Tag

Creativity

Fiction, Writers on Writing

Aug 28: Story Sparks & The Doll Funeral

Whether you have a treasure chest of ideas and a thimbleful of creativity, or the talent to compose riveting stories but the muse is absent, returning guest Denise Jaden can help!

Story Sparks: Finding Your Best Story Ideas and Turning Them Into Compelling Fiction is her guide to transforming your potential tales into captivating fiction, or getting “unstuck” if you have the dreaded writer’s block.  Denise is an award-winning author of young adult novels and has also penned several nonfiction books for those looking to explore writing.

Imagine a mystical world where ghosts of the past and the present, the living and lost, haunt the land of the living.  The Doll Funeral, Kate Hamer’s highly anticipated follow-up to The Girl in the Red Coat, uses her mastery of atmosphere and language to explore intense family relationships while drawing you into a world of paranormal specters.

In addition to her novels, Kate is a prolific and award-winning writer of short stories and has written articles for The New York Times, The Independent, and The Sunday Mail.

Continue reading
Inspirational, Personal Development, Writers on Writing

Aug 14: Insight Into Self-Awareness & Our Story Begins

Ninety-five percent of people believe they are self-aware, but approximately 10-15% actually are.  INSIGHT: Why We’re Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and In Life  explores the most common misconceptions about how to become more self-aware and focuses on how to make better career, love, and life choices through understanding our own values, aspirations, and impact on others.

Author Dr. Tascha Eurich is an organizational psychologist, researcher, and New York Times best-selling author.

Each of our stories finds its foundation in the honest and vulnerable years of our childhood.  Many of our thoughts and inspirations from those times are long since lost or forgotten, but for some, they remain a cherished look back at the shaping of our current and future selves.

In Our Story Begins: Your Favorite Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew as Kids, compiled by award-winning author Elissa Brent Weissman, we get a firsthand glimpse at the quirky and smart early drawings and writings of some of today’s  foremost children’s authors, revealing the evidence of their nascent talent in their most formative years.

Continue reading
Fiction, Writers on Writing

Aug 07: Award Winning Summer Reads

The dog days of summer are upon us, and the cool evening breezes bring about the perfect time to settle on the back porch with a glass of wine and a good book.

Our first guest today delivers a compelling exploration of family, politics, and the fight for racial equality in her debut novel, The Talented Ribkins.  Author Ladee Hubbard won both the 2016 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award and the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition in the Short Story category.

Glen Erik Hamilton’s debut novel, Past Crimes, was wildly successful, and he returns today to discuss the third novel in the lauded Van Shaw series, Every Day Above Ground.

Glen will also share his approach to living up to the lofty expectations set by his first two books, and what it takes to develop a realistic character who grows with the series.

Continue reading
Personal Development

Jan 30: 1] The Four Purposes of Life 2] Succulent Wild Love

From Dan Millman, founder of the highly regarded The Peaceful Warrior’s Way comes a new look at his earlier teachings…along with plenty of original material… in The Four Purposes of Life: Finding Meaning and Direction in a Changing World. This “little book of big ideas” puts together all the puzzle pieces and is especially useful for anyone going through life changes and wondering what the future brings.

Succulent Wild Love: Six Powerful Habits for Feeling More Love More Often combines co-authorSARK’s (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) trademark creativity, with the more left-brain psychological perspective of her fiance and co-author Dr. John Waddell. SARK describes the book as “the best of being single and the best of being in a relationship and how to create that every day.”

Enjoy this encore presentation of Conversations Live… Vicki returns live next week!  Catch Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. Like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter for exclusive updates and contests!

The Four Purposes of Life: Finding Meaning and Direction in a Changing World places some of Dan Millman‘s earlier teachings (in distilled form) into their complete context, along with considerable original material about finding our career and calling. Especially useful for anyone going through changes and wondering, What next? A quantum leap in awareness of oneself and one’s life purpose… all four of them. Dan is a former world champion athlete, university coach, martial arts instructor, and college professor. After an intensive, twenty-year spiritual quest, Dan’s teaching found its form as the Peaceful Warrior’s Way, expressed fully in his books and lectures.Dan’s thirteen books, including Way of the Peaceful Warrior, have inspired and informed millions of readers in 29 languages worldwide. The feature film, “Peaceful Warrior,” starring Nick Nolte, was adapted from Dan’s first book, based upon incidents from his life.

