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Writers

Fiction

Aug 01: Beach Reads – Lost Along The Way and Peregrine Island

Nothing is more relaxing than laying back on a quiet beach, with the company of the waves lapping peacefully at the shore, and a great way to while away the hours is with a compelling novel. Today’s guests have delivered the goods.

Also today, Conversations Live will be giving away four books from last week’s show, so listen in and be prepared to jot down the giveaway number to get your chance at a free book!

Acclaimed novelist Erin Duffy used her experience working on Wall Street as inspiration for her first novel, Bond Girl, and today she will discuss her latest work, Lost Along The Way, an exploration of women’s friendships and the critical ways they can grow, bend, even break, and be mended again.

Television shows like American Pickers and Antiques Roadshow that tease viewers with the universal dream of finding out that your dusty old painting is worth millions inspired versatile journalist Diane B. Saxton to pen her debut novel. Peregrine Island is a tale driven by mystery, as an unravelling family strains to stay together as their lives are picked apart.

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!

In Lost Along The Way, Erin Duffy explores the critical moments in all women’s friendships… marriage, motherhood, death, and divorce… and writes about the intricacies of family, friendship, and personal growth while dealing with the ups and downs life undoubtedly throws our way. She illuminates the moments that make us, the betrayals that break us, and the power of love that helps us forgive even the most painful hurts… a book not to be missed this summer. Erin graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A. in English and worked on Wall Street. She lives in New York City with her husband (whom she met the old-fashioned way… in a bar).

Peregrine Island is the story of the Peregrine family, living on an island off the Connecticut coast, whose lives are turned upside-down one summer when so-called art experts appear on their doorstep to appraise a favorite heirloom painting. When incriminating papers along with other paintings are discovered behind the painting-in-question, the appraisal turns into a full-fledged investigation. As summer progresses, the Peregrines discover facts about their past in the course of the investigation and learn that people are not always who they appear to be… themselves included… and art is often a reflection of life. Diane B. Saxton was a journalist with Vanity Fair UK, Holiday Magazine, and Greenwich Review, and covered everything from torture victims to psychics, animal rights activists, exotic travel, and movie producers.

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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.

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Fiction

Jul 04: 1] The Girl From The Savoy 2] Jungle of Stone: The Lost Civilization of the Maya

Conversations Live regular and NY Times and USA Today bestseller Hazel Gaynor is back to discuss her latest historical fiction novel, The Girl From the Savoy. Hazel takes us back to the roaring 20’s with the tale of a humble chambermaid who gets the opportunity to face the ultimate decision… choosing between everything she knows, and everything she dreams of.

Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey That Uncovered the Lost Civilization of the Maya is journalist William Carlsen’s definitive account of how two intrepid explorers changed the prevailing view of human history in the Western Hemisphere. It chronicles the daring journey of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood’s to uncover, document, and contextualize for the world what would come to be known as the remains of the Maya civilization.

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! Vicki returns live next Monday at noon on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD.

The Girl From the Savoy by returning guest Hazel Gaynor introduces Dolly Lane, a chambermaid at London’s grandest hotel, The Savoy, who dreams to live alongside the Bright Young Things who thrive on champagne, jazz, and rebellion. When she responds to an ad to become a ‘muse’ for a struggling songwriter, she finds herself thrust into London’s exhilarating theatre scene. At the precipice of the life she has and the one she longs for, she must make a difficult choice: between two men; between two classes; between everything she knows and everything she dreams of. The Girl From the Savoy is Hazel’s third novel in the growing genre of historical fiction, with her first two becoming USA Today and NY Times bestsellers.

When John Lloyd Stephens, the U.S. Charge d’affaires appointed by President Martin Van Buren, set out for Guatemala City in 1839, his official mission was to broker a trade agreement with the leaders of the recently formed United Provinces of Central America. But he and Frederick Catherwood, an English artist and architect, had a separate and more personal goal for the excursion – to explore the Central American jungle in search of hidden, unknown worlds. William Carlsen fleshes out a rollicking account of their expeditions, and their quest to make sense of their findings for the rest of the world in Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey That Uncovered the Lost Civilization of the Maya. William has been a journalist for thirty years, a finalist for the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting and a winner of numerous journalism awards.

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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.

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Biography, Fiction

Jun 06: 1] The Girl From The Savoy 2] Jungle of Stone: The Lost Civilization of the Maya

Listen to PODCAST –

Conversations Live regular and NY Times and USA Today bestseller Hazel Gaynor is back to discuss her latest historical fiction novel, The Girl From the Savoy. Hazel takes us back to the roaring 20’s with the tale of a humble chambermaid who gets the opportunity to face the ultimate decision… choosing between everything she knows, and everything she dreams of.

Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey That Uncovered the Lost Civilization of the Maya is journalist William Carlsen’s definitive account of how two intrepid explorers changed the prevailing view of human history in the Western Hemisphere. It chronicles the daring journey of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood’s to uncover, document, and contextualize for the world what would come to be known as the remains of the Maya civilization.

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 Girl From the Savoy by returning guest Hazel Gaynor introduces Dolly Lane, a chambermaid at London’s grandest hotel, The Savoy, who dreams to live alongside the Bright Young Things who thrive on champagne, jazz, and rebellion. When she responds to an ad to become a ‘muse’ for a struggling songwriter, she finds herself thrust into London’s exhilarating theatre scene. At the precipice of the life she has and the one she longs for, she must make a difficult choice: between two men; between two classes; between everything she knows and everything she dreams of. The Girl From the Savoy is Hazel’s third novel in the growing genre of historical fiction, with her first two becoming USA Today and NY Times bestsellers.

When John Lloyd Stephens, the U.S. Charge d’affaires appointed by President Martin Van Buren, set out for Guatemala City in 1839, his official mission was to broker a trade agreement with the leaders of the recently formed United Provinces of Central America. But he and Frederick Catherwood, an English artist and architect, had a separate and more personal goal for the excursion – to explore the Central American jungle in search of hidden, unknown worlds. William Carlsen fleshes out a rollicking account of their expeditions, and their quest to make sense of their findings for the rest of the world in Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey That Uncovered the Lost Civilization of the Maya. William has been a journalist for thirty years, a finalist for the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting and a winner of numerous journalism awards.

 

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