advice she took from Stephen King
Rejection letters
The bidding process for her novel
Why she writes in first person
Lessons learned from writing short stories
Shirley Jackson and “The Haunting of Hill House”
Her forthcoming novel “The Blackhouse”
Learn more about Carole Johnstone here: https://carolejohnstone.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Elena Gorokhova grew up in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, in a courtyard. At age 10 she was seduced by the beauty of the English language and spent the next eight years deciphering its secrets at Leningrad English school #238, to her mother’s bewilderment. She came to the United States and told her story through two memoirs: “A Mountain of Crumbs” and “Russian Tattoo.” And now she has released her first novel, “A Train to Moscow.”
We discuss:
Writing the memoir
Fiction and auto-fiction
Frank McCourt of “Angela’s Ashes” fame
The great Russian novelists
Life behind the Iron Curtain
The current situation in Ukraine and Russia
The setting and concept for her next novel
Etc.
Learn more about Elena Gorokhova here: http://elenagorokhova.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Cristina de laTorre has been translating words and cultures since she came to live in the United States as a child. She taught Spanish at Emory University in Atlanta for many years and started a highly successful track in translation courses in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese. She is proudest of her work in literary translation, having translated various novelsboth from Spain and Latin America, as well as numerous short stories, many of them by authors from Cuba, the land of her birth.
We discuss:
Which books get selected
Most favored languages
The difference between good and bad translation
Who gets involved in the process
The most translated books in history
Etc.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Sharon Short is the author of the novel “My One Square Inch of Alaska,” and also writes under the name Jess Montgomery, under which she pens historical mystery novels featuring Sheriff Lily Ross as her protagonist.
We discuss:
Her writing advice column in Writer’s Digest
Writing in first person versus third person
Genre writing
Using pseudonyms
The importance of having an agent
How to find an agent
Etc.
You can learn more about Sharon Short here: http://www.sharonshort.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Lisa Barr, author of WOMAN ON FIRE (just optioned by Hollywood actress Sharon Stone), THE UNBREAKBLES and FUGITIVE COLORS.
We discuss:
Sharon Stone’s plan to produce and star in the screen adaptation
Using female protagonists
Writing sex scenes
Lisa’s interest in World War II themes
The concept for her next novel
Etc.
Learn more about Lisa Barr at her website: https://lisabarr.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight during this episode are the novelists Anna Pitoniak, Jami Attenberg and the late, great Susan Sontag. Featured are excerpts from their blog post, newsletter and Paris Review interview, respectively.
Pitoniak’s latest novel is titled “Our American Friend,” while Attenberg recently published a memoir titled “I Came All This Way to Meet You.” Sontag wrote the novels “The Benefactor” and “Death Kit,” among other books. She died in 2004.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Dan Conover is the author of seven novels, including The Goddess Daughter Trilogy (written under his pseudonym D.C. McElroy), with plans to author 15 books in the overall series. Learn more about him at: https://www.danconover.com
We discuss:
His correspondence with Patricia Anthony, author of “Flanders”
Growing up in a sci-fi world
Using an ensemble of characters
Writing as work
Minimalist living
Etc.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight this episode is Steven Spatz, founder and president emeritus of BookBaby, one of the country’s many self-publishing houses for book authors.
We discuss:
Success stories in self-publishing
Book marketing strategies
Advantages of self-publishing vs. traditional publishing
The use of AI in creating future audiobooks
Rising costs of self-publishing
How to guard against second-rate publishing houses
Etc.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
When The Economist published its best books list for 2021, “Mother for Dinner” by Shalom Auslander was among the featured. The magazine dubbed it a “laugh-out-loud, gravely serious satire on identity politics” during which “a mother’s deathbed presents a solemn decision: whether or not to eat her. The family are Cannibal-Americans, the most reviled minority in a place where ‘everyone else was retreating to their cages and calling it freedom.’ What, the novel asks uproariously, do individuals owe history?”