Rather than emphasizing finding the right partner, Succulent Wild Love: Six Powerful Habits for Feeling More Love More Often is ultimately about being the right partner. “You can have what you want without being dependent on the people around you to change, so you can love them unconditionally,” write SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) and co-author Dr. John Waddell. “It is about being wild — as in untamed and not limited by those close to you. You are free to be yourself in your relationships.” Bestselling author and artist SARK has made a career out of sharing her personal, journal-like writings and art, and inspiring others with her vulnerable and honest journey toward self-acceptance. And yet she had one big secret wish: overcoming her fears about finding someone to love and committing to an intimate life partnership. In widower, psychology and spiritual teacher, Dr. John , she met her match.

Listen to PODCAST –

Continue reading
Memoir

Jan 09: 1] The Wrong Dog 2] The Seventh Plague

From NY Times Bestselling author David Elliot Cohen comes the heartwarming and often hilarious tale of Simba II, a mischevious white labrador retriever puppy bought home by accident. Included in The Wrong Dog: An Unlikely Tale of Unconditional Love is the author’s 3300 mile cross-country odyssey that chronicles the unbreakable bond between a dog and it’s people.

Bestselling mastermind James Rollins joins Vicki today to discuss the latest entry in his popular Sigma Series. The Seventh Plague blends scientific intrigue with historical mystery, and reveals an ancient threat hidden within the pages of the Bible that has a puzzling connection to Mark Twain’s travels, the genius of Nikola Tesla, and the adventures of explorer Henry Morgan Stanley.

Listen to Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. For exclusive updates throughout the rest of the week, like us on Facebook, and follow Vicki St. Clair on Twitter!

David Elliot Cohen demonstrates with great precision the vast and benevolent role dogs play in American family life in his latest effort, The Wrong Dog: An Unlikely Tale of Unconditional Love. As the accidentally adopted new family member grows from an energetic puppy into an enormous ninety-pound dog with a huge personality, Simba cements the bond between two families and enriches their lives in countless ways. A Yale graduate, David has produced numerous titles for Barnes & Noble’s in-house publishing division including four presidential photo-biographies and a book about the power of socially-conscious photojournalism. As an editor and author, he has created books that have sold over 6 million copies worldwide, including 4 NY Times bestsellers.

Featuring an ‘Elon Musk’ like character and a unique perspective on the friendship between Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla, The Seventh Plague by James Rollins weaves several relevant themesthroughout including Trump, Tesla and a secret energy source; whether or not a virus could cause one of the biblical plagues, and the frightening reality of electric-eating bacteria. James Rollins is a New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers, translated into more than forty languages. In each novel, James unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets…and he does it all at breakneck speed and with stunning insight.

Listen to PODCAST –

Continue reading
Conservation, Environment, Fiction

Aug 29: 1] Panda Babies: Mission Critical 2] NYT Bestseller Carla Neggers

Could you imagine a world without Giant Pandas? It’s estimated there are only 1,600 of these magnificent mammals roaming wild, and China is racing to save them from extinction. Photographer Ami Vitale joins Vicki to share highlights from the premiere episode of National Geographic WILD’s new series, Panda Babies: Mission Critical — featuring three maternity centers leading the way in raising and releasing pandas into the wild.

New York Times bestseller Carla Neggers returns today to discuss the sixth installment in the celebrated “Sharpe & Donovan” series, Liar’s Key. With settings in the US and Ireland, Liar’s Key delivers an international flair and Reader to Reader calls it a “suspenseful, fast-moving thriller filled with plot twists and excitement to the delightful conclusion.”

Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair airs each Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. For exclusive updates throughout the rest of the week, like us on Facebook and follow Vicki on Twitter!

For an estimated 8 million years, Giant Pandas have been a part of the Chinese countryside, and with their numbers dwindling fast, the Chinese government is racing to keep them from the brink of extinction. Photographer Ami Vitale was on the front lines of this effort as a part of the premiere episode of National Geographic WILD’s new series, Panda Babies: Mission Critical. She shares her experiences, including some of the unique methods in getting Pandas to procreate (which are not limited to Panda porn and Panda sex toys), and some surprising facts about Panda babies. In addition to her work with National Geographic, Ami is a Nikon Ambassador who’s lived in mud huts and war zones, contracted malaria, and donned a panda suit—all in keeping with her philosophy of “living the story.

