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Under the Covers

December 24, 2020

Lifelong Minister Leighton Ford Discerns God’s Voice and His Own in “A Life of Listening”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:05:13 — 59.9MB)

In this episode 169, we visit with Leighton Ford, author of “A Life of Listening: Discerning God’s Voice And Discovering Our Own.”

In this memoir, lifelong minister of the gospel Leighton Ford tells his story as a personal history of listening for God’s voice. Beginning with his earliest memories, he recounts the different ways God has spoken to him, and the different ways he has learned to listen.

December 18, 2020

Ian Malone Takes Readers On a Science Fiction Outer Space Thrill Ride in “Detron City Vice,” a Place of Temptation Where People Go Missing

Podcast: Download (Duration: 41:12 — 37.9MB)

In this episode 167, we visit with Ian Malone, author of “Detron City Vice,” a science fiction thriller among his collection of “character charged Sci-Fi with a shot of Rock & Roll!”

December 11, 2020

Registered Dietitian Camille Martin Speaks to Women in “Love to Lose”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 40:19 — 37.1MB)

In this episode 165, we visit with Camille Martin, author of “Love to Lose: Love Your Life and Watch the Weight Lose Itself.”

Camille Martin says that women “waste their lives dieting, which is tragic because diets don’t ever work,” and that “they wait until they lose weight to really live.” Her book posits that “if you reverse the equation and live enthusiastically by setting and achieving more meaningful goals, the weight will lose itself.”

December 4, 2020

Jordan O’Donnell’s “Zoon Garden” Is Political Allegory and Social Critique in the Vein of George Orwell’s “Animal Fam”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 42:07 — 38.7MB)

In this episode 163, we visit with Jordan O’Donnell, author of “Zoon Garden,” a political allegory and social critique of the human experience in the spirit of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.”

In “Zoon Garden,” when the mysterious zookeeper of Clarendon Zoo grants his animals freedom to govern themselves, the creatures create a new land founded upon life, liberty, and happiness for all animals. Though the land seems to function well, each species soon realizes they have differing visions for how the land should be governed.

November 27, 2020

Lauren Jacobs Brings a Forgotten Female Religious Leader to Life in “Shelamzion: Queen of Israel”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 40:39 — 37.4MB)

In this episode 161, we visit with Lauren Jacobs, author of ” a work of historical fiction that shines a light on a much-forgotten queen of Israel.

Professor Kenneth Atkinson, author and biblical scholar, says that “Lauren Jacobs has written an exciting novel that captures the spirit of the historical Queen Shelamzion and her tumultuous world. It accurately reconstructs the details of her life and times through an engaging narrative that never fails to entertain, and awe the reader.”

November 20, 2020

Natasha Tynes Shares Her Literary Murder Mystery That Draws on Her Jordanian-American Heritage

Podcast: Download (Duration: 36:25 — 33.5MB)

In this episode 159, we visit with Natasha Tynes, author of “They Called Me Wyatt,” a literary murder mystery that draws on the author’s Jordanian-American heritage.

Rana F. Sweis, author of “Voices of Jordan,” calls the book “a brilliantly imaginative and riveting tale of cross cultures as well as personal triumph and struggle.”

November 13, 2020

David Collins Captures the True Essence of the Painful and Emotional Fight for Marriage Equality in “The Accidental Activists”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 43:20 — 39.8MB)

In this episode 157, we visit with David Collins, author of “Accidental Activists: Mark Phariss, Vic Holmes and Their Fight for Marriage Equality in Texas.”

Dale Carpenter, professor of law at the Dedman School of Law (Southern Methodist University) says that “Accidental Activists” is a “beautifully written book” that tells “the story of two men who did the extraordinary in order to live a life of the ordinary.”

November 6, 2020

Natasha Boyd Brings to Life the Little Known Story of 18th Century Southern Heroine Eliza Lucas Pinckney in “The Indigo Girl”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 42:57 — 39.5MB)

In this episode 155, we visit with Natasha Boyd, author of “The Indigo Girl,” the true and riveting story of Eliza Lucas Pinckney, a woman ahead of her time and mother of one of the United States’ founding fathers.

So influential was she in the formation of the nation that President George Washington, at his own request, served as a pallbearer at her funeral.

October 30, 2020

Michele Tracy Berger Mixes Racial Conspiracy with Psychological Horror in “Reenu – You”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 34:28 — 31.7MB)

In this episode 153, we visit with Michele Tracy Berger, author of “Reenu – You,” a novella that explores the politics of beauty, corporate conspiracy and unlikely female heroes battling a horrific virus that appears to be targeted against their race.

What if a visit to the salon could kill you? What if a product billed as a “natural hair relaxer” harbored a deadly virus? Reenu-You is about that virus. One reviewer says that in telling this story, Michele uses “the language of horror, of alienation from one’s own body, not the language of joy,” and that “the novella never leaves horror and alienation entirely behind.”

October 23, 2020

Sara Johnson Takes Readers to the Wilds of New Zealand In Her Alexa Glock Mystery “The Bones Remember”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 33:35 — 30.9MB)

In this episode 151, we visit with Sara Johnson, author of the mystery novel, “The Bones Remember,” the second book in the Alexa Glock forensic mystery series.

Like the first novel in the series, “The Bones Remember” is set on a New Zealand island where forensic investigator Alexa Glock must deal with the controversy of shark cage diving tourism in her effort to solve two murders. Set against a down under and rugged landscape of land and sea, Alexa confronts the jaws of death and those who love and hate the shark cage diving industry in her pursuit to land the real killer.