In addition to “Mother for Dinner,” we discuss:
The nature of God
The author’s split with his orthodox Jewish community
Samuel Beckett, Franz Kafka and others
The all-day writing regimen
The quality lit coming from Iraq, Syria and other Middle East countries
The folly of “knowing”
Learn more about the author’s other black comedies and idiosyncrasies at: https://www.shalomauslander.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Always a wanderer, novelist Boo Walker has lived in locales ranging from St. Petersburg, Florida and Valencia, Spain to the Yakima River Valley in Washington State and Cape Elizabeth, Maine with his wife and son. He writes under both his given name and writes thrillers under the pseudonym Benjamin Blackmore.
We discuss:
Pat Conroy, Nelson DeMille and John Corey
His alter ego, Benjamin Blackmore
His use of “beta readers”
How to produce 3,000 words per day
How he markets his work
Etc.
Learn more about Boo Walker and his novels at: https://www.boowalker.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is novelist Jami Attenberg, who has now written her memoir, “I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home.” As the daughter of a traveling salesman in the Midwest, Attenberg was drawn to a life on the road. Frustrated by quotidian jobs and hungry for inspiration and fresh experiences, her wanderlust led her across the country and eventually on travels around the globe. Through it all she grapples with questions of mortality, otherworldliness, and what we leave behind.
Learn more about Jami at http://www.jamiattenberg.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Stephanie Storey, author of the art history novels “Oil and Marble” and “Raphael: Painter in Rome.”
We discuss:
Art history
Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci
Fictionalizing historical figures
Cinematic writing
Taking the novel to the Silver Screen
Her next work in progress
Etc.
Learn more about the author at: https://stephaniestorey.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
An interview from decades ago with Mick Jagger about the writing and editing of the Rolling Stones’ “Some Girls” album revealed a valuable lesson for any writer. In this episode we extrapolate from what the rock legend had to say about the writing of “Some Girls” and apply it to our own efforts to produce literature.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is London-based novelist Marek Handzel, author of three titles: “The Dojang,” “Redemptio” and “I Must Stay at Home.”
In addition to martial arts and vigilante gangs, we discuss:
Self-publishing
The daily regimen
The crime genre
Writing dialog
Liking the struggle
Writing advice
Major influences
Etc.
Learn more about Marek Handzel here.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century;” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel;” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is author, editor and writing coach Roy Peter Clark, who is also senior scholar and vice president of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a journalism think-tank in St. Petersburg, Fla., and founder of the National Writers Workshop.
We discuss:
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies
The art of x-ray reading
“The green light” in The Great Gatsby
The power of repetition
The opening line of Moby Dick
The electrocution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Writing tools
Etc.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Think you’re putting the finishing touches on the final draft of your manuscript? Hold that thought. Before calling your newly minted novel “complete,” employ the power of the “one paragraph rewrite” and see where it takes you. This episode explains of how it works.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight, the upcoming publication of “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century.”
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight during this episode is Michael Blouin, whose most recent books are the novel “Skin House” and the anthology “The Group of Seven: Contemporary Stories Re-imagining Historical Canadian Paintings.” His forthcoming novel, due April 2022, is “I Am Billy the Kid.” We discuss:
Establishing the writer’s voice
The flow state
Putting characters in charge of the novel
The author as a filter
His upcoming novels
Close encounters with the metaphysical
Michael Blouin’s website: https://www.michaelblouinwriter.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
My recent brushes with a quotation from Stephen King and the latest piece of writing from Robert Gottlieb holds writing lessons and fresh inspiration. The Stephen King quote is this one: “In fiction, the story value holds dominance over every other facet of the writer’s craft; characterization, theme, mood, none of these things is anything if the story is dull. And if the story does hold you, all else can be forgiven.”
The Stephen King memoir and writing manual “On Writing”:
https://www.amazon.com/On-Writing-Stephen-King-audiobook/dp/B0000547HM/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=on+writing+stephen+king&qid=1641567478&s=audible&sprefix=on+writing%2Caudible%2C139&sr=1-1
The Robert Gottlieb cover piece about the 100th anniversary of “Babbitt” by Sinclair Lewis in the New York Times Book Review:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/31/books/review/sinclair-lewis-babbitt-main-street.html
“Avid Reader,” the Robert Gottlieb memoir:
https://www.amazon.com/Avid-Reader-Robert-Gottlieb-audiobook/dp/B01K2KRPP0/ref=sr_1_1?crid=31FAO3FHSQNXR&keywords=avid+reader+robert+gottlieb&qid=1641567387&s=books&sprefix=avid+reader%2Cstripbooks%2C642&sr=1-1
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of
“Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play” and
three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about
Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita
Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American
Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link
with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
There are lessons for writers in why most people fail to achieve their New Year resolutions — and why most people set no resolutions at all. What’s the problem? What do experts say is key to achieving resolutions? From a writing standpoint, what do you plan to achieve during 2022?
