(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 →
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 →
Novelist Kamran Pasha tells of the Mother of the Believers! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Kamran Pasha, novelist, Mother of the Believers. Kamran Pasha is a brave man. He knows that Sherry Jones’ book, The Jewel of Medina—about the birth of Islam—lost its initial publisher in 2008 because of the ruckus it stirred up. He knows that filmmaker Moustapha Akkad—who created the 1977 movie The Messenger, about... Continue Reading →
Sci-fi writer Kevin J. Anderson: To Alderaan and beyond! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Kevin J. Anderson, novelist, Hidden Empire: The Saga of Seven Suns, Young Jedi Knights, Allies, Last Son of Krypton, Ground Zero If you create or own a sci-fi or other genre character or franchise, one of the top, go-to guys for a writer who will admirably adapt your property for novelization is... Continue Reading →
Mama insisted I interview first time novelist Deborah Sharp! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Deborah Sharp, novelist, "Mama Does Time." In Himmarshee, Florida. And Mama’s middle daughter, Mace, an animal trapper, is pissed. That’s all you need to know to get interested in the first novel by my old friend Deborah Sharp. It’s titled Mama Does Time, and boy, does she ever. Deborah was a long-time... Continue Reading →
John Darnton leaves NYT, turns Black, White, Dead All Over! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: John Darnton, ex-New York Times reporter, novelist, Black and White and Dead All Over The great pleasure of being a novelist is that you can praise your friends and carve up your enemies by changing a few names and details to protect the innocent and fend off the guilty and, at the... Continue Reading →