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Better World Books Podcast: Jeffrey Stepakoff

Posted by Dana on 04.14.2010 at 10:08 am

Jeffrey Stepakoff has a career that many people would drool over (myself included); great success as a writer and producer in Hollywood, followed by an incredibly well received first novel, FIREWORKS OVER TOCCOA. But that wasn’t the plan when he first started out. When we sat down to talk last week Jeffrey said “he just wanted to be left alone to write”!

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Clearly that worked out. In Hollywood, Jeffrey worked on shows like SISTERS, THE WONDER YEARS and DAWSON’S CREEK not too mention several movies. He loved the life, but really wanted more time with his family so decided to transition to writing books. FIREWORKS OVER TOCCOA is Jeffrey’s second book, but first novel and it is quickly becoming a national bestseller.

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Better World Books Podcast: Sarah Addison Allen

Posted by Dana on 04.05.2010 at 10:46 am

Sarah Addison Allen’s fans expect her books to be full of magic and her latest The Girl Who Chased the Moon doesn’t disappoint.

This book has magic wallpaper, sweet sense, mystical lights that inexplicably roam the woods at night and even a giant. While some of the magic is there to advance the plot, some is just there for fun.

The book, like all of Sarah’s books, is also full of food. This time it’s barbecue and cake. Mmmm. Cake. And if you’re as taken with some of the cakes as I am, don’t worry, you can get the recipes on her website!

I sat down to chat with Sarah last week during her tour. We talked about the book and some of the magic in it, but one of things I thought was most amazing is that she had three completely different versions of the book before it became what it is now. Listen to what Sarah had to say about that, about happy endings, and about Grandpa Vance, the gentle giant.

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

– Dana

P.S. Better World Books has an awesome price on this book new! Only $14.48 with FREE SHIPPING. That’s over 42% off! Get your copy now!

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Better World Books Podcast: Patricia Sprinkle

Posted by Dana on 03.16.2010 at 3:49 pm

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

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Better World Books Podcast: Chris Cleave

Posted by Dana on 03.09.2010 at 6:15 pm

Have you ever eaten a dessert so delicious you had no words to describe it? I mean you could try; “it’s rich…delicious…so chocolatey”, or maybe “so delicate…it melts in your mouth…the perfect blend”, but really the words just don’t do it justice.

That’s kind of how I feel about Little Bee. And whoever wrote the back cover copy clearly agrees with me. Little Bee IS a great story – and it IS filled with well developed characters and though it is not drenched in raspberry sauce, it is indescribably good. It unfolds in a unique way. It plays with language. It asks you questions and it puts you in uncomfortable positions without judging.

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Have your say » | Tagged Author Podcast, Author Interview Podcast, Chris Cleave, Little Bee

Better World Books Podcast: Wendy Wax

Posted by Dana on 03.03.2010 at 7:01 pm

I met Wendy Wax, author of Magnolia Wednesdays and The Accidental Bestseller several years ago through work and we became friends. Good friends. The kind of friends that know each others families and drink wine together whenever possible.

So, reading a book by a friend has an interesting quality to it, as does interviewing them. When reading, I think “Hmmm. That living room she is describing sounds a lot like her living room” or better yet ” I think I might know who she based that character on!”. While interviewing Wendy I struggled not to lapse into our usual chit chat about the struggles of the day – and I didn’t jump in to admit that indeed I was the friend who went ballroom dancing with her in the name of research.

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Have your say » | Tagged Author Podcast, Author Interview Podcast, dana barrett, Magnolia Wednesdays, The Accidental Bestseller, Wendy Wax

Better World Books Podcast: Jasper Fforde

Posted by Dana on 02.09.2010 at 9:30 am

Interviewing an author is not as straight forward as you might think. Often they are coming in from out of town for 24 hours or less and have a fairly tight schedule while they are here.

Sometimes the authors have been affected by the congestion and general purpose ickiness that is Atlanta traffic.

Sometimes the schedule is plagued by the questionable info on the various mapping websites that often will lead them to some place other than our office.

