HANK: There’s nothing scarier than being interviewed on TV! (Okay, there probably are scarier things. But when the red light comes on? It may not seem like it.) How long have you been doing interviews?

BARBARA FOSTER: For people like you and me, Hank, it is hard to understand why so many people are afraid of being on TV ... or public speaking. When I first started doing TV interviews, I always felt I should be looking over my shoulder because I would be 'found out' that I was never trained for this career. Little did I ever suspect that it would last 35 years.

HANK: How did you start?

On that same day, the three local public access channels called to invite me to do my "Barbara ... & You" show with them. I selected Fitchburg Access TV because at that time they had the best studio. We agreed to distribute it to Leominster and Lunenburg. Today we're on the air in seven towns in Central Massachusetts.

HANK: And going strong! Tell us some of your favorite interviewees—and what made them so good?

BARBARA: This is a tough one because there are so many. Of the celebrities, I'd pick Johnny Cash who was just so very nice and not wrapped up in himself. Also, Michael Dukakis is the epitome of charm. It was a very fun night with Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show interviewing them after their concert. I had been warned that they could be difficult, but they were so much fun and they compared me to Dinah Shore. She was also a down-to-earth woman when I interviewed her.

But there are so many 'ordinary' people who are not 'ordinary' at all. I totally enjoy shining the spotlight on these type of community guests who don't always get the recognition they deserve. In all these years, I've never run out of interesting guests/subjects to interview.

HANK: What do interviewees need to understand about the person who’s interviewing them?

BARBARA: When briefing guests, I always tell them that I am a tool just like the camera, lights and microphones. They are what is important and I'm just there to help them tell their story. Not only is it my job to bring out their best, but to make them comfortable while doing so. Often guests tell me that they relax after the first five minutes and forget that we're on TV. It feels like we're just chatting.

HANK: Are there common mistakes that interviewees make? Like what?

BARBARA: I truly cannot say any specific mistakes, but people often tell me right after we go off the air, "Oh, I should have said ......." So, it might be a good idea for them to write down a few key words to prompt them if necessary. I often tell them, "Barbara Walters uses notes, we can too." We do our show live -- which means you have to get it right the first time!

HANK: How about—clothes? Makeup? Attitude?(What are some no-nos?)

BARBARA: It is a luxury having my hair done for the show by my wonderful Maria. I used to have my make-up done, but do it myself now as it took too much time. Ditto with wardrobe. Too much time & trouble to go get the outfit and return it the next day. I do try to rotate my clothing I wear on the show. It consists of business-type suits. On special occasions I get more dressy. Like you, Hank, a black suit always works and you can accessorize it so many ways. Generally white is a no-no and certain shades of red.

When someone knows they're going to be interviewed, they should give some thought to what they want the public to know about them. They might even make themselves a little cheat sheet. In my case, they need to recognize that the interviewer is there to help them look good.

They should think in terms of sitting down to have a chat with a friend about themselves, their work, their passion and their goals -- depending on the topic. As you know, Hank, I love to interview writers and the writer should want to entice the viewer to go buy the book. You know, tell enough, but not too much. All interviewees are not expected to be great public speakers, but they need to take deep breaths if they feel nervous and think before they speak.

As for their appearance, they want to look professional -- not too dressy and not too casual. Solid colors are always best. Make up could be just a tad heavier than they would wear to the office. If men have a 5:00 shadow, a little foundation can do wonders. And most important of all -- SMILE.

HANK: Barbara Walters (and we both admire her so much!) has a big staff helping with research and questions. Do you? And how can interviewees use that to their advantage?

BARBARA: I wish I had a staff like Barbara Walters!! I do all the bookings and prepare all the questions myself. And ... I do the show live so mistakes can't be edited out. We need to get it right the first time. When I book a guest, I mention that if they have specific questions they'd like to answer, they may write the question on an index card and give it to me before we go on the air. I also tell them that they should feel free to speak about something even if I haven't asked the right questions. Just say, "Barbara, you might be interested to know ......" Of course, Hank, I have the advantage of usually doing a half-hour interview unlike you who must get a lot into a short amount of time.

HANK: Well, doing interviews for 35 years...it's fantastic! Congratulations! Any questions for Barbara (or me?) about how to be the best you can be on TV?