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight during this episode is Jeff Matthews, a novelist who writes under the name J. Lawrence Matthews. We discuss:
Why writing goals fail
The book that changed Jeff Matthews’ life
Developing a system for completing your novel
How to activate the subconscious mind in solving story problems
Jeff Matthews’ latest book, “One Must Tell the Bees”
His forthcoming sequel novel
The combining of historical and fictional characters
The influence of literary time-traveling novelist E.L. Doctorow
Etc.
Learn more about Jeff Matthews at jlawrencematthews.com and write to him at jlawrencematthews@gmail.com.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Anne Rice wrote more than 30 novels that collectively sold more than 100 million copies. In addition to her vampire novels, Rice authored books such as “The Feast of All Saints” (adapted for television in 2001) and “Servant of the Bones,” which formed the basis of a 2011 comic book miniseries. Two of her vampire novels, “Interview with the Vampire” and “Queen of the Damned,” were made into major motion pictures.
Learn more about Anne Rice at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Rice
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Mur Lafferty. We discuss:
Her three podcasts
Her sci-fi novels
Challenges she faced in becoming a novelist
The Ophelia Network (her upcoming novella)
Her writing regimen
National Novel Writing Month
Etc.
Mur Lafferty is a podcaster, author and editor. She’s been recording and producing podcasts since 2004, and has won a Podcast Peer Award, a Hugo Award, and was inducted into the Podcast Academy Hall of Fame in 2015. Her book Six Wakes was a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick awards, and the novelization of Solo, A Star Wars Story, was nominated for the Scribe Award. On the editing side, she was a founding co-editor of Pseudopod, a horror podcast, and currently is co-editor of Escape Pod, nominated this year for two Hugo Awards: best semiprozine and best short-form editor (with co-editor SB Divya.) She lives in Durham, N.C.
Learn more about Mur Lafferty at her website: https://murverse.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts, including “Family Recipes: A Novel about Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century,” “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” and the short story collection “Love American Style.” Write to him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Andy Ross of Andy Ross Literary Agency, a book agent who represents authors writing in a wide range of subjects including children’s books and commercial and literary fiction. Prior to becoming a literary agent, Ross was proprietor of Cody’s Books in Berkeley, Calif., for 30 years.
Ross says he’s eager to work with projects in most genres, as long as the subject or its treatment is smart, original, and will appeal to a wide readership. For literary, commercial and children's fiction, he has only one requirement — that the writing “reveal the terrain of that vast and unexplored country, the human heart.”
Learn more about Andy Ross and his agency at: http://www.andyrossagency.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts. Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight during this episode is Louise Marburg, whose writing includes the short story collections NO DIVING ALLOWED and THE TRUTH ABOUT ME. The discussion during this podcast is based on the article she wrote for Writer’s Digest under the headline, “Who Says You Need an Agent? 8 Tips for Finding an Independent Publisher.”
Marburg studied design at the Kansas City Art Institute, is a graduate of New York University, and holds an MFA in fiction from Columbia University. Her stories have appeared in Narrative, Ploughshares, The Louisville Review, The Carolina Quarterly, The Pinch, The Chicago Quarterly Review, Post Road, and other publications. A native of Baltimore, she lives in New York City with her husband, the artist Charles Marburg, whose work focuses on organic and geometric forms.
Learn more about Louise Marburg at http://louisemarburg.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play” and three yet-to-be-published manuscripts. Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight is Barb Howard, who has been publishing short stories, essays and books since 1993. She is a former lawyer who has been President of the Writers' Guild of Alberta, writer-in-residence for the Calgary Public Library, and editor of FreeFall Magazine. She taught Creative Writing at the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University, the Alexandra Writers’ Centre, the Banff Centre and at various grade schools and conferences.
