Uncorking A Story

Andrea Bartz is a Brooklyn-based journalist and author of the forthcoming WE WERE NEVER HERE. Her second thriller, THE HERD, was named a best book of 2020 by Real Simple, Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, CrimeReads, and other outlets. Her LA-Times bestselling debut, THE LOST NIGHT (Crown, 2019), was optioned for TV development by Mila Kunis. It was named a best book of the year by Real Simple, Glamour, Marie Claire, Library Journal, Crime Reads, Popsugar, She Reads, and other publications.  Andi’s work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, Martha Stewart Living, Elle, and many other outlets, and she's held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other titles. Listen in as we dig into her path to becoming a writer, her pivot from magazine journalism to becoming a novelist, and her passion for challenging cultural conventions through her work. We Were Never Here will be available wherever books are sold on August 3rd. Learn more about your ad c

Lea Konen is the author of All the Broken People and of several young adult novels, including Love and Other Train Wrecks and The Romantics. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied journalism and English literature. She lives in Brooklyn and Saugerties, New York, with her husband; their daughter, Eleanor; and their dog, Farley. Listen in as we discuss how Lea's navigated the transition from writing YA novels to thrillers and why it's so important for her to work from an outline, and the inspiring advice she'd give her younger self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shari Lapena is the internationally bestselling author of the thrillers The Couple Next Door, A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest, Someone We Know, and The End of Her, which have all been New York Times and The Sunday Times (London) bestsellers. Her books have been sold in thirty-seven territories around the world. She lives in Toronto and Not a Happy Family is her sixth thriller. Listen in as we talk about her writing process, why so many lawyers want to become writers, and the secrets to becoming a bestselling mystery author. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jessica Chiarella is the author of And Again. She holds an MA in writing and publishing from DePaul University and an MFA in creative writing from the University of California, Riverside. In this interview, I learned that she wanted to be a writer when she was seven years old so, when she told me that she had a degree in Political Science, I had to ask about that.  It turns out, she didn't think she could make a living as an author. Clearly, she was wrong. Listen in as we discuss the differences between writing a mystery and writing speculative fiction, what Jessica go out of her two Masters programs, the powerful advice she would give that seven year old girl with aspirations of becoming an author. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Exiles, Orphan Train, and A Piece of the World, Christina Baker Kline is published in 40 countries. Her novels have received the New England Prize for Fiction, the Maine Literary Award, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Award, among other prizes, and have been chosen by hundreds of communities, universities and schools as "One Book, One Read" selections.  Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in publications such as the New York Times and the NYT Book Review, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, LitHub, Psychology Today, Poets & Writers, and Salon. Born in England and raised in the American South and Maine, Kline is a graduate of Yale (B.A.), Cambridge (M.A.) and the University of Virginia (M.F.A.), where she was a Hoyns Fellow in Fiction Writing. Listen in as we talk about the pioneering spirit embodied in her family of origin, her experiences teaching in a supermax women’s prison, and the inspiration behind her latest bo

Nigerian born and raised debut mystery author Noel Obiora watched the George Floyd video and said to himself, That could have been me. Having come to the United States when he was 17 in 1983, and having attended the University of Texas Law School, Noel, a black man in very white Texas, was pulled over many times for minor infractions and believes it was his accent that kept him safe from police brutality.   His debut crime novel, A Past that Breathes, takes place in Los Angeles in the early nineties when he practiced law in the City of Angels during racial turmoil bookended by the Rodney King and O.J. Simpson trials and years before the Black Lives Matter movement gave people a forum in which they could express their grief and anger. Listen in as we discuss his childhood in Nigeria to his University education in the United States and how he found working as a practicing attorney in Los Angeles a far cry from the expectations set by the hit TV drama L.A. Law. We also discuss how he found the confidence to wr

Mary Dixie is the daughter of Designing Women star, Dixie Carter and step-daughter of Hal Holbrook. Her writing has appeared in Time, The Economist, San Francisco Chronicle, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and more. She worked at The Observer for five years as the publishing director, and has worked as a professional actor. Mary Dixie has an honors degree in English Literature from Harvard College and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two young children.  Her first novel, The Photographer, has been called "an explosive debut” (Library Journal) and “a breathless psychological thriller about epic mind games” (from People Magazine's 20 Best Books to Read This Summer). It is destined to be the book everyone will be reading this summer. This page-turner about a family photographer, desperate to belong, who lives off of images rather than experiences will stay in readers minds for a long time. Brilliantly observed, suspenseful, a story

