In this episode of Bookable Space, we’re joined by Nikki Alexander. Nikki reads from Arc of the Universe and talks to us about writing about space, the pursuit of equality, and what space and place make possible for the book.

About the Book:

Arc of the Universe is a contemporary fiction novel exploring themes of social justice and moral courage. Carrie Davenport, a Black law professor in North Carolina, has the career opportunity of a lifetime to design a system of government for a new experimental settlement on Mars. Can Carrie regain faith in herself and in democracy to craft the “government of the future” after an instance of police violence destroys all trust in institutions?

Author Bio

Nikki Alexander is a debut fiction author based in the greater Washington, DC area. She earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School. When she’s not lawyering or writing, she enjoys tap dancing and attempting to keep her temperamental houseplants alive.

About the Host

Author of Remembered and Curdle Creek, Yvonne is a novelist, writer, academic, event host, and podcaster, and aims to live a literary life bringing people together over stories.

For information about Yvonne's books, events, and more vist https://www.yvonnebattlefelton.com/ or sign up to Yvonne's Substack https://yvonnebattlefelton.substack.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this engaging episode of Bookable Space, we’re joined by Amy W Daughters reading from You Can Not Mess This Up. A True Story That Never Happened. Three readings and three questions, Amy talks to us about writing herself, researching the past, and writing her way back to who she was.

Bio:

A native Houstonian and a graduate of Texas Tech University, Amy W. Daughters has been a freelance writer for more than a decade — mostly covering college football and sometimes talking about her feelings. Her debut novel, You Cannot Mess This Up: A True Story That Never Happened (She Writes Press), was selected as the Silver Winner for Humor in the 2019 Foreword INDIES and the Overall Winner for Humor/Comedy in the 2020 Next Generation Indie Awards. Her second book, Dear Dana: That time I went crazy and wrote all 580 of my Facebook friends a handwritten letter (She Writes Press, 2022), has won several awards, including the 2023 Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal for NonFiction Relationships, and caught the attention of Kelly Clarkson! An amateur historian, hack golfer, charlatan fashion model, and regular on the ribbon dancing circuit, Amy — a proud former resident of Blackwell, England, and Dayton, Ohio, currently lives in Tomball, Texas, a suburb of Houston. She is married to a foxy computer person, Willie, and is the lucky mother of two amazing sons, Will and Matthew.

About the book:

It’s 2014 and Amy Daughters is a 46-year old stay-at-home mom living in Dayton, Ohio. She returns to her hometown of Houston over the Thanksgiving holiday to discuss her parents’ estate—and finds herself hurled back in time. Suddenly, it’s 1978, and she is forced to spend 36 hours in her childhood home with her nuclear family, including her 10-year old self. Over the next day and a half, she reconsiders every feeling she’s ever had, discusses current events with dead people, gets overserved at a party with her parents’ friends, and is treated to lunch at the Bonanza Sirloin Pit. Besides noticing that everyone is smoking cigarettes, she’s still jealous of her sister, and there is a serious lack of tampons in the house, Amy also begins to appreciate that memories are malleable, wholly dependent on who is doing the remembering. In viewing her parents as peers and her siblings as detached children, she redefines her difficult relationships with her family members and ultimately realizes that her life story matters and is profoundly significant—not so much to everyone else perhaps, but certainly to her. Amy’s guide said her trip back in time wouldn’t change anything in the future, but by the time her 36 hours are up, she’s convinced that she’ll never be the same again.

About the Host:

Yvonne Battle-Felton is an author, academic, and podcaster. Her debut, Remembered, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Not the Booker, and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize. Winner of The Shirley Jackson Award, Curdle Creek is her second novel. Yvonne was a finalist in the Hurston Wright Foundation Legacy Zora Award for Fiction, has been awarded the RSL Scriptorium Award, and lives in West Yorkshire, England. She aims to create a literary community bringing readers and writers together over words.

For information about Yvonne's books, events, and more vist https://www.yvonnebattlefelton.com/ or sign up to Yvonne's Substack https://yvonnebattlefelton.substack.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Bookable Space, we’re joined by Maura Casey. Maura reads to us from Saving Ellen: A Memoir of Hope and Recovery and answers three questions about writing, research, and more.

Over a 35-year journalism career, Maura Casey worked as a reporter and opinion writer for four newspapers, including as a member of The New York Times editorial board. She has won 45 national and regional journalism awards. She writes a weekly Substack column called Casey’s Catch with 3,900 subscribers.

Maura began to keep journals at the age of 12 and never stopped. She also never re-read them. When she did, during the Covid-19 lockdown, she was surprised to see they contained pages of scenes at home about her big Irish family, her alcoholic father, wise-cracking mother and her sister Ellen struggling with kidney disease and its aftermath. The result is her first book, “Saving Ellen: A Memoir of Hope and Recovery.” It was published last year by Skyhorse Publishing. She welcomes reader comments at authormcasey@gmail.com.

Luanne Rice, author of “Last Day” and “The Shadow Box”

“Saving Ellen” is a shimmering memoir of childhood, tender and honest, full of tumult and complicated love. It's a stunning portrait of an Irish Catholic family, but the heart of the story, and the beauty of how the Caseys love each other through it all, is universal. It's a brilliant book.”

About the Host:

Yvonne Battle-Felton is an author, academic, and podcaster. Her debut, Remembered, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Not the Booker, and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize. Winner of The Shirley Jackson Award, Curdle Creek is her second novel. Yvonne was a finalist in the Hurston Wright Foundation Legacy Zora Award for Fiction, has been awarded the RSL Scriptorium Award, and lives in West Yorkshire. She is the Academic Director of Creative Writing at Cambridge University.

For information about Yvonne's books, events, and more vist https://www.yvonnebattlefelton.com/ or sign up to Yvonne's Substack https://yvonnebattlefelton.substack.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.