Charlotte Readers Podcast Charlotte Readers Podcast

In this episode 388, we feature Brooke Shaffner and her debut novel Country of Under, which won the 1729 Book Prize, was a runner-up for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, and was shortlisted for Dzanc Books’ Prize for Fiction

and Black Lawrence Press’s Big Moose Prize. Author Helen Benedict says this is "a novel about the pain and wonder of being between identities. Between male and female. Citizen and immigrant. Fulfilled and empty. Outsider and insider. A novel of our time, told with deep compassion and striking beauty."



Show discussion highlights:



● How Brooke combined personal experience and research to write about topics including drag culture, immigration activism, urban exploring, and monastic life

● The cultural and countercultural context of the book’s setting in the 1990s and 2000s, and how fashion and music were inspirations

● The literal and metaphorical borders that infuse the book thematically

● Writing characters with grace and compassion to allow them to live in gray areas

● Her in-progress memoir and the relationship between fiction and creative nonfiction

● Approaching the marathon that is a writing career with equanimity



Brief author bio:



Country of Under is Brooke Shaffner’s debut novel. Her work has appeared in The Hudson Review, Marie Claire, BOMB, Litmosphere, Lost and Found: Stories from New York, and The Lit Pub. She’s received grants from the Arts & Science Council, United States Artists, and the Saltonstall Foundation and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, the Ucross Foundation, the Saltonstall Foundation, the Edward Albee Foundation, the Jentel Foundation, the I-Park Foundation, and VCCA. Brooke is at work on a memoir, an excerpt of which won the 2023 Lit/South Award. She grew up part Garza, part Shaffner in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley and co-founded Freedom Tunnel Press with her partner Niteesh Elias to publish artivist books that straddle borders. She teaches and edits through her company Between the Lines and is on the faculty of the North Carolina Writers' Network and Charlotte Lit.



Learn more about the author and her book HERE.

https://sites.google.com/view/brookeshaffner/



Death by Podcasting



Support the show by ordering Death by Podcasting, a mystery novella by Sarah Archer and Landis Wade, because podcasting can be a dangerous business.



Learn More and order your copy: https://books2read.com/u/mKVrvy



The Write Quotes Series:



Support the show by purchasing one of more of the eight books in The Write Quote series, a collection of writing quote books compiled from 500+ interviews with bestselling, award-winning, and hard-working authors.



Learn more about our series of quote books and download Book 1 for free at https://charlottereaderspodcast.com/writequotes/



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In this episode 387, we feature Dana Trent and her memoir, Between Two Trailers, a powerful story about a girl who escapes her childhood as a preschool drug dealer in rural Indiana, to become a graduate of Duke Divinity School. Publishers Weekly calls the memoir a “blend of grit and hope.” Other reviews invoke the phrases: “luscious prose,” “ludicrously good plot,” “unflinching truth,” “full of resilience and redemption,” and “a memoir in the vein of great literary coming-of-age narratives.” The book is a fast, surprising, shocking, and inspiring read.



Show discussion highlights:



• Dana Trent: Now and Then

The setting: Dana, Indiana

• The reason for and timing of the memoir

• The preschool drug dealer

• How she survived her childhood

• Finding one’s way home

• How her experience guides her work today

• A reading from the book

• The meaning of the title

• Memoir writing advice



Author bio:



J. Dana Trent is a speaker, professor, award-winning spirituality author, and minister. A graduate of Duke Divinity School, she teaches world religions and critical thinking at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has a podcast about this story at https://www.jdanatrent.com/podcast



Learn more about the author and their books HERE.

https://www.jdanatrent.com



Death by Podcasting



Support the show by ordering Death by Podcasting, a mystery novella by Sarah Archer and Landis Wade, because podcasting can be a dangerous business.



Learn More and order your copy: https://books2read.com/u/mKVrvy



The Write Quotes Series:



Support the show by purchasing one of more of the eight books in The Write Quote series, a collection of writing quote books compiled from 500+ interviews with bestselling, award-winning, and hard-working authors.



