Hank Garner's Blog, page 17

Author Stories Podcast Episode 719 | Josh Gondelman Interview

Today my guest is Josh Gondelman, stand up comic, television writer and the author of the new book Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results.

[image error]Emmy-Award winning writer and comedian Josh Gondelman’s collection of personal stories of best intentions and mixed results.

Josh Gondelman knows a thing or two about trying—and failing. The Emmy Award-winning stand-up comic—dubbed a “pathological sweetheart” by the New York Observer—is known throughout the industry as one of comedy’s true “nice guys.” Not surprisingly, he’s endured his share of last-place finishes. But he keeps on bouncing back.

In this collection of hilarious and poignant essays (including his acclaimed New York Times piece “What if I Bombed at My Own Wedding?”), Josh celebrates a life of good intentions—and mixed results. His true tales of romantic calamities, professional misfortunes, and eventual triumphs reinforce the notion: we get out of the world what we put into it. Whether he’s adopting a dog from a suspicious stranger, mitigating a disastrous road trip, or trying MDMA for the first (and only) time, Josh only wants the best for everyone—even as his attempts to do the right thing occasionally implode.

Full of the warm and relatable humor that’s made him a favorite on the comedy club circuit, Nice Trysolidifies Josh Gondelman’s reputation as not just a good guy, but a skilled observer of the human condition.

Josh Gondelman is a writer and comedian who incubated in Boston before moving to New York City, where he currently lives and works as a writer and producer for Desus and Mero on Showtime. Previously, he spent five years at Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, first as a web producer and then as a staff writer. Onstage, Josh charms audiences using his good-natured storytelling and cracks them up with his sharp, pointy wit. He takes topics from surprise parties to his experience teaching preschool and makes them all equally hilarious. In 2016, he made his late night standup debut on Conan (TBS), and he recently made his network tv debut on Late Night With Seth Meyers (NBC). Josh’s upcoming album Dancing On a Weeknight is available April 19th on Blonde Medicine Records. (His last comedy album Physical Whisper debuted in March of 2016 at #1 on the iTunes comedy charts (as well as #4 on the Billboard comedy chart)  and stayed there for…well…longer than he expected, honestly.)

Offstage, Josh has earned two Peabody Awards, three Emmy awards, and two WGA Awards for his work on Last Week Tonight. He is also the co-author (along with Joe Berkowitz) of the book You Blew It, published October 2015 by Plume. His follow-up, Nice Try, is set to come out Fall 2019 through Harper Perennial. In the past, Josh has written for Fuse TV’s Billy On The Street. His writing has also appeared in prestigious publications such as McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, New York Magazine, and The New Yorker.

Gondelman is the co-creator and co-author of the Shorty Award-winning  Modern Seinfeld Twitter account, and his own Twitter feed was named the year’s best by Paste Magazine in 2015. The Ellen DeGeneres Show took notice of Josh’s joke writing skill and featured him as part of their “Tweetly Roundup.”

Additionally, Josh has performed at the Rooftop Comedy Festival in Aspen, CO, and headlined at the Laugh Your Asheville Off Festival in Asheville, NC. More recently he has appeared in the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and SF Sketchfest. His debut standup comedy CD, Everything’s The Best was released in November of 2011 by Rooftop Comedy Productions.

Author Stories Podcast Episode 718 | Andrew Gross Interview

Andrew Gross joins me today to talk about his new historical thriller The Fifth Column.

[image error]“One of the best historical thriller authors in the business… [A] stellar novel.” —Associated Press

#1 New York Times bestselling author of The One Man Andrew Gross once again delivers a tense, stirring thriller of a family torn apart set against the backdrop of a nation plunged into war.

February, 1939. Europe teeters on the brink of war. In New York City, twenty-two thousand cheering Nazi supporters pack Madison Square Garden for a raucous, hate-filled rally. In a Hell’s Kitchen bar, Charles Mossman is reeling from the loss of his job and the demise of his marriage when a group draped in Nazi flags barges in. Drunk, Charlie takes a swing at one with tragic results and a torrent of unintended consequences follows.

