Past Guests
Connecting Authors to Their Readers...
BIOGRAPHY: LAWANA BLACKWELL
Guest: May 18, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. Central Time
A full-time author, Lawana Blackwell's books include her VICTORIAN SERENADE series, her beloved GRESHAM CHRONICLES, her TALES OF LONDON series, and A Table By the Window, her first contemporary novel.
"I feel I have come full circle, with the writing of my contemporary
story," Blackwell says. "Since my teens, I have been fascinated
with Britain's Victorian era, with its long dresses and calling cards,
carriages and nobility, even workhouses and slums. But small-town, rural
living is also very much a part of who I am, and I adore a good suspense
tale with a true villain. It felt like the right time to go in that direction
'for a spell', and up to the twenty-first century."
Blackwell lives in Louisiana with her husband, Buddy, a supervisor at an oil refinery. They are empty nesters who love to visit their three grown sons, Joseph, Matthew, and Andrew, and three lovely daughters-in-law, Kristine, Penny and Heather. "While the boys watch football or basketball with their Dad, I have the girls to shop and watch HGTV with."
Her other interests include visiting her parents and siblings in Mississippi, vegetarian cooking, and naturally, reading.
Visit Lawanas's Web site: http://www.lawanablackwell.com
BIOGRAPHY: LOIS GREIMAN
Guest: May 17, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. CST
Lois Greiman is the author of over fifteen novels, including romantic
comedy, historical romance and mystery. She has won such prestigious honors
as Romantic Times Storyteller Of The Year, MFW’s Rising Star, and
RT’s Love and Laughter award. She is currently a finalist for the
coveted Rita statuette given for the best short historical of 2004. Ms.
Greiman lives in Minnesota with her family and an ever increasing number
of horses.
Visit her online at http://www.loisgreiman.com
BIOGRAPHY: DAVID WHEATON
Guest: May 11, 2005
David Wheaton is an author, radio talk show host, and inspirational speaker. His book, University of Destruction -- Your Game Plan for Spiritual Victory on Campus, is published by Bethany House. He is also the host of the weekly radio program in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. The David Wheaton Show offers a biblical perspective on current events, culture, and faith.
David wrote this book based on this staggering statistic: As many as 50 percent of Christian students say they have lost their faith after four years in college - with little difference whether at secular or religious colleges. Part of his book deals with the three "pillars of peril" students face in college: sex, drugs/alcohol, and humanism (secular or religious).
Before becoming a Christian commentator, David was a professional tennis player, winning the state high school tennis title in 1984 as a 9th grader. In 1987, he earned the number one junior ranking in America, winning the U.S. Open Junior Championships, and becoming the valedictorian of his senior class. At Stanford he helped them win the NCAA team title in 1988, and received the Block S award as the most outstanding freshman athlete.
He turned professional on July 4, 1988, and played thirteen years on
the Tour.
-- Achieved a career high world ranking of number 12 in 1991.
-- Won the largest prize money event in tennis--the Grand Slam Cup--in
Munich in 1991.
-- Reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and the quarterfinals of both the
U.S. and Australian Opens.
-- Represented his country in Davis Cup competition.
David is still involved in tennis: He plays professionally part-time, serves on the Board of Directors of the United States Tennis Association, is the acting University of Minnesota tennis coach and is a contributing writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Born in Minnesota in 1969, he is the youngest of four children. He cherishes his faith, family, and living in the same area where he grew up-on Lake Minnetonka near Minneapolis.
Visit David's Web site: http://www.davidwheaton.com/
BIOGRAPHY: JAN BROGAN
Guest: May 10, 2005
Jan Brogan has been a journalist for twenty years. She is a former staff writer at The Providence Journal-Bulletin in Rhode Island and The Worcester Telegram and Gazette in Massachusetts and currently works as a correspondent for The Boston Globe. Her freelance work has appeared in Boston Magazine, The Improper Bostonian, Ladies Home Journal and Forbes Magazine.
A winner of the Gerald Loeb award for distinguished financial writing, she drew on her experience as an investigative reporter to weave together the backdrop of her first novel, Final Copy.
That novel, which won The Drood Review of Mystery’s Editors’ Choice award, was named one of the best eight mysteries published in 2001. Her new book, A Confidential Source, will be published by Mysterious Press in April 2005.
Brogan is a member of Sisters In Crime/New England, Mystery Writers of America, and Pen/New England. She has taught novel writing at the Cape Cod Writer’s Center, the Boston Learning Society in Needham, The Brown University Learning Community andThe Learning Connection in Providence.
A native of Clifton, New Jersey, she lives in Westwood, Massachusetts with her husband, her two children, a bird and a dog.
