Novelist Spotlight Mike Consol

In the spotlight is Paula Treick DeBoard, novelist and new bookstore owner. In April 2024, DeBoard opened Bookish in Modesto, Calif., and discusses her motivation and her strategy for succeeding. She is also the author of four family dramas, the novels “The Mourning Hours,” “The Fragile World,” “The Drowning Girls” and “Here We Lie.” She also teaches writing at the University of California, Merced. Check out the Bookish website here: https://www.bookishmodesto.com/ Learn more about Paula Treick DeBoard here: http://www.paulatreickdeboard.com/ Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.

Ask literary critics to name the greatest American novelists of the past 50 years and Don DeLillo’s name is sure to be there. DeLillo, now 87, has written more than 18 novels and has won awards ranging from the National Book Award and PEN/Faulkner Award to the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.   Discussing his career during this episode are Jesse Kavadlo and Aaron DeRosa, both members of the Don DeLillo Society. Kavadlo is also a professor of English and humanities and the director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Maryville University of St. Louis, and DeRosa is also an assistant professor of 20th and 21st century American literature at California State Polytechnic University.  Learn more about Don DeLillo here: https://delillosociety.com/  Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.

Matt Coyle is the author of the best-selling Rick Cahill crime novels. Though he has wanted to be a crime writer since age 14, his actual foray into crime fiction was delayed for 30 years while he spent time managing a restaurant, selling golf clubs for various golf companies, and doing national sales for a sports licensing company. He wrote nights for more than a decade in producing his 2013 debut novel “Yesterday’s Echo.” He has since published a total of 10 Rick Cahill novels and he has won numerous awards.  We discuss:  >> Writers’ groups >> Book conferences >> Writing without outlines >> First drafts >> Moving from first-person to third-person storytelling >> Advice for aspiring crime writers >> Etc.  Learn more about Matt Coyle here: https://mattcoylebooks.com/  Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.

In the spotlight is William Styron, the famed author of novels that included “Sophie’s Choice” and “The Confessions of Nat Turner.” Joining the great author in the spotlight is William Styron biographer Jim West, professor of English, emeritus, at Pennsylvania State University. He is a biographer and book historian, and the author of several books, including “William Styron: A Life.”  We discuss:  >> The controversies spawned by Styron’s most important novels >> Writing with a vision rather than an outline >> Autonomy of characters >> The depression he suffered >> The unspoken competition with Truman Capote >> The spoken competition with Norman Mailer >> His place in literary history >> Etc.  Learn more about William Styron here: https://william-styron.com/obituaries Learn more about James West here: https://english.la.psu.edu/directory/jlw14Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.   

In the spotlight is John Updike and University of Cincinnati literature professor James Schiff, author of the book “John Updike Revisited.” Schiff, who is also editor of the John Updike Review, talks about Updike’s more than 60 books, short stories, poetry, reviews and letters — and the two Pulitzer Prizes and other awards. We discuss his: >> Time at The New Yorker >> Passion for the visual arts >> Work ethic and productivity >> Creation of the Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom series of novels >> Visual writing >> Sexually charged writing>> Etc. Learn more about John Updike here: https://johnupdikechildhoodhome.com/author/johnupdikesociety/ Learn more about James Schiff here: https://researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/schiffja Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.  

In the spotlight is D.H. Lawrence, the great and controversial novelist, and Richard Kaye, professor of literature in the English department at Hunter College, part of the city university system in Manhattan. Since 2017, Mr. Kaye has been the editor of The D. H. Lawrence Review, the 50-year-old journal dealing with the life and work of the British writer. We discuss: >> The censorship of Lawrence’s novels>> Lady Chatterly’s Lover>> D.H. Lawrence’s status as one of the greatest writers of his century>> His modernist works>> His take on social alienation and industrialization>> His championing of sexuality, vitality and instinct>> Etc. Learn more about D.H. Lawrence here: https://www.dhlawrencesociety.com Learn more about Richard Kaye here: https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/english/richard-kaye/richard-kaye Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol, author of “Lolita Firestone: A Supernatural Novel,” “Family Recipes: A Novel About Italian Culture, Catholic Guilt and the Culinary Crime of the Century” and “Hardwood: A Novel About College Basketball and Other Games Young Men Play.” Buy them on any major bookselling site. Write to Mike Consol at novelistspotlight@gmail.com. We hope you will subscribe and share the link with any family, friends or colleagues who might benefit from this program.