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

When I was a kid, we listened to albums.  And an album was a lot more than just songs.  An album was songs connected by a concept, an A side and a B side, with cover art and liner notes.  I didn’t necessarily understand the liner notes; they were written in the language of hip and hip wasn’t one of the languages offered at my high school.  But I read them anyway.  So I was pleased when Rich Luca asked me to write these liner notes.  Pleased, but also confused.  Where exactly do you put liner notes if not on the back of an album cover?  What is the purpose of liner notes in a digital world?

The process of creating music is transformational.  So it’s fitting that these are songs about transformation.  Rich said to me, “My songs are all about the in-betweens.”  Not about the being.  About the becoming. 

“How do you get from Memphis to Heaven?” (Memphis to Heaven)

Talk about your in-betweens.  The journey from ashes-to-ashes, from dust-to-dust.  Life is the grandest in-between of them all.  These are songs about life, and about the people who matter to us during our own brief moment in the in-between. 

“Why complicate the moment, Why complicate the time, Let’s be here now.”  (This Crazy Thing)

You’re going to work, earning a living, playing it safe and then, one day, just like that, playing it safe isn’t enough any more.  So you change.  You allow yourself to become who you were always meant to be.  In the liner notes for Alice’s Restaurant, in 1967, Harold Leventhal wrote, “It was just a little over a year ago that Arlo Guthrie bounced into my office and announced, ‘Kid – I’ve just decided to quit working for you and have you work for me.’”  And that’s how I imagine it for Rich, facing his own transformation.  “Kid,” he says to himself, “I don’t work for you anymore,” Rich staring at himself in the bathroom mirror, “from now on you work for me.”  These are songs about becoming.  Becoming a lover.  A husband.  A father.  A friend.  Becoming a songwriter-singer.  Being is easy.  Becoming is hard, no matter what the pop songs say.

“Don’t listen to the things people say to you.  You’ll only regret that which you never do.”  (Silence Says So)  

I have said in other places that creativity is the capacity to look at the same thing everyone else is looking at (or, in this case, to listen to the same thing everyone else is listening to) and to see (or hear) something different.

“I wanna know what’s different for you, what’s different from me” (You Are the Only One)

Rich Luca and I are of a similar age.  We probably grew up listening to many of the same musical influences.  You can hear those influences in his music.  Take a listen to Long Time Since Love and you’ll hear the influence of the Eagles.  Listen to Memphis to Heaven and you just might catch a whiff of Springsteen.   We listened to the same music, but Rich was hearing something else.  That something else has been fermenting for decades until a year or so ago, when Rich looked in the mirror and decided it was time to do something with all that music. 

And now, Rich has decided to let us take a peek inside his head, to let us hear the music that he hears.  So take a listen and then send Rich a message.  Tell him that his music needs to be in barrooms and in juke joints, in coffee houses and clubs, on your iPod, in your CD player, and especially on your turntable.  Tell him to put the songs out on vinyl, an album, with an A side and a B side, with cover art, and, of course, with a proper place to read these liner notes.

“It’s the night that holds your soul. It’s the night that takes control.
It’s the night that holds your soul.  It’s the night that takes control.
It’s the night... ” (Somewhere Burns a Fire)

 - Jeff Markowitz

I had a great time in South Portland last night. Thanks to the 2000 people who showed up at Borders, despite the cold rainy weather. A special shout-out to my wife’s Aunt Donna and our cousin Bradley who made the drive to see me. They live in Maine and we don’t get to see them much, but it was great to catch up, albeit briefly. Thanks also to the local elementary schools, who made a life-sized Percy Jackson display for the store. Borders had arranged face-painting, a hieroglyph hunt and other cool activities, so there was plenty to do.

Everyone was so polite and enthusiastic, despite the long signing line. I met several ‘Sadie Kanes’ with combat boots and highlighted streaks in their hair. One even had her own boomerang wand, and was accompanied by Thalia Grace, with aegis shield and a sword. Awesome!

Favorite comment of the night: I signed a book for a young girl who looked down at the inscription with absolute disgust. “What is that?” she demanded. I replied, “Er, that’s my signature.” I almost thought she was going to demand I erase it, or shout, “How dare you defile my book!” She accepted the explanation, but still looked pretty repulsed. Yes, my signature is not very pretty. Oh, well. Guess I’ll have to work on that.

