Authors Kiss

AK24-06. Adam Gaffen’s “The Cassidy Chronicles.”

Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

An Authors Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest Adam Gaffen, on air from February 6th

I am a science fiction author, and I specialize in Hopepunk. Why hopepunk, and why me? Look, it’s no surprise that you can look around today and find all sorts of indicators that we are entering Heinlein’s “Crazy Years.” Imagining a dystopian or grimdark future isn’t difficult; all you have to do is read the news. But I think that we are writing the history of the future right now, by the choices we make every day. Writing stories that present that optimistic view of the future is not just the right thing to do but necessary, at least to me. As Heinlein said, “A pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun…”

“You know me. Jump first, knit a parachute on the way down.” Kendra Cassidy, “A Quiet Revolution (The Artemis War 3)”

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Adam Gaffen is the author of the near-future, hopepunk science fiction universe that starts with “The Cassidy Chronicles.” The heart of the universe is the indomitable Kendra Cassidy and her wife, Aiyana, as they struggle to drag humanity to the stars. The series The Artemis War follows the conflict that breaks out around the launch of the world’s first FTL starship, concluding with the award-winning “Triumph’s Ashes.” For those who want to know what happens next, the follow-on series launches with “The Ghosts of Tantor.” Two collections of short fiction round out the universe for now, but a sequel to “The Ghosts of Tantor” is coming. Soon. He promises. 

He’s also venturing into fantasy/romance with the upcoming Godsfall trilogy.

He’s been honored with awards from Writers of the Future, Colorado Authors League, the Go Indie Now network, All Author, Read Free.ly, and the Drunken Druid.

He lives in Colorado with his wife, five dogs, five cats, and wonders where all the time goes.

BUY HERE CASSIDY’S STORE OR HERE AMAZON

LISTEN TO ADAMS WIFE MIKKI ON OUR FORGOTTEN CHILDRENS BOOK

https://cassidychronicles.com

kendra@cassidychronicles.com

facebook.com/groups/fansofadamgaffen

instagram.com/adamgaffen

threads.net/@adamgaffen

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AK23-36. Susy Smith and “Ascendant” novel.

Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

An Authors Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest Susy Smith, on air from September 5th.

What would you do if society crumbled? How would you survive if you had to fend for yourself? Would you be able to live off the land? Susy Smith explores these questions and much more in her gripping “Asylum” book series. Finding inspiration from The Walking Dead, Susy can talk about how she created this dystopian world, as well as universal themes of human nature, including the fight for survival and freedom.

Packed with adventure and suspense, blending elements of science fiction, fantasy, and dystopia, Ascendant transports readers to a disintegrated world where civilization has collapsed and chaos is the new normal. In an interview, Susy talks about:

  • How she explored the ideas of survival, freedom and the ugliest side of human nature
  • How she had to “lean into” the dark side
  • How she found inspiration from the television series, The Walking Dead
  • How her dystopian world also compares to those of The Hunger Games and Divergent
  • Being from a small town in Oklahoma and how that has influenced her writing
  • Her position as a curriculum specialist for the Kanza Tribe, also known as The Kaw Nation, a federally-recognized, self-governing American-Indian tribe, headquartered in Kaw City, OK
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Susy Smith is a celebrated dystopian storyteller, author, and curriculum specialist for the Kanza Tribe in Oklahoma. Armed with a deep understanding of language, the resilience of the human spirit, and a bachelor’s degree in English, she weaves captivating, award-winning stories that leave readers wanting more. 

Smith’s literary journey commenced with Asylum, a gripping novel that clinched the 2020 Writer Con contest in the novel category. She continues to engage audiences with Ascendant, the second installment in the “Asylum” series, further probing the intricacies of survival, freedom, and the dark side of human nature. In addition to her novels, Smith occasionally writes poetry. Her authentic writing style echoes her experience of living in a small Oklahoma town with her husband, four grown children, and two furry dog-children. 

AMAZON

Barnes & Noble

kobo.com/ebook/ascendant

iTUNES E-BOOK

 https://www.susysmith.com
Facebook: SusySmithWriter4Life
Twitter: @susy8469

Instagram: susysmith205

TikTok: @susysmith761

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AK23-30. Write Journeys with Donna Knutson

Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

An Authors Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest Donna Knutson, on air from July 25th

It is time to finish that book you’ve always wanted to write.
I want to help.