Two years later. America is wrestling with whether to enter the growing war. Charles’s estranged wife and six-year-old daughter, Emma, now live in a quiet brownstone in the German-speaking New York City neighborhood of Yorkville, where support for Hitler is common. Charles, just out of prison, struggles to put his life back together, while across the hall from his family, a kindly Swiss couple, Trudi and Willi Bauer, have taken a liking to Emma. But Charles begins to suspect that they might not be who they say they are.

As the threat of war grows, and fears of a “fifth column”—German spies embedded into everyday life—are everywhere, Charles puts together that the seemingly amiable Bauers may be part of a sinister conspiracy. When Pearl Harbor is attacked and America can no longer sit on the sideline, that conspiracy turns into a deadly threat with Charles the only one who can see it and Emma, an innocent pawn.

Andrew Gross is the author of the New York Times and international bestsellers Everything to Lose, No Way Back, 15 Seconds, Eyes Wide Open, Reckless, Don’t Look Back, The Dark Tide, and The Blue Zone. He is also coauthor of five number one bestsellers with James Patterson, including Judge & Jury and Lifeguard. His books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. His latest novel, Button Man, is an historical thriller coming Sept 18, 2018 from Minotaur Books.

Author Stories Podcast Episode 717 | Rex Ogle Interview

Today’s author interview guest is Rex Ogle, author of the new book Free Lunch.

[image error] “A mighty portrait of poverty amid cruelty and optimism.”―Kirkus (starred review)

Free Lunch is the story of Rex Ogle’s first semester in sixth grade. Rex and his baby brother often went hungry, wore secondhand clothes, and were short of school supplies, and Rex was on his school’s free lunch program. Grounded in the immediacy of physical hunger and the humiliation of having to announce it every day in the school lunch line, Rex’s is a compelling story of a more profound hunger―that of a child for his parents’ love and care. Compulsively readable, beautifully crafted, and authentically told with the voice and point of view of a 6th-grade kid, Free Lunch is a remarkable debut by a gifted storyteller.

About Rex Ogle:

Rex Ogle was born and raised mostly in Texas. He says, “I was one of the poorest kids at a school for the children of the wealthy. I was on the subsidized lunch program, and mocked endlessly. This is my middle school experience, but I think it’s an important story to tell.” A former children’s book editor in New York City, Rex and his partner now enjoy much nicer weather in the Los Angeles area.

 

Author Stories Podcast Episode 716 | Gilly Macmillan Brings A New Thriller Twist With The Nanny

Today on Author Stories my guest is Gilly Macmillan, author of the new thriller The Nanny. In this latest book, Gilly takes a familiar trope on the psychological thriller genre and turns it on its head. The Nanny is like no other book you’ve read. Listen to Gilly’s first visit to the show here.

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The New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew conjures a dark and unpredictable tale of family secrets that explores the lengths people will go to hurt one another.

When her beloved nanny, Hannah, left without a trace in the summer of 1988, seven-year-old Jocelyn Holt was devastated. Haunted by the loss, Jo grew up bitter and distant, and eventually left her parents and Lake Hall, their faded aristocratic home, behind.

Thirty years later, Jo returns to the house and is forced to confront her troubled relationship with her mother. But when human remains are accidentally uncovered in a lake on the estate, Jo begins to question everything she thought she knew.

Then an unexpected visitor knocks on the door and Jo’s world is destroyed again. Desperate to piece together the gaping holes in her memory, Jo must uncover who her nanny really was, why she left, and if she can trust her own mother…

In this compulsively readable tale of secrets, lies, and deception, Gilly Macmillan explores the darkest impulses and desires of the human heart. Diabolically clever, The Nanny reminds us that sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.

Gilly Macmillan is the internationally bestselling author of five novels including WHAT SHE KNEW, THE PERFECT GIRL, ODD CHILD OUT, I KNOW YOU KNOW and THE NANNY.

A former art historian and photographer, Gilly studied at Bristol University and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. She lives in Bristol, UK, with her husband and three children.

