Today's Guest: Jackie Collins, novelist, Poor Little Bitch Girl Sex? Check. Scandal? Check. Thinly veiled portraits of Hollywood celebrities? Check. Breathless, page-turning details? Check. JACKIE COLLINS podcast excerpt: "When I was just starting off, I was in New York being interviewed by this journalist. We were in a private room. I had a very... Continue Reading →
Private eye Steven Gore puts spying to use in debut novel, Final Target! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Steven Gore, novelist, Final Target Steven Gore already had a pretty good career going for himself when he sidestepped into the world of mystery novelist. Let me quote from Gore’s own description of his life, before publishing his debut novel, as a globetrotting private eye: “It was a career that took me, among... Continue Reading →
Hey, Heather Brewer! Is book five the end for Vladimir Tod? PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Heather Brewer, novelist, The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod The whole vampire chic thing passed me by. Not just the Twilight movies and the HBO series “True Blood,” either—I never got hooked on Joss Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Series,” either. Vampires? Yuck? I think the last vampire movie I enjoyed was the Dracula... Continue Reading →
My favorite writer of the 20th century: Nick Tosches talks shop! INTERVIEW
(AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: I recently found this typewritten story in my files from July 25, 1985. Probably produced on my Apple IIc! I believe it was a freelance piece I wrote for the St. Petersburg Times when I was writing most of the paper's pop music articles and reviews. This version was not edited by... Continue Reading →
Monte Schulz writes of Jordan, tells of cartoonist dad Schulz! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Novelist Monte Schulz, author of This Side of Jordan, son of Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz. When his father wrote adult characters, they sounded like muffled trombones. When Monte Schulz writes grown up dialogue, there is no doubt that the words are not from the mouths of babes. To wit: Something blunt struck Alvin... Continue Reading →
439 YA author Lisa McMann: Wake, Fade, Gone. And make it snappy! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Lisa McMann, YA novelist, Wake, Fade, Gone, The Unwanteds This is gonna take a minute. It was the last day of our first family vacation in two years and the three of us were unwinding in the enormous Barnes & Noble bookstore in Burlington, Vermont. My 13-year-old son Charlie found two young adult novels... Continue Reading →
YA novelist Sara Zarr finds third time the charm! PODCAST INTERVIEW
The life of young adult novelist Sara Zarr has changed dramatically in the last three years, following publication of her first book, Story of a Girl. That book led her to be a finalist for the 2007 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. She didn’t win, but as I told her in our... Continue Reading →
After Richard Doetsch’s ’13th Hour,’ baby, I want more! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Regular listeners know I’m not prone to breathless hyperbole about my guests or their work. If I like a book I’ve read, I tell you straight out. And if I don’t like a book, you probably won’t hear the author interviewed on Mr. Media Radio because to me, lying isn’t worth the effort. Today, I’m... Continue Reading →
Chet the Dog, mystery author, leads Mr. Media astray! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Dogs that can express themselves in a language we can all understand are nothing new. Remember the movie Cats & Dogs? One dog had the voice of Tobey McGuire, another the sonorous tones of Alec Baldwin. But how many dogs have written books about their adventures? Point for Chet the Dog, sidekick of Bernie Little... Continue Reading →
412 YA novelist James Dashner plots course with The Maze Runner! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: James Dashner, novelist, The Maze Runner Recommendations are worth what you pay for them, so I don’t always accept them at face value. But the same literary agent who turned me on to young adult novelist Sara Zarr two years ago thought I’d also enjoy James Dashner’s new YA book, The Maze Runner,... Continue Reading →