Learn more about our series of quote books and download Book 1 for free at https://charlottereaderspodcast.com/writequotes/



Newsletter:

Subscribe to our newsletter for free HERE:

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In this episode 386, we feature Katherine Faulkner, an award-winning journalist, studied history at Cambridge. She has worked as an investigative reporter and an editor and was formerly the joint Head of News at The Times (London). She lives in London, where she grew up, with her husband and two daughters. She is the author of The Other Mothers and Greenwich Park.



Show discussion highlights:



● Growing up in London

● Katherine’s career as an investigative journalist

● Inspiration for The Other Mothers

● Major themes including motherhood and class

● Characters in the novel, which people Katherine enjoyed writing most

● Choosing where to set the novel

● The role of trust in the plot

● How Katherine’s journalism career influences her writing

● Writing process

● Words of advice to younger writing self



Brief author bio: Katherine Faulkner is an award-winning journalist, studied history at Cambridge. She has worked as an investigative reporter and an editor and was formerly the joint Head of News at The Times (London). She lives in London, where she grew up, with her husband and two daughters. She is the author of The Other Mothers and Greenwich Park.



Learn more about the author and their books HERE.

https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Katherine-Faulkner/170993166



Death by Podcasting



Support the show by ordering Death by Podcasting, a mystery novella by Sarah Archer and Landis Wade, because podcasting can be a dangerous business.



Learn More and order your copy: https://books2read.com/u/mKVrvy



The Write Quotes Series:



Support the show by purchasing one of more of the eight books in The Write Quote series, a collection of writing quote books compiled from 500+ interviews with bestselling, award-winning, and hard-working authors.



Learn more about our series of quote books and download Book 1 for free at https://charlottereaderspodcast.com/writequotes/



Newsletter:

Subscribe to our newsletter for free HERE:

https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/79263/78112905026864634/share

In this episode 385, we feature M. Scott Douglass, acclaimed writer and publisher/managing editor at Main Street Rag Publishing Company, and his memoir, “8000 Mile Roll,” a story about a motorcycle adventure across America. Joseph Bathanti, former North Carolina Poet Laureate, says it is impossible to read the memoir “and not conjure Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to Be Wild,” the revving, reverberating anthem to the iconic film, Easy Rider.” This is a story about the places where Scott went and the people and stories he met along the way.



Show discussion highlights:



• The 8000 mile motorcycle ride

• Why take on a trip like this?

• No music; no radio; being in one’s head

• Favorite settings

• Conversations and meeting with Craig Johnson

• Visiting Dennis Hopper’s grave

• A reading from the book that explores riding alone

• Leaving a job to start a publishing company

• Working with and managing authors

• Making mistakes



Author bio:



M. Scott Douglass grew up in Pittsburgh and lives near Charlotte, NC. He’s Publisher/Managing Editor at Main Street Rag Publishing Company, a Pushcart Prize nominee, and North Carolina ASC Grant recipient. His poetry has most recently appeared in North American Review, Kakalak 23, Twelve Mile Review, Salvation South, among others. His graphic design work has earned two PICA Awards and an Eric Hoffer Award nomination. Previous books (poetry) include Living in a Red State Blues, Just Passing Through, Hard to Love, Steel Womb Revisited, Balancing on Two Wheels, and Auditioning for Heaven.



Learn more about the author and their books HERE.

https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product/8000-mile-roll-m-scott-douglass/



Death by Podcasting



Support the show by ordering Death by Podcasting, a mystery novella by Sarah Archer and Landis Wade, because podcasting can be a dangerous business.



Learn More and order your copy: https://books2read.com/u/mKVrvy



The Write Quotes Series:



Support the show by purchasing one of more of the eight books in The Write Quote series, a collection of writing quote books compiled from 500+ interviews with bestselling, award-winning, and hard-working authors.