Anne Basting, Ph.D. is an artist, scholar, and educator committed to the power of the arts and culture to transform our lives as individuals and communities. She is Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and founder and President of the award-winning non-profit TimeSlips. Basting's innovative work as both a community-engaged artist and a scholar has been recognized by a MacArthur Fellowship, an Ashoka Fellowship, a Rockefeller Fellowship, and multiple major grants. She is author/editor of multiple books, including her latest, Creative Care (HarperOne); as well as The Penelope Project (U of Iowa), and Forget Memory (Johns Hopkins). TimeSlips fosters an alliance of artists and caregivers bringing meaning and joy to late life through creativity, and has over 900 certified facilitators in 48 states and 20 countries. Her latest book, The Creative Care Imagination Kit, is available for sale beginning June 8th and is a perfect resource for friends, family, and caregivers to make connections

Marilyn Peterson Haus’ story begins when she was born in 1941 on a farm on the Minnesota Plains. Twins, mental illness, sexism/favoritism, religion, farm life in the 40s and 50s, forgiveness and reconciliation are all topics she meticulously weaves together in this extraordinary memoir. While we touched upon all of that in our interview, what struck me hardest was the struggle she faced with her twin brother. This hit home for me as, like Marilyn, I have a twin brother and our relationship was also strained by favoritism and mental illness, though to a much lesser extent. While her memoir has elements of tragedy, at the end of the day it is a story about a woman who found the courage and strength to break free and live life on her own terms. Half of a Whole, My Fight for a Separate Life is inspiring, uplifting, and available for sale wherever books are sold on June 8th. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Yoon grew up in Orange County, California, and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, novelist Nicola Yoon, and their daughter. He drew the illustrations for Nicola's #1 New York Times bestseller Everything, Everything. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Frankly In Love, which was a William C. Morris Award finalist and an Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature Honor book, the YA novel Super Fake Love Song, and the adult thriller Version Zero. Before he made his living as a writer, David spent more than a dozen years working in the tech industry as an interface designer and user experience expert, a role that immersed him in all the cultural and technical workings of core online industries like advertising technology, social media, cybersecurity, and content strategy. It was during this time that he observed a paradox: while these companies believed its work was making the world a better place, the staff behind these platforms had a serious mistrust and disdain for the v

This is the one where I talk to author, musician, and comic Aug Stone about his newly released memoir, Nick Cave’s Bar. Don’’t feel bad if you don’t know who Nick Cave is because I wasn’t cool enough to know of him either. The important thing here is that Aug and his friend Andy know who he is and, more importantly, believed he owned a bar in Berlin, based on a rumor overheard in Spain (are you with me so far?). Twenty years ago they had what can best be described as a misadventure in Europe complete with bad decisions, near misses at true love, and drinking. Lot’s of drinking. Check out Nick Cave’s Bar here or at the following retail locations: City Books (Hove, England) Happy Valley (Melbourne, Australia) Grimey’s (Nashville, TN) Atomic Books (Baltimore, MD) Buch Bund (Berlin, Germany) Brookline Booksmith (Brookline, MA) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alta Ifland was born in Transylvania (Romania), took part in the overthrow of Romania's communist dictatorship, and experienced two years of post-communism before emigrating to the United States in 1991.  After a PhD in French language and literature, and several years in academia, she now works as a full-time writer, book reviewer, and translator (from French, Italian, and Romanian). She is the author of two books of short stories―Elegy for a Fabulous World (2010 finalist for the Northern California Book Award in Fiction) and Death-in-a-Box (2011 Subito Press Fiction Prize)―and two collections of prose poems―Voix de Glace/Voice of Ice (bilingual, French-English, winner of the French prize Louis Guillaume) and The Snail’s Song Listen in as we discuss why she had to leave Romania, what it was like moving to the united states to seek asylum, and the journey she took to make a career in writing and publishing. Along the way, we of course had to talk about Romania’s either most infamous or heroic figure dependi

