Sunday, October 6, 2024

Lisa Diane Kastner’s protagonist finds a new family in the sequel to “Cure”’

Let’s face it, family can be a challenge. But when that family is a group of supernatural shapeshifters? Well, that’s a horse—or a wolf—of a different color.

In our newest Citywide Bytes interview, I talk with author Lisa Diane Kastner for her recently-released book, “Family Pack,” the sequel to her 2022 release, “Cure.” The book continues the story of Luna Auber, whom after her brother dies suddenly learns that she is both a shapeshifting lycanthrope and the descendent of a legendary female Viking warrior.

In “Family Pack,” Luna’s epic journey continues amidst a conflict between The Lycanthrope Society, which believe that humans and lycanthropes should exist in harmony, and The Righteous Group, which believe that lycanthropes are intended to rule over all other species.

Lisa talks about the series got its start on a dare from fellow author and New York Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry, and full disclosure, I nerd out quite a bit here. When one of the greats of the writing world dares you to do something, you just gotta!

We also go into how Luna’s progressed on her journey in this new life and the conflict that she’s about to be a part of. Lisa talks about Luna’s powers and how she adapts to this new world as well as how the character and author parallel one another.

And if anyone out there wants to make my dream of Citywide Blackout cookies happen, I’m here for it!


Saturday, October 5, 2024

Citywide Bytes-Imaginarium shows us a unique musical playground

When I first heard the music of Imaginarium, my thought was “Damn, this is good,” followed quickly by “We gotta get this band on the show!” And here we are.

Band founder Anton de Bruin talks about how the group came to be as well as the musical backgrounds of the different members. 

We look at the eclectic sound, a blend of funk, jazz, and reggae and how it all comes together through the different members. The band is based in the Netherlands, and Anton shares some of the shows they’ve done and where they’d like to play next.

Opening the episode is an excerpt from “Gabobo” and wrapping things up is “Kaleidoscope.”



Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Five by Five: An ‘offhand comment’ leads to a string of family secrets

Francine Falk-Allen
By Max Bowen 

When Francine Falk-Allen attended a memorial service for a late uncle, she certainly didn’t expect to leave with the idea for her book, “A Wolff in the Family,” (She Writes Press, Oct. 1).

What mysterious scandals led a father to abandon his five youngest children—and for the elder siblings to keep it hidden for 80 years? In this interview, Francine talks about the initial secret that led her to do extensive research on her family, which led to a lot more that had never been spoken of! She goes into the research itself and shares a few details of what she learned….but for the full story, you’ll need to read the book!


What led you do to this research on your family?
I had attended a memorial service about 20 years ago for one of my uncles; one of my mother’s eight brothers. Afterward as I sat across from my youngest aunt in the church social hall, eating sandwiches and chatting, she said, “…when we were in the orphanage…” as an offhand comment amidst another story. I had never heard that any of the family had been in an orphanage, was absolutely stunned, and pressed her further to elaborate. I learned that my grandfather had placed some of the children there. My mother, who’d been dead eight years at that time, and was exceptionally fond of her father, had never breathed a word about the orphanage, or the surprising reasons the youngest of her siblings had wound up there. I had to know more!


How did you do the research?
I asked my aunt for as much detail as she could remember during the short time I had with her and went home and made notes. I immediately contacted my much older sister (she was 19 years older, born of my mother’s first husband). She also had not heard this story but had some other family tales and gossip I hadn’t heard, which aunts and uncles had told her or that she knew from her own early experiences. I then contacted my other two aunts and asked them what they remembered and asked cousins for what they knew, which was almost nothing.

I had known my grandfather, so I wrote up a nine-page essay on all that my family had shared about him and the orphanage story. When I later decided to write a novel based on the tale, I did a ton of research using census and genealogy records to find out who was where and when they lived with whomever, delving into not just my mother’s family but others who were involved in the story. Several of my cousins had already done a lot of genealogical research on this branch, and I had previously done extensive research (back to the 1600s) on my father’s branch, so this was revisiting a skill I had already honed.

