May Lineup
The month of May features five books that span genres and time periods, including a novel about a Jewish-American teenager’s coming-of-age story in the turbulent late 1960s, a historical fantasy novel set in colonial America, an interview with characters from Landis Wade’s latest legal and historical thriller novel involving the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, a novel about a young journalist’s search for the truth in a world that screams “Fake News,” and a non-fiction story about a female American revolutionary war hero who supplied the Continental army with gunpowder.
Here’s the May line-up:
May 3 Elan Barnehama’s “Escape Route” Is a Jewish-American Teenager’s Coming-of-Age Story in the Tumultuous late 1960s
In this episode 293, we visit with Elan Barnehama, author of “Escape Route,” a novel set in New York City during the tumultuous late 1960s, where the protagonist is a young Jewish teenager coming to terms with the world around him.
The novel is told by teenager, Zach, a first-generation son of Holocaust survivors, and NY Mets fan, who becomes obsessed with the Vietnam War and with finding an escape route for his family for when he believes the US will round up and incarcerate its Jews. Zach meets Samm, a seventh-generation Manhattanite whose brother has returned from Vietnam with PTSD which results in his suicide. Together, Samm and Zach explore protest, friendship, music, faith, and love during a time littered with hope and upheaval around the globe. Escape Route seeks to keep the terms ‘in-country,” and ‘the world,’ in our national conversation.
Frye Gaillard, author of A Hard Rain: America in the 1960s, an NPR Great Read 2018, says of the book: “This is a beautifully rendered novel, populated by unforgettable characters in an unforgettable time. Barnehama is a literary craftsman at the top of his game. Superb.”
Plus, exclusive Patreon episode: Ten Minutes of Reading and Writing Tips with Elan Barnehama
May 10 John Hood’s “Mountain Folk” Brings Fantasy and American History Together
In this episode 294, we visit with John Hood, author of “Mountain Folks,” the first book in a series of novels that combines elements of history, folklore, and epic fantasy to tell the story of America by bringing fantasy and history together.
In mountain folks, a rare fairy being named Goran ventures into the human world where he encounters George Washington, Daniel Boone, an improbably tall dwarf named Har, a beautiful water maiden named Dela, and a series of terrifying monsters from European, African, and Native American folklore. But when Goran receives orders to help crush the American Revolution, he must choose between duty to guild and family and a fierce loyalty to his human friends and the principles they hold dear.
The Winston-Salem Journal says “Mountain Folk combines frontier history with fantasy creatures in a fun and unexpected manner.”
Plus, exclusive Patreon episode: Ten Minutes of Reading and Writing Tips with John Hood
May 17 Author Landis Wade Interviews Characters in “Deadly Declarations” and Visits with Narrator Bill A. Jones
In this episode 295, host Landis Wade, author of “Deadly Declarations” interviews several Deadly Declarations characters who are played by audiobook narrator Bill A. Jones and then has a conversation with Bill about the process of narrating the Deadly Declarations audiobook.
Deadly Declarations is the story of an unlikely trio of retirees who try to solve the 250-year-old mystery of the controversial First American Declaration of Independence, actions which–if successful–will change US history. That is, if they don’t die trying. Founding father John Adams called the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence one of the greatest curiosities and one of the deepest mysteries that ever occurred to him. Thomas Jefferson, who some thought had copied from the Meck Dec when he drafted the Declaration of Independence, called it “spurious.”
Frye Gaillard, American historian and author of A Hard Rain: America in the 1960s, says: “This is a novel rooted in history and mystery and imagination–a crackling good book” and Clyde Edgerton, author of Walking Across Egypt and Raney calls it: “Delicious, Funny, Suspenseful.” Cathy Pickens, our guest host, had this to say: “Humor, a good puzzle, a peek inside some artful legal maneuvering, engaging characters—all the absolutely perfect ingredients for a mystery.”
Kirkus Reviews calls Deadly Declarations “A page-turning tale that takes an unexpected journey through law, history, and retiree living.”
May 24 Maggie Smith’s “Truth and Other Lies” Is One Journalist’s Fast-Paced Search for the Truth
In this episode 296, we visit with Maggie Smith, author of “Truth and Other Lies,” a story about a young reporter’s search for the truth and the fall-out that could follow.
“Truth and Other Lies” is a mix of fraud, secrets, and politics. Three women. Two secrets. One Lie.
Young protagonist Megan Barnes’ life is in free fall when the story begins, having lost her job as a reporter and her boyfriend on the same day, and having no choice but to move back home to live with her mother, who is running for office as a Republican on a pro-choice platform that is opposite everything Megan stands for. As a way out and up, Megan takes a temporary job helping with publicity for the memoir of a Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist she idolizes, but she soon faces tough choices when questions arise as to whether the journalist committed plagiarism. She does not believe the charge at first, but something makes her investigate, and then she finds herself caught in a web of deceit and blackmail that could ruin her and her mother.
Hank Phillippi Ryan, Emmy-winning investigative reporter and USA Today bestselling author of Her Perfect Life, had this to say about the book: “Twisty, timely, and rivetingly thought-provoking. The talented Maggie Smith mines the intensity of competition, the duplicity of the human psyche, and the terrifying knowledge that with one wrong word or one wrong decision, your life can be changed forever.”
Plus, exclusive Patreon episode: Ten Minutes of Reading and Writing Tips with Maggie Smith
May 31 Martin Mongiello’s Revolutionary War book is “Terrorist Psychotic: Mary Patton”
In this episode 297, we visit with Martin Mongiello, author of “Terrorist Psychotic: Mary Patton.”
This is the story of American “Shero,” Mary Patton, and her famed gunpowder production that the author says helped win the Revolutionary War battles of King’s Mountain, Cowpens, and Guilford Courthouse. The book includes six, full-color, paintings of Mary and her friends and explores her relationships with Colonels, Privates, Captains, and Sally New River of the Catawba Indian Nation, among others. It is one rebel’s story.
Doctor Dean Ornish, author of seven bestselling books, says: “At last, women of the American Revolution receive the credit they deserve. Highly recommended!”
Plus, exclusive Patreon episode: Ten Minutes of Reading and Writing Tips with Martin Mongiello