October 16, 2020

Renea Winchester Writes About Hardscrabble Southern Appalachia and the Strong Women Who Survive in “Outbound Train”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 34:58 — 32.2MB)

In this episode 149, we meet Renea Winchester, author of the novel, “Outbound Train.”

Bestselling author Michael Morris says: “Renea Winchester writes about the people of the hardscrabble south with compassion and conviction. Her debut novel, Outbound Train, is an inspiring story of three generations of women who not only seek to survive a life of poverty in Appalachia but also dare to dream. With pitch-perfect dialogue and believable characters, Winchester has crafted a story that will make readers stand up and cheer.”

October 9, 2020

Eliot Parker Spins Short Stories With Strange, Creepy and Sometimes Poignant Twists in “Snapshots”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 42:38 — 39.2MB)

In this episode 147, we visit with Eliot Parker, author of “Snapshots: A Collection of Short Stories,” which is set largely in Eastern, Kentucky, Southern Ohio and West Virginia. It was a 2020 finalist in the American Fiction Awards for short story anthology.

Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review, says that these stories “challenge readers to think about their expectations and prejudices” and are “strong in tension development, plot, and the ability to craft something unexpected and different from disparate life experiences.”

October 2, 2020

Katherine Snow Smith Leads Us to Laughter And Tears in Her Memoir-in-Essays, “Rules For The Southern Rulebreaker”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 36:12 — 33.3MB)

In this episode 145, we visit with Katherine Snow Smith, author of the book “Rules for the Southern Rulebreaker: Missteps and Lessons Learned.”

Award winning North Carolina author Lee Smith, says of the book, “Katherine Snow Smith’s sure voice, deft pen, hilarious sense of humor and always original slant on things offer the reader much to enjoy in these delightful essays.”

September 25, 2020

Colin Cerniglia Takes a Swing With the N.Y. Yankees in “Culture of Excellence”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 32:34 — 30.0MB)

In this episode 143, we visit with Colin Cerniglia, author of “Culture of Excellence: What We Can Learn From The Yankees About Leadership.”

Andrew Rotondi, co-host of the Bronx Pinstripes Show, says of the book that “it was fascinating to read a take that wasn’t just about wins and losses. Culture of Excellence gets at one of the age-old sports questions: How does leadership and team culture affect the on-field product? The Yankees, with their eccentric leaders, compelling cast of characters, and sustained greatness, are the ideal organization for this study.”

September 18, 2020

Amy Williams Brings Adventure and Inspiration with Her Pig of a Friend, Wanda Petunia

Podcast: Download (Duration: 33:40 — 31.0MB)

In this episode 141, we visit with Amy Williams, author and creator of “Love catches up with Wanda Petunia” and other books in the Wanda adventure book series.

Wanda Petunia is the imaginary pig friend of Amy Jane Williams, a Charlotte creative, social justice activist and therapist/owner of her own practice Amy Williams Wellness. Wanda came to Amy as an adult to share meaningful stories of inspired teachings on betrayal, hope, true love, soul mates, positive self-talk, loss of loved ones and body healing.

September 11, 2020

Karen McElmurray’s Haunting Book, “Wanting Radiance” Starts with the Murder of a Fortune Teller

Podcast: Download (Duration: 33:51 — 31.2MB)

In this episode 139, we visit with Karen McElmurray, author of “Wanting Radiance.”

Crystal Wilkinson, author of “The Birds of Opulence,” says “This book is brimming with haints and lives full of magic, and Karen McElmurray’s storytelling is the most haunting of all.”

September 4, 2020

Poet, Writer and Professor Charles Israel Shares His Love of Poetry and Short Stories

Podcast: Download (Duration: 30:13 — 27.8MB)

In this episode 137, we visit with Charles Israel, author of the poetry chapbook, “Stacking Weather,” whose poetry and stories have been published in numerous journals.

Morri Creech, author of “Paper Cathedrals” and “Field Knowledge,” says of “Stacking Weather,” that Charles Israel performs an impressive balancing act, supporting the precarious gifts of birth and fatherhood against the insistent gravities of age and death.”

August 28, 2020

Paloma Capanna Deals With the Messy Bits of Life in “Nearly Fifty, A Collection of Essays”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 33:55 — 31.2MB)

In this episode 135, we visit with Paloma Capanna, author of “Nearly Fifty, A Collection of Essays.”

Part memoir, part women’s lit and part self-help, Capanna says that her book is about how to get through the unscheduled, messy bits in life. It’s what to read when life doesn’t let up, when it feels like you have no options, and when you’d really rather sit down and cry.

August 21, 2020

Molly Grantham Reveals the Authenticity of Motherhood and Career in “The Juggle is Real”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 37:27 — 34.5MB)

In this episode 133, we visit with Molly Grantham, author of “The Juggle is Real: The Off-Camera Life of an On-Camera Mom.”

Molly Grantham is a two-time Emmy award winning journalist who has been named TV News Reporter of the Year for both Carolinas, one of Charlotte’s top “40 under 40” and one of Mecklenburg County’s “50 Most Influential Women.”

August 14, 2020

Mary Bess Dunn Explores Societal Expectations and Familial Love in “Fate Havens”

Podcast: Download (Duration: 31:02 — 28.6MB)

In this episode 131, we visit with Mary Bess Dunn, author of the book, “Fate Havens.”

“Fate Havens” is literary fiction, a set of inter-linked character driven stories that attempt to make sense of the world around us. The tales addresses societal expectations and the persistence of familial love. Again and again, the stories return to core questions: What is a good life? What do we owe to family? Dunn’s characters never settle into simple emotions, and many stories have an engaging mood of nostalgia, tinged with sadness.