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Archive for December, 2010

A Book and a Chat with Daniel Nayeri


Daniel Nayeri
, my guest on today’s “A Book and a Chat” was due to be one of the guests during my Male YA Author Month, unfortunately at the time he fell foul of his own prescient for sampling any type of food. I am very pleased to say, that illness free he was able to join me on today’s show.

Daniel has always been into writing and books, though his other jobs along the way as he described through a very entertaining show, are something else. From working as a builder, where at least he was able to create book shelves, to a fairly unsuccessful bicycle currier, which at least aided him in becoming a stuntman… after all somebody has to cover the cyclist going over the top of the car during a police chase. Daniel has done plenty, including at one time being fairly high class pastry chef.

Then his sister Dina came up with the idea of a book roughly based on “Foust” an idea that soon became the thread for a trilogy. The first book, “Another Foust”, being written jointly by Dina and Daniel, and not without some rough waters along the way, was then joined by “Another Pan” and now as we heard on the show, the trilogy soon to be joined by “Another Jackal”.

Another Foust:

One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish – only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange andelegant governess. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust teenagers to the city’s most prestigious high school, where they soar to suspicious heights with the help of their benefactor’s extraordinary “gifts.”

But as the students claw their way up – reading minds, erasing scenes, stopping time, stealing power, seducing with artificial beauty – the side-effects of their own addictions. And as they make further deals with the devil, they uncover secrets more shocking than their most unforgivable sins.

At once chilling and wickedly satirical, this contemporary reimagining of the Faustian bargain is a compelling tale of ambition, consequences, and ultimate redemption.

Another Pan:

Sixteen-year-old Wendy Darling and her insecure freshman brother, John, are hitting the books at the Marlowe School. But one tome consumes their attention: THE BOOK OF GATES, a coveted Egyptian artifact that their professor father believes has magical powers. Soon Wendy and John discover that the legend is real—when they recite from its pages and descend into a snaking realm beneath the Manhattan school. As the hallways darken, and dead moths cake the floor, a charismatic new R.A. named Peter reveals that their actions have unleashed a terrible consequence: the underworld and all its evil is now seeping into Marlowe.

Of course Daniel is a writer in his own write, and he shared with us about his long titled book (marketing is going to love you Daniel) “Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow”. A book consisting of four novellas, each one written in a different genre.

So sit back and listen to today’s interesting and entertaining as I host today’s “A Book and a Chat with Daniel Nayeri

Barry

Direct link to the show
“A Book and a Chat with Daniel Nayeri”.

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
“Daniel Nayeri”

You can find out more about my guest and his books at:
“Daniel Nayeri – Another Foust, Another Pan”

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK – Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests – A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World – Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

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Melinda Marchiano was a happy thirteen year old, academically at the top of her class, enjoying dancing six days a week and enjoying life, when suddenly her world was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with “Hodgkin Lymphoma”.

As Melinda shared with us during the show, in some ways to finally have a diagnosis it was a relief.

Over the next “forty-eight doses of chemo, a trip to the ER, two doses of morphine, three drug reactions, forty-one shots, over one hundred-fifty needle pokes, fourteen days of radiation, an eating disorder, a mass the size of a softball, a PICC line, a port, two biopsies, a bone marrow aspiration, total hair loss, nine months of intense therapy and so many doctor appointments…” A first in her journal and then in her now international award winning novel Melinda shared a written record of her diagnosis, treatment for and recovery from Hodgkins.

Throughout the bad times, as we learned, Melinda’s faith, her love of dance, therapy dogs, and warm blankets kept not only Melinda aiming for the future, to beat the illness, help others and lead to an enhancement in her own faith and believe.

Her book “Grace: A Childs Intimate Journey Through Cancer And Recovery” is filled with countless upbeat, smiling photos of Melinda – posing with friends and family members, snuggling with the therapy dogs that kept her company during chemo, mugging for the camera in the hospital with a water bottle balanced on top of her bald head. But every chapter or so, her tone changes, becoming more serious, somber even, as she tries to make sense of her health crisis.

It is an uplifting story of thirteen-year-old Melinda Marchiano’s battle with cancer—told in her own unflinchingly honest words.

Melinda has taken on the mantel of advocate on behalf of many different organizations, her way of expressing gratitude for her life. Her story is a gift that will aid others both those fighting such an illness or those who have friends and love ones going through such times.

