Speaking of Writing: Recent Episodes
Rose Cushing
Authors and writers from all over the world! This podcast interviews authors, writers, bloggers, and more! Listen as they share their beginnings, dreams, struggles, and successes. If you know anyone who would be a good fit to be a guest please send them our way at rose@southeasthoofbeats.com. Thanks for listening!
Meet the incredible Damien Larking talking with us about his books and being an author all the way from Ireland.
Michelle Nangle is the creative genius behind Shelly Mack Books, living in Scotland and raising her children she is a busy mom as well. Published by Monarch Books, I think you will enjoy getting to know her and picking up her books!
Novelist and writing coach John DeDakis (pronounced: dee-DAY-kiss) is a former editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." DeDakis is the author of five mystery-suspense novels. His fourth novel, Bullet in the Chamber, is the winner of Reviewers Choice, Foreword INDIES, and Feathered Quill book awards. In his most recent novel, Fake, protagonist Lark Chadwick is a White House correspondent trying to walk the line between personal feelings and dispassionate objectivity in the era of “fake news” and #MeToo. Fake earned Honorable Mention for the Reviewers Choice Award and was a Finalist for Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion Award. DeDakis, a former White House correspondent, is a manuscript editor, and regularly teaches novel writing online and at literary centers, writers’ conferences, and bookstores around the country and abroad. Website: www.johndedakis.com
Lori lives in sunny Southwest Florida with her wonderful husband and daughter. Ever since she was in the fourth grade and entered a young author's contest and won, she knew she wanted to be an author someday. When she's not writing, her favorite activities are spending time with her family, reading, traveling, and enjoying time on the beach.
Alyssa Grizenko is a freelance, digital illustrator specializing in character design and imaginative composition. Her stylized approach emphasizes recognizable characterization and subtle detail as distinguishing marks of her work. Alyssa loves bringing characters to life through her illustrations and enjoys partnering with writers on their projects. In her free time, Alyssa pursues many hobbies and interests, including reading, writing, team sports, and nature walks. Her favorite activities involve participating in her local church community and spending time with her family.
Margaret is an accomplished three-day eventer. Margaret as an Author has written an excellent book titled Grid Pro Quo. She is also the founder of Mythic Landing Enterprises, a business formed to help professional horse industry people conduct and promote their business. I know you will enjoy listening to her as she discusses h er writing challenges, process and success.
Dr. T.W. Harvey is a retired Associate Professor of Finance at Ashland Univeristy. He has published two books. Quality Value Banking' Effective Managment Systems that Increase Earnings. His latest work is Seeing the Elephant released in 2018 about a mans return home after the Civil War. and in 2022 Answering LIncoln's Call. Both books are outstanding and I know you will enjoy them!
Lois Hutchinson is an author from Ohio. Her book reflects the peace and beauty of the Ohio countryside became still when the real presence of the war came knocking. Thousands of young Ohio men eagerly enlisted and abandoned their families and everyday lives. There would be no contentment for a long time to come. Discover how one family struggled through hard times, love and despair during the Civil War. Let not the passage of time erase their memories and may their footprints in the dust not fade away.
Famed author Russell Towne has published over 60 books! Listen to his valuable insights into all aspects of writing.
Bluebird, the first children’s book written by St. Johns, Arizona resident, and Blackhat Humane Society founder Tamara Martin, exemplifies the axiom, “Write about what you love.” The title character is an indigenous Native American dog, known colloquially as a Rez Dog. The book illustrations by Navajo artist Ernest John are perfect for this collaboration.
The storyline includes a prayer to Bluebird’s ancestor Grandfather Coyote, asking why there are so many hungry dogs that stand starving by busy highways instead of guarding their family’s sheep and houses. “We stayed awake at night, watching, so the humans could sleep peacefully. We were valued.” Now, Bluebird is sad and feels useless, waiting for a kind family that will see her and her puppies and takes them to safety.
Martin is the founder of a foster-based organization, Good Dog Rez-Q, which has no physical facility but recruits volunteers who care for animals in their own homes until a suitable adopter can be found. This is clearly a labor of love. I know you will enjoy learning more about this!
Karen Smith Author, Publisher at Hen House Publishing. Holly Bargo is a pseudonym for the author, but she really did exist. The original Holly was an elegant and temperamental Appaloosa mare with loads of character. That Holly has long since crossed the Rainbow Bridge and is remembered fondly.
The author herself really does exist, too. Unlike many authors, Holly writes her own books; she doesn't hire ghostwriters. She does, however, ghostwrite for others and currently works as a freelance writer and editor. More information about Holly's freelance services can be found at https://www.henhousepublishing.com.
Holly lives in southwest Ohio on a small hobby farm with her husband and a small menagerie of furred and feathered beasties.
C. Lee McKenzie author can be reached at https://cleemckenziebooks.com . Her latest book Shattered is available on Amazon and wherever good books are sold!
Meet Matthew Caracciolo, Author of The Waygook Book: A Foreigners Guide to South Korea. A delightful description of things to do and see on your visit!
Patricia Black. Patricia taught English in Italy, was editor of Ohio University Publications, worked as a travel agent and drove a bookmobile. Now she writes poems, does beadwork, gardens, and edits academic papers for international students. She is a member of the Athens Poetry Group, the PentaPoets online poetry group, the Evening Poets, and the Ohio Poetry Association. Her poems have appeared in Common Threads and in the Ohio Poetry Association's juried anthology Everything Stops and Listens. She has been a featured reader in Ohio in Athens, Cincinnati, Columbus, Coshocton, Marion and Wooster. She lives in Athens, Ohio.
