The Books & Brews Podcast is the place where literature and beer meet. Each month we welcome a new guest author to read and discuss their work. Author Laura Vosika leads in-depth interviews to delve into the motivations, inspirations and preoccupations of each guest. Certified Cicerone® Michael Agnew pours beers specifically selected to pair with the writer’s work. It’s an hour of entertaining erudition that hits your mind and your mouth.
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Kathy Murray is a certified personal trainer with over thirty years’ experience in the fitness industry. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she was a member of the 1983 National Cheerleading Championship Team. After college she competed in and won the United States Aerobic Championship in 1986 and spent the year traveling the worl…
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Like any good soldier’s son, Frank Warner moved with his family from fort to fort, accepted each change, and was ready to move again. Then, in 1960, Frank’s father was ordered to Fort Huachuca (WahCHOOka), Arizona. This was the fifth Army post of Frank’s childhood, the first place he never wanted to leave. So when his father was ordered to Vietnam …
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Sharon Bennett Connolly is the best-selling British author of several non-fiction history books. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Sharon has studied history academically and just for fun – and has even worked as a tour guide at a castle. She also writes the popular history blog, www.historytheinteresngbits.com and co-hosts the podcast A Sl…
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Robert Heath grew up in different places around the world, beginning in Japan in the late ‘40s. Robert and his eight siblings followed the assignments of their father, a sergeant in the U.S. Army. He ultimately became an educator for 37 years, serving all grade levels from Pre-K through doctoral programs in South and North Carolina. He now lives in…
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J.S. Absher is a poet, memoirist, and independent scholar. As a teetotaler—he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—he can’t add much insight into brews, but he can hold his own when it comes to books. Stan’s first full-length book of poetry, Mouth Work (St. Andrews University Press) won the 2015 Lena Shull Award from the N…
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Theresa Halvorsen has a “don’t tell me I can’t do that,” attitude about life and is an author, publisher, editor, and YouTuber. She’s overly-caffeinated and at times, wine-soaked. The author of multiple cross-genre works, including Warehouse Dreams, Lost Aboard and River City Widows, Theresa wonders what sleep is. She’s the owner of No Bad Books P…
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Peter is the Author of 30 books, fiction and non-fiction and published on 4 continents. He is a resident expert and regular of Top 50 USA radio and TV markets including Fox, CBS, ABC, ESPN, Coast to Coast, iHeart and over 100 major radio and TV networks. Peter is a multi-award-winning, director, cinematographer, actor and producer on 7 continents P…
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Stephanie Sanders-Jacob is an author and artist from Sandusky, Ohio. Her alien abduction novel, Singing All the Way Up, debuted with No Bad Books Press in July 2023. Her short fiction has been featured by Books of Horror, Hearth & Coffin, Mixer, Mosaic, and Ether Arts. You can find her online at www.sandersjacob.com and her artwork at www.rabbitand…
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M. B. (Michael) Zucker has been interested in storytelling for as long as he can remember. He devoted himself to historical fiction at fifteen and earned his B.A. at Occidental College and his J.D. at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He lives in Virginia with his family. He is the author of four novels: The Eisenhower Chronicles, A Gr…
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MJ Williams is the pen-name for the writing duo, Peggy Joque Williams and Mary Joy Johnson. Peggy is a freelance writer and book editor. A retired elementary school teacher, Peggy has taught creative writing classes and workshops for Madison College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Continuing Studies. She is a member of the W…
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RALPH JARRELLS became an author after retirement from more than four decades in marketing, advertising, and publishing, much of it in senior executive positions. He writes mostly historical fiction with religious themes. His first book was published August 4, 2017 when he was 75—a great example that you’re never too old to start a new chapter in yo…
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DAN COONAN has worn many hats through the years – Conference Commissioner, Athletic Director, CEO, Attorney, Novelist, Senior Congressional Campaign Advisor, Fundraiser, Nonprofit Chairman of the Board, College Adjunct Professor, Political Essayist, Youth Sports Coach, Bartender, Batting Practice Pitcher, Wedding Officiant, Dock Talk Facilitator, d…
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KAREN ESSEX is an award winning, bestselling author of six books including Leonardo’s Swans & Stealing Athena. She has recently co-written a pilot based on her two-volume novel, Kleopatra, for Netflix, which Lauren Hissrich, creator of The Witcher franchise, will executive produce. She adapted Anne Rice’s The Mummy for James Cameron and Fox Studios…
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Military brat, voracious reader, and now writing books in her favorite genre, Patty Perrin who writes as PTL Perrin grew up in Europe and speaks several languages. A misfit by any account, Patty shares her love for people, Native cultures, our amazing world, alien encounters, astounding mysteries, and the Creator of it all in her writing. Author of…
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This month at Books & Brews, with Michael on sabbatical, Laura and Dr. Chris Powell visit Hoops Brewery in Duluth, MN. We talked with Bjorn Erickson, one of the brewers about brewing...and books. Bjorn had a great story about how he got from earning a degree in German to brewing beer. We talked about the blending of science and artistry, the hard p…