And sometimes they arrive at the right place and the right time and for some unknown reason the recording equipment will decide not to work.

Alas – on the scheduled date of my interview with Jasper Fforde, it was the airline that got in the way. We were supposed to meet at noon that day. He was to come to straight to our offices after getting off a flight from Miami. But the plane broke. Okay – I’m sure it was more technical than that, and probably less dramatic, but you get the idea. Our poor author had to spend something like 4 hours on the tarmac while the plane fixers did their thing.

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Better World Books Podcast: Janice Y. K. Lee

Posted by Dana on 01.21.2010 at 5:19 pm

pianoteacher-250 Ask any overnight success how easy their success really was and they’ll tell you it certainly didn’t feel overnight to them. Janice Y. K. Lee is no exception to that.

THE PIANO TEACHER is Janice’s debut novel and she admittedly didn’t have too much trouble finding a publisher, but she did spend 5 years writing the book as well as several years in a graduate writing program and several years reviewing and reading books for Elle and Mirabella magazines.

As with any artist Janice wasn’t sure she could write a novel let alone get it published and she is thrilled about how well the book has been received. And with good reason.

THE PIANO TEACHER takes place in Hong Kong during WWII and then in the period 10 years after the war. It is a story of the glamorous seeming British Read more…

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Better World Books Podcast: Byron Pitts

Posted by Dana on 11.03.2009 at 4:01 pm

Byron Pitts is a gifted broadcast journalist, an engaging and talented speaker, a published author and force for good. But that wasn’t always the case. As his book STEP OUT ON NOTHING details, Byron started out a skinny kid with the nickname “Pickle” who didn’t talk much and was often bullied. But worse than that, Byron was hiding and working hard to keep his secrets. He couldn’t read and had a debilitating stutter.

If it wasn’t for his faith and the people who “stepped out on nothing” for him, Byron doesn’t believe he would have made it to the place he is today. When his mother was told he was “stupid” she wouldn’t accept it. When his best friend in college noticed his limited vocabulary he stepped in to help. And a when a professor he had never met before found him dejected an about to drop out, she believed in him. Read more…

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Better World Books Podcast: Warren St. John

Posted by Dana on 10.07.2009 at 11:14 am

Did you ever have one of those days? The kind where everything comes together and you know you are doing what you are meant to be doing?

That’s how I felt when I finished reading OUTCASTS UNITED and knew that I would have the opportunity to meet and interview author Warren St. John and help get the word out about this great book.

The book tells the story of coach Luma Mufleh the soccer team of refugee boys she founded and the town of Clarkston, Georgia that wasn’t sure they wanted them… or their families.

Once I finished reading the book, I knew it would be a perfect fit for The Better World Book Club. And once again that perfect day stuff starting happening. I think they call it serendipity. When I called Warren to let him know his book had been chosen for the December 2009 read for The Better World Book Club – now going live at Whole Foods Markets in Atlanta, he let me know how perfect that was, as he had written a good bit of the book IN the Whole Foods Market at Ponce. I think I actually got chills. Read more…

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Have your say » | Tagged Author Podcast, Atlanta Book Club, Better World Book Club, Clarkston, dana barrett, georgia, Luma Mufleh, Outcasts United, The Fugees, Warren St. John, Whole Foods Markets

Better World Books Podcast: Mary Kay Andrews

Posted by Dana on 09.21.2009 at 12:20 pm

I met Mary Kay Andrews for the first time in 2006 when BLUE CHRISTMAS first came out. She came to my little bookstore to do a signing and could not have been more supportive or gracious. Already a New York Times bestselling author she could have been a total diva – but she was exactly the opposite.

Since then I’ve gotten to know Mary Kay through various events and saw her again at the Decatur Book Festival earlier this month where I had the pleasure of introducing her and Haywood Smith at their very well attended talk. This time Mary Kay (whose real name is Kathy) had her daughter and adorable first grand-baby in tow and was proudly introducing them around. I guess my point is Mary Kay knows who she is and is Read more…