Her latest book is “Happy Sands,” a novella about one woman’s quest for a postcard-perfect family vacation that ends up going off the rails. This sharply funny, smartly observed book is unafraid to stare into the sunburned and grainy reality of life at the beach. “Happy Sands” was recognized by Canadian Broadcast Corp. as one of the 24 funny books for your holiday shopping list.
Howard’s other titles include:
Western Taxidermy
Embedded on the Home Front
Notes for Monday (novella)
The Dewpoint Show (a YA novel)
Whipstock
Learn more about Barb Howard at https://www.barbhoward.ca/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Phoebe Fox is the author of the new novel “The Way We Weren’t” and five other books:
A Little Bit of Grace
The Breakup Doctor
Beside Manners
Heart Conditions
Out of Practice
Phoebe Fox is the pen name of Tiffany Yates Martin, a book editor who works as FoxPrint Editorial.
Fox has been a contributor and regular columnist for a number of national, regional, and local publications, including the Huffington Post, Elite Daily and She Knows. A former actor on stage and screen, Phoebe has been suspended from wires as a mall fairy; was accidentally concussed by a blank gun; and hosted a short-lived game show. She has been a relationship columnist; a movie, theater, and book reviewer; and a radio personality, and is a close observer of “relationships in the wild.” She lives in Austin, Texas.
Learn more about Phoebe Fox at: https://phoebefoxauthor.com/
Tiffany Yates Martin and FoxPrint Editorial can be found here: https://foxprinteditorial.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
If you want to hear what the voice of expert book publicist and marketing professional sounds like, take a listen to this edition of the program. Featured is Andrea Thatcher, publicity manager at Smith Publicity, a Cherry Hill, N.J.-based book promotion agency. Thatcher manages a team of publicists who contribute to strategies employed on behalf of authors and publisher clients, as well as day-to-day problem solving and campaign execution.
Thatcher brings listeners up-to-date information on the latest and best promotional practices for book authors, and warns them away from common mistakes that waste vital financial resources. You can learn more about Smith Publicity at this link: https://www.smithpublicity.com/
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
According to information published by Good E-Reader, audiobooks have been experiencing double-digit growth for years running and will continue doing so for the foreseeable future. Market research analysts are predicting the global audiobook market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24 percent through 2027, when the audiobook business will reach $15 billion in sales.
What’s more, new data reported by Axios says the share of audio (audiobooks, podcasts, live talk shows, etc.) consumed by U.S. residents has increased by 40 percent since 2014.
Here are the top-selling Audible audiobooks of 2021:
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“Greenlights” by Matthew McConaughey
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“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir
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“The Last Thing He Told” Me by Laura Dave
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“Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” by James Clear
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“Once upon a Time in Hollywood” by Quentin Tarantino
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“Notes on a Silencing” by Lacy Crawford
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“Malibu Rising” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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“The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig
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“What Happened to You?” By Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry
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“The President's Daughter” by James Patterson and Bill Clinton
The audiobook phenomenon is the topic of this episode of Novelist Spotlight.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
In the spotlight during this episode is Betty Sue Flowers and the truly insightful writing concept and practice she created. I call it the Madman Method for short, though its full name is Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge. It’s a powerful method that addresses the countervailing energies the lock horns during the writing process.
Betty Sue Flowers is the former director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum and an Emerita Professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a native Texan — though she now lives in New York City — and graduated from the University of Texas and the University of London.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
How does novelist Joy Castro work a demanding year-round job in academia and still sustain her productivity? She addresses that and many other questions that revolve around the writing life. What’s more, so does so with an eloquence you would expect from a decorated wordsmith.
A former writer-in-residence at Vanderbilt University, Castro is now professor of English and ethnic studies at the University of Nebraska — and has just published her sixth book and third novel. Her fourth novel is already completed and in her editor’s hands.
Castro is the award-winning author of the post-Katrina New Orleans literary thrillers “Hell or High Water,” which received the Nebraska Book Award, and “Nearer Home,” and the story collection “How Winter Began,” as well as the memoir “The Truth Book” and the essay collection “Island of Bones,” which received the International Latino Book Award. She is also editor of the anthology “Family Trouble” and served as the guest judge of CRAFT’s first Creative Nonfiction Award. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Senses of Cinema, Salon, Ploughshares, Afro-Hispanic Review and elsewhere.