Visit Jan's Web site: http://www.janbrogan.com/
BIOGRAPHY: KATHLEEN EAGLE
Guest: April 26, 2005
Kathleen Eagle published her first book, a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award winner, in 1984. Since then she has published almost 40 books, earning her nearly every award in the industry, including two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times Magazine and Romance Writers of America's (RWA) prestigious RITA. Several of her books have made RWA's "Top 10 Favorite Books of the Year" list. She was named Midwest Fiction Writer of the Year by her RWA chapter in 1995. Her books have consistently appeared on regional and national bestseller lists, including USA Today and the New York Times extended bestseller list.
Born in Virginia and raised "on the road" as an Air Force brat, Ms. Eagle earned her BA in English literature from Mount Holyoke College, her MS from Northern State University. Now a full-time fiction writer, she has reviewed Popular Fiction for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Eagle's work is often singled out by book reviewers for its exceptional quality. The Night Remembers was a Chicago Tribune Notable Book. Sunrise Song, The Night Remembers, The Last True Cowboy, and What the Heart Knows made the Library Journal "Five Best Romances of the Year" list. BookPage listed What the Heart Knows among its "Top Six Romance Picks" for 1999. The Last Good Man was a finalist for the 2000 Minnesota Book Award for Popular Fiction. You Never Can Tell, was named to RWA's 2001 "Top Ten Favorite Books of the Year" list. Once upon a Wedding was a 2002 a RITA finalist. Night Falls Like Silk, the sequel to The Night Remembers, will be available in March '05 in paperback.
Kathleen Eagle lives in Minnesota with her husband of 34 years, who is Lakota Sioux. The Eagles have three grown children and three grandchildren
BIOGRAPHY: DIANNA BOOHER
Guest: April 20, 2005
Armchair Interview Fans: Dianna is donating three books to our listeners. Two winners of Your Signature Work and one winner of Your Signature Life will be selected from the first twenty-five people who have registered.
Dianna Booher's latest book, Your Signature Work, details how we can all make our signature stand for who we are and who we are meant to be.
When people ask artists, performers, or athletes for their autographs, they are saying, "The work you do has value. You demonstrate competence. You are credible. You are worth listening to."
In Your Signature Work, Dianna says we are called to work in such a way that our work style and attitude attract others to us and earn us a platform for sharing our faith. Using biblical principles, Your Signature Work identifies key components of leadership, success, integrity, influence, and satisfaction that, if followed, will enable you to add your "signature" (your very best) to the work you do each day.
Dianna is the founder and president of Booher Consultants, which provides training in effective communication to Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.
Dianna is the author of forty-two books and numerous videos, audios, and Web-based e-learning. She holds a master's degree in English from the University of Houston.
A member of the National Speakers Association, Dianna is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and has also been inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame. The Speakers Hall of Fame, Council of Peers Award for Excellence, (CPAE) is a lifetime award for speaking excellence and professionalism. To date only 173 men and women have been awarded the CPAE. She has also been named one of the "21 Top Speakers for the 21st Century" by Successful Meetings magazine.
Dianna and her husband, Vernon, have two grown children and live in Texas.
Visit Dianna's Web site: www.booherconsultants.com
BIOGRAPHY - JUDY BAER
Guest: April 19, 2005
Armchair Interview Fans: Judy is donating two books to our listeners. The two winners of The Whitney Chronicles will be selected from the first twenty-five people who have registered.
Judy was born and grew up on a farm on the prairies of North Dakota. An only child, she spent most of her days with imaginary people-either those she read about or those she made up in her head. Her most ambitious conjuring did not succeed, however. She kept a clean stall with hay and oats for the horse she imagined would come but unfortunately, never did. As an adult, however, she managed to make that dream come true and raised foundation quarter horses and buffalo for some years. A voracious reader, Judy learned to read with comic books, anything from Little Lulu and Superman to the Rawhide Kid. She sold her first story for $10 to a farm magazine. She still has the $10.
She graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota with a major in English and education and a minor in religion. At the time, she was simply studying what interested her, but now realizes that she was educating herself for her future career as an inspirational romance writer.
Judy wanted to write for Harlequin even in high school but it wasn't until her youngest child learned to say "No" that she realized that she'd better consider a second career to fall back on when mothering was done. Her first book was written with her little girl on her lap. Judy would type a few words, then say "Now, Jennifer," at which time her daughter would hit the space bar before Judy continued typing. It wasn't the fastest way to work, but it offered a lot of mother-daughter time together. The mother of two and stepmother of three, she now has lots of family to enjoy.
An over-achiever, she's written 71 books for various publishers. In 2001, she went back to school and became a certified professional life coach. Currently she is working on her Master's degree in Human Development in the areas of writing, coaching and spirituality and writing inspirational "chick lit," which, she says, is the most fun she's ever had writing. As a life and writing coach, she helps people coach their characters, plot and dialogue to life.
