At Big Red Books in Nyack, NY, on 23 February 2025, I was joined by Anthony Marinelli, Amanda Greer, Denise Reed, and Frank LoBuono in a unique, pop-up dramatic reading from my novel, It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles. What was unique about this dramatic reading is that Anthony Marinelli (a playwright) and Amanda Greer (an actress) are not only real people but important characters in the novel. Denise Reed is also an actress (who played the part of the nanny in a 2024 episode of CBS's hit series FBI), and Frank LoBuono is the host of the Being Frank Podcast, where I've been interviewed many times. (Richie Fulco, then owner of Big Red Books, introduced me to the packed house, and had a cameo in the reading.) The reading is followed by a Q & A with the perceptive audience.

Cast:

"Paul is original his books and music are different than the norm -- they are clever!" -- Billy J. Kramer

"a wild ride" -- Michael McLuhan

"Now I'm desperate to hear songs from the Asimov/McCartney musical" -- Thomas MacFarlane, The Beatles and McLuhan

"I got so hooked that I stayed up way beyond my bedtime and read it in one go. It was not just extremely entertaining (I started looking forward to the Tom Petty phone calls) but also a nifty take on averting the grandfather paradox." -- Geoffrey Winthrop-Young, Kittler and the Media

"a brilliantly written and fun sci-fi tale that is perfect for fans of the genre and music nerds" -- Evan Levine, Swan Fungus

"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

"If you are a music fan, and especially if you are a Beatles fan, you will probably enjoy this spin at 33 1/3 RPM through this alternate history." -- Matt Truxaw, Amazing Stories

More about the novel here.

Two other readings from the novel on this podcast:

• book launch and reading from 1st chapter of the novel at The Players, March 2024
• dramatic reading from second chapter of the novel on "Destinies: The Voice of Science Fiction", WUSB Radio, with Paul Levinson and Howard Margolin, January 2024

And here's a full cast radio play of 1st chapter of the novel, adapted by Vin Tese for Killerwatt Radio, March 2024

Welcome to Light On Light Through episode 423, in which I interview Jude O'Reilly about her novel Heartbreaker. Among the issues we discussed: author/editor frictions and benefits, first readers, serial killers in fiction, wonders of the British north, and time travel and time stoppage. Among the authors we discussed: Karl Popper, Rob Sawyer, George R.R. Martin, Isaac Asimov, Nicholson Baker, Solvej Balle.

Relevant links:

• get the novel here
• my review of Heartbreaker

Welcome to Light On Light Through episode 422, in which I interview Paul Kaplan about his book of poetry for people of all ages, The Thingy That's Stringy.

Relevant links:

• get The Thingy That's Stringy here
• my review of The Thingy That's Stringy here or here