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I grew up in Scotland, graduating from Edinburgh University with a degree in genetics. Back then, genetics was all about statistics and probability. So, I became a statistician until I took up the more chancy career of writing children’s books. Exploring the Insect World was published nearly 50 years ago. I then switched to time-slip fantasies and …
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Born and raised in west Michigan, Sharlene MacLaren attended Spring Arbor University. Upon graduating with an education degree, she taught second grade for two years then accepted an invitation to travel internationally for a year with a singing ensemble. In1975, she returned to teaching and married her childhood sweetheart. They’ve raised two love…
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Elizabeth Tucker is a Distinguished Service Professor of English at Binghamton University who specializes in children’s and adolescents’ folklore, folklore of the supernatural, and legends. Her books include Campus Legends: A Handbook, Haunted Halls: Ghostlore of American College Campuses, Children’s Folklore: A Handbook; Haunted Southern Tier; and…
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Eva Glyn writes emotional women’s fiction inspired by beautiful places and the stories they hide. She loves to travel and her last trip before the covid lockdowns was to Croatia, where she met a man with an incredible story of growing up during the country’s Homeland War in in 1990s. It inspired The Olive Grove, set on the island of Korcula. Two mo…
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Jen Gilroy writes women’s fiction for Orion Dash and sweet western romance for Harlequin Heartwarming—uplifting stories about women finding home, family and new beginnings–and finding themselves too. She’s a Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist and was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon award. A dual Bri…
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Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and ha…
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Connie Kinsey is a former military brat who has put down deep roots in a converted barn on a dirt road at the top of a hill in West Virginia. She lives with two dogs and a cat, and is pursuing happiness, one cup of coffee at a time. Primarily a memoirist, the events of her life permeate her work. Her fiction is sometimes described as autofiction be…
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Robert Bidinotto is author of the bestselling Dylan Hunter vigilante thriller series. Robert’s debut novel, HUNTER, soared to the top of the Kindle bestseller list and was a Wall Street Journal “Top 10 Fiction Ebook.” Its sequel, BAD DEEDS, became a #1 Audible thriller. The third installment in the series is the gripping political suspense novel WI…
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Nancie Laird Young grew up as an Army BRAT and traveled with her family across the United States, Europe and the Far East. Eventually she grew up, married (twice), had three great daughters, and various careers in human services, academic administration, advocacy for people with disabilities. These led to contributions to books and magazine article…
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Meet award-winning author Janet Raye Stevens – mom, reader, tea-drinker (okay, tea guzzler), and weaver of smart, stealthily romantic tales. A Derringer Award finalist, Janet’s work has been recognized multiple times, including winning the Daphne du Maurier award for the WWII-set paranormal A Moment After Dark and RWA’s Golden Heart® award for the …
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Janelle Molony, M.S.L. is a family historian, an award-winning non-fiction author, and news journalist. Jodi Nasch Decker, Ed.D. is a college professor and freelance writer. Together, they provide interpretation and context for the poet Martha Nasch’s alleged seven year fast and 1920’s insane asylum stay. SevenYearsInsane Readings: News Reports on …
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Linda C. Wisniewski is a former librarian who shares an empty nest with her retired scientist husband in Doylestown, PA. Linda teaches memoir workshops and produces webinars for the Pearl S. Buck Writing Center. She was born in Amsterdam, New York and is a graduate of SUNY at Buffalo and the library school at Villanova University. Her work includes…
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Ilona Parunakova is an author, diversity and inclusion speaker, and founder and CEO of IP Resilience Global and Identity Guru. She penned the best-selling books Opium of the Almond Tree, Am I Godfident, Unfiltered, Unleashed, Unapologetic, Royal Grand Berries, Success without Apology, and In the Front Line with Royal Warriors. Additionally, she has…
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Award-winning contemporary romance author Sadira Stone spins steamy, smoochy tales set in small businesses—a quirky bookstore, a neighborhood bar, a vintage boutique… Her stories highlight found family, friendship, and the sizzling chemistry that pulls unlikely partners together. When she emerges from her writing cave in Las Vegas, Nevada (which sh…
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Sloane Steele is the pen name for Shannyn Schroeder. As Sloane, her Counterfeit Capers series of heist romances are her love letter to the TV show Leverage. As Shannyn, she writes contemporary romances about big families, both those created by blood and by choice. Her books are set in the city of Chicago because having grown up there and lived near…
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Christine Madline Ellsworth, has just released her first book of poetry, published by Potter’s Wheel Publishing. Here is a collection of poems tracing the arc of transition in a contemporary woman’s life. From childhood fascinations to adult issues such as domestic violence, marriage and divorce, Ellsworth shares many relatable experiences. Ellswor…
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Sandy Hanna is an award-winning author for her memoir “The Ignorance of Bliss: An American Kid in Saigon,” a true coming-of-age story about growing up in Vietnam in the early 60s. She current resides in Lambertville, New Jersey. As a military BRAT (British Regiment Attached Transfer) her story reveals a turbulent time where politics and intrigue re…
