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I got a hold of Beautiful Boy and Tweak less than 24 hours before I had the chance to meet and interview David Sheff and his son Nic. And what an interesting 24 hours it was. I spent that time totally immersed in their story and felt like I was seeing old friends when they arrived at the office.

Although their books feel completely different and are geared to completely different audiences, they share the same story; Nic’s terrifying cycle of drug addiction, recovery and relapse.

As a parent, I related to what David was going through. These are smart, successful parents with smart and talented kids. I’m sure, like most of us, they never thought it could happen to them. Nic could have been my kid or yours. That’s the scary part.

Reading Nic’s story takes you away from the headlines and the statistics and gives a face and a humanity to the addiction. By turns I was angry at him, but then wanted to hug him and protect him just they way I know his father does.

I hope you will enjoy the interview and will get great meaning out of both of these incredible books.

Enjoy the interview, and click here to check out the rest of the great authors talking about their books on our podcast!

Michael Malone is the best award winning, New York Times bestselling author you’ve never heard of. His latest novel, THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE SKY, is a rare combination of page turning adventure and deeply complex writing. And it should be — he spent 10 years writing it. You get the feeling when you talk to Michael that he doesn’t write for the money or the fame but because he genuinely loves to write.

This is a guy who has won an Edgar, an O. Henry, and even an Emmy for his television writing and he is as unassuming and easy to talk to as you could ever imagine. In addition to his writing, Michael is also a professor at Duke University and as I interviewed him I found myself jealous of his students. This is a guy you could really learn from.

But I digress. The book is the story of Navy pilot Annie Peregrine-Goode and her quest to find her father, the identity of her mother, and most of all herself. Built on a subtle Wizard of Oz base, the story is about love, secrets, and the mysterious bonds of families.

One of the things I loved most about THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE SKY is the detail that went into creating the lives and back stories of even the smallest characters. It’s a large cast and not one character is a cardboard cut out. Quite a feat.

So, if you’d already heard of Michael Malone — you know what I’m talking about. If you hadn’t...well, you have now. Grab a copy of the book and he’ll soon be one your favorite authors.

I hope you enjoy the interview! Click here to check out more great authors talking about their books on our podcast page!

Patricia Sprinkle has written almost thirty books in her writing career. Most of them are mysteries but she takes a break from all that for her latest work Hold Up the Sky.

Hold Up the Sky is a story about 4 women relying on each other through some fairly difficult times. It takes place during a drought in a small Georgia farming town and though not the kind of book I would normally be interested in, I was drawn in.

The characters Patricia creates have heart and though the dilemmas they face may not directly be facing us all, they do force us to question how we would behave in similar circumstances.

When Patricia and I sat down for the interview we focused on where the story comes from and some of the situations the characters found themselves in. But we also dealt with the idea of looking deeper into “genre” fiction for the issues the book is handling. For example, in Hold Up the Sky, Patricia humanizes US immigration through the character of Emerita. She doesn’t have the answer for us, but she does put a human face on it.

Enjoy the interview, and click here to check out the rest of the great authors talking about their books on our podcast!

— Dana

I got a chance to talk to Stephen Cannell on the phone a couple of days before his visit to Atlanta on his book tour for ON THE GRIND. It was a Saturday morning at about 9AM my time, meaning 6AM for him and he had already been up writing for several hours.

I was a bit nervous for the call, knowing that in addition to being a New York Times bestselling author, Stephen (I think we’re on a first name basis now) is also this uber famous and connected TV producer but truth be told, he couldn’t have been nicer or more gracious.

We talked about Stephen’s backround, and about the character of Shane Scully, his origins and where he may be headed next. And though I know you don’t always think of action packed detective stories as being about some of the today’s most pressing issues, this one certainly is.

Both police corruption and immigration issues are focused on in the book and in the interview, Stephen talks about why he highlights these issues and what he wants the reader to take away.

A couple of days after the phone interview, I went to meet Stephen in person at his appearance at The Margaret Mitchell House. In person, he was just as gracious as on the phone and he is a truly inspiring speaker. If you ever have the opportunity, I urge you to go and hear him speak.

Oh – and if you’re into TV, Stephen appeared with James Patterson on the pilot episode of Castle on ABC!

Enjoy the interview, and click here to check out the rest of the great authors talking about their books on our podcast page!

Norris Church Mailer is a real person. That may seem like an odd way to start a blog post but her memoir and her life could be the stuff of great fiction. A beautiful girl, a much older famous man, his former wives, his large brood of children, a modeling career, famous friends, attendance at historical events, and the list goes on. But what makes A TICKET TO THE CIRCUS so readable is that it’s real and Norris doesn’t hold back.

She shares the good, the bad and the ugly. There were affairs, there were arguments, there was sickness and death – but there was also love and family and art and humor. After reading A TICKET TO THE CIRCUS, meeting Norris was like meeting someone I’ve always known. She was unapologetic about her life choices (as she should be) not in the least bit braggy and totally brave. She admits her health is not good (she’s living with a cancer that should’ve killed her years ago) and yet she is still living her life to the fullest.

My favorite moment in the interview came when I asked Norris if she ever felt out of place when hanging out with people like Muhammad Ali or Fidel Castro... and she said “No. I looked around at the other people there and I thought ‘Why not me?'” I totally love that. I’m going to make it my new mantra.

Enjoy the interview, and click here to check out the rest of the great authors talking about their books on our podcast!

— Dana Barrett, Podcast Host