Learn more about our series of quote books and download Book 1 for free at https://charlottereaderspodcast.com/writequotes/



Newsletter:

Subscribe to our newsletter for free HERE:

https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/79263/78112905026864634/share

In this episode 384, Hannah, Sarah, and Landis share a wealth of writing advice from writers interviewed in the first four years of the podcast, with favorite quotes and takeaways from all eight books in The Write Quotes series. We cover a variety of topics from finding inspiration and writing techniques to publishing and marketing your finished book.



Today’s Featured Topics



Topics covered in today’s episode include:



Book 1: The Writing Life

Book 2: Learning to Write

Book 3: Writing Process and Tools

Book 4: Storytelling, Inspiration, and Research

Book 5: Writing Techniques and Characters

Book 6: Writing Community, Revision, and Editors

Book 7: The Emotional Writing Journey

Book 8: Publishing and Book Marketing



Check out the books in the Write Quotes series here (you can download the first ebook for free!).



Death by Podcasting



Support the show by ordering Death by Podcasting, a mystery novella by Sarah Archer and Landis Wade, because podcasting can be a dangerous business.



Learn more and order your copy: https://books2read.com/u/mKVrvy



The Write Quotes Series:



Support the show by purchasing one of more of the eight books in The Write Quote series, a collection of writing quote books compiled from 500+ interviews with bestselling, award-winning, and hard-working authors.



Learn more about our series of quote books and download Book 1 for free at https://charlottereaderspodcast.com/writequotes/



Newsletter:



Subscribe to our newsletter for free HERE:

https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/79263/78112905026864634/share

In this episode 383, on the cusp of Major League Baseball’s opening day, we feature award-winning author Mark Stevens and his novel, The Fireballer, a poignant story about hopes, dreams, and how far one man’s talents takes him before he realizes it’s about what you do — and how you do it. Named one of the Best Baseball Books of the Year in 2023 by Spitball, the Baseball Literary Magazine, the Denver Post calls The Fireballer a “first-rate novel…an ode to baseball,” and New York Times novelist Stephen Singular says “Mark Stevens has invented a startling ‘what if?’ that stretches the limits of the game.”



Show discussion highlights:



• The inspiration for the baseball novel

• Why the hero played for the Baltimore Orioles

• The designated hitter rule

• The beanball culture in baseball

• Changing rules in sports because athletes excel

• One-liners from the book

• A reading from the book

• The publishing path

• Writing lessons learned



Author bio:



The son of two librarians, Mark Stevens was raised in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and has worked as a reporter, as a national television news producer and in public relations.



His novel, The Fireballer, has received wide praise. His mystery novel Antler Dust was a Denver Post bestseller in 2007 and 2009. Buried by the Roan, Trapline, and Lake of Fire were all finalists for the Colorado Book Award (2012, 2015, and 2016, respectively). Trapline won the Colorado Book Award in 2016 and also received the best genre fiction award from Colorado Authors League.



Stevens has had short stories published by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mystery Tribune, and in Denver Noir (Akashic Books, 2022). In September 2016, Stevens was named Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Writer of the Year. Stevens hosts a regular podcast for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and has served as president of the Rocky Mountain chapter for Mystery Writers of America. Stevens is also an avid reader and regularly shares his reviews. Today, Stevens lives in Mancos, Colorado.



Learn more about the author and their books HERE.

https://www.writermarkstevens.com



Death by Podcasting



Support the show by ordering Death by Podcasting, a mystery novella by Sarah Archer and Landis Wade, because podcasting can be a dangerous business.



Learn More and order your copy: https://books2read.com/u/mKVrvy



The Write Quotes Series:



Support the show by purchasing one of more of the eight books in The Write Quote series, a collection of writing quote books compiled from 500+ interviews with bestselling, award-winning, and hard-working authors.



Learn more about our series of quote books and download Book 1 for free at https://charlottereaderspodcast.com/writequotes/



Newsletter:

Subscribe to our newsletter for free HERE:

https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/79263/78112905026864634/share