Her first novel, WHAT SHE KNEW, was a Target pick, a LibraryReads pick, an Indie Next pick, an Edgar award nominee, and an International Thriller Writers award finalist.

Gilly’s novels have appeared on the New York Times, Globe & Mail and Der Spiegel bestseller lists, been translated into over 20 languages and sold over one million copies worldwide. She’s been described as ‘one heck of a good writer’ (Wall Street Journal) and her novels have been praised as ‘nuanced, completely addictive’ (People), ‘riveting’ (Publishers Weekly), and ‘visceral, emotionally charged…heart-wrenchingly well told’ (The Daily Mail).

She is currently working on her sixth novel.

Author Stories Podcast Episode 715 | Juliet Cutler Interview

Today’s author interview guest is Juliet Cutler, author of Among the Maasai: A Memoir.

[image error]In 1999, Juliet Cutler leaves the United States to teach at the first school for Maasai girls in East Africa. Captivated by the stories of young Maasai women determined to get an education in the midst of a culture caught between the past and the future, she seeks to empower and support her students as they struggle to define their own fates.

Cutler soon learns that behind their shy smiles and timid facades, her Maasai students are much stronger than they appear. For them, adolescence requires navigating a risky world of forced marriages, rape, and genital cutting, all in the midst of a culture grappling with globalization. In the face of these challenges, these young women believe education offers hope, and so, against all odds, they set off alone―traveling hundreds of miles and even forsaking their families―simply to go to school.

Twenty years of involvement with this school and its students reveal to Cutler the important impacts of education across time, as well as the challenges inherent in tackling issues of human rights and extreme poverty across vastly different cultures. Working alongside local educators, Cutler emerges transformed by the community she finds in Tanzania and by witnessing the life-changing impact of education on her students.

Proceeds from the sale of this book support education for at-risk Maasai girls.

Juliet Cutler is a writer, an educator, and an activist. Her teaching career began in Tanzania in 1999, and since that time, she has been an advocate for empowering at-risk girls through education.

“Among the Maasai” is Juliet’s first book, though her literary and professional publications number more than two dozen. She has taught writing in many settings including as adjunct faculty for the College of St. Scholastica in Minnesota. She holds an MA in English from Colorado State University and a BS in education from the University of North Dakota.

Juliet currently lives with her husband, Mark, in a community near Atlanta. When she’s not writing, Juliet consults as an education and exhibition specialist for museums, parks, and cultural centers throughout the world.

She regularly returns to Tanzania and remains a supporter of causes that uplift Maasai women and girls.

Author Stories Podcast Episode 714 | Brooke Warner Interview

Today’s author interview guest is Brooke Warner, author of Write On, Sisters!

[image error]There are more outlets than ever for writers to spread their messages and share their work, more opportunities to speak out and be seen. Writers expose themselves freely and willingly in a way that would have been unfathomable fifty years ago, and more people than ever are writing and publishing. Men and women are writing with equal fervor and commitment to their message and craft. As a result, it’s easy to assume, or hope, that the gendered playing field is a thing of the past, too. Unfortunately for women writers, it’s not. Knowing what we’re up against and how to fight back is the heart and soul of Write On, Sisters!

Inside these pages, Brooke Warner draws upon research, anecdotes, and her personal experiences from twenty years in the book publishing industry to show how women’s writing is discounted or less valued than men’s writing, then provides support to overcome these challenges. This book also shines light on how women writers face not only ever-present historical and social challenges but also their own self-limiting beliefs. Write On, Sisters! is for every woman writer ready to be done with all that, and who’s ready for the next revolution.

Brooke Warner is publisher of She Writes Press and SparkPress, president of Warner Coaching Inc., and author of Write On, Sisters!, Green-light Your Book, What’s Your Book?, and three books on memoir. Brooke is a TEDx speaker and the former Executive Editor of Seal Press. She currently sits on the boards of the Independent Book Publishers Association, the Bay Area Book Festival, and the National Association of Memoir Writers.  She writes a monthly column for Publishers Weekly.

Author Stories Podcast Episode 713 | David Shannon Interview

Today’s author interview guest is David Shannon, author of Mr. Nogginbody Gets a Hammer.