I found a history of the orphanage, medical records of people in the story who had died, even the names of the doctors who had attended them. I also researched newspaper articles from the early 1900s and found bits naming a few of the characters, plus pricing for things they may have owned or could not have afforded, based on the salary records I found for my grandfather’s railroad engineer job.

It was really a lot of fun to find all this information, and every time I found a new detail, such as the house where my grandfather stayed when he was away on the railroad, I used the information to inform the fictitious aspects of the story alongside the parts that were factual.


This secret, is it something anyone in your family ever talked about or even hinted at?
My mother kept more than one secret. My grandfather putting his children in an orphanage is just the beginning of a set of scandals. All her siblings knew about much of this story, and some of them spoke of it to their children, but my mother never mentioned a word of any of it to me or my sister or brother. We didn’t have much contact with our aunts and uncles because we lived far away from them. As the eldest, my mother kept these things (of which she was ashamed) to herself for over 60 years, and some of her siblings also died without sharing these things with their children or even their spouses. So, the secrets and scandals may have been discussed among some, but they certainly weren’t what we talked about at holiday dinners! Some of my aunts and uncles put a different slant on the story, making it sound as if my grandfather didn’t have a choice regarding putting the kids in the orphanage, which in their final eulogies implied loftier intentions on his part.


What were the family secrets? (If this isn’t too big a spoiler)
There were about a half dozen secrets! The fact that the five youngest kids had lived in an orphanage was just the beginning. My aunt Dorothy, one of the orphans, didn’t even have all the facts straight, I learned, when I did my research. But the rest of the secrets are what make up such a good story. There are lots of twists and turns even before the orphanage event, and then, the way I made up the missing pieces, the saga comes to a boiling point, and everything gets chaotic for a while in the middle! So yes, it’s too “spoilery” to tell the other secrets.

I hope that when people read the book it will not only provide them with a juicy cinematic and familial saga but give them a sense of the time from about 1918 through the early 1940s, and how things were, especially for women, in the early 1900s. I also think a lot of people don’t know how much the railroad affected people’s lives in those days, also. Few people had automobiles in those days.


I read that this is set in the Great Depression. Does this time period help drive the story?
The Depression does come into play and does help drive the story…but not in the way one might expect. When I first told friends about hearing the orphanage story from my aunt, older friends said, “Oh, it was common that people had to give their children up to orphanages in that time, or to other friends or relatives.” So, in the beginning, I hope the reader will be thinking along those lines.

Financial difficulty, or at least a great deal of resourcefulness or creativity in making ends meet is portrayed in the story, even before the Depression. The main family was eventually comprised of a dozen children, and the household was supported on one railroad salary! There are other aspects that the reader will not be expecting, which are based upon my research into that time and where and how the characters seem to have been living. Sorry to sound secretive again, but I’d like it to be at least a bit surprising, if not jaw-dropping, to learn about even the Depression Era financial aspects of the family.

I hope I’ve been secretive but “hinty” enough that you’ll be intrigued to read “A Wolff in the Family.” Thanks for the opportunity to talk about it.

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Todd Hearon returns to music with a sonic trilogy

Todd Hearon

Music has always been a part of Todd Hearon’s life and following a brief break for other creative pursuits, he’s returned with a three-part album release and in this interview, we dive right into what this is all about.

The Texas-born songwriter goes into the story behind his most recent release, “Impossible Man” and how it follows his 2021 and 2023 albums, “Border Radio” and “Yodelady.” We also talk about his musical hiatus to go to grad school in Boston and co-found The Bridge Theater Company, an independent troupe in Boston’s Theater District.

Todd shares how his poetry and other writings blend with his music, and gives us the story behind Myrtle, his 1950 Gibson J-50.

Opening the interview is an excerpt from “Guillotine” and closing things out is the song “Looking Glass,” both of which are from the new album.

Monday, September 23, 2024

Citywide Bytes—In her new book, Donna Levin explores a romanticized past

In author Donna Levin’s new book, “The Talking Stick,” we meet Hunter, who has lost…..well, just about everything. Her husband has left her for her former friend, now best enemy Angelica. She has no job, no prospects, and is unsure of what comes next.