Deborah Hayhurst has been a watercolorist for 40 years. She brings Twillaby Pond to life as she ventures into book illustration for the first time. Deborah has degrees in Natural Resources from both Hocking Technical College and the Ohio State University. She loves to hike and birdwatch. Originally from the Columbus area, she now resides in Lancaster, Ohio.
Kathy Elasky is an author from Ohio. She is the author of the new children’s book Pudgy Possum and the Porcupine (Monday Creek Publishing 2020). She is a retired teacher/counselor. She lives on a small farm with my husband, three dogs, one cat, several squirrels, and the occasional raccoon or possum. I think you will enjoy meeting her.
Meet Author Deannie Humphreys Dunne. She has a delightful new book out and I know you will enjoy learning more about her and her book!
Robert Eversole is an internationally recognized clinician, author, keynote speaker, and riding instructor, Robert “the TrailMeister” coaches horse owners and aspiring riders on how to enjoy trail riding and to camp with equines. Robert has written and published thousands of articles on trail riding. Last year he wrote a book combining all those years of knowledge. The ABCs of Trail Riding was on the Amazon Best Seller list for 29 consecutive days! We talk about his journey, becoming a writer, his experiences in the process, marketing, and what the future holds.
Experienced and aspiring trail riders and horse campers alike will enjoy and benefit from reading The ABCs of Trail Riding and Horse Camping. This book goes beyond the scope of traditional horse-riding texts, revealing hundreds of field-tested tips to improve your next outdoor adventure. With clear descriptions organized alphabetically for quick reference, this guide by veteran trail riding and camping clinician Robert Eversole divulges essential knowledge for every horse owner.
Leslie has written multiple books, her latest release is Horse on the Loose. Horse on the Loose Leslie McDonald, Illustrated by Tanya Glebova The Mighty Quin, is a retired show horse who is afraid his beloved owner will sell him because he can no longer jump the big fences to win blue ribbons as he did in his youth. Determined not to let humans govern his fate, Quin boldly escapes from his stable to search for the perfect home. From golf course fairways to city streets to suburban backyards with the police hot on his trail, Quin gains a fresh perspective on human nature, loyalty, and, ultimately, true love.
Additional books are also available. Find Leslie McDonald at www.MondayCreekPublishing.com
Corkey Mabry is a song writer that lives in Panama! He has written multiple songs listed in Nashville song books waiting to be picked up by a famous singer. He discusses his motivation for the songs he writes and how you can write songs and market them. I think you will enjoy this episode.
NC Matheny author of A Hard Way to Go, The Horse of a Lifetime.
NC Matheny was raised in the Ohio Valley, where he still resides. Horses have always been his passion. Casey, NC's Tennessee Walking Horse, was his loyal companion for over 22 years. Through trials and tribulations, God has seen all of NC's dreams to fruition, including life with Casey. When Casey came to live with NC, the colt hovered between life and death. Through NC's unwavering love and patience, Casey lived a full life. Besides being an entrepreneur of several businesses, NC is past president of the Ohio Horse Council, Athens County Chapter, and the proprietor of his non-profit Wreath Adventures LLC, honoring fallen American Veterans. NC is a member of the local Wesleyan Church.
Van Hargis is from Texas and has been a horseman most of his life. He has written a new book about his experiences and I think you will enjoy it. Learn more about Van in today's episode.
Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt, M.Ed., seeks to support community initiatives and non-profits and elevate the status of writers while promoting writing as an art. From her D.C. metro home, she pens poems, articles, flash fiction and books published independently and traditionally. Katherine will be our guest speaker at Triangle East Writers Aug 11, 6 p.m. if you are in the area stop by!
Mark M. Dean and his family live in Southeast Ohio on a small horse farm nestled into the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. His endeavors as an Author, Lyricist, and Poet are fueled by childhood memories of many family tales and exploits regarding the colorful characters in his clan. Mark and family have the pleasure of living in ten states stretching from Rhode Island to Arizona while also having lived and traveled abroad. His 20 years of Military service involved 12 family moves giving him keen insight into the importance of bonding through stories, songs, and poems. Mark struggled with childhood dyslexia and desires to payback all those who helped him develop his imagination through reading and storytelling. He earned his Undergraduate degree from Miami University while also playing Ice Hockey for the Redskins. He also earned his Master's Degree from Ohio University.
Author Joy Milner Upton joined us for our inaugural episode of Speaking of Writing. A podcast about writers from all over the world. Joy is the author of JourneysWith two horses, a dog and a used Gibson guitar a young woman set out in 1973 for a month-long adventure, following trails and back roads deep in Appalachia in southeastern Ohio. A few weeks before, Joy MillerUpton had been a journalism student at Ohio University, but now, with a BS degree in hand, she was taking time off before beginning her writing and photography career. At first riding with her 12-year-old son for a week, then by herself, Joy had time to contemplate the first 31 years of her life.
That journey was the first in a series of horseback adventures Joy and her horses took over the next three decades. You will read about living on the road traveling with horses—sleeping under the stars and sometimes thunderclouds, riding through Bigfoot country, tracing parts of John Hunt Morgan’s ride through Ohio, and riding portions of Underground Railroad routes.
This is a story about a woman raised when becoming a homemaker was the end-game. But Joy pointed her horse in a different direction, and, by her 26th birthday started college and began a journey full of rich experiences..