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Beloved picture book creator David Shannon introduces a new character in a satisfyingly silly and subversive take on a familiar parable.

 

If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

 

After snagging his toe, Mr. Nogginbody makes a visit to his local hardware store in search of solutions. Armed with a shiny new hammer, he successfully fixes the nail protruding from his floor. But the satisfaction of his first repair carries him away, and he figures that anything resembling a nail—from a lamp switch to a fire hydrant—can be fixed with a good whack. The results are predictably and theatrically disastrous, until Mr. Nogginbody arrives at a gentle awakening and recognizes that not everything is a nail.

David Shannon was born in Washington, D.C, in 1959. He grew up in Spokane, WA. David liked to draw as soon as he could hold a crayon. He went to Hutton Elementary school where his teachers soon realized that if they let David draw murals it would keep him from disrupting class and their classroom would have some pretty good art on the walls, too. David eventually graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where he majored in Illustration. In He sold his pickup truck and moved to New York City in 1983 to start a career in editorial illustration. David’s work appeared in many magazines and newspapers, including Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, as well as numerous book jackets and posters. In 1988 he illustrated his first children’s book, How Many Spots Does a Leopard Have?, by Julius Lester. (Btw, Leopards have two spots – dark ones and light ones.) After illustrating several books by other authors, David was encouraged to try writing his own stories. His first book was How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball, which was named a New York Times Best-illustrated book in 1994. In 1999 the semi-autobiographical story, No, David!, received a Caldecott Honor. Davidhas written and/ or illustrated over 35 books for children. He lives in Los Angeles with his Wife, Heidi and his daughter, Emma.

Author Stories Podcast Episode 712 | Joshua Smith Interview

Joshua Smith has an amazing story of personal triumph and a fantastic new fantasy series that is just about to launch. Listen to us talk all about fantasy and how his new series, including his new book Immortals, came to be.

[image error] The world has been destroyed…

…and remolded in the image of its destroyer. 

For thousands of years, stories had been told of the terrible Sorceress who’d given all her power to end the ancient world. But those were just stories. Now, new stars dot the sky—signs of Sorceress Jocina’s power returning so she can finish the job.

For A’banna, these signs mark the end of her service to the Sorceress as priestess. Commanded to sacrifice a living being in Jocina’s name, she can’t go through with it. A’banna flees into the jungle, but the wide world is much different than she knows. Further, she’s being hunted by Jocina’s sadistic son and her monstrous creations. Nature itself seems set against her.

Bedel and Raynt, two of the Magical Affairs Commission’s elite agents and powerful essencers, might be her only hope. They’ve dedicated their lives to holding back the tide of Jocina’s darkness, and preventing her inevitable return, but when they discover A’banna on the edge of death, all missions are postponed in an effort to protect her.

Might this strange, defecting priestess hold the keys to defeating the Sorceress once and for all? Or will she cause two of the most powerful remaining essencers to meet their doom for nothing?

Experience the start of a Fantasy Epic filled with magic, war, and characters that leap off the pages. It’s perfect for fans of Jeff Wheeler, Brandon Sanderson, and AC Cobble.

Also available on Audible, narrated by the award-winning Tim Gerard Reynolds.

Joshua P. Smith fell in love with fantasy and science fiction early in life, but attempted a normal career first. He is a former Language Arts educator, lawyer’s assistant, college ministry interim director, and most recently volunteered in politics. He has a background in communications, journalism, and academic forensics (which sounds more sophisticated on résumés than speech and debate). He loves running, dancing, hiking, camping, medieval martial arts, gaming, anything geek, and long walks on the beach. After six years of battling Parkinson’s Syndrome and a form of epilepsy caused by two Machiavellian super-villains (a.k.a. viruses), it was clear Joshua needed a quest beyond the ongoing war with his viral opponents. What better way to capture the magic of life than write? Now seizure free, he can be found coffee shop-hopping in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where he lives with his family and their collective imaginations.