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Christine Husom is a national best-selling author from Minnesota. She pens the suspenseful Winnebago County Mysteries and the cozy, but not too cozy, Snow Globe Shop Mysteries where bad guys demonstrate not everyone is “Minnesota Nice.” She also has stories in many anthologies. Husom served with the Wright County Sheriff, is a member of Mystery Wri…
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Nicole Burnham is the RITA Award-winning author of over twenty romance novels, including the popular Royal Scandals series. As an army brat, Nicole was raised moving around the world. She still travels abroad whenever she can score cheap airfare and loves that it feeds her writing. If Nicole isn't at her keyboard, she is happiest spending time at F…
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Jeff LaFerney was a full-time language arts teacher in Davison, Michigan, for 30 years. After coaching basketball for most of his career, he decided to write books instead and took on his new hobby. Now he spends his free time reading, writing, and editing books. He and his beautiful wife have two adult children. His Clay and Tanner Thomas series f…
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Ernie Brill writes fiction and poetry about everyday people. His I Looked Over Jordan and Other Stories explores race and class among hospital workers. The actress Ruby Dee purchased, adapted, and performed the story Crazy Hattie Enters Ice Age for her and her husband’s PBS TV series “With Ruby and Ossie.” Brill won a New York State Council for The…
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Eugenia Fain is an author of poetry and prose. She is also a songwriter and available on Amazon and Spotify. Eugenia has forty years of experience in writing. She is a preschool teacher and tutor. She is published here and abroad; she is considered an international author. Eugenia is featured in several anthologies. She is published online, in prin…
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USA Today bestselling author Melonie Johnson―aka #thewritinglush―enjoys cheap wine, expensive beer, and sipping cocktails that start with the letter m. Declared a “writer to watch” by Kirkus and a “fizzy, engrossing new voice” by Entertainment Weekly, her smart funny contemporary romances include Too Good to Be Real and her award-winning Sometimes …
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Philip Watling lives in Milton Keynes, England with his American wife and their amazing cats, Spirit and Shadow. Unable to work, he still manages to do some… a zero-hour contract job that he can dip in and out of when he feels up to it! When not doing that, much of his week is spent at the gym, swimming and talking to everyone – socializing with pe…
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Cynthia Kraack is an author of fiction, short stories and nonfiction. 40 Thieves on Saipan was released by Regnery History in 2020 and received Best Book in Military History from the American Book Festival. The High Cost of Flowers won two 2014 Midwest Book Awards taking first in Literary Fiction and Contemporary Fiction. Her debut work, Minnesota …
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Dr. Chris Powell is an author, poet, musician, engineering and management consultant and aspiring polymath with his fingers on everything from fretboards and ivories to the pulse of post-modernism, surrealism, and nihilism's impact on the destruction of morality and sanity. His work takes him from the Internet of Things to Cyberspace, and from Supe…
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Lauretta Kehoe is an avid reader of all types of books, but mostly science fiction and fantasy, seeking in these stories reflections of my Christian faith. Not finding many, she decided to write what she wanted to read. Michael Kehoe is a professional comedian, actor and screenwriter, who has appeared in several movies, including the latest Jason B…
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Shawn D. Brink is currently building a following with four novels to his name, the latest being MY GYPSY WAR DIARY (Gabriel’s Horn Publishing). He has also had numerous shorter works in various publications and anthologies. Shawn is represented by Liverman Literary Agency. shawnbrinkauthor.wordpress.com Facebook Twitter Shawn’s Readings: Ghosts – 9…
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Born and raised in Alaska, Sandra graduated from University of Alaska and became a travel agent. After marriage, she helped run her husband’s real estate appraisal business until their children were grown, while doing freelance writing. She and her family left Alaska in 1988 and has lived in Western Washington since 1991. A lifelong fascination wit…
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Lisa Gurine has written newsletters and business communications professionally for more than twenty years. She comes from a long line of storytellers and for most of her life has channeled her creative energy into re-telling and embellishing her family’s history. Without Words grew from the seeds of her own ancestors’ lives as South Dakota immigran…
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Ozgur K. Sahin is an award-winning historical novelist and life coach. True Colors, the second book in his Brethren of the Spanish Main series, was released in late 2019 as a sequel to The Wrath of Brotherhood. He is currently working as a life coach while hunkered down during the Covid-19 pandemic and working on a non-fiction book on narcissism. H…
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The Dirty Lowdown called Mike Faricy America's hottest new mystery writer. Robert Carraher referred to him as Minnesota's Master of the Bizarre. Crime Scene referred to him as the next Carl Hiaasen. Mike Faricy writes four crime fiction series; Dev Haskell mystery series, the Corridor Man series, Jack Dillon Dublin Tales series, and the Hotshot ser…
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Mark Connor is from St. Paul, MN. In summer 2019, he was featured in the first Gabriel’s Horn Press anthology, Surprised by Joy. A boxer since age 10, he currently trains competitive and recreational boxers, runs a training business called Fighting Chance/Boxing for Life and writes fiction, poetry, and journalism. He has written and published many …
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