Some of the many good questions:

Q: Will I ever do a Norse mythology series?

A: I’d love to, but with Kane and Heroes, I’ve got my hands full at the moment. It will be several years before I could even start on something like that.

Q: Would I ever do a crossover series with Kane and Percy’s world?

A: I don’t know. It’s an interesting idea, but for now I think it’s best to keep the worlds separate to avoid utter confusion. Again, so many ideas, but each one takes a long time to write!

Q: Do I do school visits?

A: Sadly, not anymore. I did hundreds and hundreds while Percy was being published, but now there just isn’t enough time in the calendar year to meet my deadlines and travel that much. Sorry about that! Has anyone perfected author cloning yet?

Q: Favorite character?

A: Bes from the Kane Chronicles, Tyson from the Percy series, and Leo from Heroes of Olympus -- so far. The answer is always changing.

Q: Do you like Greek mythology?

A: What gave me away?

Q: Why did you set a scene at Bar Harbor, Maine in the Titan’s Curse?

A: I had totally forgotten that! My wife and I had been through Maine only once before, twenty-five years ago on our Honeymoon, and we stayed overnight at Bar Harbor. I always remembered it, and decided to set a scene there.

Today, we’re off to Vermont for an event in Manchester Village with Northshire Bookstore. If you live in the area, I hope to see you there!

by John Gregory Betancourt

I real a lot of fiction. (Most editors do.) What I read tends to be on the older side, usually from pulp magazines (circa 1915 to 1955). I select stories to be reprinted by Wildside Press in the “Wildside Pulp Fiction” line of books and anthologies (and in Adventure Tales magazine). Most of the fiction I read is your usual, standard fare. Rockets and rayguns in the science fiction pulps. Gats and gumshoes in the mystery pulps. A mix of romance and adventure and mainstream in the general-fiction pulps.

But every once in a while I run across something truly special. An author or a short story whose work transcends its humble pulp roots. I’d like to talk a little bit about one of my favorite discoveries over the last decade and, hopefully, steer you toward some great reading you might otherwise miss.

ADVENTURE

I first encountered Arthur O. Friel’s fiction in the pages of Adventure magazine. I had a vague idea he might be of interest, since his novel The Pathless Trail had been reprinted by Centaur Press in the 1960s – which meant early fantasy had enjoyed his work. (Centaur also reprinted works by Robert E. Howard, Talbot Mundy, and H. Warner Munn, among others.)

But I was completely unprepared for what I found. It was the story of two rubber-plantation workers in the Amazon jungle. And it was good. Better than good—great. So great that I had to read more. And as I searched through my archive of Adventure pulps, I discovered the adventures of Pedro and Lourenço continued in quite a few other stories (and in some with just Pedro by himself). Each story had a animal theme (with titles like “The Firefly,” “The Ant-Eater,” “The Spider”) in which Pedro compared a person to the traits of an Amazonian animal and spun a tale around it.

Most of them are action-adventure, but some (such as “The Tailed Men”) are fantasy. The writing was fresh, vivid, and modern. There wasn’t any racism, dialect, or any of the other dated elements which can detract from writing of the period. If I hadn’t seen the stories in their original context, I could easily have believed they were written today.

I quickly compiled a manuscript of 8 stories and 1 complete novel from the pages of Adventure. It would be a fairly thick (300+ page) book. And I titled is Amazon Nights: Classic Adventure Tales from the Pulps.

ARTHUR WHO?

Beyond the stories, one pressing question remained. Who, exactly, was this Friel guy, and how could he write so brilliantly about the Amazon? Most pulp writers never left their home countries. Look at Robert E. Howard, who seldom ventured far from Texas, and yet he wrote about the Far East, Puritan England, and South Sea islands – not to mention the Hyborian Age of Conan. Could a set of Encyclopedia Britannicas and a set of travel brochures have given Friel the authentic feel of his stories?

No. Friel really was an Amazon explorer, after a career as the South American correspondent of the Associated Press. Nowadays you can go to Wikipedia to look him up, but in 2004 — when I began my project — very little info on him was available. It had to be gleaned, in bits and pieces, from the bios in pulp magazines and the notes at the end of his later novels.