Author Stories Podcast Episode 711 | Matthew P. Gilbert Interview

Today’s author interview guest is Matthew P. Gilbert, author of the new series Sins Of The Fathers.

[image error]To stop the end of the world, they must defy a god.

Yazid Valerion is alone with the truth. The apocalypse is coming. But his warnings fall on deaf ears. His people are far more concerned about the wars of today and tomorrow than those of the past.

Eons ago, the Dead God promised a world of ash, and the time of that prophecy is now at hand. His only hope is to cross the sea with his few followers in search of ancient enemies, the Meites, and pray he can sway them to his cause. But the Meites are no mere mortals; they are powerful sorcerers prone to outbursts of destructive terror. Even if he can find them, there’s no guarantee they won’t slaughter him and his men upon first sight.

Perhaps there is no way to change the prophesy of a god. If not, then Yazid will die well. For a warrior knows, it is better to die fighting than trembling in fear of the final blow.

The battle to save the world begins in Book 1 of an Epic Fantasy Adventure Trilogy perfect for fans of Marc Alan Edelheit, Bryce O’Connor, and David Estes.

Also Available on Audible, performed by Ralph Lister.

Matt Gilbert, in addition to being a fiction author, is a professional video game developer, a veteran, a columnist for his local newspaper, and the father of three wild boys and two wild girls. He was born and raised in Woodbury, GA, and has been on watch for zombies ever since.

Author Stories Podcast Episode 710 | D. O. Thomas Interview

Today’s show is another Aethon Books Showcase show with guest D. O. Thomas talking about his new book Born of the Shade. After the interview we have an audio book clip from The Call Of Agon by Dean F. Wilson.

[image error]They live among us. Hiding in plain sight. Until Now…

West London has always been known as the quieter part of the city. That’s true… for a human. But in reality, the streets are home to those that rule over the supernatural world.

Werewolves have their gated communities. Vampires reside within a subterranean utopia. And the magic-wielding wizards, witches, and warlocks study their arts right under the noses of general public. It has always been that way, and because of this, there has always been peace.

But when a rare blue moon settles in the sky, everything changes.

Noir, a West London information broker with his fingers in every supernatural pie, sets out to discover what the blue moon means and finds something beyond belief. With his discovery, comes the realization of a prophecy that spells disaster for the supernatural world.

He must do everything in his power to stop the actualization of this dark future that might mean the end for the peace between species that keeps his world intact.

Magic, secrets, and unexpected twists will keep you on the edge of your seat in this Supernatural Urban Fantasy debut. It’s perfect for fans of Rivers of London, The Magicians, and American Gods.

D o Thomas is from the uk, born and raised in west London. As a child he struggled in school due to Dyspraxia, a learning difficulty that effects hand eye coordination. He learned to read before he could pick up a pen and soon fell in love with the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett.

Fantasy played a major role in his life as he struggled to do the things his friends could do. Instead of playing football he journeyed through the streets of Ankh-Morpork. Instead of riding a bike he imagined being a great and powerful wizard and soon his dreams came true when he received his first Japanese role-playing game on the PlayStation. The computer games that came next had deep and dark stories which fascinated him and lead him to imagine his own stories.

Years flew by, school felt impossible as he still hadn’t learned to put pen to paper, he stopped reading, gave up on learning and even his teachers allowed him to ignore the work they put in front of him. Instead, he jotted down poems in handwriting only he could read. Naturally D o Thomas received terrible grades for his GCSE’s; he didn’t even sit his literature exam however he never lost that need for a good story.

Fast forward into early adult life, after the failed attempt to be a UK rapper and after meeting the meeting the love of his life, he made the discovery of audible. Books were back and they were easy again. He fell in love with so many new stories and started writing his own. It took him five years of tweaking his writing style, analysing his shortcomings and obsessing over the world he wanted to create but he did it.

Drawing his inspiration from the likes of Terry Pratchett, George RR Martin, RR Haywood, Devon C Ford and the stupendous amount of authors this bio hasn’t the room to mention, D o Thomas taught himself how to be an author and now brings you the Viventuim series.

Every book, every sentence, every word a piece of his soul.