A funny thing happened on the way to Ron McLarty’s career as a famous novelist.
He became a very successful actor first .
If you’re a fan of TV series such as Law & Order, The Practice, Judging Amy, or Spenser for Hire, you’ll recognize Ron McLarty.9. Often cast as a police detective or a judge, McLarty has had a long and successful career as a character actor.
But when I met him in 2005, it was on the occasion of his first published novel, The Memory of Running. And it turns out that’s what he wanted to do all along.
As they say on a popular TV show, sexually based crimes are considered especially heinous.
That’s why, in the 1980s prosecutor Linda Fairstein was instrumental in helping establish the first sex crimes unit in the Manhattan district attorney’s office. It later inspired the TV series “Law & Order Special Victims Unit.”.
In the1990s, Fairstein diversified her talents, writing a series of bestselling crime novels whose main character was a sex crimes prosecutor named Alexandra Cooper.
I first met Linda Fairstein in 1996, upon publication of her very first Alex Cooper novel, a book called Final Jeopardy.
So here now, from 1996, Linda Fairstein .
Linda Fairstein celebrated her 76th birthday last week. She has not written an Alex Cooper book since 2019, when she became the center of controversy after the Netflix series “when They See US” revealed some dark information about the Central Park jogger case that she prosecuted in the 1980s.
Let’s face it, most of us take our vision for granted. Even if we have to wear glasses or contacts, we just look at the world and see things.
But what if you were born without that ability? What would life be like as a blind person?
Poet and professor Stephen Kuusisto was born in 1955, and has essentially been blind since birth. And he has become one of the country’s leading advocates for the blind and visually disabled community.
I met him in 1998 when he wrote his memoir, a book called Planet of The Blind.
So here now, from 1998, Stephen Kuusisto.
Stephen Kuusisto is 68 now, and still a strong advocate for those with visual disabilities.
Sunday is Mother’s Day. So today, my conversation with an author who called upon her mother’s life experiences to craft one of America’s best loved novels of the late 20th century.
Amy Tan’s parents emigrated to the US from China. And they brought with them not only their own personal histories, of course, but centuries of Chinese history and wisdom.
It was against that backdrop that Tan wrote her 1989 best-selling novel, The Joy Luck Club.
And as you’ll hear in a few minutes, Tan’s writing tapped into a consciousness that even her own mother was startled by.
The first time I interviewed Amy Tan was in 1990, when the paperbackedition of The Joy Luck Club had just been published .
So here now, from 1990, novelist Amy Tan.
Amy Tan is 71 now. She is frequently listed as among the most important and influential American authors of her time.
It was 1972 when the iconic character Rambo made his first appearance, in then 28-year-old David Morrell’s book First Blood. That was the first of three Rambo books Morrell authored.
Since then, of course, Rambo has become a character in American pop culture. Of course, the Sylvester Stallone movies didn’t hurt…
I first met David in 1990, when he was promoting his latest novel called The Fifth Profession.
So here now, from 1990, David Morrell.
As we mentioned at the outset, today is David Morrell’s 80th birthday. His last novel was published in 2010.
About 100 years ago, an advertising executive had an idea. A book club, that would send members new books every month.
Photo by Jonathan Simcoe
If that sounds like a familiar idea, you’ve just heard the story of the Book Of The Month club.
Ernest Hemingway was among the first authors the club featured. Later, BOMC helped launch the careers of writers like Margaret Mitchell and Nelson DeMille.
The editor in chief of the book of the month club is a powerful executive, and from 1988 to 1994, that position was held by British-born
Brigitte Weeks.
She brought a deep experience in publishing to the position.
I met her in 1991, when we had a lively discussion about how BOMC operates .
So here now, from 1991,Brigitte Weeks
Brigitte Weeks is 79 now, and is still working with books, as head of crossings book club.
In recent months you could argue that Florida has become the de facto ground zero for book banning in schools.
Hundreds of titles, ranging from the extreme to the innocuous, have been deemed unsatisfactory for students in Florida public schools.
Recently, the school board in Martin county, Florida banned 20 books by best-selling author Jodi Picoult.
Her books are best sellers because she directly and maturely treats subjects such as race, gender, sexuality, even abortion rights in weaving, dramatic stories.
II’ve interviewed Jody Pico several times, including in 2004, when we talked about one of the books that has now been banned in Martin county, a book called
In recent months you could argue that Florida has become the de facto ground zero for book banning in schools.
Hundreds of titles, ranging from the extreme to the innocuous, have been deemed unsatisfactory for students in Florida public schools.
Recently, the school board in Martin county, Florida banned 20 books by best-selling author Jodi Picoult.
Her books are best sellers because she directly and maturely treats subjects such as race, gender, sexuality, even abortion rights in weaving, dramatic stories.
I’ve interviewed Jody Pico several times, including in 2004, when we talked about one of the books that has now been banned in Martin county, a book called my sister’s keeper.
It’s about a teenaged girl named Anna, who sues her parents to win a measure of bodily autonomy. You see, Anna has sent much of her life functioning as tissue donor for her chronically and seriously ill sister Kate.. Finally it becoms too much for Anna to bear any longer. The story is tole from multiple points of view.
So here now, from 2004, Jody Pico.
Jodi Pico is 58. She and her family live in New England.
Ask any serious fan of science fiction who the three most influential authors of the genre of the 20th century were. They will likely say Arthur c. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov.
In a career that spanned more than half a century, Asimov wrote or edited over 500 books. And even though he was primarily known for his science fiction, Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy and non-fiction.
And besides all that, he was a professor at Boston University.0
I met him in 1988, when he published a book called Prelude to Foundation, the latest in that popular series.
We’re kicking off the start of LGBTQ Pride Month with a conversation with one of the leading literary figures in the gay rights movement of the late 20th century.
Armistead Maupin started writing stories in 1974 that were published in a small newspaper in the San Francisco area. Those serialized stories were known as tales of the City.
Finally, in 1978, Maupin published the first Tales of The City book, the 1st of several in the series.
Drawing on his own experience as a gay man, Maupin’s books feature a broad community of diverse characters and backgrounds.
Importantly, Armistead Maupin was one of the first writers to directly address the AIDS crisis.
I first met him in 1987, but the conversation you’re about to hear is from 13 years later, when we talked about his novel The Night Listener.
So here now, from 2000, Armistead Maupin.
Armistead Maupin celebrated his 78th birthday last month. He lives in New Mexico.