Whether your story is a completed draft or still in your head, I’d be delighted to guide you through the process of preparing your writing for publication.

I believe almost everyone can tell their own story. You may just need support to get started, organize your thoughts, and stay on track.

You can do this. I can help.

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I will use everything I’ve learned over my career as a journalist and educator to assist and encourage even the most hesitant writer toward completing their project. I’ve edited business books, children’s books, young adult fantasy, and poetry. I can help solidify your ideas, create a blueprint for your project, work through content and flow issues, provide advice on continuity and character, and book editing.

I love problem-solving. I am talking about that moment where the author has an unresolved issue with their piece. It is so satisfying to uncover new possibilities in the work that allow the author to feel their true voice and intention can shine through.

The key is listening. I listen deeply to my authors to feel what they intend to convey.

Your work may be closer than you imagine to becoming publication-ready. Email me and start the conversation to make your dreams of authorship a reality donnaknutson@ymail.com

Donna’s goal is to make the process of writing your college essays as easy and stress-free as possible.
She spent 16 years teaching teens how to write, report, anchor, and produce television news shows.
As an adjunct professor, she taught college students how to write. In her business, she helps people write their books.
Donna is the mother of a high school student. She’s aware of the anxiety teens can feel and the pressure they can face when applying to college.
Write Journeys LLC. College Essay Writing Course | 2-essays done in 4 weeks | 12 students| LIVE virtual instruction Sessions Begin in: July – August – September SIGN UP:

www.writejourneys.com

Donna Knutson
Book Editor | Writing Coach
Write Journeys LLC
410-599-4428
Book Editing. Guided Writing. College Essay Coaching.


Workshop College Essay Writing Course
www.writejourneys.com
linkedin.com/in/donna-knutson-
facebook.com/profile.php?id

donnaknutson@ymail.com

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AK23-25. Patrick E. Horrigan’s American Scholar, LBTQ novel.

Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Authors Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest Patrick E. Horrigan, on air from June 20th

Award-winning author Patrick E. Horrigan on creating complex LGBTQ+ characters amidst the backdrop of the AIDS-ravaged 1980s and the Trump-challenged 2010s, Kirkus Reviews calls his latest historical fiction novel American Scholar, “A haunting, complex look at love, gay history, and the passage of time.” The book is the winner of the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award for LGBTQ+ Fiction.

Patrick will talk about how he created an emotional story that brews amidst the backdrop of political polarization in today’s America, and reflections on the tumultuous days of AIDS in the late 1980s.

  • The challenges of fictionalizing elements of real-life events and people, balancing the raw truth with fictional license to enlighten, entertain, inform, and inspire others
  • The complexity of story in the lives of the LGBT community – both in the AIDS-ravaged 1980s and the Trump-challenged 2010s
  • The universal themes of love, memory and self-discovery and how we all struggle with confronting our true selves 
  • Why each of his books’ narratives revolve around some type of art medium
  • Why his books offer “French endings,” the way French films often end abruptly, with no resolution or neatness to the story, where characters are left in limbo, often suffering, like life itself
  • Why he tries to create LGBTQ+ characters that are complex and often ambivalent — why he avoids uplifting and overly-idealized characters 
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Patrick E. Horrigan is an award-winning novelist, professor, essayist, and playwright. He is the author of the novel, Pennsylvania Station (Lethe Press; Indie Book Award finalist for best LGB’TQ2 fiction) and the novel Portraits at an Exhibition (Lethe Press; winner of the Dana Award for fiction as well as the Mary Lynn Kotz, Art-in-Literature Award, sponsored by the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts).

His other works include the memoir Widescreen Dreams: Growing Up Gay at the Movies, the play Messages for Gary: A Drama in Voicemail, and (with Eduardo Leáñez) the solo show You Are Confused! He has written artists’ catalogue essays for Thion’s Limi-TATE: Drawings of Life and Dreams (cueB Gallery, London) and Ernesto Pujol’s Loss of Faith (Galeria Ramis Barquet, New York).

His essay “The Inner Life of Ordinary People” appears in Anthony Enns and Christopher R. Smit’s Screening Disability: Essays on Cinema and Disability. The winner of Long Island University’s David Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching, Horrigan taught literature for 25 years at LIU Brooklyn. He received his B.A. from The Catholic University of America and his PhD from Columbia University.

