The Last Song marks the first time Nicholas Sparks adapted a book for an actor and the first time he wrote a book and screen play simultaneously. The Last Song written for teen star, Miley Cyrus, is also a Disney movie that will premier January 5th, 2010. It was filmed in Savannah and on Tybee Island in Georgia and is the first of three major motion pictures based on Sparks books that will premier in 2010. The Last Song is the story of 17 year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller whose life is turned upside-down when her parents divorce and her father moves from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. The summer she spends with her father in the quiet, beach town unfolds in an unforgettable story about love and relationships that can break our hearts and heal them.

Listen to the Nicholas Sparks Interview

Kennesaw - Informally Educated

Kennesaw dropped his book by the radio station where it landed on the desk of my boss whose office is right next door to mine. I've never seen my boss read anything other than e-mail so...I "borrowed" it and read it in one sitting. Informally Educated is the story of Kennesaw's life with his abusive stepfather, a con man with ties to organized crime, who continually beat Kennesaw and did his best to turn him into a criminal as well. It is a horrifying story. It is also amazing he lived to tell it. You can meet Kennesaw this Saturday (8/29) at a book signing at the Milledgeville Mall from 10-4. He will also be signing books September 12th at the Golden Bough Bookstore in downtown Macon.

Listen to the Kennesaw interview

Joseph Finder - Vanished

I follow Joseph Finder on Twitter. He makes me mad. He makes me laugh. Mostly he makes me glad I love to read. When I learned he was launching a four-book series featuring Nick Heller, a high-powered intelligence investigator, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the first book. I started reading during my lunch hour and finished very, very late that night. This is my favorite Joseph Finder book yet. I hope Joe likes Nick as much as I do because there is no way Nick Heller is going to be around for only four books. He is much too interesting, there are still loads of bad guys (especially corporate bad guys) to be dealt with and surely, lurking somewhere in the future, is at least one woman to complicate his life even more. Look for Vanished in stores August 18th or pre-order through Joe's website where he also gives you a chance to preview a couple of chapters. You'll also want to pick up Killer Instinct, Company Man, Paranoia, Power Play and High Crimes which became a hit movie starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman.

Listen to the Joseph Finder Interview

Claire Shipman/Katty Kay-Womenomics

They coined a phrase and possibly even a movement. Claire Shipman, Good Morning America's Senior National Correspondent covers everything from politics to international affairs to family issues. Katty Kay covers American politics and society for the BBC. She can be seen in the US on BBC America. Together, they wrote Womenomics, a book designed to put women on the path to really having it all.

Listen to the interview with Claire Shipman

Gregg Hurwitz-Trust No One

I know Facebook is all the rage right now but Myspace is still a great place for musicians, authors and other artsy, talented types to hype their wares. That's where, several years ago, I discovered Gregg Hurwitz and became a fan.
I'm always somewhat nervous writing about writers. What if I misspell a word or don't put a coma in the right place? Will a guy who wrote his first novel while completing a BA from Harvard AND a master's from Trinity College, Oxford in Shakespearean tragedy call me on it? Nah, not this guy! Yes, he's very smart. He's also very personable and funny and if I hadn't read his bio I wouldn't even know he's a genius. I do know he's a great writer who packs a roundhouse blow in the thriller arena with his latest book. Trust No One is his ninth novel and readers have a rare opportunity to read the first chapter before actually buying the book. Of course, an immediate trip to the local book store follows that reading. I talked to Gregg about the book, the sneak peak at the first chapter and his aversion to heights.

Listen to the Gregg Hurwitz interview

Ed Grisamore-Once You Step in Elephant Manure

The title alone should make you want to read the book. It's called Once You Step in Elephant Manure You're in the Circus Forever (The Life and Sometimes of Durwood "Mr. Doubletalk" Fincher. Whew...quite the mouthful, which is also what you get every time you talk to or hear Durwood Fincher. He's appeared on dozens of television shows, including The Today Show, and has been on the corporate speaking circuit for more than 25 years. Ed's book includes a bonus CD that is truly a bonus! I laughed out loud and said, "awww" more than once. Below is my interview with Ed and Durwood. We talked about the book, the book signing at Barnes & Noble and punked my boss! What fun that was!
Ed Grisamore is a columnist for The Macon Telegraph and the author of five other books True Gris, Once Upon a Whoopee, More Gris, Smack Dab in Dog Crossing and It Can Be Done: The Billy Henderson Story. His audiobook, Gris & That was nominated for a Grammy in 2006 in the “Spoken Word” category.