Carla Neggers latest work in the “Sharpe & Donovan” series, Liar’s Key, is a thriller that hooks readers instantly with a fast-paced narrative involving whirlwind travel, a nemesis art thief and a mysterious death. Carla is the bestselling author of more than 60 novels of suspense and contemporary romance. Her popular “Sharpe & Donovan” and “Swift River Valley” series have been sold in more than 30 countries and translated into 24 languages. A world traveler herself, she lives with her family in New England.

Listen to PODCAST –

Continue reading
Fiction

Jul 18: 1] The Space Between Sisters 2] The Secret Language of Stones

Mary McNear is the NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Butternut Lake series. Mary bases her novels on a lifetime of summers spent in a small town on a lake in the northern Midwest. Her latest is The Space Between Sisters.

NY Times and USA Today bestseller M.J. Rose returns today to discuss the middle book of her historical paranormal trilogy The Secret Language of Stones.

Enjoy Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair every Monday at noon Pacific on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD. For exclusive updates throughout the rest of the week, like us on Facebook, and follow Vicki St. Clair on Twitter!

The Space Between Sisters by Mary McNear, the latest in The Butternut Lake series, is an exploration of “the complex relationship between sisters, their differences, their mirrored history, their love and support of one another,” according to NY Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber. It wasn’t until Mary’s son was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome that she had the courage to start writing fiction. “I figured that if my son had the courage to struggle with the challenges presented in his life, then I should have the courage to write fiction.” She has gone on to become a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author.

As World War I rages and the Romanov dynasty reaches its sudden, brutal end, a young jewelry maker discovers love, passion, and her own healing powers in the romantic ghost story The Secret Language of Stones by NY Times and USA Today bestseller M.J. Rose. M.J. is a the Co-President and founding member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz. She has appeared on The Today Show, Fox News, The Jim Lehrer NewsHour, and features on her have appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and abroad.

Listen to PODCAST –

Continue reading
Biography, Fiction

Jun 27: 1] Her Again: Becoming Meryl Steep 2] This is the Part Where You Laugh

Michael Schulman, arts editor at the New Yorker, tells the story of Meryl Streep’s early rise in Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep. It is the first thoroughly researched biography of the actress – the portrait of a woman, an era and a profession, giving us an intimate look into the years that shaped her into the icon she is today.

Growing up, returning guest Peter Brown Hoffmeister was expelled from three high schools and was homeless for parts of his sophomore and senior year, even living in a Greyhound Bus Station for a short while. His new novel, This is the Part Where You Laugh, sings a similar song. A teenage boy navigates first love, addiction, gang violence and a reptilian infestation in a trailer park in Oregon.

While you enjoy this encore presentation of Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair, don’t forget that for exclusive updates throughout the rest of the week, you can like us on Facebook, and follow Vicki St. Clair on Twitter! Conversations Live airs every Monday at noon on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD.

Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep by Michael Schulman paints an indelible portrait of the artist as a young actress. From her beginnings as a young woman grappling with her immense talent in the early 70’s to her passionate, tragically short-lived love affair with fellow actor John Cazale, to her ideas of feminism, Schulman leaves no stone unturned. Michael has contributed to The New Yorker since 2006, currently serving as the arts editor.. He is the theatre editor of Goings On About Town and has written more than seventy-five Talk of the Town pieces.

From returning guest Peter Brown Hoffmeister comes an unforgettable account of growing up, making mistakes, and growing out of the shadow of drug abuse in his new novel This is the Part Where You Laugh. Chronicling the summer of a young, troubled man, the reader sees him attempt to stay out of trouble, and thus juvenile hall, while working on his basketball game with his friend, Creature, Canoeing around the lake to catch a glimpse of the beautiful girl who just moved in, and searching homeless camps for his mother, with a jar full of cash to help her get back on her feet. Peter is an author, rock climber, public speaker, outdoor expert, and athlete gear-tester for Ridgemont Outfitters.

Listen to PODCAST –

Continue reading