He and his husband are the hosts of a recurring variety show called “Actors with Accents,” which they have staged periodically in New York’s Lower East Side for the past decade. They give artists of color and artists with accents an opportunity to perform things they might not have the chance to do in the mainstream art world. Horrigan is currently in training to become a tour guide at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. His hobbies and interests include: piano, opera, arts, classical music, dance, cooking, and traveling.

Born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania, he now resides in Manhattan. 

BUY THEM HERE AMAZON

 www.patrickehorrigan.com

https://www.instagram.com/pehorrigan

https://www.facebook.com/pehorrigan

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AK23-19. BASHERT, by Larry G. Goldsmith

Sara Troy

An Authors Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest Larry Goldsmith, on air from May 9th

Forensic accountant Larry G. Goldsmith, author of the historical fiction novel  BASHERT, a courtroom drama, surrounding a Jewish love story. He lives in Chicago. His professional experiences are woven into believable and authentic storylines. He applies his real life occupation of courtroom dramas and negotiating with the IRS into many of his novels. 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: In the late sixties, the world is experiencing a counter revolution, rebelling against the  devastating war in Vietnam and cultural norms. During these days of rage, the Soviets and U.S. seek to end the nuclear arms race. As a bargaining chip, the Nixon administration promises to support a free trade agreement while ignoring Soviet human and religious abuses.
In New York City, a young criminal attorney enters the fray after his shotgun wedding to the Rebbe’s daughter. His father-in-law is a world renowned clandestine leader seeking religious freedom for millions of Soviet citizens. The White House prosecutes the Rebbe as their scapegoat so the U.S. Soviet trade agreement passes Congress. The Nixon administration will use every legal tool orchestrated by an unscrupulous U.S. prosecuting attorney to imprison the Rebbe and destroy the credibility of his movement. 

Millions of lives rest on the outcome of the trial. The world watches, waiting for a courtroom verdict, as two young lovers and an old Rebbe battle two world superpowers.

BASHERT Book Jacket.jpg

In the late sixties, the world experiences a counter revolution, rebelling against the devasting war in Vietnam and cultural norms. During these days of rage, the Soviets and U.S. seek to end the nuclear arms race. As a bargaining chip, the Nixon administration promises to support a free trade agreement while ignoring Soviet human and religious abuses.

In New York city, a young criminal attorney enters the fray after his shotgun wedding to the Rebbe’s daughter. His father-in-law is a world renowned clandestine leader seeking religious freedom for millions of Soviet citizens. The White House prosecutes the Rebbe as their scapegoat so the U.S. Soviet trade agreement passes Congress.

AMAZON

Bestselling author Larry Goldsmith has created a story of a morally strong-willed woman much like the biblical character Joseph in that she survives her fateful situation to become a heroine. Hanna is a coming-of-age college student who must face a life-threatening situation.

AMAZON

Devastated by the sudden death of his parents, eighteen-year-old Marc is suddenly alone in the world. To cope with his grief, he travels to Europe where he hopes to find himself. His road to self-discovery, however, is not how he envisaged it. Twists and turns throughout the next decade add dimension and character to a passage he never imagined.
Initially, new friends, the nightlife of London and sudden trauma lead him to his biggest discovery; that he is happier as a she. As Marc becomes Marci, she adjusts to living as a woman while embracing all the highs and lows that life flings at her.
Marc M

AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Larry G. Goldsmith is an author, financial sleuth (forensic CPA) and an attorney. His professional experiences are woven into believable and authentic storylines. He applies his real life occupation of courtroom dramas and negotiating with the IRS into many of his novels. Goldsmith has published two novels, Bashert and Marc Marci.
He is happily married, living with his wife in Chicago. Being a baseball fan, every novel contains a baseball tidbit woven into each story. When not working or writing, he is riding his bicycle or recalling younger days when he kayaked down dangerous whitewater rivers and played volleyball. For more information on Larry, visit: 

https://larrygoldsmithauthor.com

linkedin.com/in/larry-goldsmith-cpa-jd-maff

goodreads.com/user/show/123641786-larry-goldsmith

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All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support on Patreon.

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