The first edition of Grace won 2010 International Book Awards: Award Winner in the : Health/Cancer Category and Finalist in the : Spirituality/Inspirational

I will leave the final words to Lance Armstrong…

“In her book, Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery, Melinda Marchiano offers an honest and inspiring portrayal of her cancer experience through the eyes of a teenager and proves there is medicinal value in love and laughter. Melinda and I share a common bond. We are survivors. And we believe in the importance of empowering fellow survivors to live life on their own terms. By sharing her story, Melinda is giving a voice to this global epidemic that needs immediate attention. I am grateful to Melinda for having the courage to speak up and for her generosity in helping others fighting cancer.”
Lance Armstrong

So listen to an interesting and entertaining show as I spent thirty minutes sharing “A Book and a Chat with Melinda Marchiano”

Barry

Direct link to the show
“A Book and a Chat with Melinda Marchiano”.

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
“Melinda Marchiano”

You can find out more about my guests and their books at:

“Melinda Marchiano – Grace”

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK – Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests – A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World – Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

Read Full Post »

 

When Alan Gratz realized that “the force” was not with him, that he did not have the mental power to make model airplane spin in a certain direction, his dreams of becoming a Jedi master faded. Instead Alan started writing. At first a one page news sheet for people in his street called “Blue Spring Lane News”, shortly followed by a book he produced in his fifth grade called “Real Men Don’t Eat Spinach” (a play on “Real men Don’t Eat Quiche”), a copy of which still exists.

From this early start Alan went on to study creative writing, writing over 6000 radio adverts, plays, articles and two as yet unsold books. Then along came “Samurai Shortstop”.

The idea for “Samurai Shortstop” came when Alan was looking through a travel guide and came across a picture of a man in a kimono throwing out the first pitch at a baseball tournament in Japan in… 1915! Around thirty books studied later Alan had a story about a boy blending bushido with baseball, and Alan had his start on the road to publication from which he’s never looked back.


This first book was followed by the so far first two Horatio Wilkes mysteries, loosely based on Shakspear plays with as we heard during a really entertaining show links to modern day issues.

Something Rotten:

Loosely based on the Champion Paper controversy, laced around Hamlet, Something Rotten tells about a stinking-rich family. A reeking paper plant. A murder most foul. Something is definitely rotten in Denmark, Tennessee, and only 17-year-old detective Horatio Wilkes can sniff out the killer.

Something Wicked:

A Scottish Highland Fair turns foul when its beloved founder is found dead in his tent. Horatio Wilkes is on the case, but he’ll need all his snark and all his smarts–and a little “Amazing Grace”–to bring the killer to justice.

After this a jotted down idea of generations united through baseball, had Alan signed up for a fresh book before head even started writing. From this start perhaps his best novel so far “The Brooklyn Nine” came to life.

The Brooklyn Nine:

The story of nine “innings,” or nine generations, of Schneider children from 1845 to the present. Their lives and their enduring connections to Brooklyn, baseball, and American history.

Alan shared with us not only about his past books and what he is working on now, but also his next publication due out early next year… “Fantasy Baseball”.

Fantasy Baseball:

Aflying monkey in the outfield. A toad at short. Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz on the mound. Alex Metcalf thinks he’s dreaming, but the Oz Cyclones exist here in Ever After, where storybook characters live on as long as kids in the real world believe in them.

But Alex isn’t a storybook. To get home, he and the Cyclones will have to win the Ever After Baseball Tournament and earn wishes from the Wizard of Oz. Trouble is, the Big Bad Wolf wants a wish too.

To win the tournament, Alex and the Cyclones will have to defeat the wolf, play the best baseball of their lives, and find the courage to believe in themselves. But what good is believing in yourself if the real world stops believing in you?

So sit back and listen to an hugely entertaining sixty minutes as today I present “MYM A Book and a Chat with Alan Gratz”

Barry

Direct link to the show
“A Book and a Chat with Alan Gratz”.

or you can download the mp3 file of the show from
“Alan Gratz”

You can find out more about my guest and their books at:
“Alan Gratz – “Something Rotten”, “The Brooklyn Nine”

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

My Blogs:

Book Information and Things UK – Across the Pond

Book and a Chat Radio Show Guests – A Book and a Chat

Funny, Weird Or Just Interesting News From Around the World – Laugh I Thought My Trousers Would Never dry

Read Full Post »