We will discuss her latest novel, “Flight Risk,” which has at its center a woman is forced to face her past in a heartbreaking and triumphant novel of old wounds and family secrets. Isabel Morales is a successful Chicago sculptor hiding a brutal family history — one not even her husband knows. After decades of turning her back on her past, she’s forced to return to Appalachia when she receives news of her estranged mother’s death.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com.
We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.
Ken Kesey — American novelist, essayist and counterculture figure — taught us some lessons about the importance of viability of fiction writing with his landmark novel-turned-movie, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and about speed-writing as a creative writing instructor at the University of Oregon. This podcast examines some of his contributions.
Learn more about Ken Kesey here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Kesey
Read about “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” at this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Flew_Over_the_Cuckoo%27s_Nest_(film)
Who were the Merry Pranksters and what role did Ken Kesey play? Check it out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_Pranksters
“The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,”a creative nonfiction book authored by Tom Wolfe, tells the story of the Merry Pranksters: Learn more about the book here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electric_Kool-Aid_Acid_Test
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com
Seven books in 20 years and no end in sight for Robert Hough, whose latest novel, The Marriage of Rose Camilleri, has just been released. Hough speaks to his addiction to writing, why he considers himself a good writer of sex scenes, why he likes writing in first person, and the physical ailments that come from the rigors of the daily writing regimen.
In his latest novel, when Rose Camilleri and Scotty Larkin meet, neither expects to spend a lifetime together, navigating a sometimes turbulent marriage and scraping through the process of raising a family. When he first enters the bakery where she works, she is a new arrival from the tiny island nation of Malta, fond of rabbit stew and Hollywood cinema. He is a thoughtful printer’s assistant recently released from juvenile detention after stealing and swiftly totaling a stranger’s car.
Hough’s other novels include:
The Final Confession of Mabel Stark
The Stowaway
The Man Who Saved Henry Morgan
Dr. Brinkley’s Tower
The Culprits
Diego’s Crossing
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com
You don’t have to be a writer to impart lessons about the craft. Other forms of art experience the same victories and defeats as writers, and their techniques and epiphanies can be of great value to those who trade in the written word. This is the story of an oil painter named Paul, a member of the Charlotte (North Carolina) Art League and the thing he taught me and my wife.
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com
We struggle to write — or have even been entirely repelled by the craft — because we were never taught how writing is properly executed. Instead, we were schooled by teachers who taught us a bunch of grammatical and punctuation rules and regulations, then punished us for any infractions committed.
Quoted in this episode are…
Novelist George Orwell: “The imagination, like certain wild animals, will not breed in captivity.”
George R.R. Martin, author of the “Game of Thrones” series of novels: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies; the man who never reads lives only one.”
Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com
In this episode of Novelist Spotlight, host Mike Consol discussed two rock memoirs from Gregg Allman and Sammy Hagar and the lesson fiction writers can derive from their style of storytelling.
The featured books are the Gregg Allman memoir, “My Cross to Bear,” and the Sammy Hagar memoir, “Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock,” which hit No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list years ago.
Also mentioned during this podcast in relation to the popularity of auto-fiction is “Homeland Elegies” by Ayad Akhtar.
If you haven’t already subscribed to this podcast, please do so, and share the link with friends, colleagues and family members who are avid readers or aspiring writers.
Mike Consol is author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com
Ami Sands Brodoff is the author of several novels and short story collection. Her latest novel, “The Sleep of Apples,” is set in Montreal’s gritty, gentrifying Saint-Henri neighborhood. This linked collection of short stories is a moving dramatization of the imperfect lives we all lead told through nine interconnected narrators. Throughout the book, Sands Brodoff, the award-winning author of five previous books, presents characters and events inspired by her personal experiences. In one story, Collier, a gender-fluid, non-binary teen forms an unlikely connection with Rachel, a recreation therapist at The Children’s Hospital Psychiatric Ward. Rachel is a breast cancer survivor, as is Sands Brodoff. As well, Sands Brodoff is the mother of a transgender son and a gay son.
Here other titles include “Can You See Me?” “The White Space Between” and “Bloodknots,” among others.