Listen to the Ed Grisamore/Durwood Fincher interview

James Grippando-Intent To Kill

It's a home run! Intent to Kill by James Grippando is at your favorite book store and the 16th book by one of my favorite authors delivers it all...suspense,
intrigue, a crafty killer and a main character you'll be rooting for. I especially liked Ryan James because circumstances take him on-the-air to a Boston radio station where a caller gives clues to answers he is desperate to find. I had a hard time figuring out who did it.

I had a chance to talk with James about the new book and some other fun things. Does he like American Idol or Dancing With The Stars? Find out below.

Listen to the James Grippando interview

Listen to WDEN to win a copy of Intent To Kill!

Street Singers,Soul Shakers, Rebels With A Cause: Music from Macon

Rolling Stone Magazine includes in its list of the 50 Greatest Musical Artists of all-time three Macon, Georgia legends: James Brown, Little Richard and Otis Redding. In a joint project of New Town Macon and Indigo Publishing, Candice Dyer chronicles the stories of these and other musical greats who called Macon home. Although you'll recognize many names (The Allman Brothers, Chuck Leavell and others) this book is filled with stories of men and women who never knew fame but were a foundation in the Macon music scene. A must-have for fans of Southern Rock and popular music history.

Get your own copy at streetsingersandsoulshakers.com or call 866-311-9578 to order by phone.

James Grippando-Born To Run

For Christmas I wanted books! Great Books! More Great Books! Just in time, the new James Grippando novel was in stores December 2nd. Santa brought me my very own copy. While Jack Swyteck celebrated a milestone birthday, James Grippando celebrated another best-seller. Born To Run is the eighth in the Swyteck series and has enough mystery, romance, high-stakes politics and characters you can't get enough of to keep you reading all night long. (I was trashed at work the day after reading it)

When it was released, we got to interview James about his book Last Call. You can listen to that interview by clicking below.

Listen to the James Grippando interview

His new book, Intent to Kill, was released April 28th. I've already lined up an interview and book giveaway. Details to come!

Diane McDilda-365 Ways To Live Green

Last year, Starmar hosted a free teleseminar series featuring 8 of the world's top experts in the field of "Going Green" and we were blown away by how much junk is in household cleaning products, baby products, make-up...stuff we use every day!!! What a boatload of great information.

We assembled an incredible team for mentoring on every aspect of going green. One of our featured and favorite guests was Diane McDilda, who is very funny and very smart. Pick up one of these books, especially if you are a green newbie. She makes going green fun and easy.



The following comment was lifted from Diane's blog.

"Like a trip to Dunedin wasn’t enough, I participated in the Go Green Summit last night via telephone (trust me, I stood at a home podium while addressing the virtual crowd, OK, maybe not, don’t trust me on that one). The hosts, Laura Starling and Gerry Marshall of Starmar, Incorporated, were wonderful. Not only were they over-the-top pleasant, the pair has a great sense of humor too (watch out for Gerry though, he'll getcha!). It really was fun and I hope listeners were able to take something from the discussion—namely, that going green doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing, overnight-conversion of your entire household. Steps…people…steps…"

Joseph Finder-Power Play

When it first came out, me and Vance interviewed Joseph Finder about his book Power Play. This guy has stories to tell! Not only on paper, on the air as well. While we were promoting him and his new book, he was promoting us. What a cool guy! I lifted the blurb below from his website. Opps, didn't ask permission. Hopefully he won't mind.

Joseph will launch a new series in August with the publication of Vanished, which introduces high-level corporate security consultant Nick Heller and will be the first in a series of at least four books.

After reading Power Play, I could not get to the book store fast enough to get all his other books. You'll want to pick up Killer Instinct, Company Man, Paranoia and High Crimes which became a hit movie starring Asley Judd and Morgan Freeman.

Hopefully we'll get to talk to Joe about Vanished. In the meantime, you can listen below to our interview about Power Play.

POWER PLAY on the WDEN Book Club

WDEN-FM, out of Macon, Georgia, is one of the biggest country music stations in the U.S. -- and I’m just thrilled that morning DJ Laura Starling has picked POWER PLAY as her book club selection for March. I’ll be talking to Laura live on Tuesday, March 25 at 9:15 a.m. Eastern time; if you’re not in WDEN’s broadcast area, you can listen online at wden.com. Laura will be giving away copies of the book, and I may drop a few hints about what I’m working on now. Which leads me to… Listen to the Joseph Finder interview