That “next” happens while exploring a San Francisco flea market. Here, she’s sent on a journey with three other women who join her journey to reexamine pasts, explore grief, addictions, parenting, and marriages, and discover that some of their most-cherished memories are romanticized versions of the truth.

In this interview, we look at what inspired this book and introduced to Hunter and Angelica. Donna talks about the element of a Talking Stick and why it was included in the book. She shares a look at the journey Hunter’s on and the people she’ll be sharing it with and just where it’s all going.

Sunday, September 22, 2024

Tyler Herwig hopes to spread a musical message of hope

Tyler Herwig
Singer-songwriter Tyler Herwig believes that if he can help even one person through his music, then that is a job well done. In this episode, he talks with us about how his wife inspired him to pursue music as a full-time career and some of his experiences along the way. 

In fact, Tyler’s most recent release is “All Yours,” a message of thanks to his wife for her many years of support as he’s made his art his new career.

In fact, he performs around 280 shows a year and talks about how he maintains such a rigorous schedule and his goals in the future. He shares a few show memories and what he views are his highlights as an artist. Tyler also shares some news of his upcoming music.

Opening the show is an excerpt from “Enough” and closing the episode is “All Yours.”
 

Friday, September 20, 2024

The debut of Ink and Riffs!

Ink and Riffs is a regular review series written by me, Citywide Co-Host Max Bowen, to talk about what I’m reading and listening to and why I think it’s awesome. Feel free to send suggestions to citywidemax@yahoo.com. 




Proctor Valley Road (comic) — What to do when you just gotta have those Janis Joplin tickets? Well, charging for a trip down a supposedly haunted road seems like a good idea….just so long as it’s not actually haunted.


Writers Grant Morrison (Klaus), Alex Child (BBC’s Holby City) and artist Naomi Franquiz (Tales from Harrow County) have created this singular horror series released by BOOM! Studios. August, Rylee, Cora & Jennie organize a “Spook Tour” on the most haunted stretch of road in America, but when things go south, they not only have to face the monsters, but the town that holds them responsible.


What drew me in wasn’t just the creepy horror atmosphere, but the characters themselves. They all have a deep backstory, such as Cora’s crippling fear of the dark or Jennie’s dream of being an astronaut and taking down the social barriers in her way. You get to know these four well and care about them a lot more when things go south. The art is also really good and Franquiz does a great job at creating a horrifying world that is always getting scarier. 


Check out the comic at https://www.boom-studios.com/series/proctor-valley-road/





White Fire (book) — I’ve long been a fan of the Pendergast book series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and recently picked up where I left off awhile ago. Here’s a quick look at the plot:


“In 1876, in a mining camp called Roaring Fork in the Colorado Rockies, eleven miners were killed by a rogue grizzly bear. Corrie Swanson has arranged to examine the miners' remains. When she makes a shocking discovery, town leaders try to stop her from exposing their community's dark and bloody past.”


As I write this, I’m just about done with the book and it’s been a real pleasure to read. I loved the setting and how it plays into the story. The twists, while not hard to guess this time, were fun to encounter and the different characters are deep and well thought-out. History is often a big part of these books and the look into the town’s past, both good and bad, was one of the more enjoyable aspects.   


If you’re looking to give this a read, visit https://www.prestonchild.com/books/whitefire/


Pale Strangers (music) — The self-titled EP by this kickass rock duo is showing a strong start to this new project, formed following a separation of their last band, Rival Bones. 


This is the kind of rock I grew up with, and listening to “Pale Strangers,” I’m reminded of a lot of the bands I love, while at the same time, appreciating the fact that these guys are bringing their own elements to the music. 


The quick and fierce intro leads to “Deep Waters,” amps up fast from the opening chords. “Witches of the Wasteland” is my personal favorite from the album a real wave of sound with a chorus that I can easily see myself singing along to.


The five-track EP brings a lot to the table, with strong, precise instrumentation blended with some powerhouse vocals. This is the kind of music that has you moving right off the bat, and that alone tells me that this is a band worth listening to. 


Hear all the band’s music at https://open.spotify.com/artist/2jvUQiQnxK3uLpj67dwP8N?si=hciGv-HyQ76m1nJpZ8LRRQ