Here’s the link to his entry at Wikipedia, which will provide more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_O._Friel

I have continued to seek out his work, and now I am proud to have Wildside Press as one of the leading publishers of all things Friel. We have reprinted 2 collections of his Pedro and Lourenço (Amazon Nights and Black Hawk and Other Tales of the Amazon), as well as the novels King of Kearsarge, Tiger River, and Forgotten Island.

And you know what? The Friel revival seems to be spreading. I’ve been seeing other new editions of his books appearing on

hu·bris/ˈ(h)yo͞obris/Noun

Anyway (for reasons that are not germane to our story) I was giving one of the speeches at commencement.  And, it seemed important to me not to ignore the dangerous world that we were graduating into.  You're going to have to trust me on this, but I didn't say anything extreme, offensive or even particularly controversial.  In fact, my father made it very clear that he would need to see the speech in advance, would have to sign off, as it were, on every single word.  Just to make sure.

So I give my speech and I sit down when it's over and the graduation ceremony continues just as always.  And then there comes a point in the ceremony where a representative of the Board of Education gets up and congratulates the graduating class.  It's pretty standard, boilerplate remarks... you've all heard it before.  But this time, it's different.  The representative from the Board of Education launches into a lecture.  How I was glorifying people like Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman (in truth I had mentioned neither of them).  How I should be looking not to these enemies of America as my role models, but rather to people like he himself, volunteering his time as a member of the Board of Education for the benefit of his community (I kid you not).

Later that summer, I learned that this fine upstanding pillar of the community, this role model, was suspected of hiring a hit man to murder his wife.  And that was all I knew until last year. 

Then I stumbled upon another website, this one detailing a court decision in which this fine upstanding gentleman, by that time known as the defendant, successfully petitioned the courts to suppress the evidence of some 60 telephone conversations obtained by wire tap.  And I began to wonder whether this pillar of the community had ever been convicted of the crime.  Innocent until proven guilty, had I perhaps, all these years, unfairly judged my accuser?

That led me to a story from September 24, 2000, in the NY Daily News.  Dr. Lukash, the Nassau County chief medical examiner, on the occasion of his retirement, was reminiscing about his fifty year career "unraveling the mysteries of death."  It turns out that this elderly gentleman had been the medical examiner on the very case I was interested in.  The cause of death was chloroform intoxication.  And on the basis of the work of the medical examiner and the local police this "role model" from my local Board of Ed and his mistress were convicted of conspiring to have the man's wife murdered.

"'There's an old saying: You may try to get away with murder, but dead bodies tell tales,' Lukash said.  'Dead bodies do tell tales.'"  (New York Daily News, September 24, 2000)

Dead bodies do tell tales.  Lukash, of course, was referring to the many dead bodies he'd examined during his fifty year career as a medical examiner.  But today, forty years after Kent State, I find myself wondering about the four dead bodies on the campus of Kent State University.  What tales do they tell?  Were we listening then?  Are we listening now?

I'm not sure. 

Thanks to everyone who came to the Throne of Fire launch event in Princeton last night. We had over a thousand people. The Barnes & Noble staff had everything so well organized the line went smoothly and I think everyone went home happy. It was great meeting so many awesome fans!

Above is a picture of the super-cool bookmarks Disney has made for Throne of Fire. We'll be giving these away at the events!

Last night at the signing, I met two Sadies and one Carter. Most interesting name: Messiah. Some of the best questions: “Who did you base Jason after?” Surprisingly, no one has asked me that before. The answer is Jason in Greek mythology, with a lot of modernizing, of course. “How many hours a day do you write?” I got this one quite a bit. The answer: It varies. Usually 3-8 hours. “How long does it take to write a book?” Answer: usually one year, but I’ve managed to speed it up to every six months, though I won’t keep up that pace forever, just until I finish the two concurrent series, Kane and Heroes of Olympus. “How many books for Kane?” Three. A lot of fans asked if I would do more than that. Well, I don’t know. Maybe one of these days, but for now three books is the right number to tell the story of the Kanes and their fight with Apophis. And best question that wasn’t asked (brought to my attention in the fan’s blog): “Does Khufu eat kangaroos?” Ha! I love it. I’m sure if he could catch one, he would try.