Judy's newest novel The Whitney Chronicles is the launch title for Steeple Hill Café, Harlequin's new inspirational chick-lit line. Publishers Weekly has described The Whitney Chronicles as "Bridget Jones goes to church."
Awards to be proud of:
- Cedar River Daydreams sold over 1,250,000 copies
- Two time RITA finalist (pre-RITA when it was called the Golden Medallion-but it counts the same)
- Angel Award winner
Judy's interview can be accessed by sending her a question at www.armchairinterviews.com/askJudyBaer (available early April), and THEN we'll send you the phone link and access code.
BIOGRAPHY - CHRISTINE CLIFFORD
Guest: Tuesday, March 22
Professional Speaker, Humorists and Author of:
- Not Now ... I'm Having a No Hair Day! University of Minnesota Press, 1996
- Our Family Has Cancer, Too! University of Minnesota Press, 1998
- Cancer Has Its Privileges: Stories of Hope & Laughter, Penguin Putnam 2002
- Inspiring Breakthrough Secrets to Live Your Dreams, Aviva Publishing 2002
Before her bout with breast cancer in 1994, Christine Clifford had definitely cracked the "glass ceiling." At the age of 40, she was Senior Executive VP for SPAR Marketing Services, in Minneapolis, MN and top salesperson in the billion-dollar service industry.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in December of '94, Christine turned lemons into lemonade. She wrote a humorous portrayal of her story in Not Now...I'm Having A No Hair Day! This first book won numerous awards.
In 1995, Christine started The Cancer Club, the world's largest producer of humorous and helpful products for people with cancer.
Christine has been:
- Contributing author to several Chicken Soup books.
- Featured in The Courage to Laugh and The Triumph of the Human Spirit: Real Cancer Survivors, Real Battles and Real Victories books and Better Homes & Gardens, MORE, American Health, and Golf Digest, to name a few magazines.
- Coping magazine's 1998 "Hero Award" finalist.
- Featured on national television programs.
- Spokesperson for various health care and pharmaceutical organizations.
- Raised over $1,000,000, through The Christine Clifford Celebrity Golf Invitational, for breast cancer research and has received the Council of Excellence Award for income development from the American Cancer Society.
Christine is a member of the National Speakers Association, the American Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, and the National Association of Breast Cancer Organizations. Christine earned her "CSP" (Certified Speaking Professional) designation from the National Speakers Association in 2002.
Christine lives in Minneapolis and is engaged to speaker/author Harry Beckwith (Selling the Invisible; The Invisible Touch and What Clients Love).
Contact Christine Clifford at The Cancer Club www.cancerclub.com or via e-mail address: Christine@cancerclub.com
BIOGRAPHY: Rosemary Heim
Armchair Interview Guest: January 18, 2005
Rosemary Heim writes romantic suspense that keeps you turning the pages while waiting for the hero and heroine to get together for a 'happily ever after,' but only if they can stay alive long enough.
Rosemary had two books published in 2004. Memory Reload, a Harlequin Intrigue was released in March 2004. Virgin in Disguise, from Silhouette, was released in November 2004.
This rising star in the romance genre loves reading and writing romance. But she also likes what a suspenseful storyline does for her hero, heroine and the storyline. We think that is a good recipe for a wonderful read. Others think so too. Midwest Fiction Writers bestowed upon her The Rising Star of 2004 award. Romantic Times Book Club Magazine gave her 4 1/2 stars for Virgin in Disguise and The Romance Reader gave her 4 hearts for Virgin in Disguise.
You can find Rosemary in beautiful Minnesota where she lives with her romantic husband and four cats. She would love to hear from readers. You can visit her Web site at www.rosemaryheim.com or send snail mail to her c/o Midwest Fiction Writers, P.O. Box 24107, Minneapolis, MN 55424.
BIOGRAPHY: Kathleen Baldwin
Armchair Interview Guest: January 25, 2005
Kathleen Baldwin's Regency romantic comedies are making readers smile as she shares a bit of mischief and mayhem with them. Lady Fiasco, a Zebra release in September 2004 was followed by Mistaken Kiss in January 2005. It received 4 1/2 stars from Romantic Times. Cut From The Same Cloth and Waltz With A Rogue will be released in March 2005. And we are sure that these books will be every bit as delicious as the first two.
Kathleen loves research and writing a 'bit of mischief and joy' and reading the written word. She calls herself a 'devoted student' of Oscar Wilde, P.G. Wodehouse, O'Henry, Jane Austen and Mark Twain.
Kathleen lives in Texas with, as she says, "my heroic husband of twenty-three years, our four untamed children and a neurotic poodle." She is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), Kiss of Death (KOD), Frisco Professional Writer's Association, Midwest Fiction Writers and Dallas Area Romance Authors (DARA). She was Armchair Interviews' second 'conversation with an author.'
Kathleen can be reached at: kat.baldwin@comcast.net. Her web site is www.KathleenBaldwin.com.