Laura Hankin is the author of Happy & You Know It and A Special Place for Women. Her musical comedy has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and more. She splits her time between NYC, where she has performed off-Broadway, and Washington, D.C., where she once fell off a treadmill twice in one day. Listen in as we talk about her path to success as a performer, why her days working as a children’s musician were instrumental in her getting a two book deal, and the spark that ignited the idea for her forthcoming book A Special Place for Women, which will be released on Tuesday, May 11th. As a kid, Laura was drawn to funny and spunky characters and those two adjectives can also be used to describe her personality. You can buy her novels wherever books are sold, but please consider supporting your local independently owned bookstore. If you must buy online, consider purchasing at Bookshop.org.  Follow Laura on Instagram and Twitter @LauraHankin and feel free to follow me @uncorkingastory. Le

Christina Sweeney-Baird lives in London where she works full-time as a corporate litigation lawyer. Listen in as we discuss her debut novel, The End of Men, which will be available wherever books are sold on April 27. Listen in as we discuss her journey from litigator to author, what inspired her to come up with the idea for The End of Men, and why, at its core, this is a book about hope (and not a fantasy). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joshua M Greene is a popular lecturer on Holocaust History and an author whose biographies have sold more than half a million copies worldwide. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his books and films. He sits on the board of Yale University Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies and has served as director of strategic planning for the United Nations Summit of Religious and Spiritual leaders.  This all begs the question, why is such a decorated individual talking to me? Well, I interviewed him about his new book entitled Unstoppable. It’s the story of Siggi Wilzig and his astonishing journey from Auschwitz survivor and penniless immigrant to Wall Street legend. Before we get to the book, though, I had to uncork Joshua’s story a bit and learn how he went from being a hippie who got to jam with George Harrison to becoming a Holocaust scholar. Along the way I learned that he and the subject of his latest book share a few things in common, but you will have to listen in to find out what they are I foun

An interview I did this week got me to thinking about how little things can make a big difference. This one Uncorks a story about U2 and a Bodega owner I met this week whose business is being threatened by the pandemic. Listen in to see the connection between them. Trust me, it will be one to grow on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While interviewing author Christina Sweeney-Baird about her debut novel The End of Men, I started thinking about how most authors, and other creators in the arts including comics and actors, have to work additional jobs long before they can earn a living off of their art. Christina herself is a lawyer (but I don't think she'll have to practice law for long as she's quite a gifted writer). Her full story will be shared in April closer in to her book's publication date. For now, though, her story got me thinking about the importance of living a dual life when you are just starting to explore your passion in the arts. It also reminded me of a character I created—Kelly Carson—who was leading a secret life but just didn't know it. You see, he had a secret identity hiding just beneath the surface and it took a fiery red headed actress on the run to bring it out his inner Superman. His name is Kelly Carson and he’s the protagonist in All the F*ucks I Cannot Give.  The audio book recently came out and I wanted to s

Julie Ryan McGue was born in Chicago, Illinois. She and her identical twin sister were adopted together. Her debut memoir, Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging is about the search for birth relatives. Listen in as we discuss what prompted her to find her birth parents, the emotions she experienced along the way, and what this experience has taught her about herself. This conversation also prompted me to share the adoption story within my own family of origin. It’s a very powerful conversation and when I know you will enjoy. In her other writing, Julie focuses on about finding out who you are, where you belong, and making sense of it. Her weekly blogs focus on identity, family, and life's quirky moments. If she's not at her computer writing, she's out exploring with her camera, or on the tennis court. She is the mother of four adult children and splits her time between NW Indiana and Sarasota. You can follow her at https://www.juliemcgueauthor.com. Her book will be released on May

This past weekend, my sister gave me one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received—a stack of letters I had written to my grandparents back in the 1980s. This inspired me to record and share this episode with you.  Reaching out and touching someone used to mean picking up the phone and calling them. Today, it means Facetiming them or maybe just sending them a text. How about this, instead of doing that, why not write an old-fashioned letter? Fold it in an envelope, slap a stamp on it, and send it by mail. Sure it will take a lot longer to get to the recipient than an email or text, but some things are worth waiting for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I sat in on the first of hopefully many episodes of Comedy Roads, an online show featuring interviews with established stand up comedians reflecting on their path to success. It's hosted by the one and only Bob DiBuono. A-Lister Eddie Brill told a story about performing in front of 12 people that I'll never forget and it inspired me to reflect on the importance of always giving 100% whenever you make a commitment to something. Find more about Comedy Roads by clicking here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices