PodJockey is proud to present “Richard Neer’s Novelist Cafe” — a section that features exclusively interviews with novelists and discussions about novels. Richard Neer has been reading since age three. At Adelphi University, he majored in Communication Skills and Theater Arts, and like many others, has always wanted to write the Great American Novel. Although Richard has written several books, that goal has eluded him thus far.
His day job is radio broadcasting, a career which he began professionally in 1967 on Long Island, and has continued in New York since 1971, first at the legendary WNEW-FM until its demise as a music station in 1999, and from 1988 until the present day at WFAN, America’s first all sports station. His voice has been featured on many nationally syndicated programs and commercials.
As a contributor to the nationally syndicated upper demo radio program, “A Touch of Grey,” Richard has interviewed dozens of best selling authors. His “Novelist Cafe” on PodJockey.com is dedicated to being a lively site for discussion and reviews of current works and classics alike. Penetrating interviews with today’s most important novelists will be a staple, but rather than typical celebrity dish, the talks focus on the art of writing, the decisions that go into producing a successful work, and the novelists’ views and insights into the issues of the day. Novelists finally have a way to speak about their work on a mature level, without the time constraints and sensationalism of traditional media. New podcasts are added frequently along with archival interviews conducted prior to the site’s debut in July of 2009.
If you love novels as much as Richard, we welcome you as a frequent visitor.
Faithful Place: A Novel
Lorenzo Carcaterra’s latest novel is Midnight Angels, an action-adventure tale involving amoral art thieves and the pursuit of an undiscovered Michelangelo. It is the initial work in a series featuring Kate Prescott, a young female protagonist who may become the Indiana Jones of the art world. Carcaterra shares his passion for the city of Florence and all things Italian in this fast paced thriller.
Our chat with Carcaterra goes far beyond Midnight Angels. In addition to being a novelist, he was a longtime producer-writer for the recently cancelled Law and Order, television’s second longest running series. He talks extensively about the late Jerry Orbach, whose Lenny Briscoe is one of television’s iconic characters. We also discuss the future of television and printed books in our new tech age.
A product of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, Carcaterra has done it all: a journalist, writer, producer and novelist. He brings a unique perspective to the media world of the twenty first century. We invite you to spend some time with this modern Renaissance man.
Midnight Angels: A Novel
Our conversation with author Barry Eisler has little to do with fiction. His bona fides are impressive: ex covert ops for the CIA, martial arts expert, technology attorney. He is a passionate blogger and fierce opponent of the torture policies of the current and previous administration.
You’ll find “Inside Out” to be a fast paced thriller, but more impressively, a thinly veiled expose of what torture does not only to our enemies but the affect it has on those tasked with extracting information. Barry makes no secret that his novels are the left’s answer to “24″ and other works of fiction that subtly influence the way Americans view “enhanced interrogation techniques”.
It’s hard to read this book and not come out of the experience thinking long and hard about the path our nation has taken since 9/11. One of Eisler’s strengths as a novelist is his ability to make his antagonists nuanced to the point where a reasonable person may sympathize with their actions. Indeed, one may have a hard time distinguishing who to root for in this densely layered plot.
Whatever your political beliefs, you’ll find “Inside Out” a terrific read, and I’m sure you’ll gain additional insight into the issues he writes about while enjoying the following interview.
Inside Out: A Novel
Broken: A Novel
The Burning Wire: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
Deaver returns to Lincoln Rhyme and Amanda Sachs in his latest effort, set in New York City. Like his other novels, this one has multiple plot lines with twists and cliffhangers in almost every chapter. You’ll be flipping pages backwards, trying to pick up the subtle hints Deaver leaves to foreshadow the wild rides his books traverse. In the end, his hero is faced with a crossroads that will affect the future of this series. He also incorporates another of his continuing characters into this one, hinting at future alliances.
In our conversation, we’ll also get some news about a new James Bond series, and what Deaver has in store next. He also dispels some of the fears you may feel about electricity while reading The Burning Wire and talks about how he feels no compunction about terrorists using the author’s imagination to further their real world plots. Always a great read, Jeffrey Deaver is also a terrific conversationalist, as you’ll soon discover.
The Lion
The Lion is the long awaited sequel to Nelson DeMille’s 2000 thriller The Lion’s Game, featuring wisecracking former NYC cop turned terrorist hunter John Corey and Asad Khalil, the Libyan killer bent on revenge against Corey and the United States government, which sanctioned the bombing raid that wiped out his family. Khalil also has a quid pro quo with Al Qaeda that will wreak even more havoc.
If you’ve enjoyed DeMille’s previous work, this one will not disappoint. The author explores his principals from their own unique worldviews, so that while you can’t excuse Khalil’s bloody wrath, you can understand and even sympathize to an extent . As with many of our other chats, we not only talk about this book, but the political atmosphere under which it was created. He answers why he has revived this villain after such a long respite.
Ironically, the very thing that makes DeMille’s style so entertaining, the trash talking dialogue, occasionally injects a slightly discordant note. Terrorists and their prey indulge in alpha male badinage before critical battles, a la the NFL and NBA. Since DeMille is a VietNam vet and has many contacts in the intelligence world, perhaps he has a keener ear than most on how these men stay sane in the face of the constant danger they are subjected to. Check out this accomplished novelist discussing his latest work.
Frankenstein: Lost Souls: A Novel
61 Hours: A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher Novels)
Jack Reacher is one of the great continuing characters in the thriller genre. Novelist Lee Child has developed the perfect formula for his hero— harkenening back to Ulysses, where the protagonist travels widely and is confronted by new and challenging adversaries. This allows Child to set his action anywhere in the world, and take on issues with global implications or merely of local interest. 61 Hours, as the title implies, is a countdown to an event which culminates two and a half days of suspense in a small South Dakota town.
We should warn you that this book ends on an ambiguous note. Child breaks from his one book a year pattern here; his next Reacher book is due out this fall and will answer questions left hanging at the conclusion of this one. In someone else’s hands, you might feel that you’ve been manipulated into reading two books instead of one, but in this case, you won’t feel ill-used.
Our chat with Lee Child covers a wide range of subjects, including the plausibility of some of the actions of the bad guys. Unlike some authors, Child gives his villains believable motivation for their nefarious deeds, and he talks about how he goes about constructing a credible plot. An Englishman in New York, you’ll find Child a charming and fascinating listen.
Targets of Deception
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