During this podcast, Ami is asked:
— Why she writes
— What gets her high when writing
— At what age she determined to be a writer
— What writing does for her
— Her subject matter
— How she creates characters
— The best writing advice ever received
— Etc.
Learn more about Ami at her website: https://amisandsbrodoff.com/
We encourage you to subscribe to this podcast and share a link with friends, colleagues and family members who are avid readers or aspiring writers.
Your host is Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com
In the spotlight this episode is Chip Jacobs, author of the novel Arroyo and several other books, including:
The Darkest Glare: A True Story of Murder, Blackmail, and Real Estate Greed in 1979 Los Angeles
Strange As It Seems: The Impossible Life of Gordon Zahler
Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles
>> The People’s Republic of ChemicalsThe Vicodin Thieves: Biopsying L.A.’s Grifting, Gloryhounds, and Goliaths
Now at work on his next Pasadena-based novel, Jacobs discusses its premise and protagonist. Learn more about the author at his website: https://chipjacobs.com/
We encourage you to subscribe to this podcast and share a link with friends, colleagues and family members who are avid readers or aspiring writers.
Your host is Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com
How did bestselling author Steven Pressfield (“The Legend of Bagger Vance,” “The War of Art,” “A Man at Arms) spark the writing career of Brad Graft? And how was that career further inspired by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy (“Blood Meridian,” “No Country for Old Men,” “All the Pretty Horses”)? Brad Graft, our guest for this episode, explains and also talks about his writing regimen and rituals.
Brad Graft is author of the Brotherhood of the Mamluks trilogy consisting of the novels “Chains of Nobility,” “A Lion’s Share” and “Edge of Armageddon.” The final installment of that trio (soon to be released) is set during the 13th century and is a story that brings together characters from books I and II. It features an enslaved nomad boy who rose to command a reconnaissance unit; Leander, the French soldier who abandoned the Crusades to join the devout Islamic warriors he admired, and a character from the Eurasian steppe who is now the charismatic leader of the elite Bahri Mamluks of Egypt. It’s a tale of betrayal and love, retribution and mercy, and abandonment and redemption — a compelling account of a historical battle, an unheralded clash whose outcome leaves crucial repercussions still felt today.
Take a listen, and if you enjoy this podcast we hope you will subscribe and also share a link with friends, colleagues and family members who are avid readers or aspiring writers.
Your host is Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com
George Saunders, of “Tenth of December” and “Lincoln in the Bardo” fame, teaches creative writing at one of the most prestigious university writing programs in the country. Hundreds apply for enrollment, only about a half-dozen are accepted. Though Saunders was too busy to appear on this episode, his writing advice has been well documented and shared during this program.
One of the ironies of writing is that it is done, by and large, in a sitting position, devoid of movement and the kind of physical-to-mental stimulation that fosters the imagination. What if instead physical movement was incorporated into the process to trigger greater brain stimulation and creativity? Keep in mind that many famous authors (Agatha Christie, James Joyce, Richard Powers, Milton, Dostoevsky and Henry James among them) dictated their work. Your host is Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play,” discusses walking and talking and other forms of taking your writing on the move and boosting the associated mental activity.
In the spotlight this episode is orthopedic surgeon Michael J. Collins, author of two memoirs and the new novel “All Bleeding Stops.” This work of heavily researched fiction takes readers to Vietnam at the height of the war, following young doctor Matthew Barrett and his struggle to acclimate to a harsh and violent medical environment. Kirkus Reviews calls the book “a gut-wrenching and expertly wrought drama, plunging readers into the atrocities of war as well as offering uplifting moments of human connection.” Goodreads’ reviewers have rated it 4.75 out of 5 stars. Learn more about Collins and his books at: www.michaeljcollinsmd.com
Your host is Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Write him at novelistspotlight@gmail.com
In the spotlight this episode is corporate marketing professional Kale Lawrence, author of "The Maji Menagerie." Whether you have published via the independent or traditional route, marketing is critical to the success of any book. Ms. Lawrence offers her insights and advice about how to effectively use social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram, to get your novel in front of perspective readers and push sales.
Your host is Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.”9/23/21
One of the most flamboyant writers in the business is Tom Robbins of “Jitterbug Perfume” and “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” fame. He has some candid and practical advice for aspiring novelists in this maiden episode of Novelist Spotlight, hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” 9/18/21