Especially interesting to me were the fans’ favorite books. Some liked the Kane series best. Some like Percy. Some liked Heroes. Many had already finished Throne of Fire (wow!) and loved it, thankfully. They were already asking for the next (out next May, no title yet, still in the works). Many kids, fortunately, liked all three series! Every book had its own cheering squad. And of course, everyone asked me which book I liked the best. It’s just too hard to pick, like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. I told one fan that, and he rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Every writer says that!” Yep, but it’s true!

This morning I leave New York and head to South Portland for an event at Borders. My first ever event in Maine, so if you live in the area, I hope you’ll come by!

The Magic of Place

by Lynn Sheene

When I was a girl my mom read me The Secret Garden, the story of the contrary orphan sent to live at her uncle’s manor in the moors of England. I can close my eyes even today and see the moment nine-year old Mary pushed through the ivy-covered garden door and found an abandoned garden. Leafless, climbing roses so overgrown they tangled in tree branches; brown clumps of grass, an inquisitive robin watching over her. The characters’ healing came with their commitment and passion to restore that garden to its blooming splendor. And at the story’s end, the revived garden had worked its magic on me too.

I felt the same kind of spark when I discovered 1940’s Paris.

Curious about the past of a French Art Deco brooch, I investigated Paris and the culture in the 1930’s and 1940’s.What I found captivated me.

The City of Light, yes, of the enchanting Luxembourg Gardens, the treasured Louvre, the stately Tuileries, but during the dark years of the German Occupation, life itself was a daily struggle. Yet, men and women risked their lives to resist, whether they looked away when a child graffittied a wall with the victory sign and cross of Lorraine – Free France’s symbol, published a Resistance newspaper, or took up weapons.

In the end, Paris was revived through the courage, commitment and lives of French and Allied soldiers, as well as the Parisians themselves.

In my novel, THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS a young Jazz-Age Manhattan socialite heads to Paris to escape her secret past, only to find herself swept up in the danger and drama of the French Resistance. A woman whose sole passion is to live well is forced to find work in a flower shop and spy for the French Resistance in exchange for false identity papers. Despite the ever-present danger, she comes to love the enduring beauty of the City of Light. Bravery and intelligence make her a valuable operative, and slowly her values shift as she witnesses the courageous spirit of the Parisians.

I spent many happy times in Paris since my first spark - enjoying Sunday afternoon strolls in Luxembourg Gardens, café crèmes at sidewalk cafes, and shopping in boutiques artfully displaying everything from sexy lingerie to decadent bouquets to fresh mussels over ice. Diet-be-damned, I never turned down the bread.

But one of my favorite places has always been Parc Monceau, a serene and fanciful English-style park with secretive curving paths that surprise with statues, a Dutch windmill, and even an Egyptian pyramid. Tucked away on the northern side is a beautiful pool lined on one end by faux Roman ruins.

I was so taken by Parc Monceau, I used the benches facing the water – a popular place to rest and enjoy life - in my novel.

This spring I returned to Parc Monceau for the first time since THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS was published. I sat on one of those benches in the shade of a towering oak tree while toddlers threw bread crumbs to ducks in the pool. The moment was magical, as if I had opened the door to my own secret garden, walked inside, and sat down amidst the blooms.

I wonder - how much of my writing, even my concept of beauty and place, I owe to reading the Secret Garden?

Do memorable settings in books impact you? Would you, or did you, visit them?

(HANK: Merci, chere Lynn! And Reds, I'm giving away a copy of Lynn's book to a lucky commenter!)

*******************************************

Lynn Sheene grew up in the mountains of Colorado, pen in hand, gazing through the quaking aspen trees and dreaming of far off places and eras. Her passion for stories came early from her book-loving parents and poet grandfather.

After graduating from University of California, Santa Barbara and working as an environmental consultant and science writer, Lynn turned to her dream of fiction writing. Her longtime love of Paris and the 1930’s and 1940’s intersected with the discovery of a French Art Deco brooch. Captivated by the jewel’s possible wartime past in Occupied France, Lynn began to study this intriguing and dangerous time through research trips, memoirs and news accounts. THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS is her first novel, a story inspired by the everyday patriots who risked their lives for the country they loved.

Lynn is a member of International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, Alliance Française, and the French Heritage Society. In addition to writing, Lynn enjoys travel, art deco, films, photography, and all things French. She lives in Southern California with her husband and dog.